Technolandy

Day 168a (of 2025/26) final Education Book Share for 25/26 school year: Forward Together by George Couros @gcouros 

Love the forward indicating that within  the book, the truth is there is a mix of beauty, complexities, and +/- possibilities in education… no matter what you may think, it’s an exciting time to be an educator (never sure if that’s a blessing, or a curse…)

George has been a big influence on my career from my first ‘meeting’ with him on the social medias and LOVED that our bcpvpa conference once had him in a breakout room… a few of us ‘in the know’ knew we were seeing someone who shoulda been on our main stage that year (and then he got too busy to come back!) 

George inspired my ‘days of learning blog’ at technolandy.com – sharing some reflections each day that school is in session (and some holidays… and some bonus shares) has been very good for me to take time each day and reflect on what’s going on within and without the education environment. Sometimes I curse him because I do NOT encourage anyone to do a similar challenge unless they have a clear mission and vision (for me, it’s so that my ‘journal’ is much easier for my kids to find than my fathers ed journal was…) 

I enjoyed “Innovate inside the box” because it really illustrated how much innovation in education is ‘limited’ by some unexpected factors…  https://technolandy.wordpress.com/2020/06/12/day-179-of-189-innovate-inside-the-box-by-gcouros-with-katienovakudl/

So I have been eagerly looking for some time to digest Forward Together (noting that I have been wonderfully corrupted by Will Richardsons FutureSerious/Confronting Education cohorts (one international, one BCPVPA, and one more coming up….) 

I cringe in agreement with his early reflection that he (and others like me) may have been more cavalier and hopeful that the positive shifts we had experienced as learners and as educators with technology were universal… but too often the system seemed to shift with the tools, but not enough of the pedagogy…  Previous to the social media #edchat blogosphere started, “we” had training sessions as we rolled out laptops with teachers… and then with students… I’m not 100% sure when the rollout just became automatic without the ‘why’ embedded, but much like George, I appreciate the educator paradox he lays out: tell me what to do, but don’t tell me what to do… 

Much like George Couros, I know I get typecast as a ‘pro-phone’ educator, but really I am pro-learner and see the phone (and AI) as the secret sauce that is the disruption many of us have been paying closer attention for since around 2004 (a book came out there); I am also by nature, blame the librarian that remains part of my pedagogy, anti-banning (without better justification  than I have so far seen – or not seen). 

Love the admission that there is not a 6-step approach to unity in any educational debate (even references the reading wars – version 4.0 going on right now… or is it 8.5?)

Can we ‘move forward together?’ – As I’m pondering… can we? And to what future?  Do we need to have better alignment in what that is for our learners as well? 

Principle 1: maybe it’s me (you)? Great session on our own pivot points though our pedagogical development…

Love the share/spectrum: Insecurity ——- Confidence ——- Arrogance

Principle 2: elevate other to see themselves in the story – noting the emotional connection to change – and the draw of nostalgia… 

Love the allusion to teaching new technologies rather than throwing them to a Lord of the Flies condition of tech use… 

To teach vs inspiring learning…

Principle 3: build community. Challenges/pushback need to be welcomed to build engagement. Even best thinkers miss things… and sometimes assumptions go both ways… love his reminder about some elements of the not-s-good/easy-old-days… 

Eg – what are the ‘basics’ many yearn for that we aren’t still doing (and why are they important… ) ooh, spoiler, but GC asks similar in a few chapters!

Principle 4: ensure people feel valued. Love the reminder of Van Halens rider having the ‘no brown M&Ms’ stipulation – not as divas, but as a way to check that their needs for the concert experience for the audience was also being met… and educators aren’t afraid of change, but don’t want to waste time on things they don’t see impacting the classroom…

Buy-in vs ownership…  think about that…

Principle 5: Learn in a way that you would expect from students. What we model in our words, actions, and mindsets is what we instilled in students. Curiosity… it is the cat (thanks Will Richardson!)

Be curious, not judgemental.  But often in education, the ww quote feels like it gets reversed. The kids are watching, what do we want them to see?

Traditional and ‘new’ can coexist 🏳️‍🌈

Principle 6: Create a vision together. Fully agree: basics are the foundation for the skills that are critical for our success and innovation in today’s modern world.  

Great thinking (and a LOT more than I reflected on in Part 1)….

Part II: The Perspectives (perspectives keep us grounded)

Perspective 1:  We are all somebody kid. We need to consider that when bringing up criticisms and conflicts… great example from George’s refereeing experience!

Perspective 2:  Elevating through intentional language. Negative language focuses on division (even though it may get more attendance…) but when we celebrate the good, it is more likely we will look for it and create more goodness in our communities! Beauty!

Oooh – age is not the barrier, mindset is.

Perspective 3: Listen to Lead. Making me think of the great Shane Safir book (spoiler: it’s a biggie – the Listening Leader  https://technolandy.wordpress.com/2021/07/08/sol-5a-summer-of-learning-2021-listening-leadership-shaneshafir-as-referenced-in-bcpvpa-ensl-shortcourse/

“Listening and learning from people, even one at a time, can be one of the fastest ways to move your entire organization forward”

Perspective 4: Somebody hates you. No matter your role, someone hates you (Landy points – often hates ‘the principal’ not necessarily the individual; conversely someone also hate you because you have their dream job…) It’s not easy to take criticism – especially live – but George provides an amazing share that shows how a negative response can be dealt with and moved forward, even though there are differences in beliefs…

Perspective 5: Don’t get used to the smell. It’s true that sometimes no job offer is indeed “it’s not you , it’s me” – fit is essential. And sometimes you ‘get used’ to bad smells (metaphorically) and you ought not stay in a place that doesn’t make you feel valued. I really liked this (timing is everything): “Don’t dim your light because someone else isn’t ready for you”. 

Perspective 6: Learn to clap for yourself. Les Brown: “Sometimes the nicest thin you will hear in a day are the things you say to yourself” – don’t fall too far into the haters… nor the cheerleaders… 

When you need to centre yourself, consider:

• What is my purpose
• How can I serve others
• How can I build on my strengths
• How do I learn and identify my shortcomings and mistakes and grow from the process

We are our own worst critics most of the time. 

Moving Forward – every school is a community school

Even a provincial online learning school… 

Regardless of your role, in the community, you can inspire others to do something great!

As always, George inspires me to do better.