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Evolving Education
one small step at the time

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The Layers, Characters, Co-Activity and the Learning Organisation

30/6/2016

 
There are at least three layers to the book.

The multiple characters represent a living entity as seen as different people living in several decades, during important phases in its life, eg. the stages of its education and its career, at pivotal moments.

The characters are 'all one'.

The mechanism by which the characters engage, support and encourage each other is called Co-Activity, where we hold each other to be creative, resourceful and whole. Some of the skills and tools of the Co-Active professions (teaching, parenting, leadership etc) are apparent in the interactions between the characters.

The destination, which I have never voiced so clearly before, is called 'A Teal Learning Organisation'. The stories show how the characters in such organisations collaborate, in a Co-Active way!

Three Conflict Perspectives

27/6/2016

 
This story below shows how exploring different perspectives makes life easier when there's a conflict. Read the three perspectives below or on Tiki-Toki with the other stories as they develop. Note: At the time of writing this post, there is only one complete story (and it's not so very complete) plus a handful of ideas for other overlapping timeline stories.

The Flying Football

The Playground Monitor

The weeks before the summer holidays are the busiest, the kids are outdoors almost every day. It means I get work, but there's a lot of playground for the two of us Playground Monitors to cover (continues)
The Headteacher

When I saw him standing in the hallway outside my room, he looked a little scared and far too tall and skinny for the shorts and t-shirt he was wearing. The Playground Monitor had asked me to talk to him about what had happened in the playground. She had told me of the girl who had got so hurt that she had to go to the School Nurse (continues)
The Child

The ball bounced towards me. One of those beachballs. I kicked it! "Blooter". Away it went, up into the air arching over the heads of the other kids playing football, they turned to follow the arc of the ball as it crossed the pitch and landed "Whamp" smack in the face of a tall girl who had been skipping at the edge of the pitch (continues)

Read More

Learning Organisation

26/6/2016

 
I will not point the direction we are to go... or WILL I?

Life Projects. Three tips, plus two more

24/6/2016

 

Behind the scenes

23/6/2016

 
I was setting up the camera, which has two lenses, one front and one rear; and I took this photo of behind the scenes in my little office. So, what do you see? Can you see some of the influences on my life? The people, the culture, the books (hint hint)?
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12 Steps to a Coaching Classroom

22/6/2016

 
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I originally created this recording in 2012.

The titles and words came to me in a rush, and with no script I just spoke the words as they came to me. You will hear that I speak, then listen to what I just said, then carry on speaking and listening. At the time, I was amazed at what I said, and this short text carried me through until 2014 when I published the book A Coaching Approach to Education (available on Amazon)

​12 steps to a Coaching Classroom

1    Using Positive Language
2    Using Humour, not Jokes
3    Asking, not telling
4    Using Open Questions
5    Asking for Feedback
6    Instilling Learning by Doing
7    Designing Agreements
8    Identifying Agendas
9    Setting Goals
10    Using Learning Styles
11    Identifying and Using Role Models
12    Discovering and Using Values

Books, plural

22/6/2016

 
How could you leave a book, half-written, on the shelf, and never finish it, and never publish it? How could you half-write a book and publish it? Who me?

Believe, Think, Know

21/6/2016

 
'Knowing' is all about facts. There has to be some 'evidence', some measurable, observable facts for you to know something for sure. facts come from our eyes and ears, and other senses from our bodies.

'Believing' is all about intuition, a sense beyond ourselves. There need be no 'evidence' for you to believe something, you just 'feel it'.

However, believing something does not make it a fact. You might believe that "the world is flat" or "the world is round", without changing the facts. Your belief might change your behaviour, when travelling great distances for example. Your belief might change what you tell others, or what you are willing to hear as truth. 

You might believe that "women are the weaker sex" or "black men are dangerous", or some such thing. It doesn't change the facts. Your belief might change your behaviour, when choosing a career, working with other people, or how you treat your neighbours, of course. 


So how do beliefs become facts?

When enough people, hold a certain belief to be true, and act as though it was. The facts begin to reveal themselves even to our eyes and ears.

When enough people have travelled the world far enough, and not fallen off the edge, and reported back to the masses; the world is then known to be round; or at least not flat. As long as people hold the belief that the world is flat, and are afraid of falling off the edge, they can never discover that it is indeed round.

Facts follow belief and inquiring action, the results of which are shared.

When enough people treat people as equal to every other kind of people; regardless of gender, faith, skin colour and some such things, they can then discover how they truly are. As long as people hold the belief that some people are different, build barriers and are afraid of crossing the edge, they can never discover that we are indeed unique and of the same worth.

Facts follow belief and inquiring action, the results of which are shared.


I believe that our children are worthy of *an education system and employment system that wholly embrace our diverse ways of being AND which support the lifelong development of who we are becoming and the meaningful employment of our talents and skills.

My inquiring action is to ask and answer the question "What does *this look and sound like?".
  • By holding a clear vision of what education looks and sounds like; I move the mountain (of doubt) to one side a little
  • By communicating what lifelong and meaningful education looks and sounds like; I move the mountain (of doubt) to one side a little bit more. 
  • By communicating what lifelong and meaningful employment looks and sounds like; I move the mountain (of doubt) to one side a little bit more. 

Writing for Money, or not.

20/6/2016

 
I received a royalties payment from Amazon for my first book.
Or at least, I received a piece of paper.
2016-07-04 Update

I asked Amazon to make the payments directly to my bank account, and they did.

Timeline tango, and artistic help (maybe)

17/6/2016

 
Two videos today. Play them at the same time, why not?
There could be two lifelines doing a tango on the same time line (maybe).
The stories could be illustrated (maybe)

Multiple Perspectives

16/6/2016

 
We are done - discussed and decided.

Each story gets told from multiple perspectives.
The Narrator guides the Reader through the stories, and invites the Expert's opinion.

Testing the Tiki-Toki Time Line

11/6/2016

 
I found the Tiki-Toki website to be the best option, for now, for testing the Time Line idea.

In this version there's only one timeline and it's limited to 200 stories on the one timeline. So, I am using the stories in my "Journey" book to try out the functions on the website.

Here.
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Time Line = Book?

10/6/2016

 
Maybe I'm getting lazy?

Wallpaper, or computer program

10/6/2016

 
I prefer to be hands on when I write AND I am a computer programmer.
I like to draw AND I like computer programs.

Which preference will help me the most when I'm writing the book?

Shall I write the storylines, one for each character on a large roll of wallpaper OR shall I use a computer program to do that?

​I have to track the Who did What, Where and When and most importantly Why did they do that?

Permission granted - so what's next?

9/6/2016

 

How far does the book reach?

8/6/2016

 
I write, write and write; then I publish. What happens next? That, I leave to 'others'.

The Co of this Work

8/6/2016

 
I'm not working alone, this is collaborative, AND it is Co. What's that?

A possible timeline

3/6/2016

 
I'm pondering possible timelines - structures for the book - and wonder if the Narrator could interview the key people in the Main Character's life.
​

Fictional Vision (?)

2/6/2016

 
Where might you find this book in the Library?

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    I am a teacher, a business-owner, a public speaker, a coach and an author.

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    My Mission is to play a major part in supporting the education system in taking its next evolutionary step, becoming self-evolving rather than self-preserving.

  • New Book
  • Martin Richards
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