Author: Steve Holland

It just makes sense that the more curious a student is, the better he or she is likely to perform in school. However, the benefits of curiosity are not limited to school; our world is ever changing, as are the skills workers need to have… Continue Reading It’s a Curious World—October, 2019

The 30,000-foot view of the purpose of education is to help people be “successful.” Success is one of those words that we all use without specifically defining its meaning. For simplicity’s sake and for the sake of this article, I am defining success as the… Continue Reading Being Successful in Life and Being Successful in School—September, 2019

According to Wikipedia, “A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory.” Why? I am not trying to be… Continue Reading Why School?—March, 2019

Kids and Stress A recent WebMD survey found that 72% of children have negative behaviors that are linked to stress. 62% have physical symptoms that indicate stress (headaches, stomachaches, etc.). Additionally, one indicator of extreme stress, suicide, has been going up the past few years.… Continue Reading Kids and Stress—February, 2019

All societies, whether they are towns, cities or nations, must have a foundation of agreed-upon norms if they wish to function. Often, these customs are informal. As an interesting experiment, the next time you get on an elevator, try turning to face the others on… Continue Reading Civics and Civility in Our Time—January, 2019

Even though it was over 20 years ago, I will never forget the experience. I was the only administrator in a tiny district in northeastern Washington and was having a conversation with two brothers and their parents regarding an incident that had occurred on their… Continue Reading Responsible to Act and Responsible for Those Actions—December 2018

If we paid attention only to the headlines, we would believe that our education system is “broken,” “dangerously out of touch” or “failing.” We would also be asked to believe that our system was once great, but that it has aged badly, declined and slipped… Continue Reading Getting to the Truth—November, 2018

What does it mean to be competent? Years ago, a man by the name of Martin M. Broadwell described a model of teaching that contained four stages of competence. Others have built on and modified his work, but stated simply, Broadwell believed in these four… Continue Reading Becoming Competent: A Habit of Mind—October, 2018