Jun 25
I recently picked up a secondhand copy of Padraig O’Sullivan’s book on coaching for expat leaders – ‘Foreigner in Charge’ – and although he wasn’t writing specifically about international school leaders, he might as well have been; his insights into the process that leaders go through when they move to new roles in new countries …
Jun 18
I spent time last week in a brilliant library – Double Bay Library in Woollahra, Sydney, and the experience was too good not to share. I had to find somewhere to dial into a board meeting in Hong Kong, and so I was on the hunt for good WiFi in the area – which indeed …
Jun 11
A great day last Friday at the AIS Leadership Centre in Sydney, working with new Principals on how to enable their schools to become world leaders in the field of global education. It was gratifying to receive 5/5 ratings from all the participants (thank you!), but what really uplifted me were the ‘lightbulb moments’ that …
Jun 06
So … here’s my problem … and I need some help … First, the background. Last week I attended a Maths Challenge certificate ceremony at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, during which I had the enjoyable experience of hearing a lecture on game theory. As part of the lecture, we all pondered again the Prisoner’s Dilemma, …
May 30
Yuval Noah Harari’s ‘Sapiens’ has been sitting on my shelf for FAR too long, waiting, tantalisingly, to be read, but this past weekend I plunged in … and couldn’t put it down. I haven’t finished it yet – so, please, no spoilers – but given that there is a sequel of sorts (Homo Deus), then …
May 23
Escaping (literally) from the turmoil of Brexit and the political machinations of the UK can appear a particularly attractive option at the moment. Although I have written in the past about why teaching abroad can be enormously beneficial, both personally and professionally, I thought it was an apt moment to recall why this is the …
May 14
Two very different events which I attended at the end of last week in Edinburgh ended with a very similar message about the importance of getting to know the people around us, and I thought this was worth reflecting on for a moment. The first event was a session on diversity – and, specifically, how …
May 07
I spent Sunday morning this week with my daughter at Kidzania, the ‘indoor city for kids’ situated in Westfield Mall at White City, London (and replicated in various major cities across the world). For those of you who don’t know Kidzania, it is designed so that children aged 4-14 can explore a replica ‘city’, with …
May 01
I have just been dipping in again to Erin Meyer’s very readable book ‘The Culture Map’, which I do from time to time, just to remind myself of the urgent imperative of developing cultural understanding in a globalised world – the world in which our young people are growing up, and in which they will …
Apr 23
One of the differences about working in Chinese schools, as I was reminded last week, is the importance of AQI. AQI, as I am sure you know, stands for Air Quality Index, and there are strict guidelines in schools in China for what needs to happen if the AQI rises above certain permissible amounts – …