High Altitude Learning, LLC

04/05/2023

Week two: 8,640,000 Decisions! According to a 2021 Education Week article, teachers make approximately 1500 decisions per day. Even before school begins, we attend to decisions about the delivery of instruction, a host of logistical details, and the ongoing needs of students. Not including weekends, late evenings spent grading, or prep work during the summer, 1500 decisions per day adds up to 8,640,000 decisions over the course of a 32-year career, a staggering number to wrap one’s head around....

Week two: 8,640,000 Decisions! According to a 2021 Education Week article, teachers make approximately 1500 decisions per day. Even before school begins, we attend to decisions about the delivery o…

03/28/2023

Week one: The Starting Line In 1986, fresh out of graduate school, I landed my first teaching position in an up-and-coming district in Colorado Springs. More than 100 other applicants competed for that same position. My starting salary, with master’s degree in teaching secondary science, was just over $24,000. It had been my dream to teach in public schools and I couldn’t wait to get started....

Week one: The Starting Line In 1986, fresh out of graduate school, I landed my first teaching position in an up-and-coming district in Colorado Springs. More than 100 other applicants competed for …

03/27/2023

…and duties as assigned sets out to invite civil discourse about the range of responsibilities and versatility of skills expected of today’s U.S. public-school teachers. Using stories drawn from personal experience and amplified using Fermi Problem reasoning, these posts serve both as a tribute to the collective innovation underlying our universal free and public education AND as a high-pitched silent scream for the layers of complexity that hamstring this objective....

…and duties as assigned sets out to invite civil discourse about the range of responsibilities and versatility of skills expected of today’s U.S. public-school teachers. Using stories drawn from pe…

02/11/2022

So glad to have had the chance to return to Navajo Prep to lead an inquiry about inquiry. Together we explored teaching strategies, thinking routines, and task developments designed to increase student curiosity and thinking. Teachers engaged as inquirers to seek information and develop questions and goals to guide their own professional learning throughout the semester. Taking time to debrief as a faculty increased awareness about the growing culture of inquiry throughout the school.

So glad to have had the chance to return to Navajo Prep to lead an inquiry about inquiry. Together we explored teaching strategies, thinking routines, and task developments designed to increase stu…

11/30/2021

“The question holds the lantern.” John O’Donohue, Celtic poet Have you ever botched a great inquiry lesson using a poorly planned sequence of questions? Here’s an epic example of my own palm-to-forehead struggle to facilitate learning using the wrong questions. During my first-, or second-year teaching IB science, I created an opportunity for sixth graders in my classes to collaborate with sixth graders from a school in Sydney, Australia....

“The question holds the lantern.” John O’Donohue, Celtic poet Have you ever botched a great inquiry lesson using a poorly planned sequence of questions? Here’s an epic example of my own palm-to-fo…

10/07/2021

I am creating an interactive map featuring short descriptions of fabulous community and personal projects completed by students around the world. My goal is to include an example or two from every authorized MYP world school, presented as "points of hope" on a global map. By making visible examples of these projects and their impact on communities around the world, we celebrate MYP student contributions to a better and more peaceful world. ...

I am creating an interactive map featuring short descriptions of fabulous community and personal projects completed by students around the world. My goal is to include an example or two from every …

09/26/2021

On Bastille Day 2021 my father, William Allison, received the French Legion of Honor award for his heroic acts in support of securing France's liberation during WWII. The ceremony took place at the home of the French Ambassador in Washington, D.C., and was presided over by the Ambassador himself, along with Secretaries of State from both nations. During this emotional ceremony much was said about the value and loyalty of our long-standing friendship as countries committed to democratic ideals.

Witnessing just two months later the abrupt recall of the ambassador from Washington in response to a breakdown of trust between our countries hit me hard. France demonstrated courage and clear resolve in its response to the insult of exclusion from critical negotiations in which they should have been directly involved. By denying them a place at the table, we have damaged our friendship, our credibility, and our commitment to shared democratic ideals.

Exclusion, in its many manifestations, harms our progress towards a just and peaceful world. As we work to make amends with France, may we each go deeper in our own understanding of how exclusion permeates our lives, and with this awareness take personal responsibility in righting the wrongs inflicted by it.

09/24/2021

This time of year, I find delight in the harvest after a busy summer in the garden. Each time I visit my deep beds I return with a bucket of produce… tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, basil, beans, such rich reward for months of tending. Teaching is much like gardening. We prepare the soil by fussing over the details of its composition; we plant and nurture, guide, prune, thin the weeds, and marvel at resulting growth over time....

This time of year, I find delight in the harvest after a busy summer in the garden. Each time I visit my deep beds I return with a bucket of produce… tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, basil, b…

09/20/2021

These days, professional collaboration in schools can be tough. It requires intellectual and emotional bandwidth much of which administrators and teachers have likely exhausted taking care of the needs of their students. I am curious how educators are supporting inclusive, respectful, productive collaborations. What are you trying? What are you experiencing?
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

09/10/2021

A couple of years ago I worked with a student I’ll call Jade as a mentor throughout the personal project experience. Using conventional methods of judging achievement, Jade struggled in school. Her grades were poor, as was her attendance; it would be easy to assume the personal project would not be her thing. Still, she seemed intrigued about the idea of exploring something of personal interest....

A couple of years ago I worked with a student I’ll call Jade as a mentor throughout the personal project experience. Using conventional methods of judging achievement, Jade struggled in school. Her…

09/06/2021

As the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games come to an end, I appreciated reading Gwen Knapp’s article “Paralympians Know “Inspiration Porn” When They See It” (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/05/sports/olympics/inspiration-porn-paralympians-know-it-when-they-see-it.html) in this morning’s New York Times. Knapp brings awareness to the term “inspiration porn,” originally coined by the late Australian activist and journalist Stella Young and used to describe behaviors and media messaging that fixate on a person’s disability as the source of inspiration, rather than their character, commitment to excellence, and success....
Read more here:
http://highaltitudelearning.org/2021/09/05/inspiration-porn/

As the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games come to an end, I appreciated reading Gwen Knapp’s article “Paralympians Know “Inspiration Porn” When They See It” in this morning’s New York Times. Knapp …

09/04/2021

For world school educators in the northern hemisphere, I’m curious… is it too soon to mention community and personal projects in a blog post? 😊

Because of my special fondness for these experiences, I’m going to answer my own question with a resounding “NO!” In fact, these first days of the school year are perfect for generating enthusiasm and belonging through student-designed projects. What if students could begin the academic year knowing this is their year to imagine, plan, create, and complete a project of personal value within a supportive school culture?

Visit my blog post at https://highaltitudelearning.org/2021/09/03/launching-student-designed-projects/ where I offer suggestions for ways to design culminating or personal projects as focal points of self-discovery and learning.

For world school educators in the northern hemisphere, I’m curious … Is it too soon to mention community and personal projects in a blog post? 😊 Because of my special fondness for these experiences…