What the faculty is saying?
The following comments are from the seminar critique of one school as they appeared on the seminar critique. Over 75 participants filled out critiques and 93% said they would recommend this seminar to other schools.
[2] Why was the session meaningful to you?
"I enjoyed brainstorming an authentic piece of potential curriculum with colleagues from other divisions. "
"hands on, actionable, authentic problem solving"
"connecting with faculty cross divisionally, new, fresh ideas ... summer reading articles"
"It was thought provoking and interesting to listen to faculty from other divisions ..."
" It was specific to what we want to change."
"It was an amazing experience to work across disciplines and to be pushed beyond my expertise / comfort zone."
"I valued the opportunity to look at the river activity ... It came across as insurmountable: however, by utilizing the group it became clear that together we could meet the challenge."
"I was excited to hear people's vibrant 'controversial' ideas."
"very stimulating"
"colleague collaboration around single TANGIBLE topic important to ALL of us"
"It was a great ice-breaker activity."
"actionable steps"
"We had the opportunity to approach a real-life issue with our colleagues."
"It was challenging and interesting to plan a curriculum with 7 teachers in different divisions and departments. - great ideas from the discussion"
"Because it was meaningful." "My colleagues and I had very specific discussions about areas of our teaching life that is important and yet we felt we might improve. It was healthy and refreshing."
"it was actionable"
"lots of ideas and paradigm shift discussions"
"It was more relevant to teaching."
"Discussion was based on authentic ideas and concerns of which we wanted to claim our stake."
"Pertained directly to our needs"
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[3] What did you like most about the day?
"openness of discussion, chance to shift perspective of what our school is / does / can be"
" the humor, camaraderie ... the fact that people told the truth was a huge relief - made me feel not so alone in my overwhelm"
"notions about how to bring about meaningful, sustainable change"
"the teamwork"
"Hearing about people collaborating in a company to make it great - even the tough decisions."
"The parallels of Patagonia and our school."
"The presenters - they were knowledgeable about different topics, subjects, were worldly, interesting, had diverse experiences to share." "Way better than 'education' presenters"
"Good presenters, interesting topics, well school - personalized"
"the balance between large and small group work"
"The strong connections to community, place and how we 'can't go back' but how, through collaboration etc, we can go forward."
"peel the onion philosophy" " use parents as powerful resources - AND colleagues" " walk your talk"
"view of leadership and commonalties to business"
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[4] What would you change?
"Maybe two days of this kind of discussion."
"Some time to discuss goals with department and course co-teachers would help make the process more culturally ingrained."
"more time to do exercises"
"more small group time"
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[6] Why would you recommend or not recommend this seminar to other schools?
"Thank you, this was an excellent day."
"It challenged us to think outside our communities ... outside our school's box"
"very useful and relevant"
"Great community builder. Henry can certainly design a seminar for any occasion."
"good discussions, purposeful thinking, a diversity of ideas shared collaboratively"
" is helpful to guide us on making important decisions for the future"
"Gets the faculty thinking outside our / their comfort zone."
"Helpful to think about 'walking the talk' and what it means to our organization."
"Great professional development opportunity."
"It causes a school to step out of their school 'clothes' and look at challenges from a different perspective."
"The articles (pre reading) were profound - and so thought provoking as was the presentation."
"encouraging a different way of thinking"
"Good way to approach what we do from a different perspective"
" interesting model for self-reflection and evolution of any institution, public or private"
"I would recommend it because it provides great ideas as far as leadership and teamwork."
" Good parallels between Patagonia and our school."
"Good model of business, knowledgeable speakers"
"Smart, talented, knew his stuff and linked it all back to who we really are"
"Your memory for names and issues and ideas is unbelievable. You have a solid handle on what are doing where you are heading and how to facilitate that movement. Thank you."
'It gets to you to think about your school's reason for being."
"lots of doors opened for future discussions"
"Very interesting parallels between Patagonia and school."
"This was a rich and refreshing opportunity to think deeply about where we want to be in 5 years and longer ..."
"Your visiting the school in the spring and actually getting to know the school was unprecedented and very important."
"allows educators to see how their world is very much like the world of business in commitment, dedication, and values (I of course realize not all businesses)."
"We were forced to really think about who we are and what we value."
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