“Let’s start at the very beginning.  That’s a very good place to start.” (As sung by Julie Andrews as Maria in “The Sound of Music.”) Unfortunately, Maria, you’re wrong.  The best place to start is at the end.  As Stephen Covey wrote in his book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” habit #2 is…

There are three types of thinking which can be employed to solve problems:  Linear Thinking, Process Thinking, and Systems Thinking. We like to think linearly.  It’s the First/Next mindset.  We learn addition first, then subtraction.  When following a recipe, we’re told what to do first, then next.  It’s simple.  The problem is that we employ…

Here’s a TedX/Portland presentation.  There is a difference between “schooling” and “education.”  It’s important to know the difference.  

All through the month of June, Edu-Cat-Ion will feature some selected videos on systems thinking.  Einstein is credited with saying that we can’t solve the problems of today with the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.  The thinking we’ve been using to solve problems originated with the scientific method, and that’s…

Today’s video is from Peter Senge, speaking about systems thinking in education.  Systems thinking, as described last week, focuses on the whole, and how all the elements of the whole interact with one another.  We tend to look at problems within the system and ask ourselves, “How do we correct this problem?” incorrectly thinking that…

In 1990, a text titled “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of a Learning Organization” written by Peter Senge was published.  It was meant as a framework to transform the effectiveness of businesses by referring to them as “learning organizations.”  At the time, the preferred method of business improvement was known as Six Sigma…

Whether you read the Bible or not, Proverbs 3:5 contains a powerful thought, and reminds us of our humanity.  It states: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Today’s public education system leaves this essential bit of knowledge (only 15 words) out of the equation…probably because of…

Think back to when you were in elementary school.  One of the concepts taught in English class was that of “You understood.”  It was introduced when you were learning the parts of speech – that is, what categories words belong to.  Persons, places or things were nouns, actions were verbs, etc. Then one learned how…

When these articles were being planned, there were only “two issues in education” articles prepared.  However, since there are at least three elements in every system (but five in complete systems), there needs to be a third key element, or, in this case, issue. Two issues prove that there are always “two sides” to every…

Last week’s and this week’s articles focus on two issues no one seems to talk about when discussing education and the difficulties we’re experiencing by preparing changing children in a changing society for a changing future which is completely unpredictable.  Last week’s article that everyone seems to forget that parents are the primary educator of…