Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change Schools

by Ira David Socol, Pam Moran, Chad Ratliff

Reinvent public schools with proven, innovative practices Our homes, communities, and the world itself need the natural assets our children bring with them as learners, and which they often lose over time on the assembly line that pervades most of the public education system today. We see no actions as more important in school than developing, supporting, and reinforcing children's sense of agency, the value of their voices, and their potential to influence their own communities. In Timeless Learning , an award-winning team of leaders, Chief Technology Officer Ira Socol, Superintendent Pam Moran, and Lab Schools Principal Chad Ratliff demonstrate how you can implement innovative practices that have shown remarkable success. The authors use progressive design principles to inform pathways to disrupt traditions of education today and show you how to make innovations real that will have a timeless and meaningful impact on students, keeping alive the natural curiosity and passion for learning with which children enter school. Using examples from their own successful district as well as others around the country, the authors create a deep map of the processes necessary to move from schools in which content-driven, adult-determined teaching has been the traditional norm to new learning spaces and communities in which context-driven, child-determined learning is the progressive norm.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Professional Development

320 pages, Hardcover

Published August 7, 2018

Reviews

[David Britten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pam, Ira and Chad have hit it out of the park with this book that encapsulates not only their philosophy of progressive education, but is actually a road map of their individual and collective experiences. I know because I have been honored to call them friends and mentors over the past 10 years and have had the privilege of visiting their school district several times in that period. This is not a book of theory but a concise collection of how they have led change across their district, not by top-down fiat but by challenging, questioning and supporting teachers and students in the field. The layout of their book provides background, examples, and an opportunity to form an action plan to do something, anything to move your own school and district out of and away from a 20th Century model. Read this book for the sake of your children!

[Tracy Jaconette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the perfect guide for in-depth thinking about education. The authors include great examples of successful modern learning environments where making and creating and collaborating and simple saying YES have turned the focus onto learning. What do you want to learn? How can I help? Students will show what they need if we watch closely, ask questions, observe the work they do. Through ideas and solutions and wonderings of their own, our young learners can and will work together to solve problems, will try and fail and try again, and will be anxious to communicate their ideas to the world!

[Pat Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing too original, aimed at a school leader level (which i am not). Full of buzz words and Dewey quotes as these type of books often are. I ended up skimming it looking for interesting pieces and didnt find many.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful vision of what a public school district can be and do and how kids rise to the challenge when we make spaces designed to support them to learn and work. I love Ira and Pam. I love this book.