SchoolAdvancement

When I was an adjunct professor, one of my students in my Web design class asked me to define “creative,” because they said they weren’t very creative. I didn’t believe that. Everyone is creative. 1984-1985 was my first official year in the classroom, and I gave my 7th grade students an exercise. Each student was […]

You’re probably thinking this is going to have something to do with computers for each child in the classroom, BYOD, or perhaps a shadowing program to help increase enrollment. No, this article deals with a group of schools getting together to split the cost of a Director of Advancement so that these several schools can […]

An interesting thing happens when you start to think about systems thinking, especially in light of systems that you’ve heard about before. If you find three things, you start to look for where they intersect to come up with the emergent property of the system. If the three can create a fourth, what happens if […]

When I attended Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA for my Master of Education degree, the experience was different as an adult learner than it was for me when I was an undergraduate student some 20 years prior to that time.  Back then, I was a commuter, really didn’t pay much attention to campus life, […]

Last month’s Tetrahedronics article detailed the 5 things one needs to succeed – a mentor, students, supporters, passion and dedicated commitment. I received some comments about other things that are also necessary, since several readers thought the list was incomplete without them. Analyzing the suggestions brought the number down to three additional traits – a compelling […]

A few years ago, my supervisor’s supervisor suggested a book to read called “Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everyone Else” by Geoff Colvin. Mr. Colvin is Senior Editor-at-Large for Fortune magazine. In it, he makes the argument that what separates the successful professionals from the rest of the pack is “Designing […]

For many school administrators, the school year has just ended, or, the end of another school year is just a couple of weeks away.  For Diocesan administrators, though, the summer is one of the busiest times of year – hiring new principals, allocating financial aid, and reconfiguring school alignments, etc. Whether you’re starting to wind […]

Last month’s post about ARMED goals seemed to hit upon some nerves…which is a good thing!  It’s only when “disruption” occurs that learning can take place. For the last 60 years, psychologists have extensively researched the theory of “Cognitive Dissonance,” which is the discomfort experienced when the mind has to simultaneously hold two or more […]

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Let’s think outside the box.” If we’ve already tried doing that with unsatisfying results, then perhaps the time has come to “dream” outside the box rather just “think.”  Of course, thinking outside the box can be done a couple of ways.  Are you thinking linearly, or systemically?  That’s another […]

A few years ago when I began this series of articles on systems thinking, one article was titled “Catholic Schools: ‘Foundational’ to the Parish.”  In it, I made the bold suggestion that if a parish-based Catholic school closes, that sends the message that the next closure or merger may be that of the parish itself. […]