Go Forth and Be Bold: Educating for the Future

Wisdom informs innovation; the latter simply cannot exist without the former. In the push for future-focused schools, we need to take an honest look at the strategies and practices of our past. Which highly effective strategies need to accompany us on the path forward? Which practices never worked to begin with, and need to go the way of the floppy disk? The world’s best educators understand that learning is king, growth is queen, and “cool” is the court jester. The jester is technology, and the jester has value, but we shouldn’t put the jester in charge of the kingdom. The elite skills of our predecessors need a place in classrooms of the future. Weston Kieschnick will share his findings from the best-selling book Bold School, after spending decades coaching some of the most talented educators from all 50 states and more than 30 countries around the world. He will offer participants practical strategies for immediate implementation, while demonstrating how masters of pedagogy and technology try early, fail often, and pursue excellence with joy to create bold, blended learning experiences that work.

Breaking Bold: Living the Relationship Habits that Matter

Are the kids OK? There may be no more essential question for educators today. In a moment when mental health issues are bearing down on our students, the role of educators must expand to meet not only the academic needs but also the social and emotional needs of our students. But can we articulate clearly what SEL should look like and sound like? (Hint: it’s not a thing we do to people, it’s how we are with people.) So then how are our relationships with our children? Can we really be objective about it? (And by the way, if you’re only asking this question of adults, you won’t have the full picture.) Join Weston Kieschnick as he discusses the key relationship habits from his best-selling book Breaking Bold, that underpin effective student learning, and how teachers and leaders can live and leverage these habits to be concrete and intentional about SEL to engage their kids, improve learning, and change lives. Participants will leave with tools for immediate implementation, and set up with a year’s worth of SEL resources to support our work with children.