My paper published in the journal of International Studies in Educational Administration. Download and read the paper here.
Abstract: The ‘grammar’ of schooling identified by David Tyack and William Tobin in the 1990s is the core business of schools. Despite numerous efforts by numerous smart, innovative, and sometimes even powerful individuals to make changes, the ‘grammar’ stays pretty much the same. There are plenty of reasons why it should not be the way to organise schooling, yet it still is. During COVID-19, is it possible to make changes to the ‘grammar’? My argument …

My encounters in recent weeks’ discussions (virtual meetings, social media interactions, and discussions on our new show #silverliningforlearning) once again focused my attention on a common phenomenon in education. Almost everyone thinks education should change and everyone seems to agree with the general directions of change (While the specifics of the desired change vary, the fundamentals are very similar—personalization, student agency/voice/self-determination, less testing, more authentic learning experiences, and attention to the whole child and cultivate different set of skills and competencies.) Moreover, there are many wonderfully successful examples of the …

Introduction from part 1: Tofu is not cheese so we should not expect it to smell or taste like cheese nor should we need to pretend it is or make it taste and smell like cheese. The message I was trying to convey is that we should accept the fact that schools are closed and we don’t need to pretend we can make online education the same as face-to-face schools. Instead, we should make the best out of the new situation. In my last blog post, I expanded the idea: Online …

What to Teach: Reimagine Curriculum
Introduction
“Tofu is not cheese” is what I said to a group of educators of ESF Quarry Bay Primary School (QBS), a school in Hong Kong that is determined to turn the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity for reimagining education. Tofu is not cheese so we should not expect it to smell or taste like cheese nor should we need to pretend it is or make it taste and smell like cheese. The message I was trying to convey is that we should accept the fact that …