Introductions

Welcome!  This blog is dedicated to exploring, developing, and tracking new approaches to and experiments with education.  With the tides of racism and ultra-nationalism rising around the world even as the ocean tides literally rise in response to climate change, finding new ways forward has become ever more of a mandate for everyone, and perhaps for educators most of all. The tired, industrial model of factory learning we adults experienced cannot carry our children successfully through the challenges of the 21^st century. 

My desire is that a wide range of readers might find this blog useful--educators, students, parents, as well as leaders of change in a variety of capacities!

The Centre for Imagination is an initiative of Woodstock School, an international boarding school in the foothills of the Himalayas. Opening in October, 2016, it represents one possible way forward. I believe wholly in the potential of this initiative to bring rich, deep transformation to learning—and to bring the change in a gentle way, less stormy than the change often experienced in long-standing institutions.

1. Through this blog, I intend to share as much as possible of the substance of work at the Centre (with lessons learned along the way!) and the framework for how it functions.
2. As the Centre has taken shape, I have consistently found that the deepest source of hope and inspiration comes quite naturally from daily life alongside children, teachers, and visiting scholars and residents to the Centre. I’ll be sharing regular anecdotes of these encounters to encourage those looking for inspiration.
3. In addition, I’ll occasionally share efforts to apply ecological design thinking methods around the Centre and the school, as a theoretical model for navigating continuous complexity and change.
4. Finally, I’ll also share my encounters with related thinkers, writers, scholars and speakers for those eager for more theoretical or intellectual inspiration. 
5. I can’t promise that I won’t also share simple classroom experiences, once in a while!

I welcome your respectful interaction and wisdom, as readers!  Please do feel free to share your thoughts and responses (including skepticism!) to what is shared here. I’m always excited to connect with like-minded educators and problem-solvers, or simply those interested in how we might use systems thinking and/or design thinking to move forward into the future. I enjoy dialogue and the inevitable refinement that multiple perspectives can bring to situations and ideas. I’m more convinced than ever that it will take unprecedented, global efforts at collaboration and co-design to figure out how we might create a more just, wholesome, peaceful, and meaningful life for all—particularly through the learning opportunities we offer our children.

Please note: After two years of exploration, the Centre for Imagination first took shape as an action research-based dissertation for a Masters’ degree in Ecological Design Thinking from Schumacher College in Devon. If you’re interested in understanding more of my theoretical framework, approach, and methods, the full text is available here.