Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

I once asked a director of special education to stop referring to students as “kiddos” in my presence.

You can tell when “leaders for change” aren’t. This conversation happens.

Leader: You argue against strategy x. How do you propose we accomplish y?

Advocate for change: I’m not arguing against x, I’m arguing against y.

“The easy way to teach” will work for a small sub set of your students—much smaller than its advocates admit. Your job is *not* to deploy that and move on.

In my current wrting project (an undated version of a book from a few years ago), I finally got to the new stuff. I was about to abandon it until I finished the chapters that are being revised, now I am excited about it again.

“A good theory helps predict what could be.” Not going to argue against that one.

For decades, we have heard how computers are going to change everything in education. Why is it that we have school leaders who cannot manage the most simple tasks?

"How will you use technology help us improve our communication?"

Communication is a problem within your organization. It cannot be solved with technology.

Attuning your ear to your #students (paraphrasing Confucius) is a lesson most #teachers learn too late in their careers, and those who become administrators (IMHO) rarely learn, and when they do they dismiss it. #education

Open book tests throughout the term, then closed for the final? Yeah... if we want to encourage learning through the entirety of the course.

Desirable difficulties. Some good ideas in education never get our attention.

If your class is structured for short-term memory, why are you bothering? Why should your students?

When adopting new technologies, two complementary questions seem necessary: “Does this meet our need?” *and* “What is possible now that wasn’t previously?”

We too often stop after the first, and miss opportunities for creative and innovative changes.

Being asked to clean out my email is like being asked to sweep up the beach.

Sorry folks, but it is 2026. You should not have to ask, "How do I start a Google Meet?"

I get you may have never done it, but just type it in to Google and follow the directions.

“The theatre of innovation” is my newest favorite term!

I encountered “capacity build” in a question... “How do we ‘capacity build’ for...?”

Let’s stop this use of that phrase. Immediately.

I encountered “capacity build” in a question... “How do we ‘capacity build’ for...?”

Let’s stop this use of that phrase. Immediately.

Was the failure do to a lousy implementation or a lousy idea?

When you have been "taught" to distrust authority, then you become incapable of critically evaluating the credibility of messages.

As computers become central to learning, everyone involved in IT management must step up to understand the complex services that keep schools running.