Head of School Blog - Thinking About School

Schools and Society

Thanks again to the Board and Wooster community for supporting my time at the Klingenstein Center this past year. Follow the link below to an article that I wrote for Independent School Magazine that was inspired by my time there, and my experiences these past five years at Wooster School.

Was ……

Posted by Matt Byrnes in Learning, Thinking on Tuesday June 5, 2018 at 12:41PM

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Tags: communication, journey, learning, reflection, relationships, teaching, thinking, Wooster School

Why Do We Reflect?

“We focus on the outside world in education and don’t look much at inwardly focused reflective skills and attentions, but inward focus impacts the way we build memories, make meaning and transfer that learning into new contexts. So what are we doing in schools to support kids turning inward?”

-- ……

Posted by Matt Byrnes in Learning, Thinking on Wednesday November 30, 2016 at 08:30AM

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Tags: journey, learning, reflection, relationships, thinking

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Matt Byrnes

Matt Byrnes
Head of School

Latest Posts

Schools and Society
Thanks again to the Board and Wooster community for supporting …
The Story of a Cookie
As more and more evidence emerges about the profound effects of…
Why Do We Reflect?
“We focus on the outside world in education and don’t look much…

What I Have Been Reading:

Fiction:

The Martian, Andy Weir

Not just for sci-fi fans. Fun, exciting, and interesting story about what it would be like to survive on Mars.

Sold, Patrica McCormick

The story of a 12 year-old Nepalese girl who is sold into slavery in the sex trade of India. Based upon true accounts. Tough to read, but important to read as well because human trafficking is a real, and growing, problem.

Non-fiction for Fun:

The Boys in the Boat, Daniel J. Brown

Great story and some very interesting history.

An Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle, Rick Atkinson

The first two books of the Liberation Trilogy will teach you a lot about the evolution of our involvement in World War Two.

About School, Thinking, Teaching, Learning, etc.:

Why Children Don’t Like School, Daniel Willingham

Lots of neuroscience well-connected to the life of school, teaching, and learning.

Make it Stick, Peter Brown, et al.

More neuroscience but a deeper dive into how we (and students) can “forget less” if we make some changes to our behaviors, routines, and assessments. Our faculty read this past summer.

Leadership, Innovation, and making things work:

The Hard Thing about Hard Things, Ben Horowitz

How successful start-ups and innovators work.

Things a Little Bird Told Me, Biz Stone

Twitter Founder writes about his journey -- a great read for any teenager or parent of one.