Leadership Coaching, Seminars & Consultation
Jeffrey facilitates on-going remote seminars to support adult learning on leadership, teaching, and learning.
Seminars are composed of staff who work in a single school, or within a district, or across districts. The seminars are small, 5- 10 people in each cohort, to develop a sense intimacy and trust, allowing us to dive deeply into our shared questions, reflections, and ideas. The cohorts generally meet every other week for 75 minutes; the option will always be open for the group to continue beyond that initial commitment. The meetings are scheduled for early evening, so participants have time to get home, have dinner, and take care of other responsibilities, before settling into a great conversation about this work that means so much to us and our communities.
Contact Jeffrey if you want to start a seminar, develop a seminar theme, discuss scheduling options, and learn about current pricing.
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An Alternative to Punitive Discipline That Really Holds Students Accountable
Read original Edutopia article here. “Mike” is misbehaving in class. The teacher does not want the flow of the lesson derailed. The teacher calls the main office to remove Mike from the room. Assistant Principal “Lee” arrives, determined that Mike be held accountable for the misbehavior, and assigns Mike to an in-school suspension for the […]
Schools as Committees
Of all the lessons in all the years of schooling, perhaps the most enduring ones come from being a member of a learning community, preparing the next generation to function in families, work places, religious centers, and in the streets of their neighborhoods. In this short video, I discuss making the community, not the individual student, […]
The Friction of Code Switching
I consulted to a school with students, ages 17-23, who had dropped out of their local high school. They were poor, of many ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Some were homeless; some had kids of their own. Their choice to return to public education was a triumph of optimism and willpower over the conditions of their […]
Epilogue from “Improve Every Lesson Plan with SEL”
The epilogue to my 2021 book, “Improve Every Lesson Plan with SEL” stands on its own as an essay. I ask us to ponder how schools replicate or challenge the vast inequalities in our country. I ask: “To what end, to what world view, are we relentlessly pushing students so hard?” I ask us to say the words poverty and capitalism.
The Art of Creating School-Wide CoherenceSchool initiatives need to allow space for flexibility and innovation
Finally, for all who have asked for years, the full explanation of “Interests, Uniformity, Guidelines and Inventions” to have a successful school initiative, including my school’s bulletin board story. A must read for leadership.
The Pressure is Cooking Us All
Most teachers get time each day when they are not with students in order to prepare—“prep period”–grading papers, responding to emails, researching for coming lessons, using the copy machine, developing PowerPoint slides, writing reports and evaluations for students with IEPs, using the bathroom, calling parents, consulting with the school nurse about a student’s medication, conferring […]
A Lesson from the Pandemic
The first year of the pandemic, when schools went hybrid and remote, was incredibly difficult—a principal said that he felt like he was juggling on a unicycle in a hurricane; teachers felt the same. Every day blew us into unchartered territory. We re-experienced the daily anxiety of being a first year professional—all new, all untested. We did our best to not crash. Kudos to all who hung in.
The Prevention Interview
What if we used the time usually spent punishing students to instead talk with them and makes plans in ways that help them succeed?
Why Atheists Love the Common Core…
Atheists don’t have faith in a higher power that they cannot see. This lack of faith marks them as historical relics from three hundred years ago, when handfuls of Europeans began to want proof, proof of everything from how the planets move to how snails find mates.
Be Special, Educator!
I am old enough to have been there at the beginning of special education, and fortunately, I completely missed the euphemism of “special.” I knew schools were filled with students who were disengaged, abused, overwhelmed, scared, with quirky learning difficulties that would not go away simply by avoiding the required reading and writing and math curricula.
Connect with Jeffrey Benson
Want to learn more about how Jeffrey can support your school or organization? Schedule at time to meet with Jeffrey to learn more about customized workshops and other services.