“As Bloom once told a reporter: “We were looking for exceptional kids and what we found were exceptional conditions”. […] The “exceptional conditions” we found can be summarized under the headings of opportunity to learn, authentic tasks, and exceptionally supportive social contexts.” ~ Lauren Sosniak, p289. I found this quote here in Doing What Works in Solutions Focussed Change and it got me thinking about my work, parenting and change. In my last post, What are you a student of right now?, I shared this little word-graphic on the fields and practices that shape my learning … As parents we …

For the last few years I have been learning more and more about the human condition, our mental models and the mindsets that shape our behaviour and decisions. Chris Corrigan provides a very nice description of ‘mental models’ in his paper on Participatory Engagement … “Mental models are those frames of reference that define our thinking and how we view the world. They are frames that we take for granted, and to view our own mental models is a bit like trying to see the color of our own eyes without a mirror.” Because our own models of world are …

I’m excited because over the next 4 weeks I have 4 days of reflective and learning time set aside with some wonderful people. Next week, I am spending the better part of 3 days with a group of people who follow each other’s blogs, share a similar workspace and push the boundaries of learning and practice. Can’t wait for that. And to make things even better I have a paid job with the 3 Pillars Network and a NETWORK of 30 or so practitioners in the behaviour change field … and to be more specific that’s behaviour change that relates …

Given the volume of tweets that I share with the world that are about growing, harvesting, preparing and eating food, is it any surprise that we have set up a blog called Home Harvesting? But one day … Ingrid turned to me and said something that resonated instantly in both of us … and of course I tweeted it … This summer has produced a bountiful harvest at home. We have struggled to keep up with the fruit, vegetables and eggs we have produced. For the first time, nothing has gone to waste – we have harvested, prepared, consumed (and …

On the topic of what’s UNREASONABLE in the world, Seth started a useful list here … Andy built on the list here … and I am continuing the trend here. I don’t agree with any of these statements (of course!) and their impact is in the gut reaction they evoke. I think there is a workshop activity in this … small groups crafting ‘unreasonable’ statements to unnerve and disrupt the status quo in their world. My List – inspired, in part, by the things that I notice that leave me asking “Why!?!” It’s unreasonable to expect government agencies to launch a community …