Matt Karlsen
A call for truth and reconciliation
Yesterday, we held one of our monthly Online Subscriber meet-ups. Susan and I were joined by Monica Martens, a teacher from Manitoba. She described how she…
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Finding our focus
We are eager to discover capabilities in ourselves and in children that we have not yet imagined. We accept the challenge to shape a new…
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Empathy, Agency, and Changemaking through Playful Inquiry: A study tour for international educators
“Today’s puzzle,” writes Jamie Holmes, “is to figure out what to do – in our jobs, relationships, and everyday lives – when we have no…
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Confronting the disimagination machine
Friday, a frustrated colleague texted me this worksheet that a teacher in her school had given to the kindergarteners she works with on an “accountable…
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Start a New Story
“Every story starts with the assumption there is some acceptable, canonical state of the world. What starts the story going is that the expectable, the…
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A new vision and mission for Portland Children’s Museum
As you may be aware, Opal School is part of a larger institution: Portland Children’s Museum. Portland Children’s Museum is an unusual project: A small…
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Who teaches us how to live in democracy?
In his column this week, David Brooks writes, “this year, we’ve been so besieged by Donald Trump’s shriveled nature that we sometimes forget what full…
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You get new ideas everywhere
At last week’s community gathering, the Willow Classroom of fourth- and fifth-graders shared the story of The Very Cranky Bear. After reading the book, they asked,…
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Pedagogical approaches and their political implications
Opal School led professional development workshops in Vancouver, BC last week. They were rich opportunities to connect and develop new ideas with educators in a…
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Courageous and Collaborative Communities: A report from the workshop
Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness. Brené Brown Last week, we hosted the…
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