This is the 27th (and hopefully final) draft of my presentation to the California League of Schools (12/17)

1. PJ Caposey
California League of Schools
GIVE UP CONTROL:
GAIN EVERYTHING

2. DR. PJ CAPOSEY
@MCUSDSupe
pcaposey@gmail.com
815.980.0310

3. Cray Cray,
Whatevs,
and Duh
COMMON UNDERSTANDING

4. BELIEFS/
PHILOSOPHY
YOUR
QUESTIONS
TACTICS

5. TACTICS ARE COMMODITIZED
 Definition of COMMODITIZE
 commoditized; commoditizing
 transitive verb
 COMMODIFY commoditizing bandwith; specifically : to render (a good or
service) widely available and interchangeable with one provided by
another company

6. SNEAK PREVIEW

7. MY OPERATING SYSTEM
CONCEPT
MENTAL
WRESTLING
OPINION
FORMATION
ACTION
HABIT OR ‘meh’
As a result, I
will PUSH hard
to make you
uncomfortable
to cause the
necessary
mental
wrestling

10. CONTROL IN LIFE
 Time
 Security
 Internet security
 Confidentiality
 Finances
 Religion
 Diet
 Intimacy
 How present you are when you are present
 Image

11. OUR OWN HYPOCRISY

12.  Time
 Late to meetings
 Frustrated when partner sleeps in or wants to get started too early
 Schedule meetings at our convenience even if potentially too early or
too late for others without clear rationale
 Diet
 How much do you wish you could tell people whether they can or
cannot eat gluten?
 How frustrating is it when you do not control the menu or restaurant
selection?
TIME AND DIET

13.  Security
 Gun debate
 Locking doors vs. not locking doors
 Finances
 I can spend 150 dollars on drinks with buddies, but my wife should
not buy a new pair of shoes
 When, what, and how much to invest
SECURITY AND FINANCES

14. CONTROL IN SCHOOLS
 EVERYTHING, but we are starting to fight it
 Bells herd kids to class
 They sit in rows
 Most classes have one correct answer or goal
 Time is fixed, learning is variable
 Assignments look more like recipes than creative expressions
 We ban tools that define our ‘real world’
 Use grades as weapons
 Ignore what we know are appropriate practices because logistics get
in the way
 Do not adapt curriculum as the world changes
 Content area experts that are not well versed in learning

15. THINK ABOUT THIS
 Who decreed to achieve a ‘Carnegie Unit’ (credit) a
student should spend around 90 days in a class
 Who decreed that someone must be 18 years old to be
successful in college or career
 Who decreed 50 minutes per class was the appropriate
amount of time
 Who decreed that all learners should
be grouped with their age group in
spite of ability

17. FLIES IN THE FACE OF RESEARCH ON
MOTIVATION

18. SO, WHAT IS THE POINT?
 School is very good for the adults
 School is very good at logistics
 School is very good at being efficient
 School is very good at teaching compliance
 School is not very good at creating leaders and critical
thinkers
 School is not very good at change
 School is not very good at ‘selling’ itself to the consumer

19. THINK OF IT THIS WAY . . .
 If we were to invent it . . .

21. TACTICS ARE
COMMODOTIZED

22. SO, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN
FOR ME?
Research
 Hattie
 Marzanno
 Their intersect
Trends
 One to One
 Personalized
 Student-Centered

23. WHERE DO I START?

24. TTT VS STT

25. LOVE YOUR KIDS MORE
THAN YOUR CONTENT

26. NO RECIPES

27. DIFFERENTIATION DOES NOT JUST OCCUR

28. START WITH THE PHYSICAL SPACE

29. QUESTIONS ARE NOT VERBAL PAUSES

30. LEARNING BOUND BY FOUR WALLS

31. When we care about
something deeply,
we find a way – not an
excuse
MAKE THE SYSTEM WORK FOR YOU

32. WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO GET FIRED
FOR?

33. CAN SCHOOL LOOK LIKE IT DOES TODAY
IN 2027?
 That is your courage
 That is your moral imperative

34. STUDENT BILL OF RIGHTS
Every day, every child deserves
To be loved
To be supported
To be challenged
To be forced to think critically
To be fully aware of what is expected of
them to be successful

35. CONTROLSOME GREAT QUOTES