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Just knowing or the importance of your gut in leadership

On Monday, I was involved in a brilliant session with staff of Ardrishaig Primary School (APS) in Argyll. It was a review and reflection of the past twelve months and a consideration of how the school has progressed. Despite the lockdowns much progress has been made. How do we know? Feedback from parents, pupils and members of staff; survey…

by eagles32 May 27, 2021

by eagles32 November 9, 2020November 9, 2020

Everyone will be back at school – or will they?

So, the Scottish Government has spoken, and it looks like it will be everyone back in our schools from 11th August. I have a question that has been nagging at me all during the lockdown and consequent school closures. Will everyone, in fact, be back in the secondaries? I ask this question after many years of experience as a…

by eagles32 July 31, 2020

Assessment – My road to Damascus

After my blog about exam day next week and my belief in the need for a change in our assessment practices, I’d like to share where this has all come from. Some 15 years ago or so, when I was Head at Govan High, I was part of a small, dynamic group looking at where the…

by eagles32 July 30, 2020

Just what do exam results tell us?

This terrible Coronavirus crisis has many implications. As one of the very fortunate who has kept healthy (thus far), I have found that I have more thinking time while I spend my days around the house with my family. Some of this I devote to matters educational. I have long had a bee in my bonnet about…

by eagles32 July 29, 2020

Robert Burns and Organisational Culture

I was delivering the Immortal Memory at a Burns Lunch yesterday. Being a Burns fan, and a speaker, it’s something I do a lot at this time of year. My enjoyment of haggis is undiminished despite the frequency with which it is set before me. As you go to speak at different places, the haggis you are served…

by eagles32 January 29, 2020

Over the Top

My son Cameron and I had a boys’ night out last night. We went to the local cinema at the Waterfront to see Sam Mendes’s First World War film 1917. It is not just a film; it is an experience. You feel as if you are in the trenches and crossing No Man’s Land with Schofield and Blake and…

by eagles32 January 15, 2020

Smile!

I take regular email newsletters from Dan Pink, the American author, journalist, and television host. His most recent Pinkcast was based upon incivility in our society. He cited “Trolls. Road rage and social media weaponized to destroy. We face an epidemic of incivility.” The Pinkcast had a simple antidote from Professor Christine Porath, a Georgetown University Professor of Management, and the USA’s leading researcher…

by eagles32 November 23, 2019

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

I came across this quotation from the Dalai Lama on LinkedIn and then tweeted it. Why did it resonate with me to the extent that I would take the trouble to circulate it in this way? Well, there is a story … In my new business venture, I have come into contact with a couple…

by eagles32 October 8, 2019

Leadership lessons from a golf outing

As the new session gets under way in Scottish schools, I have been reflecting on how I have been spending my summer. Last month, I was away on my annual golfing trip with 3 pals. It has been going on for around 20 years and the format has remained more or less the same having 3 nights…

by eagles32 August 26, 2019

The Great P1 Testing Stramash

As a football fan, and a native of Greenock, I always felt a great connection with the celebrated sports journalist and fellow Greenockian, Arthur Montford. Famed for his bold checked sports jackets and enthusiasm for football, Arthur was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow when I was an undergraduate there. His campaign was peppered by quotable…

by eagles32 June 14, 2019June 14, 2019

A thought provoking day in the capital

I responded positively to an invitation to attend Curriculum for Excellence 2.0 The Gaitherin’ on Saturday past in Edinburgh. It was described as an ‘unconference’ which was intriguing. The focus was very much on the involvement of all the participants with limited input from facilitators Rowena Arshad, Neil McLennan and Robin Macpherson. The event had high level aspirations. It…

by eagles32 June 10, 2019June 10, 2019

A new venture

As you are reading this, you have obviously found the web site! As part of what is on offer at Iain White Creative Leadership, I hope to comment on a regular basis through this blog on current happenings in leadership, education and society in general terms. Whatever is here will hopefully contribute to the general…

by eagles32 May 30, 2019