Summary: In this episode, Will Richardson talks with Rodney Bowler and Aaryn Schmuhl from Henry County Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. Rodney is District Superintendent for Henry County Schools, while Aaryn is Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Leadership.<br> <br> Highlights of their conversation include:<br> <br> Why being intentional by being courageous at the same time are really important dispositions for the leadership of a change movement.<br> Why we have to change our metrics of success and start thinking differently about what makes the kids life ready. How do you measure the immeasurable?<br> Why sometimes a hard reboot is what a school or District really needs.<br> What does giving students voice really mean, and what are the implications for their learning?<br> Why it’s not about tailoring content to kids, but rather it’s about giving kids the power to learn how to tailor content to themselves. How do you do that?<br> How do you get teachers to be authentic project based learners as well?<br> The importance of moving away from the sit and get or the spray and pray models of professional learning and really challenging teachers to engage in ways that are meaningful to them and building out competency based kind of professional development expectations for teachers.<br> Why the biggest pressure point right now in schools is relevance?<br> Why its important to be very intentional and tell people that they have permission to stop doing things.<br> How their community became a pressure point for change.<br> Why the chocies in change are too often limited to moves that teachers make based on what they think they can do, instead of what they should do.<br> Why a willingness to be transparent to engage them in broader community discussions requires parents to be a part of our redesigned teams at our schools.<br> <br> Transcript for the Show<br> <br> Well hey again everyone. I'm Will Richardson and I want to welcome you to Season 1 of the 2017 Modern Learners Podcast where this year we’re scouring the world for schools and districts that are raising the bar when it comes to thinking about relevant and sustainable change process that’s centered on shifting agency over learning to the learner and in creating a culture both in schools and in their communities that embraces constant change and innovation.<br> <br> Transparency, self-reflection and a commitment to learning together as adults and students all play a big role in their work. I've learned a great deal from their efforts and I'm sure you will too.<br> <br> Remember, if you want to learn more about this podcast series about our whitepapers or our master classes or about our new eight-week course on modern leadership that we’re launching in March check out our private Modern Learners Facebook Group or head on over to ModernLearners.com where you can sign up for our amazingly interesting and informative weekly newsletter that checks all the opportunities and challenges of learning today.<br> <br> But for now sit back and enjoy my conversation with Rodney Bowler and Aaryn Schmuhl. Thanks for listening. I'm just wondering what the kind of burning question is that’s driving the work in Henry County right now.<br> <br> Rodney Bowler: Sure. That’s a great question too and it’s one that we feel like we finally have been able to come to terms with and then that really is the students that we’re serving. We’ve been able to do really move away from being stuck in the box of having to protect the adult practices and traditional methodology in order to be able to really look at how we best serving our students and are they really getting exactly what they need in order to be successful within the content and within the curriculum and within the educational environment. And when we ask that question in our traditional methodology the answer is no. <br> <br>
