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Mike McCabe

Director of Technology, The Foote School

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Let's build a school around the idea that motivation is internal, not external. Using the 20% Model like Atlassian, Google, and others.

If what Dan Pink says is true, you and I must take some time soon (now) to invest in our kids and grandkids. If we don't, they will fail.

Mr. Pink mentions a number of successful models which work because of passion, not monetary reward. His suggestion that Wikipedia, Gmail, and other successful products were created because people simply wanted to do them (and wanted to do them well) motivates me to explore the possible ways to create a school around that model. Even a 20% Time school where kids could do whatever they wanted at least one day a week could be a great start. Maybe integrating a peer-review process like Atlassian's FedEx Day and 20% Time programs have could help shape the initial groundwork.

Are you a teacher? Do you help run a school? Jot down your ideas (brief or detailed) about how we can make this work? Can we do a full-blown ROWE (Results-Oriented / Results-Only Work Environment) School?

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Topics: 20% Time education motivation schools teaching
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    Mark Barnes 10+

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    May 16 2011: The idea of results-only learning, creating a ROLE, is something I've been doing for a long time, with remarkable success. I have eliminated traditional methods, such as worksheets, homework, quizzing and grades. We use plenty of student choice, a workshop setting, year-long projects and narrative feedback, instead of points and percentages. Learn more at my blog posts on the gorowe.com blog and my ROLE Reversal blog at http://resultsonlylearning.blogspot.com/.
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      Mike McCabe

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      May 19 2011: Thanks for your comment and link to your blog, Mark. You have a great collection of information and resources. I'll definitely keep tabs on your blog to watch for posts I can use or pass on to my colleagues. Just out of curiosity, have the positive things you have seen so far made you wonder if there is even more value in eliminating grading altogether?

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