Welcome to my final blog post of 2014, and what has become an annual tradition — My “Top 3″ lists for the year. Previous Top 3 lists for 2013 (here) 2012 (here), 2011 (here) and 2010 (here). Hopefully, you will find a link or video or some other information you may not have seen over the past 12 months. The “Top 3” is more about starting discussions and sharing than ranking and sorting.
Top 3 “Culture of Yes” Blog Posts which have generated the most traffic this year:
1. Teacher
2. Trying to Understand the Fencing Phenomenon
Top 3 “Culture of Yes” Blog Posts I have started and really want to finish:
1. How and Why High School Sports are Dying
2. What Schools Can Learn from the Transformation in Public Libraries
3. Early Academic Specialization
Top 3 regularly used Edu words that show you are from BC:
1. “networks” like the Network of Inquiry and Innovation
2. “competencies” like the Core Competencies that are part of the draft curriculum
3. “principles” like the First Peoples Principles of Learning
Top 3 TEDx Videos from WestVancouverED (that you may not have seen):
1. Getting Beyond “No” – Judy Halbert
2. The Creative Destruction of Education – Punit Dhillon
3. The Power of ummmm . . . – Kath Murdoch
Top 3 Education Stories people will be talking about in BC in 2015:
1. Communicating Student Learning, — or what most people call report cards, will continue to be a growing topic with more BC districts looking for alternatives, particularly at the pre-Grade 8 level
2. The Graduation Program DRAFT curriculum was posted for K-9 and despite being very different from past models, was met with general support. There will likely be far more debate on this as the focus shifts to Grades 10 to 12, and the traditional schooling model of senior grades is challenged.
3. Aboriginal Education — What separates the changes in education in BC from most other jurisdictions in the world is that BC is embracing Aboriginal principles in its changes. The First Peoples Principles of Learning (PDF) are reflected in so much of the current BC work.
Top 3 BC Superintendent Bloggers I didn’t tell you about last year:
1. Monica Pamer – Superintendent of Schools, Richmond
2. Kevin Kaardal – Superintendent of Schools, Burnaby
3. Mark Thiessen – Superintendent of Schools, Cariboo Chilcotin
Top 3 Thinkers from outside British Columbia who are currently influencing work in BC:
1. Yong Zhao (you will likely hear much more about him in 2015)
2. Dean Shareski (you won’t see him as a keynote at a big conference, but he is connected to the powerful digital network in BC)
3. Stuart Shanker (Mr. Self-Reg himself)
Top 3 Videos that have a link between school, sports and overcoming adversity:
1.E360 – Catching Kayla, is one of the most powerful stories I have ever seen
2. High School Basketball Player Passes Ball (okay, so it is from 2013, but I didn’t see it until this year)
3. One handed player gets a shot at college basketball
Top 3 Things I am going to stop doing because they seem hypocritical:
1. Sitting in on a session of 500 people for professional development, and listening to someone speak about the need for personalization
2. Accepting comments that suggest there is some debate whether technology is part of the future for modern learners
3. Giving my kids ‘high-fives’ when they get a happy-face sticker on their worksheets (okay, that doesn’t really happen now)
Top 3 Non-education people I started following on Twitter:
2. Chris Rock
3. Tweet of God
Top 3 BCers I started following on Twitter:
1. Paul Bae /You Suck Sir — if you follow him on Twitter, do yourself a favour and subscribe to his blog!
2. Keith Baldrey — he gets Twitter and the mix of professional / personal and serious / funny
3. Roberto Luongo — I know he is not really from BC anymore, but he is one of the few athletes I follow
Top 3 Things I learned from my blog this year:
1. The digital community is an incredibly caring community that will rally around people they barely know
2. Commenting is down but reading is up
3. I’m getting more comfortable and more at ease with being more personal
Thanks to everyone who continue with me on this journey and the many new people who have engaged with me this year. I continue to love the opportunity blogging gives me to work out ideas, challenge ideas and serve as a living portfolio. I look forward to another great year together in 2015.
Chris Kennedy
cultureofyes.ca 
I am one of those “readers” that doesn’t always comment; sharing my thoughts today was intended as a metaphorical “high five” to say thank you! I appreciate your forward thinking and admire that in your role as Superintendent you model the importance of reflection as both a learner and educator. Your posts also reflect that you are very much in touch with what is happening in your schools and in education from the perspective of students, teachers, administrators, parents and the broader community. All the best in 2015; I’m sure you will meet the goals of your Top 3 list! PS – CBC had a great segement this weekend about the power of “lists” in catching online attention. This post is an excellent example of what they talked about and what makes your blog worth reading!
Thanks so much Shellie for the kind words. I get so much joy out of writing and my blog, it is so wonderful to get to use it to connect to others. All the best for a wonderful 2015 – thanks for taking the time to make my day!
Thanks Chris. Another reader, but infrequent commenter here. I always open your posts, read title, sub-headings, first paragraph then decide whether it’s my ‘thing’ or not. Like the comment above, I admit to enjoying the break of lists and white space. Your expertise and passion are what keeps me in education…even though I’m retired 🙂
Thanks that is very kind Becky. I am glad you are still engaged.
I enjoy this blog post every year. Thanks for all you do for children and their education in BC. Happy New Year to you and yours and all the best in 2015!
Thanks Errin. We have a wonderful digital community and while we usually find one or two times a year to see each other face-to-face it is great to be connected all year long through Twitter, blogs and other social tools.
Happy New Year!
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Hi Chris
Thank you for this post. I was so moved by the video Catching Kyla. I had a connection in that a couple of years ago I had a spinal tumour and my legs and brain stopped communicating. I had to relearn to walk following surgery. It is impossible to describe. While I eventually forged new neural pathways, Kyla could not and will not. Thank you for sharing this and for your ongoing posts that challenge and encourage us to keep thinking and learning.
Thanks Amy for sharing your connection. The Catching Kyla video is one of the most powerful videos I have ever seen.
It is wonderful to be part of such a connected community.
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