The Learning Curve - Leadership Shorts

Learning Curve – Leadership ShortsWhere the complexities of education become the lessons we learn togetherExcerpt from Season 2 I Episode 7What You’ll Learn in This Episode:Some people are built to do what others won't. For a teenager it's saying: the instinct you have to speak up when something is wrong, to name what everyone else is pretending not to see, to stay the course when the room wants y...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Season 2 I Episode 6 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Last week I was thinking about orienteering. If you've never done it — let me explain. The World Economic Forum just handed us the map. Produced by Dr. James Crawford. © 2026 James Crawford. All rights reserved.

Learning Curve – Leadership ShortsWhere the complexities of education become the lessons we learn togetherExcerpt from Season 2 I Episode 5What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Freedom is one of the most celebrated ideas in American life. But somewhere along the way, we started treating it as if it came alone — without the responsibility that makes it mean something. In this episode, we trace that di...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Season 2 I Episode 4 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Who is Amanda Ido? This episode is about why that matters. Not just for me — but for all of us. Produced by Dr. James Crawford. © 2026 James Crawford. All rights reserved.

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Season 2 I Episode 3 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: What is Resilience – this time I share my learning through personal and professional experiences that have taught me about what resilience means. Produced by Dr. James Crawford. © 2026 James Crawford. All rights reserved.  

Learning Curve – Leadership ShortsWhere the complexities of education become the lessons we learn togetherExcerpt from Season 2 | Episode 2 What You'll Learn in This Episode: I've spent more than twenty years inside public education asking the same question in different buildings, different districts, different states. Why do we keep getting the same results? This episode is my answer. And it star...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Season 2 I Episode 1 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Season Two starts here — and this time, it's me. I'm starting Season Two with something I can't stop thinking about. Across this country, I'm sitting in rooms where district leaders stand up and name their outcomes — honest...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 10 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Before we talk about funding, programs, or the next big initiative, there's a more important step most systems skip: Zoom Out. In this leadership short, we step back from individual issues. We look at Washington State's education sys...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 9 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In Episode 9, we discuss how reading success doesn't happen by accident - and it doesn't happen naturally. This episode extends our special education focus from episode 8. Produced by Dr. James Crawford. © 2025 James Crawford. All rig...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 8 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Leadership rarely unfolds under ideal conditions. More often, leaders are asked to move systems forward while expectations are changing, resources are limited, and communities are still adjusting to decisions that were necessary—but d...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 7 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Once leaders are deep in the work—leading turnarounds, making high-stakes decisions, and carrying system-level responsibility—critique often comes from many directions. This episode focuses on a simple but powerful leadership move for...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 6 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Before leaders can navigate competing truths, they have to answer a more basic question: What actually counts as a fact? In this episode, we unpack the difference between truth, facts, findings, and interpretations — and why confusing...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 5 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Episode 5 takes the debate from Episode 4 — systems vs. expectations — and shows what leadership actually looks like when both truths collide in real life. You’ll hear how leaders work through complex decisions with their teams throug...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 4 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Episode 4 brings together the threads from Episodes 1, 2, and 3 and asks one of the biggest questions in public education: Do children struggle because of the systems surrounding them, or because of the expectations adults hold for th...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 3 “The Balcony View: Seeing Children, Systems, and Community as One” What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The balcony view is a leadership skill. It helps us step out of the noise of daily work. From this perspective, we can see how early childhood conditions, community su...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 2 “The Hidden Space Behind School Decisions: Risk Management, Liability & the Real Forces That Shape Districts” What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Behind every school board decision, behind every new initiative, behind every “yes” or “no,” there is an invisible syste...

Learning Curve – Leadership Shorts Where the complexities of education become the lessons we learn together Excerpt from Episode 1 “Why Reading by Third Grade Isn’t About Third Grade at All” What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Reading by third grade isn’t about third grade — it begins at birth. If we want better literacy outcomes, we must improve the early conditions that shape a child’s brain, lan...