Author: Patricia Angoy

Photo credit: PBS illustration - Jane Mount Thirteen years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned of the danger of the single story https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg and earlier still, the great Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, through her published work, interviews and refusal to be silenced or misrepresented, reminds us of the master narrative, imposed from the time of slavery … Continue reading Our thinking selves

Sunrise on Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA, September 2022 https://www.waterford.sz photo credit MASS Design Group https://www.massdesigngroup.org/ Many months have past since my last post and so much has happened in the intervening time, personally and professionally, ending with my retirement at the end of December 2022 and the beginning of a new rhythm to my life.  Most … Continue reading One person at a time

Statue of Mafalda, the most recognised character created by Joaquín Lavado (a) "Quino", in the "Paseo de la Historieta" in San Telmo, Buenos Aires According to a recent Harvard Study of 3 May 2022, about a quarter of school heads plan on resigning this year following the last two stressful years of leadership in schools … Continue reading “Stop the world! I want to get off.”

For over 400 years there has been a cry, a shout, a whisper and a silent prayer to be heard above the roar. Through the arts in poetry and prose, in music and dance, sculpture and painting, scientific and mathematical endeavour, medicine and ecology, politics and religion, all over the world there are those who … Continue reading Nine Minutes

We cannot go back to what we were on Friday 13 March 2020 when schools in Luxembourg were ordered to close their doors and move onto virtual platforms. Where we were then, was not where we should have been in our thinking on education. If that were the case, all our students would have been … Continue reading Friday 13

When things fall apart I look over my shoulder to those who came before me and to those who walk beside me to find meaning and way forward. I seek out this opportunity, not to pick up the same pieces as in a puzzle and try and put them back together but, to co-construct something … Continue reading When things fall apart

The complexity of Picasso’s Minotauromachy” of 1935 foreshadows time, our time. We observe the tenuous light of the young girl holding a candle to show the way and flowers, in the other hand as, perhaps, an offering of peace. These images find their way into contemporary times, our time, in which the enemy is seen … Continue reading Are Artists wiser than we think?

A little over a month ago, I was asked by a group of girls and boys in Grades 4 and 5, if they could start a Gender Equality Group. I was intrigued. I wondered what they understood by ‘gender equality’ and more importantly for me, why they thought a group like this was needed? What … Continue reading What is the difference we make?

We all come from many different places and spaces, seeking ways to make a positive impact on our world. As international school leaders, we may have insights into differing vistas, ideas and motivations. In my daily work, at school, I am constantly being fascinated by the ideas and actions of young people, some of them … Continue reading Possibilities for 2020

The lake near my home at sunset As countries, schools systems and individual schools are busy adopting curriculum content and pedagogy from PISA’s top ranking contributors, parents are easily swayed by the numbers – since data, it seems, doesn’t lie? In some areas, educators have created “readiness profiles” for students to reach. Are we really … Continue reading What we do and where we spend our time shows what we value