Ep. 11 | Dr. John Gould: Opening Up Our Hearts, Minds, and Wills

How do we open up our minds to allow all forms of information to come in? How can we open up our hearts in order to understand at a visceral level what life is about at any given moment? How do we open up our will to allow future possibilities to emerge?Dr. Gould has more than 50 years of in-depth experience in the educational field, in which he has specialized on issues surrounding systemic change, leadership development, curriculum innovation, and the effective implementation of new technologies in learning environs. His studies and work in these areas are a natural outgrowth of his advanced degrees in education, including both an M.S. from Duquesne University and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Presently, Dr. Gould is a Clinical Professor at Drexel University’ School of Education and the Program Director for Educational Administration Program.His work and research are informed by a first-hand familiarity with organizational issues, having worked as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, and in other leadership positions within Pennsylvania school districts. Some specifics of this work include: restructuring the organization of schools featuring elementary multi-age grouping and interdisciplinary grouping at the secondary level; creating strong business/school partnerships to help students develop the application of their learning to real-world experiences; experiences with overseeing and developing cyber-charter schools; and led the innovative planning processes in many school districts. At Drexel he was a co-designer of the Educational Doctorate Program in Educational Leadership and Change which has been in existence for the past 10 years. The program recently received the 2019 Program of the Year from the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate.Dr. Gould has penned many articles on school innovation and sustainability. Throughout his career, he presented workshops at the local, state, and national levels focused on rethinking the design of schools. He also has served as the project manager in charge of crafting a "shared vision and action plan" for former Governor Tom Ridge's Pennsylvania Education Network (PEN). Dr. Gould is grounded in “systems thinking” and has a strong commitment to the concept of  “learning organizations.” The essential question he asks all to consider is: given the rapid changes in social media, medicine, nanotechnology, the environment, and globalization, how do we cope with the need to innovate new learning environs for creating a sustainable future for our children? Recommended Books:The Regenerative Life21 Lessons for the 21st Century