Principled

Welcome to the Principled podcast.

In this episode, Matt Hall and Naomi Ward of Making Stuff Better are joined by renowned poet and theologian, Pádraig Ó Tuama.

They're kicking off their exploration of systemic and organisational health from the perspective of a poet, discussing poetry as an unpredictable language event; the important secondary purpose of all organisations that should not be overlooked; and the role of courage and innovation in teaching .

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To get in touch with Pádraig , you can find him online here:

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/p%C3%A1draig-%C3%B3-tuama-4a7b36225

Website : https://www.padraigotuama.com/

Podcast : https://onbeing.org/series/poetry-unbound/

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To get in touch, please find us online here:

Website: https://makingstuffbetter.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingstuffbetterltd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Makstubet/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingstuffbetter/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stuff_better?lang=en

Additional links to follow:

Matt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/

Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

Principled is back!

Welcome to Season 2 of the Principled podcast.

In this episode, Matt Hall and Naomi Ward of Making Stuff Better introduce their mission statement for an exciting second season.

This time, we're exploring organisational health. What does it mean to create healthy systems? And how can we overcome the challenges currently faced by leaders in education?

With the help of some fantastic guests, Matt and Naomi invite you on a journey to explore how we can promote safe spaces full of opportunity.

So join us as we find out what the people at the forefront of education, systems thinking, ecology, consultancy and many more industries are doing to protect these spaces for the generations to come.

Stay tuned for more episodes of Principled.

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To get in touch, please find us online here:

Website: https://makingstuffbetter.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingstuffbetterltd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Makstubet/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingstuffbetter/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stuff_better?lang=en

Many international schools are working hard on confronting issues of inequality, justice and global politics. Involving the wider school community can be challenging without a guide or a framework to follow. Our guest in this episode, Homa Tavanger, poses some thoughtful questions to start the conversation.

In this wide-ranging discussion, we talk about student activism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, thinking about the future in a liminal age, and confronting colonial heritage.

Homa Tavangar is the co-founder of the Big Questions Institute and the Oneness Lab.

She brings 30+ years’ experience helping diverse organizations and individuals to build cultural, racial and global competence, strategic governance, and visionary, generative leadership in diverse schools and organizations. She coaches leaders on accountability for equity, leading through crisis, and advises on strategic design and planning across five continents. She has co-authored seven books for educators, and is the author of best-selling Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World (published by Random House) and Global Kids (Barefoot Books). Her most recent publication is 12 Big Questions Schools Must Answer to Create Irresistible Futures with Will Richardson (forthcoming, 2025).

A graduate of UCLA and Princeton, Homa was born in Iran, has lived on four continents, speaks four languages, and has heritage in four world religions. She serves on several Boards, including ISS (International Schools Services) and is a judge for the Templeton Prize, considered the “world’s most interesting prize” with a purse calibrated to exceed the Nobel Prize. She is married and the mother of three adult daughters, and resides in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

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Find out more about MSB and download our paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools, at www.makingstuffbetter.com

Contact the team about our Futures-Focused Pledge at https://zcal.co/t/makingstuffbetter/talktotheteam

You can find us on Linked in at

Matt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/

Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

Saving the planet can seem a daunting and overwhelming task, so how do we communicate the scale of the problem with hope and excitement in our schools? In this episode, we’re joined by three educators to discuss the domain of ecology and nature with a futures focus.

Kenny Peavey, originally from Georgia, USA, has over 23 years of experience teaching across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. Currently, he teaches Science, Math, and Regeneration in a dynamic outdoor setting at Green School Bali Middle School.
He has led thousands of students on experiential expeditions throughout Southeast Asia focused on cultural immersion, ecology, adventure, and service learning. Passionate about sustainability, Kenny has undertaken initiatives like cycling from Thailand to Bali on a bamboo bike to promote environmental awareness and kayaking around Phuket to highlight marine conservation.
He is also the author of The Box People - Out of the BOX!, a children’s book that encourages sustainable communities and connection with nature. Recognized for his commitment to environmental education and conservation, Kenny has received Volunteer of the Year awards from both Georgia Adopt-A-Stream and the Malaysian Nature Society.

Rose Scavotto is MYP & DP Biology & ESS Teacher and EcoSchools Coordinator at Benjamin Franklin International School. As a sustainability-focused educator, whose strengths include interdisciplinary work and hands-on projects, her goal is to create global citizens with a passion for bettering the world.

Tatiana Ramirez is the Founder of Sustainability at School. Tatiana is on a mission to inspire and engage change makers to create a more sustainable and just world for the generations to come. She leverages 15 years of experience in sustainability education to amplify the positive impact of international schools on social and environmental justice.
Tatiana helps schools align their strategy and actions with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aims to foster cross-sector collaboration to drive lasting and systemic change.
In previous projects, Tatiana has advised international schools in Spain and Germany through their systemic transformation and the Eco School certification process. She has also initiated and facilitated partnerships with the Jane Goodall Institute, UNICEF and Foundation Airbus.

Our guests shared the following resources -

https://kennywpeavy.medium.com/regenerative-education-teaching-and-learning-that-heals-and-restores-4c82b445b3d6

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o9WBd-Sr4rBypLCMbeiRsjN5ed6qKxTl/view

https://www.gerhardcenter.org/resources-and-articles/what-is-regenerative-education

https://compasseducation.org/

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Find out more about MSB and download our paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools, at www.makingstuffbetter.com

Contact the team about our Futures-Focused Pledge at https://zcal.co/t/makingstuffbetter/talktotheteam

You can find us on Linked in at

Matt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/

Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

Welcome to the Principled podcast.

In this episode, Matt Hall and Gill Kelly of Making Stuff Better talk to Mel Ellis.
They discuss various topics based around the theme of belonging, including: the role a curriculum plays in fostering a sense of identity; how to handle the process of a teacher arriving and leaving in a holistic way; and how wider issues such as agency, context and geography can affect that sense of belonging.

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To get in touch, please find us online here:

Website: https://makingstuffbetter.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingstuffbetterltd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Makstubet/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingstuffbetter/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stuff_better?lang=en

Additional links to follow:

Matt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/

Gill Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillkelly/

Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/