In the Aesop fable “The fox and the grapes” a fox discovers some beautiful and presumably delicious grapes, but they are out of reach. Unable to find a solution, the fox decides the grapes were sour anyway.

“Sour grapes” is now a metaphor about conflicting emotions: desire and frustration. Many educators see the grapes, such as individualized learning, durable skills (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, etc.), emotional resilience, and love of learning. Those goals have seemed like dreams, prevented by constraints on teachers, schools, and students. It’s easy for unrealized hopes to get shrouded by tactical fires and more achievable aims. Inevitably, the sour grapes vibe sinks in.

Sweet GrAIpes is a newsletter about stepladders to educational grapes. The rewards really are sweet, but there are a lot of ways to screw it up too. I will discuss many facets of AI and it’s use in education, but Sweet GrAIpes isn’t entirely about AI. AI is a potential enabler, not the goal. Much of my writing is about cognition, curriculum, pedagogy, and leadership. My consulting business spans K-12, higher education, and corporate or continuing education. Sometimes I’ll focus in on one, but often I express notions that apply to every level.

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