Peter Driscoll Biography
I learned first-hand what Steven Covey calls "The Law of the Farm," the repetitious cycle of planning, preparation, planting, tending, harvesting and evaluation, growing up on a dairy farm in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. In addition to farming, we bottled our milk and sold it in homes, machines, schools and stores. My work on the farm and the milk business gave me a complex network of relationships and the foundation for my understanding of community and systems.
I attended the USAF Academy for two years after high school graduation, this was one of the most memorable experiences of my young life. I completed my undergraduate education at Eastern Michigan University and began working with Severely Emotionally Impaired students as a childcare worker at Hawthorn Center in Northville, Michigan. The staff was kind and patient as they trained me and laid the groundwork for my lifetime of work with at-risk youth.
Dr. Fritz Redl was working at Hawthorn then as a consultant; it was an honor and a privilege to learn first hand from this pioneer in the field of educating troubled youth. I loved the work at Hawthorn and enrolled in a masters program to become a Teacher of the Emotionally Impaired. Attending night classes, I took a job as a Recreational Therapist at Children’s Psychiatric Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. There I developed skills in experiential learning and a respect for the role physical education, art and music can play in child development.
I went on to teach for 26 years at Starr Commonwealth School in Albion, Michigan, a residential treatment center for court adjudicated boys. Starr was also committed to the education of the whole child; using physical education, adventure education, fine arts and spirituality within their psycho-educational model. The Life Space Crisis Intervention program used by Starr is a continuation and expansion of Fritz Redl’s pioneering work.
I began studying the work of Dr. William Glasser in 1993, and became a Glasser Institute Faculty Member in 1998. Learning and applying Choice Theory to my personal and professional life is an ongoing process. The journey to Quality never ends.
Educational Renewal is now the focus of my professional life. The combination of Glasser’s work as it has evolved over the last 40+ years and building Professional Learning Communities, forms the framework for this renewal effort. I believe that transforming ourselves, and our schools, is the best hope we have of meeting the myriad challenges and opportunities facing us at this unique and fascinating time in human history.
Continually Improving Schools
Glasser Institute Certification
Success With At-Risk Students
Math Differentiated Instruction
Professional Coaching
