Chris Balme, education entrepreneur and author, on reimagining middle school
From the sunny shores of San Francisco – over 5,000 miles away from Oppidan HQ in Hammersmith – we're joined by Christopher Balme for the latest episode of Heads & Tales. Chris is an educational entrepreneur, author and reformer who's spent the last two decades reimagining how we support young people through their most formative years. He is the founding principal of Hakuba International School in the Japanese Alps, a project-based learning institution designed to put student voice and ownership at the heart of its pedagogy. Before Hakuba, he co-founded and led Millenium School in San Francisco, a pioneering middle school exploring how adolescent development, neuroscience and mentorship can combine to create a better school experience for kids of that age.
If his entrepreneurial itch weren't already scratched enough, Chris is also the founder of Argonaut, an online learning platform born out of the Covid pandemic, and a coveted Ashoka Fellow that recognises his contribution to education and social causes. His book Finding the Magic in Middle School was essential reading for Henry Faber, with few people having spent more time at the coal face of adolescent learning than Chris. His episode is a gem.
🎙️ Episode highlights
Chris shares the story of his first mentor: a fast-failing, people-connecting entrepreneur who showed him that tinkering beats perfection and generosity trumps ego.
He muses over the awkwardness of middle school, including his own embarrassing experiences at that age.
He is refreshingly candid discussing burnout as a headteacher and discusses stepping away from the school he founded, Millenium.
Chris compares modern schools to restaurants expected to be "Michelin starred", with the expectation burning educators out.
He makes the case for student advisory groups: tight-knit groups that stick together over three years and develop a school experience based on radical belonging.
"Coercion kills schools" – he wants to hand power back to the students, giving them genuine (not performative) choice.
He shares his parting words of advice for other educators, and how "deep" listening and simply getting out of their way is the ticket to let middle schoolers excel.