Jill McLachlan is an educator and author who has worked extensively with teachers across the sector. Her experiences, and clarity of thought, bring hope for change to educators, supporting people to practically grapple with what is required to embrace new ways of doing and being school. She is an advocate for approaches to teaching and learning that place relationships and deep thinking at the heart of practice.
Her much celebrated book ‘Unearthing Why’, co-authored with Clare Britt, brings together rich stories from practice, that celebrate children’s capacity to learn and think together. Whether she’s speaking, writing, teaching or leading – you can be sure Jill will be inviting educators to put rich theory into practice each and every day.
In 2019, Jill McLachlan was thrilled to take up a position as an Education Director at Blue Gum Community School to establish an additional campus of the school in Hornsby NSW. Opening this door has meant closing another. Although you will still find Jill popping up on the speaking circuit at conferences, in this new season, Jill will no longer be taking on consultancy work.
Although hanging up her hat as a consultant, Jill’s thinking will still be shared through blogging and future publications. If you’d like to stay in touch, or be the first to hear about new books coming out or where Jill is speaking next, please subscribe to our mailing list.
Unearthing Why – 2020 edition
It’s here! And it’s beautiful!
Unearthing Why – Stories of Thinking and Learning with Children is a collection of stories offering a distinct and hopeful outlook for the future of education. Each chapter invites you to consider the complexity and beauty of children’s capacity to learn, think and be together. Jill McLachlan’s and Clare Britt’s retelling of their experiences learning alongside children in prior-to-school and primary school based contexts will gently, but compellingly, invite you to join them in considering the deep purposes of education — questioning the ‘whys’, just below the surface, that inform ‘what’ and ‘how’ you teach.
Kath Murdoch
“… we found ourselves partnering with them, instead of leading them, honoured to be their co-researchers, instead of positioned as the source of information and facts to be taught.” (p.191)
It has taken me too long to get around to reading this superb book. I am so glad I have! I nodded vigorously throughout. I have read a LOT of books about inquiry, about child-centred approaches etc but rarely do I read one that captures the true essence of what it means to really BE an inquirer as you teach as this book does. The writing is beautiful and the wisdom and experience Jill McLachlan and Clare Britt bring to the text shines on each page. Although the text is targeted at the early years there is so much we can learn for our work with ALL children. A recommended read indeed.
Kath Murdoch, Education Consultant and Author of ‘The Power of Inquiry: Teaching and learning with curiosity, creativity and purpose in the contemporary classroom’
David Gilkes
‘Unearthing Why’ is incredibly accessible. It offers fantastic insights into rethinking how educators work with children, families and each other. The stories from classroom contexts and personal reflections add so much to the well-articulated theory of this book. I can already think of a number of ways I can use it with colleagues.
David Gilkes, Kindergarten Teacher & Education Consultant
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