Hope for the Sunlight - Sat., May 6, 2017
Hope for the Sunlight. Losing a student is such a painful experience. It makes you even more appreciative of the present and the moments that you have. You look at every student and listen a lot closer when you realize that the moments that you have with them are finite. The days that I had as S.'s teacher were some of the sweetest - small classroom and lots of hands-on learning. Our school had him for seven years of his life, and his presence lives on everywhere on our school murals.
Here's the VISION for the school that I'm blessed to be leading. Your comments are always welcome!
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Tweeting - A Paradigm Shift - Tues., Feb. 14, 2017
Since today's the day for love, I have to say that I have never loved "tweeting." I was briefly introduced to it in the last class, but never really was motivated to really "tweet." Personally, it's a humility thing. My ideas are important, but are they important enough to share with the world? Maybe I'm too "old school" and that I had to wait to be called on by the teacher to share my thoughts. That's a paradigm shift to think that my ideas are valued and that others can learn from me. After watching the videos assigned for class, I've got a much greater understanding of WHAT it's for. I loved George Sieman's words "combinational creativity" and that knowledge is a network project. I've always looked at it as "one more thing to do," but the value is more evident now. I can even see where a # for my school could help with communication and knowledge sharing. I'm definitely more motivated to start using it as a tool in my daily life. When I set up my account years ago, I set it up with a lame account name because I didn't know any better. Here's my twitter LINK.
Monday, February 13, 2017
Change Project Pitch: Technology Fluency - Feb. 10, 2017
It's understandable that when you ask staff to ADD anything to their day, the elephant absolutely bucks the rider right off its back. And that's quite a height to fall from.
I've created a draft of my my pitch for change in my little school. Our change action would be supporting the long term change of students being fluent with technology in our school. The audience and/or stakeholders are the teachers. What I want from them is to have 15 min. a day dedicated to tech time. In order to motivate the elephant, I will provide teachers research that shows the need for computer skills for students. To direct the rider, I would limit it to just 15 min. a day. To create the path, I would have the students use 15 min. from their current 70 min. lunch (40 min.) and 30 min. (recess). By preparing the students in tech class how to use the programs, they will just use that time in class to reinforce their Keyboarding and Coding skills.
Here's my PITCH FOR 15 MIN. TECH TIME.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Understanding Leadership - Tues., Feb. 7, 2017
This week's assignment was to make a visual representation of my thoughts on the leadership readings this week. Though I used the topic "Leadership" as the center of my mind map, I really wanted to put lightning bolts out from all sides with the word CHANGE written on each lightning bolt. Change effects leadership every second of the day. It's like the weather in Vermont, wait 5 minutes and it will change.
Learning about mind maps and visual note-taking on was not a new concept, but not something I had a great deal of practice with. I spent hours researching different sites that I could use. I wanted to do just good old pencil and paper, but forged on to find "Mindmeister." I liked the samples and thought I could make them work for me. One of its greatest strengths is the video instruction that comes along with it. Truly mind maps for dummies and it was advertised for free! BUT free has a cost as I couldn't download a JPEG or PDF, so I'm linking the map.
My very rough draft ViSUALIZATION of the Article: Leadership Past, Present and Future , and two different resources on the Diigo group about leadership theory, traits, and styles was created on MindMeister's free application.
I used "Bubbl.org" for another Mind map I made, but wanted to try something new for this posting so after scouring the links provided this week, I decided on MindMeister. I didn't buy it, as I'm not sure it's the best. I need to experiment with it more and try it out with teachers to see what they think and then I might get the school professional subscription.
Using mind maps and visual note-taking "digitally" is a paradigm shift from whiteboards and old-fashioned overhead projectors. As a science teacher, I was always creating mind maps, but doing it digitally is world-altering different. I'm excited about learning this new tool.
Learning about mind maps and visual note-taking on was not a new concept, but not something I had a great deal of practice with. I spent hours researching different sites that I could use. I wanted to do just good old pencil and paper, but forged on to find "Mindmeister." I liked the samples and thought I could make them work for me. One of its greatest strengths is the video instruction that comes along with it. Truly mind maps for dummies and it was advertised for free! BUT free has a cost as I couldn't download a JPEG or PDF, so I'm linking the map.
My very rough draft ViSUALIZATION of the Article: Leadership Past, Present and Future , and two different resources on the Diigo group about leadership theory, traits, and styles was created on MindMeister's free application.
I used "Bubbl.org" for another Mind map I made, but wanted to try something new for this posting so after scouring the links provided this week, I decided on MindMeister. I didn't buy it, as I'm not sure it's the best. I need to experiment with it more and try it out with teachers to see what they think and then I might get the school professional subscription.
Using mind maps and visual note-taking "digitally" is a paradigm shift from whiteboards and old-fashioned overhead projectors. As a science teacher, I was always creating mind maps, but doing it digitally is world-altering different. I'm excited about learning this new tool.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Who Do I Admire as a Leader? - Jan. 17, 2017
Who Do I Admire as a Leader? - Jan. 17, 2017
The leader that I admire always has a smile and a friendly greeting when you approach her. She actively listens and asks clarifying questions as needed. She doesn't react, she responds. She asks what your plan of action is and then asks questions to help me refine my ideas. She is patient and supportive, and never has a negative thing to say about anyone else. Their leadership style is team based, not top down. She works hard, but is never too busy to help. She never gets "flustered." She doesn't have meetings for the sake of meetings, and if there is a meeting, she respects people's time and starts/ends on time. She isn't afraid to say, "I don't know," I'll find out and get back to you, or "let's research that together." She is the ultimate professional and the kind of educational leader that I aspire to be. She "lights" up the darkside for me and everyone who knows her.
The leader that I admire always has a smile and a friendly greeting when you approach her. She actively listens and asks clarifying questions as needed. She doesn't react, she responds. She asks what your plan of action is and then asks questions to help me refine my ideas. She is patient and supportive, and never has a negative thing to say about anyone else. Their leadership style is team based, not top down. She works hard, but is never too busy to help. She never gets "flustered." She doesn't have meetings for the sake of meetings, and if there is a meeting, she respects people's time and starts/ends on time. She isn't afraid to say, "I don't know," I'll find out and get back to you, or "let's research that together." She is the ultimate professional and the kind of educational leader that I aspire to be. She "lights" up the darkside for me and everyone who knows her.
Who Am I As a Leader? - Mon., Jan. 17, 2017
Who am I as a Leader? - Mon., Jan. 17, 2017
Eleven years ago I was teaching in a small, rural school, and had the opportunity to transition into a principal position at a neighboring small school. I had always been a teacher leader, always president of this and that, always the "do-be," so I thought "why not?? I was fairly active in the local union, and when I told the NEA rep. what I was considering, he said, "Oh, no, you're crossing over to the dark side!" I didn't really take it to heart since his position was naturally adversarial to administration having just finished contract negotiations. Since then I've understood what he meant by that, and so I'm creating this blog for the class as I "search for the light from the dark side."
The important work for me as a leader is supporting teachers so that they can do their job. Having been a teacher for over twenty years, working for a supportive principal can make a break a teacher, especially a new one. Teachers have a hard job, and administrators can make it even harder if they aren't leading.
As a leader, I use two factors to guide me - what's best for kids, in partnership with the "golden rule" - treating the other person like I'd want to be treated. When making decisions for my organization, I still think about the students first, and then the community and how that will impact the parents. I still have a teacher license, and think like a teacher, so my decisions are guided by what a teacher would want.
Getting the work of the school done is a formidable journey, especially right now. The focus changes depending on the time of the year and who's in charge of the spotlight. Educationally, teachers think "long term" and how this fits into preparing those students for career and college ready, yet short term in the day to day lesson plans. Action plans help guide the way for the staff, Board, and community.
I communicate with others in a variety of ways. The number one way to communicate with parents and the community is through my weekly "Rockets Report" blog that they receive every Sunday. I have a separate "blog" for my staff community. When possible, I prefer face to face conversations, but to make sure that everyone has access to the same news, it's the blog.
My decision making process depends on the type of decision and who the stakeholders are. If it's a decision that affects the staff or students, then it's a "shared" decision. I present options and my rationale, and let the staff discuss and decide. If it's an "executive" decision, then I go with my guidelines as mentioned above.
Determining what resources to use and how to use them is an evolving process. Since we're small, it's usually about cost, so how can it be done for little or no cost? If it's human resources, then it's about avoiding burn-out and sharing the burden. I have a bad habit of being the "fallback" resource that gets overused, something I'm aware of and working on.
As I've lead groups, I really believe in teams and shared decision making. Throughout my career, I've worked with "School Improvement Teams" made up of volunteer staff who don't mind a little extra "meeting time." We operate with group norms, an agenda, and minutes with rotating facilitators. As a teacher, I'd been on "teams" where there was a mandatory rep. for each grade, but found that mandatory does not necessarily make the best team member. When I was a camp director, I'd have an "admin team" that consisted of all key stakeholders - asst. director, nurse, cook, program director, H20 director, etc. where we discussed/brainstormed/planned/cried, etc. In my current school, we have so few staff members that everyone is on the SIT team, but we do break down into "committees" on certain topics like PBIS, etc. I'm not afraid to make a decision. I have no problem with "executive decisions" and make them when I have to, but consensus and buy-in are key to growth in an organization.
It's easier for me to see the "light" when there's a team actively working towards the goal. It also "lightens" my load considerably. And so my search continues....
Eleven years ago I was teaching in a small, rural school, and had the opportunity to transition into a principal position at a neighboring small school. I had always been a teacher leader, always president of this and that, always the "do-be," so I thought "why not?? I was fairly active in the local union, and when I told the NEA rep. what I was considering, he said, "Oh, no, you're crossing over to the dark side!" I didn't really take it to heart since his position was naturally adversarial to administration having just finished contract negotiations. Since then I've understood what he meant by that, and so I'm creating this blog for the class as I "search for the light from the dark side."
The important work for me as a leader is supporting teachers so that they can do their job. Having been a teacher for over twenty years, working for a supportive principal can make a break a teacher, especially a new one. Teachers have a hard job, and administrators can make it even harder if they aren't leading.
As a leader, I use two factors to guide me - what's best for kids, in partnership with the "golden rule" - treating the other person like I'd want to be treated. When making decisions for my organization, I still think about the students first, and then the community and how that will impact the parents. I still have a teacher license, and think like a teacher, so my decisions are guided by what a teacher would want.
Getting the work of the school done is a formidable journey, especially right now. The focus changes depending on the time of the year and who's in charge of the spotlight. Educationally, teachers think "long term" and how this fits into preparing those students for career and college ready, yet short term in the day to day lesson plans. Action plans help guide the way for the staff, Board, and community.
I communicate with others in a variety of ways. The number one way to communicate with parents and the community is through my weekly "Rockets Report" blog that they receive every Sunday. I have a separate "blog" for my staff community. When possible, I prefer face to face conversations, but to make sure that everyone has access to the same news, it's the blog.
My decision making process depends on the type of decision and who the stakeholders are. If it's a decision that affects the staff or students, then it's a "shared" decision. I present options and my rationale, and let the staff discuss and decide. If it's an "executive" decision, then I go with my guidelines as mentioned above.
Determining what resources to use and how to use them is an evolving process. Since we're small, it's usually about cost, so how can it be done for little or no cost? If it's human resources, then it's about avoiding burn-out and sharing the burden. I have a bad habit of being the "fallback" resource that gets overused, something I'm aware of and working on.
As I've lead groups, I really believe in teams and shared decision making. Throughout my career, I've worked with "School Improvement Teams" made up of volunteer staff who don't mind a little extra "meeting time." We operate with group norms, an agenda, and minutes with rotating facilitators. As a teacher, I'd been on "teams" where there was a mandatory rep. for each grade, but found that mandatory does not necessarily make the best team member. When I was a camp director, I'd have an "admin team" that consisted of all key stakeholders - asst. director, nurse, cook, program director, H20 director, etc. where we discussed/brainstormed/planned/cried, etc. In my current school, we have so few staff members that everyone is on the SIT team, but we do break down into "committees" on certain topics like PBIS, etc. I'm not afraid to make a decision. I have no problem with "executive decisions" and make them when I have to, but consensus and buy-in are key to growth in an organization.
It's easier for me to see the "light" when there's a team actively working towards the goal. It also "lightens" my load considerably. And so my search continues....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)