my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

A simple strategy for extending learning!

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We are fortunate to have learning specialists who support our crew in Wylie ISD. This strategy came through and I thought it was a GREAT way to not only extend learning but to PUSH those high achievers!

Heather Buckley, our advanced academics learning specialist, shared that Chris White taught her about his “Math Masters”.  While the kids are practicing on some mixed practice they get to become a “Math Master” by showing work and strategies. Once you get crowned the math master, you get to walk around to look at each classmate’s work to find the new math master.

I love this because it doesn’t focus on only getting a problem correct or incorrect but the effort that is being put into getting the correct answer. The kids took such pride in being picked as a “Math Master” in his room. Regardless of what you have planned out for this week, this could be an easy thing to implement to motivate your students to show their thinking.

A great way to extend this as a closure to your class period or even a conversation to have while lining up to transition to lunch would be to have a few of the “Math Masters” share some of the strategies they saw being used. Let’s get the kids talking about the work they are doing!

 

I love easy, I love pushing, and I love it when people share! Do you have a strategy like this one that you use? Share with us! The smartest person in the room is the room!

 

 

Masteringly &

FREE @TCEA membership this week for educators!! #teacherappreciationweek

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TCEA is offering FREE 1 year memberships to all educators everywhere, not just Texas, May 6-10, in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week! What a great opportunity for everyone to take TCEA and all their benefits for a test drive!

 

Your free one-year membership includes:

• Free online ed tech professional development, based on the latest educational research, best practices, and the most engaging technologies
• Access to a members-only online community to help you find resources and connect
• Free SketchUp Pro software, a $495 value
• Free Eighth Grade Digital Literacy Assessment provided through Learning.com
• Advocacy updates from the Texas Legislature to inform you of changes in educational policies
• Free eBooks on innovative topics like makerspaces, digital icebreakers for collaboration, and transforming learning
• And much more!

 

https://tcea.org/teacher-appreciation/

 

That SketchUp software alone is pretty awesome!!

 

Technically yours,

Amber

Providing encourageMINT to those around you!

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When I am needing a treat for my staff or for those I want to celebrate around me, I have two qualifiers…are they easy? and are they cheap? One of the easiest (and cheapest!) little pick me ups that Melinda and I are including in our upcoming book is that of sharing encourageMINT.

Who doesn’t love a good box of tic tacs? Who doesn’t need a lil’pick me up every now and then? This idea combines the two to make it easy to share! I’ve seen these given as “elf vitamins” near Christmas or as “Mint to be” treats near Valentine’s day…but I like a good positivity quote for mine!

First, you’ll need sticker paper. I’ve used this one, and it’s cheap and gets the job done. You can always print out regular paper and add double sided tape, but again, I like EASY. Sticker paper lets you just cut, peel, and apply. Within the printer settings make sure to check print “actual size” and then if you can choose “high quality” on “matte photo paper” for the best look. Then trim out each label. There are 8 per sheet.

Here is a blank template that you can edit as you want to for your team.

Want one already completed? Thanks @jjmottsy for sharing!

Finally, you need tic tacs! You can get boxes at your favorite big box store or you can order here!

 

These work out to be less than a dollar each, and again are easy peasy! If you’re looking for a March themed idea, here’s an idea you can borrow from Vanessa Brady. I don’t do bathroom humor, but maybe you do!

 

Keep sharing the encourageMINT, friends!

fresh breathed &

Likeable vs Trustworthy Leadership

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We had the opportunity to hear from Anthony Mohammad today as a leadership team. (How very fortunate am I that we have these kinds of opportunities as a district?!) It was a great presentation on the four skills of a transformational leader.

I don’t know anyone who is a principal who wouldn’t want to be thought of a transformational leader…typically, same as our teachers, we WANT to do a good job. We show up, we work hard, we make strong decisions for our students and our staff. We listen, we support, we encourage. I would say the same things about our staff.

One of the pieces today that gave me pause was when we stopped down to parse out likeability versus trustworthiness. He cautioned against doing things that may make us liked, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into trustworthiness. As in confusing the two, in regards to what and how we made decisions. You can like someone you don’t trust, and you can 100% trust someone you don’t actually like. Don’t make decisions to be liked, if it compromises your trustworthiness.

I’m going to ASSUME you can also be liked and trustworthy…but those statements seriously gave me pause on the things I do for our staff…do I do them to be liked? Could that be sacrificing likeability OVER trustworthiness? If the intents are seen as less than genuine (tho as my 2 on the Enneagram will tell you, THEY ARE ALL GENUINE!) could that make me be seen as LESS trustworthy if so?

It made my head spin around for quite a bit. You can like me all day long, but if you don’t trust me, then can I be effective at impacting practice, pedagogy or instruction? If you don’t like me, would you want to commit 100% to be on our team, a team where I, by definition of position, am a cheerleading face for? Can you be open, and vulnerable and grow with someone you don’t LIKE?

 

At the end of the day, I hope that I can answer both. There’s a great line in “A League of Their Own” that says…both? Can’t we do both?” and that’s what I am going to go with. I am going to go with where my heart is…which is trying to accomplish both. Being consistent with a “best for kids” mentality, while supporting a love you where you ARE, but never allowing you to stay there for our team…trying to be trustworthy, but not unlikeable.

 

Are you a “both” kinda leader? Or do you think one is sacrifice-able for the other? Sidenote…do males struggle with this? I need to find a male principal, who is a 2…this would be a fascinating conversation to have!!

 

Ponderingly &

Fab Fridays in February, 2019

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My principal bestie (and future co-author) Melinda Miller always shares that October and February are the two worst months of the school year, in fact…she calls them the armpits of the year! (which is both gross and awkwardly appropriate!)

I’ve done these Fab Fridays with her for a NUMBER of years and while the activities vary from year to year (including a great new addition from Melissa K this year!) the message is always the same.

We see you.

We appreciate you.

We want you to feel supported, loved and encouraged.

Now you can do these things ALL the time of course, but there’s something about alliteration that just makes my heart happy!

Here is this years version…

I’ve had some inquiries about how we fund these…and the answer varies as much as the activity. For the soups, I have parents signed up to bring soups and fixings, the fruit & nacho bar we’ll use our discretionary money for, and the book reading will be FREE…minus some fun new book titles I need. 🙂

Here are other years of ideas, and if you’re an admin you can always join our appreciation and morale group on facebook!

Have any fab ideas to add? Share!

Staff loveN and