Leadership — Page 29

What do you do? Lion Rumbles…

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Howard give the most amazing pep talk to one of our Lions last week. This child was hurt and upset by a classmate that had teased them and they didn’t know how to handle it.

(One of the BEST things about my job is watching and learning from JH and his amazing way of talking and connecting with students and parents.)

He gave the illustration of playing balloon ball with his three kids. His sweet Sophie, whom they adopted last year from China, you may or may not know, was born with a club hand. He said that she was catching the ball better than his two boys! He then sat down with her and asked to see her special hand. You know which hand she held up? Her regular hand! She doesn’t even see her club hand as different or special! The world is amazing through the eyes of a chid. She truly felt like her normal hand was her “special hand”. She can do everything with her club hand that you can do with your hand. It doesn’t slow her down a bit. If only we could have that mentality and self image!!

The use of this story was to show that EVERY child brings a special gift to the table. We’re ALL different, but that doesn’t make anyone better or worse. He turned around on this student to help them see and embrace the way they were different.

Whether it be a quirky personality or a physical difference, every single one of your students are special. Never forget that! When they are struggling, or having a bad day, take a moment to remind them that you CARE about them and think they are special! If every child had a positive attitude about their self worth, think of all the different issues that would go away. Bullying, self esteem, empathy…all are affected when a student struggles to see their value. They may not make straight A’s, they not be the quarterback of the football team….but ALL students have specials gifts.

Teachers are incredibly lucky to be able to help them discover and embrace their gifts! Take advantage!

Giftly,

Amber

The Leader Games

March 7, 2013 by Amber 3 Comments

I am currently participating in a series created by George Couros called “Leadership 2.0” . The series is focusing on what school leadership looks like in the context of today’s world and how innovative leaders are pushing their schools and organizations forward. Fascinating, right?

As I listened to Chris Smeaton, a superintendent from up north speak last week on visionary leadership, it was impossible to keep up with the stream of his gems of greatness. I wanted to tweet almost every statement as a “what I should be doing” kinda note taking tweet.

A couple that stood out…

Having a clear vision is going to be what sets you apart as a leader. If you are content with the status quo and are content with just going through the day to day mechanics of a campus, you’re a manager, not a leader. There’s a difference. Why is it so important to have a vision?

The director of the Hunger Games said that one of the most important things he does as a director is to sit alone, at his desk, for hours, before he begins and writes out everysinglething he can about the movie. From staging to angles to directions…he writes it all out the way he wants to see it happen. This is his vision. Everything that happens from this point on goes BACK to that vision. He talks about how on the set in the heat of the moment questions are asked that you may be tempted to answer based on practicality.

All decisions have to flow out of a single vision that you had alone, calm, without the questions, doubts or negativity that can surround you. Inevitability, those answers that should be based on logistics default to what’s practical.

A leader wants answers to questions that reference back to the clarity of their vision. The costume designer said that when she has a question, she thinks back to what Gary Ross’s vision is, not what she interpreted from her reading of the books/script. It’s HIS vision, not hers, and she makes decisions based on THAT. These are Academy Award winners here…grown, capable, creative minds. It’s not as if they couldn’t answer but they see the importance of the unified vision of their director, their leader.

Is your vision as an administrator so clear to your staff that they are able to conduct their classrooms in a manner that embodies that vision? I say staff because top to bottom, that’s how visible and impacting your vision should be. From the cafeteria workers to the janitor to the office staff to the students and teachers…everyone should know and be able to base their actions on your vision. A vision is more than just success on standardized tests. A vision defines how you feel about discipline, attitude, homework, community involvement. It transcends the mechanics of your job and instead becomes a campus mindset.

As I continue to learn and grow, I see even more how I (someday) want my campus to be a product of my preparation instead of the preparation being a product of the campus. I don’t want to adapt and adjust to the tone, but instead be the one who shapes and defines it. Vision is one those hot button words that comes up when one discusses leadership, but this week really defined it as one of the most important things a leader needs to do.

May the odds ever be in your favor,

Amber

Lessons from George & Shaq

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

While you have lil’young bodies to keep you going with inspiration and connections…sometimes I have to search for mine, 🙂

Perusing Mr. Couros’s blog, I came across this post and despite my lack of affection for any Laker’s players, I stopped down to read “Lessons from Shaq”…what a powerful reminder that everyone can love/teach the easy kiddos…it’s the challenging ones that need us the MOST.

Please share your thoughts on why this is such an easy thing for us to forget….

Mavericks girl,

Amber

Sabbatical Sense…or why I’m back!

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

Back in November, I decided to take a social media sabbatical. I really wanted to reevaluate why I was as involved as I was online and what my true purpose entailed. Professionally, I’d been burned this past semester and needed some distance. Personally, I felt overwhelmed and unsure of my “presence”. ( I really have THAT many friends??) (albeit, this prolly had more to do with the being burned part.;))

GC wrote a post about the irony of trying to keep your personal life and professional life separate and how impossible he thought that was.

After my sabbatical, I concur.

I asked the question of whether it was essential for a leader to be involved in SM: whether it be FB or Twitter or whatnot, and at the end of my month, I do know that for me, it is. I was no less busy, no less occupied, but I did feel as if I was missing something.

I read several books…but had no one to discuss them with.

I thought several PD thoughts…but had no one to dissect them with.

I had several questions…but no one to ask them.

The brevity of learning through my PLN is unmatched through blogs, texts, or even phone calls. Not knowing and being involved with my teachers (some who are true FRIENDS), was difficult. I genuinely felt as if I wasn’t able to connect in the ways that were important to me. Some days are SO busy, I don’t get to every classroom, but being able to interact through a form of SM keeps me connected.

While talking to a colleague at work, whose opinion I definitely value, she again pointed out that 10 years ago, it wasn’t necessary to be “online” to be successful, and those people did just fine. Compare that thought to a fabulous sorority sister who I shared that with and she said, “Yea…but this isn’t the same world!”

And that’s the bottom line. I can’t lead from a place of fear. I can’t be different than who I am. I will be involved because it DOES make me a better person, and hopefully, a better leader.

So there.

sabbatical stopN,

Amber

PS: VERY curious as to other admin’s thoughts on “friending/tweeting” your teachers…and what your experience has been!

Today’s Classrooms

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

Since the “Principal of change” page is blocked here in the GISD, I’ve copied and pasted (with permission of course) George’s post here about what his vision of a classroom today should/should look like…

What are you thoughts, LL’s??

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As I think that leaders should be able to describe what they are looking for in schools I have thought of eight things that I really want to see in today’s classroom. I really believe that classrooms need to be learner focused. This is not simply that students are creating but that they are also having opportunities to follow their interests and explore passions. The teacher should embody learning as well.

Will Richardson recently wrote this in a comment on one of my recent posts on what teachers need to be like in our current day and the focus that needs to be on learning:

…we need teachers who are masters at developing kids as learners who are adept at sense making around their own goals. Teachers who are focused on helping students develop the dispositions and literacies required to succeed regardless of subject or content or curriculum

This moment is all about learners having an amazing new freedom to learn, not teachers having an amazing new freedom to teach. I’d love to see 2013 all about making that shift in our thinking around education.

Although technology is not the focus, it does give us many opportunities to magnify the opportunities I list below. So with that being said, here are some things that I believe will help the learner of today be successful in our world, both today and tomorrow.

1. Voice – Students should have the opportunity to not only learn from others but also share their learning with others as well. We live in a world where everyone has a voice and if we do not teach our students to use this effectively, they will definitely struggle. To me, this is so simple yet so essential.

2. Choice – This is not only about how students learn, but also what they learn about. How do they further their learning in areas of interests to them? Throughout the first few years of university I did poorly, yet in my final few years my grades were better than they ever had been. What was the difference? I actually cared what I was learning about. Strengths based learning is extremely important.

3. Time for Reflection – Classrooms are an extremely busy place and I understand that many feel that they are rushed through the curriculum, but I think that taking the time to connect and reflect on what is being learned gives learners a better opportunity to really understand what they have learned. I know many classrooms have DEAR time (drop everything and read), so why do we not have time to simply write and reflect? This is not only for students, but for teachers and administrators as well.

4. Opportunities for Innovation – Recently I visited Greystone Centennial Middle School during “Innovation Week” and saw students that created a hovercraft (not kidding) using things that they had around the house. They were able to guide it around the gym and it was able to carry people around. These kids were in grade 9.

When I asked the students about this opportunity, they had told me that they had saw something similar on YouTube but it was missing a few elements that they wanted to add. They made it new and better. I can only imagine what the students will do after they leave school because of this day, not in spite of it.

5. Critical Thinkers – In the “factory model” of education, students were meant to be compliant and basically do “as they were told.” This is not something that sticks with a child only, but goes into adulthood as well and it creates “yes” people who tend to lose all originality. One of my best friends and my first admin partner, told me to never just let him go out on his own with his ideas without questioning them and sharing my thoughts. His reason? He wanted the best ideas, not his ideas. He wanted me to ask questions. He wanted to be successful. It was not his ego that was important, but the success of his staff and students. I have learned to ask the same of all those I work with and although it can turn into spirited conversations, it is was best not only for school but all organizations. We need to have students that are able to ask questions and challenge what they see, but always in a respectful way.

6. Problem Solvers/Finders – Ewan McIntosh has a brilliant Ted Talk discusses the notion of “problem-based learning” and how it is not beneficial to give students problems that aren’t real. Instead, he focuses on the idea that students need to be “problem finders”; being able to find some tough challenges andthen being able to solve those problems. Megan Howard shares a wonderful story of how one of her grade six students was able to see that there was a problem with classmates losing their school uniforms and then being able to use QR codes to be able to identify them. Let’s start asking kids to really look into finding what the problems are and giving them some purpose in solving something real.

7. Self-Assessment – I don’t think that I have ever heard a teacher say, “I can’t wait until we get to write report cards!” That being said, I think we spend too much time focusing on being able to tell others what our students can do and know, and not enough time helping students understand those things themselves. Portfolios are a great way to share this knowledge and will actually have students develop their own understanding of what they know. If you can write in a report card that a student can do something in October, yet they can’t do it in January, is that report card still relevant? I think that we should spend more time working with students to teach them how to assess themselves and not just do it for them.

8. Connected Learning – When I first started teaching, I remember really struggling with science. It was a subject that I struggled with as a learner and that continued on as a teacher. I now think that if I was in the classroom, that the best person to teach science wouldn’t be me, but a scientist. With most people that having a computer also having a Skype account, there are many that are willing to share their expertise in different areas. This does not only have to be via technology, but we should also be bring in experts from our community to talk to students. I know many teachers have done this for a long time, but technology opens the doors to people that we could not even imagine being a part of our classroom even ten years ago. Even Shaquille O’neal has made some time to Skype with students in one school.

Now I believe that all of these things are extremely important to the success of our students in the future, but there is one thing that is important to all of this; that our students are good people. One of the things that I have told my students over and over again is that it doesn’t matter how smart you are if you are considered a jerk. Treat others with kindness and consideration. Always.

Finally, let’s start to really tap into the wisdom of our rooms and have students not only learn, but teach each other. There is a saying from my time as a referee was that the best officials are the ones that you never notice. Does the same hold true for a teacher? I have walked into classrooms and have been unable to identify who the teacher was immediately because they were, as Chris Kennedy would say, “elbows deep in learning” with their students. Students were also teaching others along the way. If we start to acknowledge that everyone can be a teacher, and everyone a learner, I really think that you will be able to see more of the elements I have discussed in our classrooms today.

What I have missed? I would love your thoughts and feedback.