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

TEPSA #12

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These resources are intended for the TEPSA 2012 audience in Austin.
🙂
Here is the link to the initial “why” twitter question.
Here is the link to the prezi.
Here is the link to the “Flutter” video.
Here is the link to the Listorious site and the “educational” relevant lists.
Here is the link to the educational hashtag page, as well as a very basic “getting started” guide.
Here is the Connected Principals website, my profile page on Twitter, and an article on whyadministrators should tweet that I wrote for a member of my PLN.
Thank you for attending this session and let me know if I can answer any questions for ya!
a’Tweetssentingly,
Amber

If…

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If you knew I was next door….would you still talk to your students that way?

If it was your child…would you treat them like that?
If it happened to your grandchild, would you be calm & rational?
If you knew your coworker behaved that way, would you say something?
If you “liked” a student more, would you be more lenient?
It’s challenging as an adult to self-reflect. I think most people GENUINELY think they are doing the best they can. Are you able to see how you come across to your students? to your peers? to your students parents? or more challenging, have you asked yourself those questions?
I genuinely think as a first teacher I was proud of myself when my administrators saw me “getting onto” or admonishing students. Looking back now, I cringe. What I thought was effective was actually way more detrimental to my relationships than I thought.
The three words hanging in my office: energy, enthusiasm, and empathy are the three that are my compass. If i have a trying task at hand, or a daily situation I’m dealing with…I’m always hoping to use three words as my guide. If you knew that, would it make it easier to understand why I act the way I do?
ifN,
Amber

The 2012

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We’re back, it’s calm & quiet, and its like we haven’t ever left!
🙂
I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, mainly b/c I never seem to follow them, 🙂
What I do believe in is making positive changes that will impact my life. That being said, my list of 8 (duh!) goals does involve some professional statements. One is to maintain and continue BEING POSITIVE. We started our year with bucket filling, and somehow, over the past semester I think I lost my focus. Be it the stress, the sickness, or the fast pacedness of the fall, I ‘m not sure. I do know that I like me more when I’m chipper and happy. 🙂 Being positive isn’t just an attitutude, it an be a life uplifting direction. Check out these tidbits I came across from Twitter:
( I love Twitter. @8amber8)
  • 1. Positive People Live Longer – In a study of nuns, those that regularly expressed positive emotions lived on average 10 years longer. (The Nun Study)
  • 2. Positive work environments outperform negative work environments. (Daniel Goleman)
  • 3. Positive, optimistic sales people sell more than pessimistic sales people. (Martin Seligman)
  • 4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure. (Heartmath.org)
  • 5. Marriages are much more likely to succeed when the couple experiences a 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative interactions whereas when the ratio approaches 1 to 1, marriages are more likely to end in divorce. (John Gottman)
  • 6. Positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges and adversity. (Several Studies)
  • 7. Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture which helps them identify solutions where as negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems. (Barbara Fredrickson)
  • 8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter the negative effects of stress. For example, you can’t be thankful and stressed at the same time. (Several Studies)
  • 9. Positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation help athletes perform at a higher level. (Heartmath.org)
  • 10. Positive people have more friends which is a key factor of happiness and longevity. (Robert D. Putnam)
  • 11. Positive and popular leaders are more likely to garner the support of others and receive pay raises and promotions and achieve greater success in the workplace. (Tim Sanders)

 

I’m ok with ALL of these things!!
(I’m pretty sure Troy Aikman agrees with #9. IJS.)
Add being positive to your 2012 list…let’s see if our buckets can all over flow!
Positively,
Amber

a “timely” piece…

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In the same spirit my positive piece was yesterday, James and I would like to share an article that our esteemed Assistant Superintendent, Phyllis Parker, shared with us this week. I’m going to ask in this week’s Lion Bytes, that you not only take the time to read, but also to respond via a comment about your reactions to this compelling article. We’ll be checking back and responding, creating a virtual conversation that will take place at your leisure.

Every student struggles with something. No student has a perfect life. Every student needs an education that interests and challenges them and helps them learn more about their possibilities. It’s been revealed that more and more students are struggling with reading making the implementation of any supportive strategies as important as ever. In fact, “at-risk” readers are in many instances becoming the norm. Struggling readers and English language learners are among the entire student population that are “at-risk” and we’re regularly working through ideas to help make them successful. By using these same strategies with every student from the start of their education there will be less “at-risk” readers and teachers will have more time to focus on some of the other factors that make every student “at-risk of not developing their potential.” We do that well here at Luna, but again, we want to hear your thoughts about ways we can maybe do it better here in the 2012.

 

sharingly,
Amber