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

If…

by Leave a Comment

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

by Leave a Comment

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…

by Leave a Comment

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

Bucket Bonanza

by Leave a Comment

I had a GREAT first day back, 🙂 and from the texts, messages, and emails…I’d say you LL’s agree! This year is going to be a bucket full of fun and success!

I have notes to put in your boxes on Monday, your own lil’drops to distribute. Make a goal for yourself…how many drops a week do you want to hand out? How many smiles do you want to give…each week? One thing we didn’t mention is that James, Amanda, and I will be drawing names each week and calling parents to share the “drop” with them. We want EVERYONE to know what acts of positiveness and kindness are happening at Luna Elementary…

if you treat others well, they will feel better and spread the wealth. Not only that, but it makes you feel better to be altruistic – nothing too mysterious about that, I know…but still, 🙂 Let’s all do it anyway!

A fun quote from your bucket book: “We experience approximately 20,000 individual moments every day.” That’s 20, 000 opportunities to either FILL or DIP from someone’s bucket.

May your 20, 000 moments today be bucket filled….

bucket boostN,
Amber

Bouncy Behavior…

by Leave a Comment

Perspective: Which of these define your mindset this Monday morning?
18 more days left until summer vacation.
Only 18 days left of instruction.
I won’t put you on the spot and make you answer that, 🙂 but I will write this blog suggesting some ways to make BOTH of those thoughts more tolerable for ya!
Teachers are les likely to have classroom managemnt problems when their students are on task and engaged. Students are more likely to remain on task and engaged if they are interested and challenged. Common sense, right? Why then, do ofice referrals spike in the month of May? A combination of factors….your patience is worn thin. You’re less likely to “want” to deal with disruptive students post TAKS. Students get a sense of “finality” from the tone that is set once we are post TAKS. (That darn test really affects our day to day, doesn’t it?)
A few tips to make these 18 days productive and easier to handle:
  • Use technology. Dancemats, flip cams, digital cameras, Macbook, extra websites, your 5 Speedgeeking sites/tools…you’re surrounded! Jump in!
  • Change activities frequently. Our students are used to getting information instantly. They are text messageRs, web consumeRs, instant gratification-ally designed. (Kinda like me! heh!) We cannot expect to maintain their interest or control when we drone on and on about exciting things, such as subject-verb agreement. Yawn. I got bored just typing it! Vary your lessons, and break them into 20-30 minute segments.
  • Provide extra help for those who need it. A frustrated student may the ignition switch to losing control in your classroom. Save yourself the trouble down the road and step in before they have the opportunity to act on on their frustration.
  • Keep your assignments challenging. This is not the time of year to go back and finish all those worksheets that you ran but didn’t have time to get to! If your assignments are too simple, you’ll lose attention as well.
  • Use group instruction. Divide your students, maximize your space, and material coverage. Take a page from your primary counterparts and use small group instruction, based on the needs of your class.

wrapN up,

Amber