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

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

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This past spring I contemplated several changes to my career path. Some very similar to what I am doing now…some were very different. I mentally went back and forth with people I trust and people who know my heart. I have loved being an assistant principal at Luna. I couldn’t imagine learning how to do what it is I do without those Lions to support me. Especially those that I now consider besties, besties that won’t ever not be in my life now, because of that Luna land.

love

Not everything went right, but more did than went wrong. I met and got to know some AMAZING people. Learning the day to day mechanics of being a campus administrator and doing it WITH a principal like Mr. Howard was a blessing.

I interviewed for a couple of different high profile technology positions, and was pretty bummed when they didn’t work out. Constant through the process was my thought that Jesus would put me where he wanted me, and I prayed that if an opportunity didn’t work out, then that door would close. Definitively close. Those doors closed all right, 🙂 Reflectively, now, after a heart to heart with Steven Anderson, (@web20classroom) though, I came to a grown up decision. My heart is with students. My passion is with technology. Being on a campus is a natural marriage of those two things. I may feel differently after doing this for a few more years, but for now? I know I am going to be where I need to be. I can still help teachers and share all the techno awesomeness AND get to see it directly impact a campus of children.

I am excited about the new opportunity ahead of me. I’ll be leaving Luna and changing campuses. Next year, I will be the assistant principal at Watson MST. What does the MST stand for? Well, that would be math, science, & technology! How very lucky am I that the magnet campus I’ll be at next year has SO many techno tools and a mindset of integration and engagement. Having a familiarity of the magnet program because of  my experience at Beaver MST makes this move an easy transition!

I treasure my Luna Lion memories and will have no problems smiling because it happened. I look forward to the next chapter…as a Watson Wildcat! (Um. BTW. Does anyone know what a wildcat looks like??)

 

Luna Loved,

Amber

A One Rule Classroom

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first five daysI love the fact that my grown up profession revolves around a calendar that includes back to school clothes and school supplies. As a teacher, I always needed a “new” start the school year off fabulously outfit. It was just part of the deal! Now as an admin, I get two. One for teachers first day back, and then another one for when the kids come. (what?)

I also had a pink file folder, labeled first day of school in cute letters with lil’circles on the end, that I pulled out every year. It was full of articles, ideas, and fun “get to know you” activities that I had found throughout the years and stuck in this file. It always carried over into the first couple of days, much to my team’s consternation. They wanted to start switching classes and get to their teaching as quickly as possible. I never felt that sense of urgency.

Alan November shared a story where a physics teacher spent the first five days of his class teaching his students how to solve the problems they would be facing. He showed them Wolfram Alpha, how and where to find quality research, how to cite sources, and how to collaborate with their peers. He spent five days teaching the students how to be successful in his classroom. Five whole days. Can you imagine teachers NOT teaching their curriculum for five days? But instead built a foundation that ensured success? Love.

I immediately tweeted “What you do in the first five days shows what you value in your classroom.” I was surprised by the reaction…many wrote back saying that yes, they focused on expectations, on setting rules, on establishing parameters.

We had one rule in my class. Make me look good. That was it. It didn’t take me all day to teach that. Every question they had directly came back to that one statement.

“Do you have an extra pencil?”

“So & so said such and such.”

“I forgot my homework.”

My reaction was always the same. Does that make me look good? How can you fix it? They learned very quickly to be problem solvers and to adjust their train of thought to what was most appropriate. We spent the rest of the time making sure we KNEW each other, on a level to where they WANTED to make me look good. I learned their likes, their dislikes, their strengths and their weaknesses.  My job was to prepare them for life in the fourth grade, and theirs was to make me look good. I had a 100% passing rate on our state tests for the 6 years I taught and  relationships I still maintain with so many of them…I think we both were successful.

Plus, too many rules? Meant I had to have too many consequences, and who has time for that.

 

easy to please,

Amber

 

 

 

 

Poetry Pics

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Poetry Picks

I am so tempted to title all of my blog posts with a smiley face. You may thank me for holding me back, 😉 Can I help it that I love my job??

Speaking of loving my job, one of my (my, heehee!) rockstar teachers, Emily Koder, sent me some outstanding resources for Poetry Month, which is April. I remember in my classroom creating a “Poetry Packet” of all kinds of different poems that I would have my students write throughout the month. It was always so cute to see how they expressed their personality through a short lil’poem. Consider too, even if you DON’T teach ELA, allowing them to write a poem that deals with YOUR content area. How very higher level that would be…

My Luna haiku:

All smiling faces
Who enjoy their students makes
Luna fabulous!

(It’s early…put your red pens away!)

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/acrostic/ -write an acrostic online and print it off

http://www.poetry4kids.com/ -podcasts, games, poems, authors, books…you name it!
http://www.rif.org/kids/readingplanet.htm -tons of interactive things. Go to the activity lab and look at the reading calendar. It gives teachers a fun ELA topic for every day.
http://resources.kaboose.com/games/read1.html – for younger readers, tons of educational games
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-read.htm – a list of educational websites and their descriptions

And another blogger from GISD, Angie Cheatham has some resources on her site as well. Check’em out on her classroom website. (See what other gems of greatness you can find there!)

rhymingly,
Amber

Social Studies…specifically!

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Social Studies is the subject that is most easily overlooked at times. It’s also one of the hardest to find “fun” engaging, interactive websites for, 🙂
In my TECHedge today, they so thoughtfully provides a great list. Enjoy!

Studying-ly,
Amber

Social StudiesLY,

Amber

Why flip out?

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Love the phrase I read today…”Video is the new Power Point”….and I so agree! One of my favorite lines from Grey’s Anatomy that I use ALL the time is “Power Point is SO 1997.” Makes me chuckle every time, 🙂

Luckily, the days of yesteryear are gone, where it takes an expert, or an army, or a week to make something happen with a camcorder. Many digital cameras have a “movie” button and now we have the newest “toy”, er, “tool” in education…the flip camera. I’ve blogged about the flip camera before but think that many teachers still struggle with its place in the classroom. Here are THREE high quality, new and improved, and value sized links that can give YOU even more ideas.

My Luna Lions, I would LOVE to include some videos from YOUR classroom for the campus website. Let me know if you are doing something interesting, informational, or just want to fire up your students…I’ll be your personal videographer!

  1. FortyWays – This GoogleDoc presents in a visual format forty different ways to use a Flip Camera in the classroom. Some good ideas and certainly some that can be adapted for all age levels and abilities.
  2. FlipVideo – A wiki dedicated to the use of Flip Cameras in education and moderated byChris Bell. It has sample videos, ideas for Flip accessories, and links to some ‘workshops’ including Digital Storytelling, Video Podcasting, and an introduction to the Flip camera. A good place to start and find some ideas for your classroom.
  3. Video In the Classroom is a site all about using (surprisingly enough) Video in the Classroom, 🙂

director-ly,
Amber