My expectations for learning are high. We expectations for how we treat each other are even higher.
Because of a Teacher, Volume II
3 Tips for Professional Learning Days
When we listen to the educators who are working closest to our students every day and allow their insights to inform planning for professional learning, the plan gets better.
We Can’t Own it All
Not all feedback is good feedback. Not all work is ours to own. Let's own how we show up and respond. Let's listen for good feedback, reflect, and get better. Forget the rest. Give it a rest. It's time to rest. Enjoy some peace this weekend. You deserve it.
Educators Deserve Standing Ovations
We just finished our last school day with students. This school year has felt impossibly hard. We love our students. We love our work. And yet, many of us find ourselves wondering if we can keep doing these jobs. It makes me worry about the future of our schools. It makes me worry about the... Continue Reading →
Kickball Reflections
Our students lead us and show us what the world can be.
Thank You, Educators
We cannot do it alone. We cannot solve the big challenges in our schools by ourselves. Not individually. Not even solely as an individual school. Meaningful change will require us to partner district office and members of our community and other schools near and far. Meaningful change will require us to get uncomfortable and take risks.
Managing Expectations
In my first year in that role, I asked for some feedback. One of the high school principals said in so many words (and kindly), "It feels like we come to these meetings and talk but never take action." Cringe. I'm a doer! They expected, as they should have, that if they were going to be out of their buildings, the time would be meaningfully spent making decisions and getting things done. I'm glad I took that summer to learn as much as I could about meetings that get things done AND grow us.
We All Build Culture
Perhaps this is radical, but how we spend time with people is one of the greatest ways to change this world. How we show up for each interaction, each gathering, how we are in community with each other -it matters in a big way. We have the power to make people feel strong and special and capable which means that the opposite is true too if we aren't thoughtful.
The Magic of People
Write that tweet. Send that email. Have that conversation. Do whatever you can do share the good word.
Less Thinking. More Doing.
I wonder if this is what we are missing in some of our "data" meetings in schools. Do we have pictures of kids at the table? To start, they are our WHY. They are why we want to be better. That's a big part of our identity as educators. But also, setting goals for improvements is nice, but it's not the work. The work is the small moves made over time that can make a big difference. Too many data meetings sound like, "We need to get these scores up." Well, yeah. We know. But how? And because we don't know what the best strategy or step to take is, we may not take a step.
