Melodies without Lyrics

Update for Feb 29-Mar 4

Ideas are like melodies looking for lyrics.  

When we have ideas, we have a clear picture of it in our mind, even if it's just for the flash of a moment.  Trying to explain your idea to someone for the first time often leads the person with the idea to frustration and leads the person who is listening to the idea to confusion.  The melody is there, but no one knows what the song is about.

Paul McCartney has talked about getting the melody to "Yesterday".  He had a piano is his bedroom and one morning, he woke up with the melody in his head and started plugging away at the piano.  He knew he was onto something, but he had no lyrics.

Instead of singing "Yesterday", he just sang "Scrambled eggs, oh my baby how I love your legs..." since he hadn't landed on the lyrics yet.  However, McCartney shaped his idea and eventually found the lyrics to go with the melody.  Fast forward to today and "Yesterday" holds the Guinness World Record for being the most covered song at over 3,000 cover versions.

This story makes me think about how challenging it can be to develop an idea.  Many times we say no to ourselves before we share with others, but that's a whole other topic.  

Most times, we aren't committed enough to our idea and the first "No" becomes the end of the road.  We toss the idea aside instead of reworking it until we are able to help others see the same thing we do in our mind's eye.

Flushing out an idea is challenging, but the challenge is what it's really all about - The process.  That's where we do the most growth; where we have the fondest memories when we look back.  

Ideas are beautiful opportunities to discover what life is really about -- It's up to us to commit to the good ones.

Have a GREAT week!

-Herb


Articles Worth Reading

Instead http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/02/instead.html

The New Dream Jobs http://nyti.ms/1TAKneD

How to Teach the Standards Without Becoming Standardized http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/12/how-to-teach-the-standards-without-becoming-standardized/

8 Requisites of A Great Teacher http://bit.ly/1WR0dRM

Upcoming Dates

Mar 1 -- BIT Meeting, 8am at DCR

Mar 1 -- Connection Time w/ Herb -- Schedule is wide open! Stop by for a chat!  

Mar 1 -- Steering Committee Meeting, 3:45 at DCR

Mar 2 -- ADE Staff Meeting: Terri to give us the essentials before next week's concert.

Mar 7 -- ADE PTO Meeting, 7pm

Mar 7-11 -- OLSAT (Gifted), Grades 1 to 5 by recommendation
Mar 9 -- Special Ed Team Meeting, 12pm

Mar 9 -- Spring Concert, 7pm, Bradley HS

Mar 10 -- PD Series w/ Dr. Donna: "Discovery Approach", 3:45 at DCR

Mar 15 -- Professional Development Day -- No SCHOOL (Students)

Mar 18 -- Elementary Student Transfer Request Forms Due

Mar 18-24 -- Spring Break -- NO SCHOOL

Mar 25 -- Holiday -- NO SCHOOL

"We had fun at school today!" #CultureMatters

Update for Sept 14-18

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5305/5568116666_0d4b7b2f67_o.jpg

"We had fun at school today!"

This is a statement I know as a parent I hope my kids come home and say after school.  Last Friday, I think my staff - the adults in the building - were the ones who went home and said this to their family.

We did our first Friday Staff Olympics last Friday and it was a blast!  After being challenged by Brent Wise and Scott Morrison to do some sort of team building activity for my staff, I designed a simple but fun obstacle course using a few cones, a seat scooter, a trash can, cups, a giant inflatable ball, and a reception bell.

"If you build it, they will come."

I created a video overview and sent it out to the staff the day before to build up the anticipation.  We could compete before school, during lunch and after school.  We could compete individually or as a team as long as it was relay-style.  We needed to time how long it took us to complete the course.

I was amazed at how different the day felt because we were doing something fun for ourselves.

Culture Matters from Alton Darby on Vimeo.

• Teachers chose to work in teams instead of doing the course individually. What's that say about our attitude towards teamwork!
• Most people hung around on Friday after school (Yes, on Friday, after school!) to compete; but they hung around to cheer on each other as well.
• We worked together to figure out who would do which part of the relay, recognizing strengths and trusted each other to get the job done.

Most important was that we fed positive energy into the culture of the school.  The culture of any organization is important to its success.  As Todd Whitaker and Steve Gruenert write in School Culture Rewired (2015), 

Culture conveys to its members what they ought to celebrate, ignore, or anticipate. (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015)

Culture is part tradition, part mindset, and part celebration. I feel like a large part of my role is to work to support these three components because, as Whitaker and Gruenert also point out, Leadership is everything.

Everything that happens in an organization reflects the leadership. (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015)

This school year we will no doubt face challenges because, well, every school year brings new challenges. It's just nature of the important work we get to do each day.  I am determined to continue to create opportunities to celebrate the successes that will help propel us forward and that feed our culture with positive energy.

Have a great week!

-Herb


Articles worth reading

"Four Strikes and You’re Out" -- Fun math game by Marilyn Burns you can play with kids.

"Change The Conversation–It’s Not About The Thinking" -- Good article on the change process.

"Turn Traditional Units of Study into Deeper Learning Experiences" -- Article that reflects the kind of work we moving towards doing with kids.

"The Power of Letting Students Figure it Out" -- Who is doing most of the work in the classroom?  If it's you, why?



Videos worth watching

This is a good interview with Austin Kleon about how dreams come true when you focus on a process of creating something.  It's a long one, so watch it when you have a moment.  Kleon's book "Steal Like an Artist" is a great short read.  I have a copy if you'd like to borrow it.

This one is just because it's funny...



Upcoming Dates

Sept 14 - PTO General Meeting -- Staff: Don’t forget to sign-up to host a snack and join us for the PTO Meeting!  See Jillian for more information.

Sept 15 -- Teacher Steering Committee meeting, 3:45-4:30pm, ADE Media Center

Sept 16 -- Parent EdCamp/Curriculum Night! 5:30-7:00pm;  see Heather or Herb for more details.

Sept 17 -- Admin Meeting (Herb)

Sept 21 -- Staff Development Day - No Students; Agenda to come…

Sept 23 -- ADCC Staff Meeting, 3:45 ADE Media Center

Sept 24 -- Picture Day

Sept 30 -- Staff Meeting, 8:00am; Mumkin Pickup 4-7pm

Oct 5-9 -- Fall Conference Week, Conference Night is Oct 7.

Oct 5 -- PTO General Meeting, 7pm

Oct 6 -- Building Improvement Team meeting

Oct 10 -- Community Cardboard Challenge, ILC/Scioto Darby Campus, 9-12pm

Let's take a walk.

Update for Apr 20-24

I had a lot of fun during the first “Walk with Mr. H” at recess on Friday.  Who knew walking around our path would be such a big draw with kids?  I tweeted a picture another teacher took of me walking and the response on Twitter was just as favorable as it had been with the kids:

Had fun doing the first "Walk with Mr. H" at recess today! Got in about 2 mi of walking. Looking forward to more! pic.twitter.com/KB7zhm9faL
— Herb Higginbotham (@HHigginbotham) April 17, 2015

I honestly don’t think it was because of me either; it could have been any one of us out there walking and the kids would have had just as much fun.

So what was the big draw?  Ask any kid to walk around a path during their recess and they’ll look at you like you have lobsters crawling out of your ears. But make yourself available to spend time with kids and they’ll be there.

I realized that the kids weren’t drawn to walking the path.  Kids were drawn to walking because it was a time to have a personal connection.

I had a great conversation with a teacher at the end of the week and we started talk about change in education (This is related, I promise...hang in there).  They said something that I completely agree with: Whatever we do for kids that works is really just good teaching.

It’s true: At the end of the day, it’s how we relate and interact with students that will determine the effectiveness of any program or any lesson that we do.  The conversation made me think of the remarks of another one of my favorite educators, Todd Whitaker: “It’s people, not programs, that determine the quality of a school.”

What that means to me is putting all of your stock into building relationships with your students. The “Walk with Mr. H” was successful because this year I’ve tried to make being visible in the building, knowing each student by his or her first name, and talking with them a top priority.  I believe that if I hadn’t spent my time building positive rapport with students, I would have been walking alone.  As George Couros reminds us: “To inspire meaningful change, you must make a connection to the heart before you make a connection to the mind.”

All of this has helped me to understand one key aspect to the work we are doing this year: No matter what we do in the future to re-imagine what the elementary learning experience might look like, effective change will always depend on the positive relationships we build with each other and with our students.

Articles Worth Reading

"A Handful of Tools That Help Students Analyze Their Own Writing via Free Technology for Teachers - ... http://t.co/iWiqwvDOX8"

"Path To Personalization: Better Models & Better Tests http://t.co/GeJrCFE9kU via @Getting_Smart"

"Stump The Teacher: Done With It http://t.co/T02SAaDgEr"

"The Best Ways To Finish The School Year Strong" by @Larryferlazzo http://t.co/iCtnIoflVy" 

"3 Important Shifts in Education" http://t.co/LPt8Z5Iv5n"

"I'm not the kind of person who..." http://t.co/p74yZO0dR5"

Upcoming Dates

Apr 20

4th and 5th Grade ELA EOY State Assessments

Dave & Busters Spirit Night, 5pm-8pm

Apr 21

3rd Grade Spring OAA Reading
Staff Meeting with ADE/DCR staff at 3:45 pm at ADE--Teacher steering committee small group explains the vision/design for next year's extension opportunity to the staff as a whole

Apr 22

3rd, 4th, 5th, Grade Math Unit 1 EOY Assessments

*** Garden Dedication, Celebration *** 2:00ish -- See Becky and/or Meredith for details for how the kids can help this BIG DAY!

Apr 23

3rd, 4th, 5th, Grade Math Unit 2 EOY Assessments

*** ART SHOW *** 6:00-7:30pm

Apr 27

Board of Education Meeting at Alton Darby, 7pm

Apr 28

Tech PD with Kelly Riley, 7:45am

Apr 29

ADE WALKATHON -- During each grade’s Related Arts Time -- AM/PM KG will combine with a grade-level.  Details to come!

Student Housing Committee Meeting (Herb) 4:30

May 1

Team Connection Meeting with Dr. John/Board Member, 8:00am -- Meet and greet, breakfast provided.  Your chance to talk with Dr. John.

Upcoming AD/DC Project Dates

4/21--Staff Meeting with ADE/DCR staff at 3:45 pm at ADE--Teacher steering committee small group explains the vision/design for next year's extension opportunity to the staff as a whole

5/6--OPTIONAL STAFF MEETING--work time to collaborate/meet/plan with the people who are teaming up for the extension/design opportunity next year for students.

5/8--Teacher steering committee site visits and work session...

6 of the committee members from each building (those who didn’t go to Reynoldsburg) will go to Wickliffe with Herb, CT and Jennifer.  This team will see a Town Hall meeting that is completely run by students from 8:30-9:30 and then meet with, talk with, and tour the school with the principal until 11:00/11:30.  We will then meet back at CO at 12:00 with the ENTIRE Teacher Steering committee (the 4 who went to Reynoldsburg will need to put in for a ½ day PD request for the afternoon) to debrief and have lunch (provided and to be ordered through Aramark).  We will engage in conversation with the group regarding how to shift our practice as we continue moving forward with our design next year towards students defining their learning path through the options/opportunities that teachers can create/provide for them as experiences.  Could these/are these options/opportunities connected to the networks? This would support students defining the voice and choice in their learning and becomes the heart of student ownership within the design.

Additionally one GOAL for the day is to NAME IT...not pedagogically...or programatically....but based on our Guiding Principles.  So the IT that is named represents the way we do things grounded in those principles--the mantra of "Who We'd Like to Be".  We will be showing the teacher videos one more time and identifying how these ideas align to the principles established in our Guiding Principles and how these ideas can become opportunities for next year.  

5/13--last teacher steering committee meeting for 2014-15​--The purpose is the thank those who were on this committee and touch base/listen to their perspective of the buildings from which they represent, what they think is necessary for next year to move forward.  We will share with them our "list" of what needs to happen and ask them for their "list" in order to bridge the perspectives to move forward with SOME implementation of SOME ideas for the 2015-16 year.

School Culture Reflects What We Celebrate, Ignore, and Anticipate

Update for Mar 2-6

This weekend, Alton Darby Elementary hosted our annual Family Fun Day.  This was another new experience for me in my first year with this community.  My understanding is that this has been a tradition for at least 10 years.  In fact, one family has volunteered to help organize the event each of the last 10 years.

The event was a lot of fun and it was a great opportunity for the community to come together.  It also made me reflect on some of the thoughts and ideas I’ve been reading about in a book called School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It by Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker.

The combination of my experience with Family Fun Day this weekend and one line from the book really made me reflect on our school’s culture:

“Culture conveys to its members what they ought to celebrate, ignore, and anticipate.” (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015)

Celebrate -- What are the traditions, the moments, and the events we look forward to each year?  Why are they important to the community?  Family Fun Day reminds me that we need to look forward to fun throughout the year.  What we did for International Dot Day was an amazing way to celebrate a budding collaboration with our closest neighbor, Darby Creek Elementary.  What’s important to the culture of our community is what we celebrate.

Ignore -- This is a turbulent time for public education.  There are many positive changes taking place as well as a lot distractions that potentially take our focus off of the important work we do for kids.  It’s a challenge to ignore what doesn’t matter to the work we do. But our culture reflects what we choose to put our focus on.  So shouldn’t we focus on what matters and ignore the rest?

Anticipate -- What excites kids so that they can’t wait to come to school?  What increases engagement among teachers, parents and students?  Our Kids’ EdCamps, while a ton of work, have been the moments this year that parents bring up the most when I ask about how they think the school year has gone so far.  How can we continue to connect teachers’ passions to students’ interests?

A school’s culture is so important to its success. Therefore, it’s important that we celebrate what we feel represents what we stand for, ignore what distracts us from the work we do for kids, and anticipate what’s possible for our learning community.

Articles Worth Reading

"Questioning the Data" http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/11230

“5 Videos on Making Flipped Video Lessons” http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2015/02/5-videos-on-making-flipped-video-lessons.html?spref=tw

“Emergent Workplaces: Learning in the Networked Worker” http://idreflections.blogspot.com/2015/02/emergent-workplaces-learning-in.html?spref=tw

“Learning LittleBits” http://wp.me/pKlio-1RG via @jackiegerstein

Upcoming Dates

Mar 2

Beef O’Brady’s Spirit Night, 5-9pm

Mar 3

PARCC Math -  3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

Building Improvement Team meeting, 8am
Last day to enter data into Progress Reports (midnight)

Mar 4

PARCC Math - 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

Spring Flower Sale Begins

Special Ed Team meeting, 12:30

Mar 5

Admin meeting (Herb), 8am

Mar 6

BAC meeting, 8am

Mar 9

PTO Meeting, 7pm

Mar 10

4th Grade Social Studies State Assessment

5th Grade Science State Assessment

Mar 11

ADE/DCR Staff Meeting, 3:35pm

Mar 14

EdCamp Columbus -- Clark Hall, Gahanna-Lincoln High School

Mar 16

Last Day for Spring Flower Sale Orders

Mar 17

Admin Meeting (Herb), 9:30

Teacher Steering Committee Meeting, 3:40

Mar 19

Class/Group/Staff Pictures

Admin Meeting (Herb), 8am

Mar 20

Spring Flower Sale Money due

Mar 22-27

Spring Break