Expectations

Update for Jan 12-16

https://flic.kr/p/a9zFw

Over our winter break, I shared a Google Form with the staff that was set up to give me feedback about things like vision, expectations, and others’ perspectives on goals I was working towards.  It was good to read the comments some folks left.  They were honest and helped me get a better understanding of what others were thinking.

One of the comments left mentioned something about wanting to know what I expected of them.  My short answer is to do what’s Best For Kids, but I get it.  We are still in the getting-to-know-you phase of being the new guy in the building. Some folks may need a little more detail.

So, I’ll answer by saying I hope my expectations don’t come close to the expectations you have for yourself.  What I mean is this profession is serious business and if I am being serious with myself, I want to continue to learn and grow so that I can be the best I can for kids. I try to hold high expectations for myself to continue to grow, to always reflect and to treat others the way I want to be treated.

So, in response to wanting to know more about my expectations for the staff, here are the expectations I have for myself (mostly reflective questions).  Feel free to borrow any :) --

Build relationships with kids -- You are their official dream coordinator. Think about what you must do to do that job and to do it well.  Try to live up to the late Rita Pierson’s advice:

“Every child deserves a champion - An adult who will never give up on them. Who understands the power of connection, and insists they become the best they can possibly be.  Is this a tough job? You betcha! But it is not impossible. We can do this! We are educators! We were born to do make a difference!”

Allow kids more freedom to learn -- How much time are you facilitating the lesson?  Is the balance of the lesson’s work on you or with your kids?  Think about the last time you learned something meaningful that stuck with you.  How much of the heavy lifting did you do?  How many times did you get frustrated, want to give up, and change your goals?  Now take that experience and work to create it for kids.  Remember that the key is allowing more freedom to allow this way of learning to happen.

Connect with others (across the hall and across the world) -- The world is rich with ideas. With one tap of my phone, I am connected to a constant flow of ideas that I can take and use for my learning community. Yes, social media is cumbersome to learn. Yes, the lingo is confusing. Yes, not everything that takes place on Twitter is good. But I still say go for it. Go for it because it is a new learning experience that is relatable to what we do in the classroom in so many ways. Remember - It’s not about technology; it’s about the learning that we do with technology that is important.

Share what you do -- Your lessons, your ideas, your thoughts matter. People just like you are looking for new ideas and ways to engage their students. Share what you do with the world and stop thinking that your ideas aren’t good enough. They are.

Use good data to inform instruction -- That frown on the kids face or the diverted gaze? -- Good data. If little Sally keeps flushing plastic forks down the back hallway toilet at 1:30pm each day, that should tell you something.  Data doesn’t have to be just about scores and percentages. It’s also collecting information to help determine a pattern of behaviors, positive and negative. Just remember that they are kids. They probably didn’t come to school thinking they were going to ruin your day. Something’s up and it’s up to us to figure it out.

What expectations do you have for yourself?

Video that...makes you smile :)

Articles Worth Reading

Future educators   http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2015/01/future

Intelligence is Important but Integrity Matters More   http://shar.es/1HMJep  via @LollyDaskal 

School districts explore deeper-learning model   #edchat http://ow.ly/GI6ix 

 

Upcoming Dates

Jan 12 --

SOAR Conference, OSU - Herb out

PTO Meeting, 6pm

Jan 13 --

PD Calendar Closed (Limited Subs on these days…)

Testing Planning Meeting (Admins, Test Coords.), 9am

2nd Grade Math PD at CO - 1-3pm

Teacher Steering Committee, 3:45

Jan 14 --

PD Calendar Closed

Children’s Mathematics Book Talk, 8am Media Center

Parent Committee Meeting, 7pm Bradley HS Aux Commons

Jan 15 --

Band/Orchestra Demo for 5th Grade, 9:15

Jan 16 --

Interims due-- Use your licensed professional judgement for this round of interims...

Jan 19 -- MLK Day, No School

Jan 20 --

Testing Window Planning Day (Admins, Testing Coordinators), 8am

Jan 21 --

Children’s Mathematics Book Talk, 8am Media Center

Jan 22 --

Admin Meeting, 8am

Jan 26 --

Yearbook Sale Begins

Jan 27 --

Children’s Mathematics Book Talk, 8am Media Center

Jan 28 --

AD/DC Staff Meeting, 3:45

Jan 30 --

Family Game Night, 6:30pm

Team Times with Herb -- These could just be one on one conversations, too!  No agenda, just time to catch up and help each other to reflect.  My first question will be, “How can I help you?”

Wednesday, January 21

Tuesday, February 3

Tuesday, March 3

Wednesday, March 18

Winter Data Team Meetings -- Pending Approval from Prof Development Dept.

Weds, Jan 28  -- 5th Grade (PM)

Thurs, Jan 29 -- 1st Grade (AM), 2nd Grade (PM)

Weds, Feb 4 -- 3rd Grade (AM), 4th Grade (PM)

Thursday, Feb 5 -- KG (PM)

Guest Post: What if schools were more like Google?

Update for Nov 24-25

This week's update comes from Adrianna Kruse, Kindergarten teacher at Alton Darby Elementary. You can follow Adrianna on Twitter -- @AdriannaKruse

Google has become both an extremely well-known noun and widely-utilized verb. At least once a day, I find myself “googling it” or encouraging someone else to do so. It is no secret that Google, as a company, has not only achieved sky-high financial profits,  but also is one of the most innovative and creative businesses in the world. What you may not know, however, is that year after year, Google is also listed by sources such as Forbes magazine, as the best place to work. Yes, a business as successful as this is bound to yield high pay grades for their employees, but that it is not unique to Google, or why it is considered the best place to work. It is considered the best place to work, because of the type of physical, social and emotional environment that it creates for its employees. So, I pose the question, what if our school was more like Google, and it was the best place to work and learn?  How to can we use Google’s ideals to inspire us to make this a reality?

According to an article by Mark C. Crowley, the physical environment of Google is one that inspires the employees to want to be there each day. If you haven’t seen pictures or videos of what the Google corporate office in California looks like, I strongly encourage you to “Google it”. They have a blend of traditional and unconventional work spaces, slides in place of some staircases,  artistic inspirations throughout the building, relaxation rooms, exercise facilities, and on-site amenities that rival that of a high-quality hotel. The physical environment is warm, upbeat, innovative and welcoming. What if we provided an environment with some similarities to this at schools? Where students had choices about the type of space in which they work best; were provided with everything they need to feel comfortable, safe, and taken care of; felt trusted that they know what is best for them; and had choices of a combination of different spaces throughout the day.  

The emotional and social environment that Google provides for it’s employees is founded in trust, collaboration and inspiring them to do something that may just change the world. As stated in International Business Times, Google co-founder Larry Page said, “My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has great opportunities, and that they feel they're having a meaningful impact and are contributing to the good of society. As a world, we're doing a better job of that. My goal is for Google to lead, not follow.”  Google leaders have also been noted in this article as saying that they value their employees making a contribution to society over making money.  Because of this belief system, they are achieving both exceedingly well. These are the exact ideals that we should strive for as teachers. What if we value teaching students to make contributions to society over doing well on “the tests” and meeting every single standard?

Another relevant component to Google’s successful work environment that I found in Mark C. Crowley’s article, was Google’s 20/80 policy. Regardless of the position an employee holds within the company, from intern to CEO, employees spend 80 percent of their time working on current company projects and the other 20 percent working on any project that they choose. To me, this sounds like a very reasonable model that we could imitate in schools. We could use 80 percent of time to guide students in learning the basic skills, knowledge and facts that we value, but give them the freedom and trust to pursue their own learning and projects the other 20 percent of the time. During this 20 percent, Google employees breed innovation and discoveries that would never be made if not given the time, freedom, trust and choice to do so. I would love to see students being given the same opportunity on a weekly basis.

Karen May, VP of people development of Google stated, “Imagine a world where most organizations were the best place to work. Imagine what we could be getting done on the planet if that were true.”

I ask you the same question about schools, what if our school was the best place to work and learn? Imagine what we could get done on the planet. ☺ Adrianna Kruse

References:

http://www.edudemic.com/10-reasons-to-try-20-time-in-the-classroom/

http://www.fastcompany.com/3007268/where-are-they-now/not-happy-accident-how-google-deliberately-designs-workplace-satisfaction

Spotlight on...December 17th Kids EdCamp:

Click on the link to propose your session: My/Our December EdCamp Proposal

Click on the link to see what others have proposed: Submitted Sessions

Please submit your proposal soon! Teach your passion! 

Videos that inspire -- 

Finish Strong -- What happens when things don’t go as planned? Do you punt or try to make it even better than expected?

Getting creative with an announcement

Articles worth reading--

"How Libraries are Advancing and Inspiring Schools and Communities" - MindShift

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/11/how-libraries-are-advancing-and-inspiring-communities/

"Make Literacy the Focus of PBL" - Edutopia

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/make-literacy-focus-pbl-suzie-boss

Upcoming Dates -- 

Monday, Nov 24 -- 

Tuesday, Nov 25 -- 

9:30-10:30 -- Student Steering Committee meeting at ADE

11:00 -- Title Team meeting

Nov 26-30 -- Naps, turkey, football, friends and family, disconnecting, enjoying the moment, going for a walk...

Monday, Dec 1 -- School Community Meeting -- Putting the pieces together! Please provide feedback in the form below (You will 

Team Time all day (Moved from Tuesday, Dec 2)

Tuesday, Dec 2 -- 

8:00-noon -- TGRG Data Team meeting at CO for coaches, intervention teacher and principal

3:45 -- Tech Lab PD w/ Kelly Riley in Media Center

Wednesday, Dec 3 -- 

8:00 -- Building Improvement Team Meeting - - This is a proposed change from Tuesday due to TGRG Data Team meeting. Let me know if you can't make it.

12:30 -- Special Ed Department Meeting

3:35 -- AD/DC Staff Meeting at ADE

5:30 -- MarketDay Pickup

Thursday, Dec 4 -- 
12:30 -- Ohio Historical Society program for 2nd Grade students.

Friday, Dec 5 -- Herb to visit Wickliffe Elementary -- I need to reschedule BAC for Tuesday, Dec 9 at 8am.  Please let me know if you cannot make this. 

A School's Social Media Account Can Be More Than A Newsletter. #edad688

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8470078968_41e2e803ef_o.jpg[/caption]

This year Hilliard Horizon Elementary established a Twitter account (@HZNElemenary) for our school because we wanted to utilize this social media tool so that we could better communicate with our students, families and our community about the great things that are happening at our school each day.

Many schools use social media platforms such as Twitter to share information about important dates and events. This is a great way to communicate important information, but more can be done with this powerful communication tool.

We have been using our school Twitter account to share information, student learning in action, reflections from staff members and articles for parents that can help them help their child learn.




The point is that there can be many uses for Twitter that can help you not only get your message out there, but also share the great things you are learning about in your building. Just think of what that shows the community - That you value learning something new every single day, and that learning never stops!

Check out what some of our students and staff members have been learning about over Winter Break:

https://twitter.com/HZNElementary/timelines/420635157607886848

What are some ways your school uses Twitter to engage the community?

Don't forget this...

Ever since I started thinking about being a principal some day, I have kept a list of things I want to remember when I get there. I started a notebook in Evernote and have a note called “When I am principal”.

This isn’t an agenda for how I will run a building someday. That would just be a big mistake. However, the list is a place where I have recorded some thoughts I’ve had on leadership, running programs, and staying focused on what is important.

I check on this list every now and then to see if I still feel the same about what I recorded. Usually the things I have listed stay, which I take as things that are important to remember. But if what I wrote down doesn’t seem relevant anymore, I get rid of it. It’s like reflecting on my reflections.

I hope to use this list to help me remember what I have thought about during my internship, when the weight of the principalship wasn’t clouding my thinking. I hope that in times of frustration, uncertainty, or even indifference, I can return to this collection of ideas and remind myself of what is important.

Here’s my list:

How do you continue to reflect and record ideas worth remembering?

Share it.

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.”

This is a quote from Maya Angelou and even though she may have intended it for something completely different, it made me think about how important it is for educators to share their skills and ideas with others.

Much of the work we are doing in schools in Ohio this year is to satisfy new mandates and new initiatives. Many of us are finding it hard to stay innovative and to be willing to take on new ideas because we are busy with the minutiae or we are tired from being busy with the minutiae.

However, I don't think any of that is going away anytime soon. So, instead of continuing to complain about it, we need to move on and find more sources of inspiration and innovation. That's where sharing becomes so important.

We need to be sharing our ideas, lessons, books we read, thoughts we have - anything that is important to us because it spurs further thinking and ideas in others. There are so many ways for educators to easily share their ideas - Twitter, Google+, blogging...it's all there, we just need to access it.

And don't let your own ideas stop you. When I first got connected through Twitter and started blogging, I was reluctant to share because I thought, "Who is going to think this is a good idea?". I realized that I needed to change my mindset to, "I hope this helps someone get an idea that will help kids." That shift in thinking helped me realize that it was important for me to add my voice to the collective conversation.

I love this quote from George Couros about realizing we are the experts. I think it speaks to the importance of sharing our knowledge with others:

When we look at change, we have to realize everything we need is often already within our own organization.  We just have to figure out how to unleash this talent. Isn’t this the culture we want in our classrooms?  It has to be modeled from the top and the way that we view every individual part of our organization.

So, make it a point to start sharing more of your ideas with others. If you haven't connected on a social media platform yet, get connected. If you have accounts, start using them.

I need your ideas to help me continue to grow as a teacher.