a personal blog on leadership and education
A few days ago we got a small dusting of snow on the ground. Not like what we had two years ago (see slider below). That is something that I would never like to repeat again. There is just something about the fresh snow fall, even when it is only a dusting. It is calm…
When was the last time you had somebody do something for you that made you feel special? Chances are it was fairly recently. What about your students in your classrooms? Chances are that if it was not you that did something to make these students feel special, then nobody did. Our kids come from the…
I think that most people in the field of education have heard the word “equity” in their daily practice. While many have heard it, many still do not understand it. This picture is one that many have seen. It brings to light what equity stands for day-in and day-out in our profession. Providing supports for…
Our first full week is now complete. I am astonished on how smooth it has been this year. We have had some very large changes in the building that usually lend themselves to causing complications until a system gets put in place to help it run. This year we are implementing a new students information…
Everybody has heard from others that being positive and creating a culture that you want to see is what ultimately drives the negative and unwanted culture away from you. This is very true and I do believe this. The difficult part of this is waiting for this to transpire. Often times we want to see…
Why do we do this work? Many would say for the kids and that is a great answer, but many kids will go through school just fine. They are elastic and adhere to anything that you put in front of them. All three of my kids are just like this. While each of them has…
As educators we all want our students to be successful. We work hard each and every day for ALL students to help them be successful. There are many great instructional practices that we employ on a daily basis to help them be successful. Great teachers use all of their tools in their toolboxes to help…
As an attempt to change up how I am blogging and am starting to record videos on my thoughts. I usually have plenty of time to record a 4-5 minute video while I am driving to and from the school. I figured this would give me a more authentic posting and more frequent posting as…
This weekend, as I was reflecting on my week, I ran across an article by Daniel Steele entitled “Letter to a Discouraged Student“. This was a very profound letter. Beautifully written from a principal to student perspective. While I have no idea if this was actually written for a specific student or for the general…
Be relentless about creating, maintaining, and sustaining a positive culture in your schools. What students experience becomes their norm. We all know that many of our students experience norms at home that we would not want in our schools, but we must counteract that with a positive culture. That all begins with the relationships we…