source: www.3birdsmarketing.com

Recently, I was listening to a podcast with renown astronaut  Commander Chris Hadfield. During the podcast Chris said, “There is no problem so bad that you can’t make it worse.” I was immediately struck by the quote. Could we doing just this in education?

It has been documented over and over again that we have problems in education(and it has been documented that we do not have problems). There are achievement gaps, poverty gaps, technology gaps, and even teaching gaps. Some of these gaps get wider, some deeper and all are noticed.

We have also seen countless ideas on how to fix our problems. There are schools that are closed, monitored, given more money, more resources, less money, less resources…. there are increased emphasis on assessments, data, and student out put. We have countless studies informing teachers why they should use whole group instruction, direct instruction, small group instruction, leveled instruction, one -to-one and we debate class sizes, use of technology, co-teaching, departmentalization, integration, private, charter, public, magnet…. not to mention common core, national standards, local standards…. The lists, the contradictions, the hyperbole’s go on and on and on…

Are we making the problem better or worse?

Thoughts?

Ideas?

Suggestions?

There is an old adage I reflect on quite often…  you can’t enjoy the sweet without the sour.

The sweet and sour aspects of leadership.

Recently, my co-hosts on the PrincipalCast  Podcast discussed how being a principal was the greatest job in the world. We were able to spend 45 minutes discussing how awesome it is being a principal, the rewards, and the responsibility.  I’m sure we could have went 45 more minutes discussing this topic. It was easy! But how do we really know the rewards without truly understanding the challenges. The sour aspects of being a principal.

For starters, being a principal is mentally and physically tasking. We work long hours, are required to wear many hats, and deal with a range of stakeholders who all have a say in the direction of the school. We are required to be part of a system, and many struggle with the fact that “our” school is not “our” school. If we are in public schools, then we have a Board of Education, State and Federal Department of Education that have a huge impact on our school. In the private education world, principals have Boards of Trustees, dioceses, and other governing bodies to consider.

It is often understated that principals are dealing with the pride and joy of parents. I’m sure it’s not hard to visualize the parent who couldn’t imagine their son/daughter engaging in behavior that would cause them to end up in your office. Or the parent that has waved the white flag even though their child is only 8 years old. Parents express their concerns with the school in many ways, and I am sure you have hear of the various “you can’t make this up” stories.

Principals are faced with many challenges that require a deeper understanding of the human condition. You never really understand the complexities of this until your sitting at your desk and someone comes in and closes the door because they need to “talk.” These closed door talks could range from needing to get out of work early to classroom management struggles, questions about an observations, or even to cancer, or even death of a family member. Life happens and teachers need the principal to be understanding, and aware of their staff’s situations. It always amazes me the responsibilities that are piled on teachers outside of the school day.

Accidents happen, mistakes are made, disagreements and challenges are thrown are way every day. Many on the outside walk by the principal’s office and say, “I would never want that job” while others say, “I could do that job so much better” and still others say, “I want to do what I can to make their job more enjoyable.”

Still we press on.

Sweet

and

Sour

source:www.kidpresident.com

In my previous post The Importance of Showing Vulnerability, I discussed how I was not a fan of “know it alls” or folks who were not humble in their interaction with others. Someone who had read the blog asked me this question (which lead to this post), ” Spike, I understand the concept of showing vulnerability, but don’t people take advantage of that? Also, what if you really know something? Isn’t it important to speak up?” All great questions….

Although there is power in being vulnerable, it is very important to ensure that others do not take advantage. For instance, you are in a meeting and people are arguing over something, and you know that you could add insight… It’s important for you to take action! In many regards, actions speak louder than words.

Here are my suggestions for turning vulnerability into action:

• Turn questions or problems into action – Volunteer to get involved or to get a project started. Sometimes it is hard to add things to you plate, but if helps you or your organization then you will ultimately benefit.
• Stand up for yourself when you feel others are being inappropriate – Know it alls, bullies and passive aggressive people are detrimental to organizations. Don’t let them speak for you or others.
• Use your resources – If you don’t know the answer, make sure to look it up. Ask trusted collegues for advice, research, plan and put something into action.

Actually, I think Kid President’s suggestions are better than mine…. Enjoy!

 

source: http://www.fastcompany.com/1798504/box-ceo-aaron-levie-create-something-exceptional-do-sweat-small-stuff

How many of you read the book, “Don’t sweat the small stuff?” I did and I agreed with it…. Until I started my third year as a principal. Why the shift? Glad you asked…

Over the past 10 or 15 years the message to administrators has been something like this…. Don’t be a manager, be a leader; stay in the balcony so you can see the orchestra; empower people and give them  freedom to work… All sounds like great advice, but what happens when the results from the organization are not what you expect? Are teachers and administrators matching their espoused (what the say) with their theories-in-use (what they actually do)? These are the questions that I am wrestling with as an educational leader in the 21st century.

So how will I lead differently? My plan this year is to pay more attention to the details. As I enter classrooms I will be looking, listening and interacting differently. I will be looking for standards-based instruction, listening for common language among grade levels and asking higher order questions of the staff and the students. I will be placing more emphasis on lesson plans and checking plans against the implementation of those plans.

Are we doing what we say we are doing?

I want to know why more then ever.

Joe Sanfelippo District Lead Learner

I had the opportunity to skype with Fall Creek School District Superintendent Joe Sanfelippo the leader of the Crickets. I’m sure by now you have heard the crickets chirping through social media…. if not, you have to check out #gocrickets on twitter. In preparing for the interview, I had to brush up on my knowledge of crickets. I went to buzzle to research the characteristics of crickets and what I found was quite symbolic. Did you know that crickets can survive in almost any type of environment, and they play an important role in bringing balance to the ecosystem? #gocrickets!

Joe started his journey into social media as a better way to get information to people. He immediately saw the benefits of celebrating what is going in school and telling the story of his district. During his first year he “lurked” on twitter and was able to bring global ideas and best practices back to Fall Creek. As his comfort level grew with social media, Joe began to share the news with his fellow crickets.  He stayed true to his mission of being a servant leader… as he said, “If I am leading this organization, and I want others to be connected, I had to be learning along with everybody else. This learning helped me connect with parents, students and teachers in a much different way then I had before.”

Everybody wants to be like Joe

In March, Joe attended the national ASCD conference in Chicago. It was during that conference he met many of the educators he had been following on twitter in person for the first time. He found out how much he had in common no matter where they were from. Joe and I met at that conference in Chicago and we attended the Maya Angelou Keynote together. Having been part of Joe’s PLN our conversation flowed naturally…. I felt like I had known him for 20 years!

I asked Joe to share his experiences as a connected superintendent (one of the least represented groups in the connected world). He says that his Board of Education is extremely supportive and loves how social media has helped the district improve its global awareness. The local media have covered several stories about the district which has served as an additional support network for the district. Joe balances his tweets between telling the crickets story on the athletic field, in the classroom, on the stage or on the playground.

Joe feels his job as the district lead learner is to help parents, teachers and students gain access to resources. He doesn’t mind leading the charge. Joe also sees the power of using social media to connect with his leadership mission and vision. “There is not a person who doesn’t know about my philosophies on education because of social media. It has opened up a whole new avenue of transparency and lines of communication,” he said enthusiastically.

Joe also sees the power that social media plays in the marketing of his district. Kids tweet him questions during football games, and parents have immediate access to him. There is an renewed pride in being a Cricket. The Fall Creek School district, which is a PK -12 building with 800 kids, is the perfect location for Joe. Even though it is a small town in the mid-west part of the USA, the Crickets now have a global awareness due to Joe’s commitment of “telling the story.” Nowadays, wherever Fall Creek paraphernalia is, you are sure to see the #gocrickets!

When I asked Joe where he sees education in the  future he didn’t hesitate to say… Personalized learning. He hopes that in the future that students will have choice and voice in the process. He doesn’t see traditional schooling going away, it will get better. Schools are made of people who teach the way they were taught, and the systems keeps going on.

Want to learn more about Joe? Check out these resources

Follow Joe Sanfelippo on twitter

Joe Sanfelippo’s blog 

Follow the Crickets #gocrickets

Fall Creek Teachers on the Red Carpet 

News story on the new playground 

Joe Sanfelippo did his doctoral work on the implementation of PBIS…. Checkout this screencast

This is the second post in my summer 2013 series of people who are making a difference.

Picture being up in Maine, faced with opportunity of teaching a new subject and needing help….Where would you turn? Who would you turn to? In 2003, Richard Byrne was faced with these same questions and he turned to the internet. We all know the internet was much different back in 2003, but according to Richard, it was exactly what he needed, and exactly what his students needed.

Fast forward to 2013 and Richard Byrne has become an enigma in technology education. His blog, Free Technology for Teachers, has been viewed a gazillion times, has won Edublog awards since 2009, has over 5,000 followers on Google +, and has over 35,000 likes on Facebook. If you have never accessed the site, you have a lot of reading to do. As of July 9, 2013, Richard has 7,503 blog posts. Yes, 7,503 blog posts!

When I asked Richard to talk about his blogging process, he said that it has evolved over the years. At first, his posts were more about him, and now they are meant for his audience… us! In his first post on Free Technology for Teachers, Richard discussed his mission… to provide free resources for teachers to increase academic success. 7,502 posts later and Richard is staying true to his mission! In addition to being free, Richard ensures that his resources only take someone 10 -15 minutes to utilize and implement into their classroom. Yes, I said free!

During the last year, Richard gave up his full time teaching position to focus on his blogging, speaking and consulting work. What started out as a labor of love, has afforded Richard the opportunity to travel around the world and meet amazing students and educators. He encourages new bloggers and web 2.0 users to keep going and be persistent. He also said that it is important to know why you want to blog and to stay true to that mission.

When I asked Richard about the future of education he did not hesitate to say, “We will see in a very short time the end of the computer lab.” He envisions an educational world that is focused on personalized learning devices to help student solve problems, access information and create something new. He doesn’t have particular advice for the platform (ie. mac vs PC) but rather he feels that districts should figure out what works best for their schools.

Take a look at this animoto about his recent trip to where the Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp will be held:

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

Want to connect with Richard?

Twitter  

Facebook

Free Technology for Teachers 

Google+