tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87093923091262455502024-02-18T20:24:01.643-08:00Learning Leadership...Essential Reflections of a Middle School Principal Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-62174191166909235962021-02-17T12:02:00.004-08:002021-02-17T12:11:31.601-08:00Learning Leadership: Looking Back and Ahead<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This summer will mark seven years since I launched <a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2014/07/?m=0">my first blog post</a> as part of what was then a new blog, <b><i>Learning Leadership</i></b>. At that time I was a relatively new Principal, curious about the connections between learning and leadership. As an educator, a husband, and a dad, I've made plenty of mistakes along my journey. And, I've remained committed to a process of reflection, growth, and improvement in (and eventually out) of a global pandemic. Serving as Principal in a pandemic has drawn my attention to the importance of and delicate balance between leadership and management in an organization. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4GbabdcSLnNdXUKzHAPSDUCFBgFl0RRTwRt6Bh0iUgV9xBM7XLQNnsZOODcu-83VyaQsuY1Oq6MwhUKvzJWm6uNo_rxJx4ypDa8q9DcLFD1iRj_VGSo4zXaw5CFR_UfetDEs0nM8XCOv/s1500/219297DE-3CD1-4A64-9B9E-62D1B6820D5A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4GbabdcSLnNdXUKzHAPSDUCFBgFl0RRTwRt6Bh0iUgV9xBM7XLQNnsZOODcu-83VyaQsuY1Oq6MwhUKvzJWm6uNo_rxJx4ypDa8q9DcLFD1iRj_VGSo4zXaw5CFR_UfetDEs0nM8XCOv/w536-h179/219297DE-3CD1-4A64-9B9E-62D1B6820D5A.jpeg" width="536" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Writing is something I've always enjoyed. As a kid, I was captivated by words and ideas, and how when woven together in just the right way, they create meaning. Throughout my youth, I explored reading various genres and writing in various formats. Then, as a teacher and eventually, a school administrator, my writing consisted mostly of "work writing", in the form of report card narratives and observation reports. So five years into being a Principal seemed like the perfect opportunity to rediscover my voice, so I started a blog.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Around this same time, Twitter caught my attention. It was a unique platform, ranging somewhere between a learning tool to a community space for me. My openness to learn and my thoughts and ideas were welcomed. Through blogging, I'd found that I was able to unpack and process my thoughts, embracing vulnerability along the way. My blogs, open and honest ventures, often connected to a larger theme I was learning about or trying to figure out. Maybe best of all, I wasn't alone, in fact, there were lots of other people across the globe, I found, who used the space in very much the same way. No agenda other than to learn, together. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those days, there were times when I was writing for others, but mostly, I wrote for myself. I found that through the writing process, while consuming (and sometimes all-consuming), Helping myself left me better equipped to help others, day-to-day.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not sure why, but I rarely, if ever go back and reread or re-post old blog posts I've written. And I also rarely reflect on the title of my blog, <i>Learning Leadership</i>. But I do often vividly remember what I've learned. Thinking back to what I thought I knew, about myself, my role, and my place in the world, I can thoroughly appreciate how much I've grown through the years, as a person.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Moving forward, the blog theme may change a bit, because, after all, I'm changing. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like the baseball field that is left to overgrow, a visit to my blog will reveal a need for some maintenance, some attention, some TLC. There's a lot that's happened and is happening in the world since I've published my last few posts. And while I've written with various degrees of consistency over the years, while I can also admit, "I've been busy doing the work", and "too busy to write about it", I must also confess, that's a bit lazy and a cop-out. We're never be too busy to learn and give. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Writing is something I need to do. I need to publish more regularly. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And while I commit to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">do it for myself, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">if choose to hit, "Publish", and one person reads what I've written, and is moved to think, learn, or lead differently, then it was worth it. Maybe I could use a little help with that.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So I'm going to start writing again. Sometimes I'll save it as a draft, read it the next day, and click delete. And other times, I'll publish it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So for what it's worth, I'm back. And if you're willing to read and to engage with me, I'm here for it</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Maybe I'll share something that resonates, matches something you're learning about, or moves you to action. If that happens, let me know, so we can struggle, grow, progress, and maybe even thrive together. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm still and always will be learning leadership. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoL7zDfp7kJ_YLyVKbBkDIA_zedPFuP4M0CtbY2D3NQ0oQGBsNrJq8Wq28ZnG4y9G1kueuUnYm56mcD3fqb6aNvwxCp20MHRtmeLBxR8ts0yxV4pf5_2wKnxh274w4skNOC6LqMwAxteB/s1280/360A3854-035B-4344-8C57-A9FFB91E5D9A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1280" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoL7zDfp7kJ_YLyVKbBkDIA_zedPFuP4M0CtbY2D3NQ0oQGBsNrJq8Wq28ZnG4y9G1kueuUnYm56mcD3fqb6aNvwxCp20MHRtmeLBxR8ts0yxV4pf5_2wKnxh274w4skNOC6LqMwAxteB/w530-h234/360A3854-035B-4344-8C57-A9FFB91E5D9A.jpeg" width="530" /></a></div><div></div><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Looking forward to learning, together...again. </span></p>Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-43251851705422585932020-09-05T07:32:00.025-07:002020-09-05T09:02:01.339-07:00The Comeback<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">"The comeback is ALWAYS stronger than the setback."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.99pt; font-style: inherit; text-align: justify;">Each year since my first year of teaching, now 24 years ago, I lose sleep leading up to the opening days of school. I want to prepare and plan so I can make a good first impression and start the year off right. That torturous, exhausting ritual has followed me through my 13 years at the elementary school and has since become my middle school principal routine for the last 11 years. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This year is different. I’ve lost sleep for the last six months. I've struggled to find the words to capture the energy and the magic of the first day of school in 2020. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This has had me worried.</span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then yesterday I got a text message. My uncle, my mother’s youngest brother, sent me a text message and some photos.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">
<br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They were photos of my first best friend, and one of my first teachers, my grandfather. James Tuohy, or Bumpa, as we’ve known him. 23 years ago, in my first year of teaching, I learned that he died unexpectedly after a long and happy life. Hopefully by now we’ve all had this person in our lives. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">From the day I was born, Bumpa was by my side. He was there when I was a sick kid in and out of the hospital. He was there when I graduated high school and when I wanted to attend the college of my dreams, he helped to finance that. This made my dream, to become a teacher, possible. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then later, when I became a teacher, he would brag to everyone willing to listen that I, his “Bupsa Boy '' was a schoolteacher. It’s funny now I think back and remember with a smile the times that he even referred to me as “the Principal Teacher”. Sometimes I wonder what he knew or could see, back in 1997.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But I digress.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34Umh72Ln8R2PAICA_wtGVRe3Q3iBJaxjpE_FjIuRQdVvumKJn6YbH-M5XzUz8njxOwtG2b6mxJ69nsF0KBdNhAVL5iZFjos6NpMGVhNuC9xIU-j3Dz7tNDFrcFY0x9kO5lZ3zu0RpWhT/s1600/IMG_3992.jpg" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: calibri, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="961" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34Umh72Ln8R2PAICA_wtGVRe3Q3iBJaxjpE_FjIuRQdVvumKJn6YbH-M5XzUz8njxOwtG2b6mxJ69nsF0KBdNhAVL5iZFjos6NpMGVhNuC9xIU-j3Dz7tNDFrcFY0x9kO5lZ3zu0RpWhT/w375-h625/IMG_3992.jpg" width="375" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I’d like to read you the text from my uncle.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“September 2, 2020 [yesterday] marked the 75 Year Anniversary of the Japanese Signing of the Declaration of Surrender on the USS Missouri docked in Tokyo Bay. This marked the end of WWII.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">These photos are from Bumpa’s WWII scrapbook of that day. He served in the South Pacific from 1943-1945 on the USS Benevolence and was on board the Missouri with other sailors and Marines to take witness.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Just to put things into perspective, He was only 19 years old when this photo was taken and had already fought in a war. Makes me so proud to know where we come from !!!! We come from good stock.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8xVOU29QoyfEtciB4v6mOWU6fuaed-y5e1XX4kQm2SUiIpugjdq3felW3AZol6hbpkAa1yXqsxHGa_qzKp3aFqboO3dNUWFDl72GNZUxIJtqgLSGwnBuo5eG7M9hjcRdo0-zBN0Wsvru/s1600/IMG_3991.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8xVOU29QoyfEtciB4v6mOWU6fuaed-y5e1XX4kQm2SUiIpugjdq3felW3AZol6hbpkAa1yXqsxHGa_qzKp3aFqboO3dNUWFDl72GNZUxIJtqgLSGwnBuo5eG7M9hjcRdo0-zBN0Wsvru/w469-h625/IMG_3991.jpg" width="469" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">-----</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Why do I share this with you all? And now?</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Because on Tuesday, we will have the opportunity to learn people’s stories, the stories of 9 ½ to 13 ½ year-olds. So much of the work we do, the real work, once people’s basic human needs are met, is learning the stories of our students. When we learn their stories, we begin to understand the world through their eyes.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So, together, let's devote 2020-21 to learning the stories of others. Our students. Our parents and guardians. Our community members. Our colleagues. One another. Ourselves. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Since March 13, I’ve learned so much about all of you and about our story.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I learned the value of communication.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Collaboration.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Learning.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Leadership.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And Relationships.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I learned the role of trust and listening. And how all the qualities, how they all contribute to a school culture that supports adolescents. Each and every one of them.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I learned everyone has a story. Because our students need us, and they need us to know and understand and appreciate and value their stories. Where they come from. Where they’ve been. And where they are going. Some students missed school and their friends. Some students experienced hardship and personal tragedy. And others, who we’ve seen struggle in school, thrived while learning from home. Let’s think about the mindsets of each of our 660 returning students on the first day of school.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Now more than ever, they need us. They need to know we care, to see we care, and to feel and appreciate that we will always be by their side, and in their corner.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Now here’s the catch. if you spoke to my grandfather at any point in his adult life, you’d likely never know what he experienced, the history he experienced..</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His generation - the Greatest Generation - went on after experiencing the fear and uncertainty of war - to carve out new jobs and careers, neighborhoods where they started their adult lives and had families. Lives in which there was a deep meaning and purpose in their everyday life and work.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Humble, unassuming. Hardworking and kind. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Kind of reminds me of our students and so many families here in HB. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s the potential we all have starting right now, starting on September 8. To be someone’s favorite teacher. Their go-to person. Their reason for coming to school.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We have an rare and special opportunity to teach and influence the next Greatest Generation. Like the country looked to kids like the teenage Jimmy Tuohy in the 1940s, we are going to be among adolescents who will inherit the 2020s. Pre-teens, and teens, who will look to us, their teachers. They are going to need us and not know how to ask for help. They are going to come to us with stories some we know, some we think we know. And others, we haven’t learned yet.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When our first class, post closure, comes through our school doors on Tuesday, we will be challenged in new and unimaginable ways that our education courses and our decades of our teaching careers haven’t yet prepared us to face. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We also, if we open ourselves to the possibility, will have opportunities to learn like we have never learned before. If we approach this school year with patience and humility, and extending and modeling grace towards one another, our students and families, and even to ourselves, we will grow, we will progress, and we will succeed, together.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This will require and demand patience, courage, willingness and ability to learn from those we are used to “teaching” first. We will need to lean on and help one another. And we will need to listen and learn from each other, and of greater importance, from our students.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Like when I was 23, this new school year, my 11th as your principal will be “first year”.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Stories of overcoming adversity, of making progress in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, they’re all around us.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And we have a choice. We can choose to live and to teach like we did in the 1990s, the 2000s, or even February 2020.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Each of us, in our own way, has experienced the last half year. Some hardships, some personal loss and tragedy, some celebrations. That’s us. Now let’s think of our students.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So this is our challenge: Let’s commit and recommit to resisting the urge to teach “on the surface”. Instead, let’s admit to ourselves and our students that we are learning right alongside one another. Let’s make it our first priority, while we establish and build new habits and routines - whether it’s how we enter and exit the school building, how, when, and where to use the restroom, proper hand washing, social distancing, or face coverings. Let’s keep the focus on that which matters most - the idea that all kids need and deserve our attention towards meeting their basic human needs - in classrooms that are safe and healthy, with nourishment, and opportunities to learn with one another and with you.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In closing, I will leave you with this thought. On March 13, we bravely faced a setback that we did not see on the horizon. And at the end of June, we celebrated our 8th graders together. In July and August, we regrouped, and we learned that we can take a lot more than we sometimes give ourselves credit for being able to take. But there’s something else, there’s the comeback.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And the comeback is ALWAYS stronger than the setback.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border: 0px; font-size: 13.99pt; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thank you for all you do for our students and our middle school community. Together, we will make this a memorable year of learning and growth for our students and for one another.</span></div>
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</span>Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-87979045332865616742020-06-03T09:21:00.000-07:002020-06-03T16:20:42.596-07:00Leadership Opportunities<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Usually, I blog about my Learning Leadership journey - school, family, or professional learning - "safe" topics. Sticking to topics I have some degree of confidence in "knowing what I know" has worked for me. The topic of this post is different. So I ask any readers, old or new, to please extend me the grace and understanding as I learn. Thoughts and prayers to the family of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and also to Christian Cooper, for the calm poise demonstrated in Central Park. Thoughts and prayers to our police officers who protect and defend in service of others, all our essential workers, and the families of those who are among the over 100,000 lives lost due to Covid-19.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"All progress happens in uncertain times." </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">- Ozan Varol, Law Professor, Author, Rocket Scientist</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Over the course of the last 11 weeks, we've heard time and time again, through sickness, tragedy, hardship, struggle, and inconvenience, that there are many leadership opportunities that exist. Covid-19, the economy, the school closures, the federal, state, and local government, politics, public education, among many other topics, are all part of this dialogue. Even within our schools, countless opportunities to take a step back and look more closely at practices, some of which we do because as they saying goes, "We've always done it that way". These are among the categories that have presented these "opportunities" for leaders to rise up and model strength, to reassure, to create conditions, to navigate and often, remove obstacles so others may be successful. In recent weeks, each of us has seen and experienced some of the best and worst leadership responses in all sorts of situations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am fortunate. So, so fortunate. As someone who was raised in a hardworking middle class family, I am now a husband and father in a middle class family, living in a middle class neighborhood. I have my health, career security, and quite honestly, want for nothing. I proudly serve as Principal in a school where I am part of a cohesive team, with strong leaders, role models, and partners around me who all work towards a common goal. The students where I lead </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">make me proud, their families make me proud. Proud, because they remind me of friends and family members I've known, growing up, who work for everything they have. That's a special quality that takes a kid far in life; I've seen it time and again, especially as an educator. I am lucky, I am fortunate, I am blessed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The news, of late, has been difficult to follow, nearly impossible to digest in bite-sized pieces. As a New Yorker, I've closely followed the 11:30 am reports issued by <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo"><b>Governor Andrew Cuomo</b></a>, during his daily press conferences, in which he provides updates on daily Covid-19 death rates in New York, while messaging the importance of "flattening the curve", providing PPE to our essential workers, and that we wear facial protection in public. Never one to hold back, the governor speaks about the important role that science, data, numbers, and facts play in decision-making. I've chosen to follow the news of the global pandemic sparingly, doing my best to make sense of it all, and make decisions in the best interest of my family. For the last 11 weeks, I've worried, lost sleep, while intentionally maintaining some semblance of personal discipline towards my own physical and social emotional wellness. Despite what the governor says, being "New York Tough" isn't quite as easy as it sounds, when part of a soundbite.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then on Monday, May 25, we learned the name <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html"><b>George Floyd</b></a>, a 46 year old man who was killed in police custody, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This news felt...different. Maybe it is because, in a global pandemic, we've had significant every day distractions removed, clearing the way for other thoughts to occupy our attention. Maybe it's because of the extensive video footage or media coverage. Or maybe it is because of society's reaction to this event, the death of another unarmed African American male. The news of George Floyd was tragic and unfathomable, particularly in light of the global pandemic. I struggled to make sense of it for several days, finding myself drawn into the depths of the 24 hour news cycle. But I remembered this feeling; it was not unlike the feeling of when hearing the news of the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/9-11-attacks"><b>September 11 terrorist attacks</b></a>, or school shootings, at <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/columbine-high-school-shootings"><b>Columbine, at Sandy Hook, and at Parkland</b></a>. Only now, we don't have our school community to tend to, to grieve with, and to process action steps towards learning together and making a difference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Feeling fortunate for the positive distractions that comes with seeing students and families (who were visiting school to retrieve their belongings because of forced school closure due to Covid-19), on Friday evening, I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of guilt. I had come to realize, in reflecting on that term, "leadership opportunities", that I had, in fact seized one, by going to school for the first time in ten weeks, to see students. While my initial intent was to help, I started to think that was an act of selfishness. I had chosen this "leadership opportunity", it had not chosen me. Going to school, it turns out, was the easy. I have and am a member of a great team, I was embracing the privilege I have, as Principal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I could not stop thinking of a student who I met long ago. An African American student who I watched grow up, through elementary school (when I was there as a teacher and new administrator) and on through middle school, when I became Principal. He was misunderstood, an African American child and later, adolescent, in a school world that did not look like him. I made a point to find ways to connect with him, through sports, through "guy stuff", and through books. After reading Jason Reynolds' <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Track-Jason-Reynolds/dp/1481450158"><i><b>Ghost</b></i></a>, I made sure to tell him about it When he looked surprised that I had read it, we talked about the characters, and which reminded me of him and why. And when I had the chance to hand him a copy I had purchased, his eyes lit up. We wound up reading and discussing <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jason-Reynoldss-Track-Ghost-Patina/dp/153443979X"><b><i>the Track Series</i></b></a>, forging a special connection, through literature. Maybe it was because he had a certain view of the way people saw him that differed from me. I saw him as an adolescent and a reader, and as someone who was trying to fit in and not stand out, all for reasons beyond his control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is who I could not stop thinking about when I heard the news surrounding the name, <i>George Floyd</i>. An enormous sense of sadness and guilt filled my entire being. I didn't know what to do with this energy, what to do to process my own feelings, so I could help others</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">. What I did know was that I had to start somewhere. This was one of those leadership opportunities we've been hearing about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On Friday night, I recalled all that I'd learned as a participant in the <i>Leading Equity Virtual Summit</i> organized by <a href="https://twitter.com/sheldoneakins"><b>Dr. Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D</b>.</a>, attending numerous sessions involving ways educators can begin to embrace a mindset towards diversity, equity, and inclusivity. After thinking about this all week, I discovered <a href="https://vimeo.com/423603775/28bc86fde1"><b>the latest video clip from Dr. Eakins</b></a>, and his honest reflections, as a black man, raising a black son, and how the series of recent events impact and challenge our morals, as human beings, and for me, as a white American male.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I didn't sleep at all that night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Instead, I couldn't help but be glued to the footage, recapping the events and now, the beginnings of the aftermath. All I could do was think about that student. Think about how he was feeling during a global pandemic. Think about how we felt on a day-to-day basis, walking around a school that doesn't serve his basic human needs as a young black male. Think about how we all convince ourselves that we do understand him, his personal journey, how he sees the world through his own eyes. How we (how I) unknowingly failed him, countless times, when all he needed was for someone, anyone, to understand him, to just listen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On Saturday morning, social media seemed exceptionally quiet, more so than a typical energetic, ambitious Saturday. If there were people using these spaces to reflect on the state of affairs, it didn't seem to be happening in the same space where I was. Maybe people, like me, were sorting things out? Or maybe it was something else. What I did find was a video that, in a strange way, I needed to see and at that moment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's called, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000003575589/a-conversation-with-my-black-son.html"><b>"A Conversation with My Black Son"</b></a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Watch it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was my first step on the road to understanding this differently. Reflecting back to being a young boy myself, and later, the father of young boys. To think, the only dialogue we've had that are remotely resembles this involved the awkward "birds and bees" talk. (Admittedly, neither of which I handled well, first as an adolescent boy nor later as a father of adolescent boys.) To think black parents speak to their black sons about the appropriate manner in which they are to handle themselves when interacting with law enforcement, left me feeling...shaken. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>This...happens?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then I came across the short clip of Jane Elliott, the American anti-racist activist and one-time third grade teacher. Watching this brought me back to being a nineteen year-old aspiring teacher. I remembered sitting in an college classroom as part of my teacher education program, learning about her "blue eyes, brown eyes" exercise that she conducted in her class on April 5, 1968, the day following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. </span><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/1266730015196090368?s=20" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>"If you, as a white person, would be happy to receive the same treatment that our black citizens do in this society, please stand."</b></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Watch it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This got me thinking, how, several decades after reading about Jane Elliott, I too, became a third grade teacher. How hard I worked to earn that chance, but now I think about being a white male and the impact it had on my chance to do this. I realize this is where my white privilege started as an adult, or rather, this was where I first realized it. In the last quarter century, I have yet to show the courage, to raise questions like those from Jane Elliott, to myself, let alone anyone else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then I had he good fortune to discover this tweet from Bill Ferriter (<a href="https://twitter.com/plugusin"><b>@plugsin</b></a>). Some besides me was thinking about this, reflecting, processing, and looking for answers. For as much criticism as social media spaces face at times, this exchange reminded me that there was good out there, and sometimes all you had to do is look a little deeper, below the surface, past the superficial platitudes. While my questions remained and increased in number, I was not alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This also got me thinking again about the amazing author, <a href="https://www.jasonwritesbooks.com/"><b>Jason Reynolds</b></a>, about my former student again, and the power of literature to help us when we need it most. So I downloaded <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-American-Boys-Jason-Reynolds/dp/1481463330"><b>All American Boys</b></a></i>, jumped on my bike, and started pedaling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I listened and I pedaled, and I reflected, until the narrator stopped reading. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Maybe it was the stillness of a beautiful May morning, the vitamin D, or the adrenaline from getting my heart pumping, or (most definitely), the words of Jason Reynolds, as they flowed through my earbuds on into my heart. But I came back home feeling...different. Yes, I had found meaning in the story and empathized with the characters. And no, I had not yet done nearly what was accomplished in this book. Despite my unsettled feelings about all that is happening in the world right now, I knew I had to do something, especially as a white male, who is the same age as George Floyd. Our stories were different, but in the end, we wanted many of the same things in life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, I will focus on being a part of and creating space where people can:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Seek to understand.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Empathize.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Learn from the experiences of others.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'll repeat that cycle, adding actions to my intentions, as I learn and grow.</span></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-36782014021354247782020-05-28T12:01:00.002-07:002020-05-28T12:56:18.146-07:00Good Things...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">No doubt, the experience of a global pandemic has been challenging for so many people, in unimaginable ways. While by no means have I been impacted to the degree so many we learn about every day in the news, this experience has removed certain distractions, clearing the way for deeper reflection and time to consider what really matters, as well as what we may have taken for granted up to this point. Each day, I find myself noticing these things. Sometimes I feel guilty for not seeing them before, and often, I am grateful for having a second chance to reflect and appreciate things differently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By comparison in my life, one element absent from my daily routine since mid-March is my daily drive to and from work. Fortunately, I've been able to fill that time with productive and meaningful things, despite a closure that prevents me from leading a school full of students, staff, and middle school life. Only now, since I've resumed a modified schedule, as the world looks to reopen, have I realized the important space my commute occupies in my life, particularly as a learner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This particular drive has been a part of my life for two and a half decades. And in all that time, I'd rarely given it too much thought. It was a 45 minute drive, to and from work, that I "had to do". We all get 168 hours a week. Roughly eight of those hours for me was spent in the car. In recent times, I'd come to see this as my spending the equivalent of what is (on a good day), a standard work day, with my eyes on the road and my hands on the steering wheel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Eight hours is significant. Think about what we can do in that amount of time. Get a recommended night's sleep. Read one or more books, or write a daily journal or blog entry. Exercise or meditate daily. Share regular meals or conversations with our loved ones. I have previously written on this topic in<b> <a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2018/12/pause-my-oneword2019.html">my #OneWord2019 post, <i>Pause</i></a></b>. In fact, one of my favorite aspects of his post is that it involves my daughter, driving the same route as my commute, with me seated in the passenger seat. (Another blog for another time.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I've gained so much perspective and time to reflect on why I am grateful for being fortunate, lucky, and blessed in life. However. one down-side that's presented itself on a regular basis since mid-March has been coming to re-imagine how I'd make up my "learning time". I'd accepted long ago that if I was going to be driving, I could also be learning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Prioritized meaningful professional learning has long been something I "get to do". Whether it's being an active member of several professional learning communities, listening to audio books and podcasts, or having a phone conversation with a friend, colleague, or mentor, my eight hours on the road would be for learning, I "have to" drive to and from work. I "get to" learn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">One podcast worth your time is called </span><i style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/series/the_science_of_happiness"><b>The Science of Happiness</b></a></i><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">. Now, admittedly, I am someone who enjoys learning about self-improvement techniques, to improve myself for others, and share with others, I know this may not be for everyone. Reading and listening to this content always seems to help me to reflect more deeply, understand and empathize with the human condition, and, equip me to help others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">More than usual these days, I find myself contemplating the words of <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/profile/dacher_keltner"><b>Dacher Keltner, Ph.D.</b></a>, who poses the following thought to open the podcast:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Imagine your body had a happiness button, with a direct line to your brain. And every time you pressed it, you felt a jolt of joy, satisfaction, and contentment. You could get happy in an instant, whenever you want. Would you use it? Would you press the button?"</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>While there is no "happiness button", one small way that we can offer ourselves some "space for grace" during a pandemic is to "just write". One topic on which to focus is identifying "good things" that are happening, despite challenging circumstances. <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-of-happiness/id1340505607?i=1000401488118"><b>This episode</b></a> of The Science of Happiness podcast will help frame your thinking, if you wanted to get started today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the coming days and weeks, I am going to share some examples from my life. Keeping a journal or blogging are by no means a substitute for the services that a licensed mental health professional can offer. However, three good things can help bring some positive focus to the simple joys in our lives.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mwO9ZOowNtmY190bwxPmBQqIf0uEiN8bkziyG1RIDQlIesScsj7xBT6QFkrf2177toxlLQWS17gLpqX08em545Eq6IH7bp4PYy-k52RkX45qFIfw9O8hpfzmOvYTSRaN5ztzF2G6Sbjt/s1600/IMG_3507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="1024" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mwO9ZOowNtmY190bwxPmBQqIf0uEiN8bkziyG1RIDQlIesScsj7xBT6QFkrf2177toxlLQWS17gLpqX08em545Eq6IH7bp4PYy-k52RkX45qFIfw9O8hpfzmOvYTSRaN5ztzF2G6Sbjt/s320/IMG_3507.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZhogpSOoXRbSaga3Fh0nusO-UfwTM2sTYwbsTBrV9H7_81j4QYg1wVlrr3MkFMOvsqDPBrnjjQ801NHqIczGniSdTvylnPNPx9t0FFyF9pEbvGLymR-9QUZ_698C9ou-4jCzm6kfnW02/s1600/IMG_3506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1024" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZhogpSOoXRbSaga3Fh0nusO-UfwTM2sTYwbsTBrV9H7_81j4QYg1wVlrr3MkFMOvsqDPBrnjjQ801NHqIczGniSdTvylnPNPx9t0FFyF9pEbvGLymR-9QUZ_698C9ou-4jCzm6kfnW02/s320/IMG_3506.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<u>Here are just some of the "good things" in my life:</u></span><br />
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<li><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Daily exercise</span></b></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since January, I've re-engaged in daily exercise. Then back in February, there was an article being shared at school by a number of male staff members regarding <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/well/move/how-many-push-ups-can-you-do-it-may-be-a-good-predictor-of-heart-health.html"><b>male heart health</b></a>. This got me thinking about how, just last year I competed with students in a "push-up contest" in the common area we shared in a 40 person cabin on an overnight class trip. I had said I would do double the number of push-ups that the student who could do the most in the cabin. Well, as you might imagine, when one 13 year old did 30 (and I had to do 60), I had my work cut out for me. Surrounded by a pack of cheering adolescent males, I pulled off 43. While there was no one more impressed with my feat that I (after all, I did the number of push-ups equal to my age at the time), nonetheless, I had lost to a kid. Reading this article, resuming a regular fitness regimen, and having the time to reflect on this fond, fun memory has only really been possible because I'm distracted less or perhaps, differently. (Oh, and by the way, I can and do my 40 push-ups, as part of my daily workout.)</span><br />
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<li><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hydration</span></b></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For the first time in my life, I'm <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink"><b>hydrating properly</b></a>. Drinking half my body weight's worth of water, in ounces has long been a goal of mine, and now, as of January, I'm doing it. At the risk of making a completely unscientific statement here, educators don't drink enough water. It has everything to do with fearing the need to use the restroom within a 41-minute block of time (or worse even, if you teach a lab science, a dreaded 84 minutes, sans the luxury of two minutes of passing time)! As a school leader, a teaching period is no excuse for my lack of hydration. In fact, this has been a goal since I attended my first Edcamp Long Island session, where the facilitator addressed a packed room on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/0312430000"><b>The Checklist Manifesto by Dr. Atul Gawande</b></a> and how "drink more water" was among the items on his daily checklist. Now, I can't for the life of me figure out why that memory stands out, to this day. But, as a result, years later, I am drinking more water.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCXUZeecVZ0RLps9czJF7_ZqcGB6zCE8gbH2RuQbVIb4Yv5kGLi_epnoFPYzDBd-GFFmvBDfLjC0MU81zJJEefGb97Q6F5bueoK6U6hiidH1eW5YZL7o8sVNuOHHeE5OnPlmbwM0bFTlg/s1600/IMG_3511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCXUZeecVZ0RLps9czJF7_ZqcGB6zCE8gbH2RuQbVIb4Yv5kGLi_epnoFPYzDBd-GFFmvBDfLjC0MU81zJJEefGb97Q6F5bueoK6U6hiidH1eW5YZL7o8sVNuOHHeE5OnPlmbwM0bFTlg/s320/IMG_3511.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Schug Family has always sat down together for nightly family dinners. Having two working professionals and three busy, growing children, at middle school, high school, and college age, we've somehow managed through the years to eat together, almost every night, in fact. And in this age of having to focus on <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/device-free-dinner">"<b>Device Free Dinners</b>"</a>, now it seems, more than ever, it's been nice seeing one another's faces, asking "What was the best part of your day?", and listening, even through the lively commotion of simultaneous, unrelated conversations that occur between us. While this routine (and device-free) has been a long-standing tradition in our home, I have a renewed appreciation for what I can learn, by listening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Daily exercise, hydration, and family dinners. Not necessarily topics I'd ever imagine writing a blog post about, but they've turned out to be three good things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>What are <b>three good things</b> happening in your life right now?</i></span><br />
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-3586999103091121152020-05-15T03:47:00.000-07:002020-05-15T03:47:05.416-07:00Watch the Horizon<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Find it, set your eyes on it, and watch the horizon."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This message was delivered to me in a most unexpected way, and from a most unexpected source. These words have remained with me, as leadership and learning wisdom, especially through uncertain times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first time I heard these words, I was likely somewhere between falling off, getting back on, or (least likely) standing upright on a paddle board. We were in the Pacific Ocean. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Paddle boarding, enjoyed by many, has long been an activity I've strategically avoided. As relaxing as most people find it, I have found quite the opposite, as it's brought the worst of my anxiousness and fear (and the exhausting efforts to manage these feelings) out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And now, I'm doing it in the Pacific Ocean...and not well, I might add.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But this was vacation, a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of love, of family, of togetherness. I was with the four people who matter most in my life. Also accompanying us was a California surfer, originally from Idaho, now living in Maui. This guy maneuvered a paddle board better than I can walk. And he would become one of the best teachers I've met, the right person at the right time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The guide had sensed my apprehension almost immediately. And while I had just wished to be left alone, to fall off my paddle board seven times and get up eight, this guy would not let me be, to mutter and wallow in my own self-pity. He'd decided, I was going to be a paddle boarder, whether I liked it or not. He had seen this before, knowing, this had little to do with a paddle board. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So as the four others glided effortlessly and playfully on their boards, this guide remained patiently by my side or within my line of sight. He saw something in me that he knew I hadn't...yet. He saw that I was drowning in my own negative thoughts and self-talk. He was committed to do what he had likely done for dozens of people before me - not giving up, continuously encouraging, and remaining by my side. He refused to let me quit on myself, no matter what.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KyHBRGKykgA3thjIEf670ssNlbpJL2qtf69rf7OS37_L9VqOUBtW_rRJh-bSuFJmbLoDhQ1nJgyhdz_ubmEPmj_sdyTlo_N4_ulxNMl3VZNsnxYRk-4lQ2Hj2kRp2VzSarZVDWzzuYsZ/s1600/IMG_3389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KyHBRGKykgA3thjIEf670ssNlbpJL2qtf69rf7OS37_L9VqOUBtW_rRJh-bSuFJmbLoDhQ1nJgyhdz_ubmEPmj_sdyTlo_N4_ulxNMl3VZNsnxYRk-4lQ2Hj2kRp2VzSarZVDWzzuYsZ/s320/IMG_3389.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He could sense that I was at times, reluctantly reassured by his approach. Seeing me get back up one more time than I had fallen down, he challenged me to find the horizon, telling me this would help to stabilize by shaking lower half, that was causing my imbalance that inevitably ended in a splash. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Find the horizon, set your eyes on it, and watch."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I will never forget the feeling that led up to my first successfully paddle board. The moment my eyes found the horizon. The rhythmic breathing, in through my nose, out through my mouth, "following my breath", a helpful skill I developed through running and meditation (neither of which was done on a paddle board). I The voice in my head, telling me the whole way to watch the horizon. As these words replaced those that were in my head before, the shaking of every muscle left my body, replaced by my new mantra, as I set my eyes steadily on the horizon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was paddle boarding. And I had an unexpected teacher with unexpected words of wisdom, to thank for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That day, no exaggeration, I likely fell off my paddle board no fewer than 100 times. But I got up 101 times. And I had a tool to use, moving forward, now with others who, like me, would prefer to be left alone so they could give up. My wife and kids, despite the playful ribbing associated with the repeated predictable splashes coming from my direction, told me that they noticed that I never gave up. I told them that I never stopped finding an setting my eyes on the horizon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have long been convinced that we are surrounded by opportunities, and by people willing to help. All it takes is an awareness of these opportunities, an open mind and heart, and a willingness to be vulnerable, to fail, and to grow. In turn, this has served to remind me to be that person for others.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VFMnlm5lxrLllHBIc1jINUBmT7cs1SUJ0I_ymWPHjsMUpzf734iROeTEzLkESN2xlGxNPvG8HAeoxhWX4EIGqlRnNarlmg0L7tk1Z9S6v6POCBRguEH_uIliGqcqJgH7v0ibZu5ahiLD/s1600/IMG_3384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VFMnlm5lxrLllHBIc1jINUBmT7cs1SUJ0I_ymWPHjsMUpzf734iROeTEzLkESN2xlGxNPvG8HAeoxhWX4EIGqlRnNarlmg0L7tk1Z9S6v6POCBRguEH_uIliGqcqJgH7v0ibZu5ahiLD/s320/IMG_3384.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In times of uncertainty, we can sometimes feel as though we are alone, paddling, in the middle of the ocean. Struggling to stay afloat, struggling to see the horizon. But we can also remind ourselves of countless opportunities to progress, and the willing guides who accompany us on these journeys, those who remind us to look for the horizon.</span></div>
Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-34244626106970670952019-10-31T07:08:00.001-07:002019-10-31T07:36:10.748-07:00How do you build belonging in your school and your school community?<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>This post is a collaboration between a group of middle school leaders from across the country. Periodically, these passionate and dedicated middle school principals share their thoughts on issues of relevance for those "in the middle". </i></div>
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<b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dennis Schug, Middle School Principal, Long Island, NY</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">EVERY ACTION presents opportunities for us to demonstrate our values. Where I stand and where I visit throughout my day. How I interact with students, staff, and visitors. Announcements on the PA system. Scheduling my priorities (versus prioritizing my schedule). It all matters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But what's most important to me is simple. It's to foster a sense of belonging for each student, promoting regular opportunities for each to be known, and to feel that they are known by a caring adult in our school community. I am proud to lead this work, but I am not alone. In fact, I can still hear my grandmother's voice saying, "Many hands make light work." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As I reflect on this week, three examples come to mind. This week I: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1. Established a routine to check in and check out daily...with a kid who needs positive reinforcement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2. Participated in a meeting...run entirely by students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3. Worked with a student in need, identified and removed his obstacles, and watched him shine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">No doubt, I beam with pride over ongoing school-wide initiatives such as Start with Hello Week, Unity Day, and the Kindness Challenge (to name a few!) and the positive impact these have on school culture. But it's these small moments that make a big difference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Like those most challenging puzzle pieces (the ones that are tough to find or figure out how they fit), when we discover their place in the puzzle, we realize how magnificent it feels when they all have their place.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Donald Gately. Middle
School Principal, Long Island, NY</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">The feeling </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">of belonging is arguably one of the most critical variables in the success of a </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">young adolescent at school. Think about the places where you feel most safe, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">belong. Ideally, we feel that we belong when we’re with our family, our closest </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">happy, willing to take risks. These are all places where you feel that you </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">friends, our partners. The climate at the ideal Middle School should</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">resemble these settings. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">A practice </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">that interferes with this sense of belonging is suspension. Suspension is a “time </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">honored” practice that schools utilize in cases of severe violations of the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">school for a period of days or sit in what’s called “In-School Suspension” a </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">code of conduct. Typically, a child is required to remain home from </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">room sat school where they complete assignments provided by their </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">peers and from most of the adults in the school. If we agree that a sense of </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">teachers. In both instances, the child is separated from the rest of his </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">belonging is crucial for middle school kids’ success, it is difficult to </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">we need to teach right from wrong, consequences are fine, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">but can we find consequences that have the effect </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">justify this practice. When children misbehave, even in ways that are </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">significant, this is the time we need to embrace them, not isolate them. Yes, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">of increasing this sense of belonging rather than corrupting it? </span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">schools, including ours, are employing restorative justice approaches to school </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">discipline. In a typical example, which actually occurred at my school </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">suspending them out of school, the students participated in a restorative </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">recently, three students were found to have vandalized a bathroom. Instead of </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">circle along with their parents, some teachers, classmates, and, most </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">and our awesome assistant principal stayed after school with them one day to </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">importantly, members of the custodial staff. They also wrote letters of apology </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">make cookies for the custodial staff. This was so much more powerful and </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">effective than any suspension could have been. I am extremely excited </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">about the potential of restorative justice </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">approaches to school discipline. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: black;">Chris Legleiter. Middle School Principal. Leawood, Kansas</span></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">The key to a successful school year is the quality of </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">relationships within the school and the school community. Great leaders recognize </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">they must continually work on building great culture where everyone in school </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">the school. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">feels like they belong and the school community feels connected and supports</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">The question is how is this achieved? While there are many </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">components that lead to everyone feeling like “this is my home”, the one key </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">aspect that is incorporated with these components is how the l</span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">eaders must model the desired behaviors</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Let’s take a look at how this is achieved:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Leaders understand the importance of </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">leading with positivity</span></u></b><u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">.</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Leaders are </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">vulnerable with staff and </span></u></b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">students</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by sharing personal </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">examples that connect through emotion and stories. This helps drive continual </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">growth through trusting relationships.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Leaders </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">lead with grace and </span></u></b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">kindness </span></u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">as they are the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">first to congratulate the hard work of others and also the first to apologize </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">when something does not go according to plan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Leaders find ways to get </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">student voice </span></u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">within the school by having regular “feedback </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">loops” with students to listen to their ideas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Leaders </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">implement methods to </span></u></b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">support whole child initiatives </span></u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">by recognizing students for great character, support inclusivity and daily SEL </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Leaders have </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">consistent opportunities to </span></u></b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none;">share with parents</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the work </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in; white-space: pre-wrap;">of the school so they are informed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leaders understand how they </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">treat others and develop an inclusive school community is the foundation of </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">their work. This takes intentional efforts through modeling the desired </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">behaviors and leading with vulnerability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: black;">Brenda Vatthauer, Middle
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Middle school adolescent perception is real, well in their mind it </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">is real. At times, their perception misses the mark, is twisted, is off, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">but it feels “real” to a middle school student. To help middle school </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">students grow and enrich their learning (academically and social emotionally), </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">a </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>sense of belonging is a must</i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">. A sense of belonging, can be perceived </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">with many factors of influence, by both adults and students. The feelings </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">from their perception can distract or enhance growth and development in middle </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">school. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">To help build a positive sense </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">of belonging, thoughtful consideration should be given to the following:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b></b></span><b style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Be </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Real</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Let your personality show </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">through your “title” at school. Attend student events, cheer, show you </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">care and be real through expression. Your body language speaks a thousand words </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">and students can read it well. Step out of your comfort zone and be </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">genuine with the students. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Make </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">It Personal</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">-When you work with </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">students, use examples that they can relate to. Focus on them, their </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">interests, their talents, their routines, their cultures. By making </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">conversations personal, you are making a connection and helping them feel a </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">sense of belonging. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Listen</b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">-We have two ears and one mouth for a reason, to </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">listen more than we speak. Listening to students is so important. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">By listening, we not only learn about them, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">but they feel valued. Listening also may include asking questions to </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">allow more of the message to be drawn out and to gain a deeper </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">understanding. This also leads to a greater sense of person to person </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">“connection.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Know </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Student’s Names</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Being new to the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">middle school, I have to admit I struggle with names. It is a work in </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">progress for me, but necessary. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s ok </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">to creatively create your own reminders to help remember student names. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students feel valued when they hear their name.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Welcome Student Voice in Decision Making</b></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">-A true sense of belonging is when student voice is encouraged </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">when decisions are being made within the middle school. Students will </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">work harder, perform at a higher level and feel a stronger connection to the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">school community if their ideas can be part of solutions.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visible</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Being visible in the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">hallways, classrooms, during lunch, recess, before school, at the bus loading </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">and at extra-curricular activities shows connection. This communicates a </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">you, walk by you, not say “hi” but they will see you. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over time, a continual visible presence will </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">powerful connection to all students. Some middle schoolers will “ignore” </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">help connect a sense of belonging with each other.</span></div>
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<span class="apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Create Check-Ins During Homeroom/Class-<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the most powerful ways to
establish a sense of belonging is to routinely allow time for circle check-ins within each classroom. Many character traits are developed throughout the
year if staff take the time to create a sense of community and belonging
through circle check-ins. </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>How do <u>you</u> build belonging in your school and your school community?</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Read the previous installments of the Middle School Collaborative:</i></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2019/10/running-fartleks.html">Name one characteristic of all great middle school leaders.</a></i></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2019/09/what-are-some-essentials-for-middle.html">What are some essentials for Middle School Educators, Teachers, or Leaders, at the beginning of the school year?</a></span></li>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-38157328641113603072019-10-16T14:38:00.001-07:002019-10-16T15:14:39.398-07:00Running Fartleks<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This post is a collaboration between a group of middle school </span></i><i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">leaders from across the country. Periodically, these passionate and </span></i><i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">dedicated middle school principals share their thoughts on issues of relevance </span></i><i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">for those “in the middle”. </span></i></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are many roles leaders play in education. Undoubtedly, positions in each of these places require a commitment to excellence, unique to the demands of the position. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Serving as a middle level school leader requires one to balance the ability to make quick decisions with more deep and thoughtful thought processes, deftly shifting, based upon what’s called for in a specific situation. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black;">It’s as if we need to run sprints between running a marathon. There is, in fact, a perfect adolescent word for this: </span></span><a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20790169/the-lost-art-of-fartlek/"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">fartlek</span></span></a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black;">. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(<i>Go ahead, say it. While you’re doing that try not to smirk. It’s a great middle school word.</i>)</span></span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jtOVNJ-O9Js-Li8YwtkKQyHuGlPq33sfhHxfcW3T2rM4Znoq6O20Q7hgadzg9Nk5ZViSbYUW1pMREtsr5nq4Rhc2ij0hAbCSYghRKDIhrRcU4cI-JKRN3f3xJ2XzRSv3L1CE3j1kWxFb/s1600/FARTLEK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="569" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jtOVNJ-O9Js-Li8YwtkKQyHuGlPq33sfhHxfcW3T2rM4Znoq6O20Q7hgadzg9Nk5ZViSbYUW1pMREtsr5nq4Rhc2ij0hAbCSYghRKDIhrRcU4cI-JKRN3f3xJ2XzRSv3L1CE3j1kWxFb/s400/FARTLEK.jpg" width="355" /></a></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">What does it take to successfully run <i><b>fartleks</b></i>? </span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Well, it may be no surprise that it’s the same as being a great leader “in the middle”:</span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Think about it. On any given day, we may:</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">greet students</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">hold a 15-minute meeting with 150 kids</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">formally evaluate a teacher</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">visit classrooms</span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">attend several scheduled meetings </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">chat in the hallway with someone we’ve been meaning to talk to </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">take a call from a parent regarding an ongoing issue involving their
child</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">have several standing meetings with members of our Student Support
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">conduct an interview</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">and oh, check...and then thoughtfully respond to emails. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This is the life we choose when we commit to school leadership “in the middle”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And, while more often than
not, this all happens before lunch periods that begin at 11 am, I’d choose
nothing different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Chris Legleiter,
Principal. Leawood, Kansas</b><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are many great middle school leaders that I have been fortunate to work with and get to know through my PLN. I am grateful for our connections and owe so much of my success to their support. While they have many differences they also have shared qualities as well. One characteristic they all share is the great leaders recognize “<b><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">it’s about others, not about themselves</span></b><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">.”</span></span><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can call this servant
leadership or simply how they recognize<span style="line-height: 200%;"> </span>that if “serving others is beneath you, then leadership is beyond
you.” Great <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">leaders understand that to help drive a successful school, it always comes back </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">to people and how can you influence their behavior, actions and beliefs. This </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">means connecting with them, supporting their work and finding ways to help them grow. They use this approach for students, staff and parents. This mindset puts a premium on making school a place that people enjoy coming to and celebrating the work together. They create a school culture that is demonstrated by healthy, positive relationships and led by strong teacher leaders that empower </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;">students to be the difference. This only occurs because the leaders recognize the importance of developing other leaders. As Jimmy Casas shares, </span><i><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In the </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">end, your legacy won’t be about your success. It will be about your significance </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">and the impact you made on every student, every day, and whether you were </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">willing to do whatever it took to inspire them to be more than they ever </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">thought possible.”</span></i><span style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Donald Gately. Middle School Principal, Long Island</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The single most important
characteristic of a middle school leader? Oh boy, there are so many. I’m going
to go with the following:<b><i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Effective middle school leaders need to have good memories. That is, they need to remember what it was like to be a young adolescent.</span></i></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> If there’s anything that characterizes middle school kids it’s the fact that they are </span><i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">inscrutable</span></i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">. If we can’t connect with what it was like when we were 13 years old, then most behaviors of the kids in our schools are going to appear confusing frustrating, anger inducing, sinister, silly, or just plain wrong. When presented with adolescent behavior, one of the best tools in the box is to recall what it was like when </span><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">we </span></u><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">were 13. Can you remember feeling like you were the </span><u><span style="text-decoration-skip-ink: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">only </span></u><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">kid who…</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">was growing so fast your knees hurt</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">had a crush on a girl… or a boy…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">had parents who were too strict, wouldn’t let you do ANYTHING</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">felt sad for no reason, or sometimes really happy for no reason</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Still liked playing with legos or Barbies</span></li>
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It’s critical that those who work with middle school kids have a healthy recollection of that time in their lives when they were convinced that nobody had the same fears, joys, interests, and loves that they did. The more <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">in touch we are with what it was like to be 13, the better we can love </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">the kids who depend upon us to understand what they're going through at this </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">exciting time in their lives. </span><i style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Brenda Vatthauer, Middle School Principal, Hutchinson, MN</b></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When I left my first principal position and moved to a larger school, I received a gift from a teacher. It was a colorful, well designed wooden desk sculpture that said "<b>Inspire</b>." The card that accompanied the gift, illustrated the growth and change that teacher had accomplished over the time I was her principal. I have displayed the "<b>Inspire</b>" desk sculpture in my office for several years, giving credit back to the teacher who I inspired. I also have been inspired myself by many middle school leaders. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdMN6tVuCylnPrUCJ-E8kbuKwH0r_CeklOJ9ujHRE3P4Rh8XSi00tXdO9RjFGWSTgdOHe6v4uXn8XioDNDTeVdj8CR1PFKOoAAeGDLV-8XcYcwDy9RWzWiS2aE6XZx9sIGHg01cTtgp7N/s1600/brendapic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="566" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdMN6tVuCylnPrUCJ-E8kbuKwH0r_CeklOJ9ujHRE3P4Rh8XSi00tXdO9RjFGWSTgdOHe6v4uXn8XioDNDTeVdj8CR1PFKOoAAeGDLV-8XcYcwDy9RWzWiS2aE6XZx9sIGHg01cTtgp7N/s400/brendapic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Being a middle school leader isn't just a matter of knowing what to do--it is a matter of </span><b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">choosing to lead by inspiring others</span></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">. Most people will rise above expectations when they know you believe in them and inspire them. A small token of appreciation, a note or a "special labeled" bottle of water can make the day of a staff member. A leader accentuating the positive and continually look for reasons to raise people up, can generate rippled inspiration in a school culture. By highlighting and allowing their strengths to shine, while genuinely showing that you "care", can motivate and inspire even the fixed mindset. Sharing "celebrations" to begin a staff meeting or headlining your Staff Weekly Bulletin with "Shout Outs" add a new dimension to relationship building which will inspire staff. Give students, staff, parents and community members a listening ear and provide support, then get out of their way and watch the great things that come. A leader has a way about bringing others along on the journey and keeping the journey alive and real. Leaders have passion and purpose and lead by example. They find balance and model balance as they continue to learn, lead, grow and </span><b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">inspire others</span></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;">#GroupJump</span></td></tr>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-53051083622268723572019-10-08T14:34:00.000-07:002019-10-08T14:34:37.987-07:00Who is Your Go-to Person?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This post is a
collaboration between a group of middle school leaders from across the
country. Periodically, these passionate and dedicated middle school
principals share their thoughts on issues of relevance for those “<i>in the
middle</i>”. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">Working at the
middle-level is uniquely challenging. Nobody can do it alone. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">Who is your “go to” person?</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dennis Schug - Middle
School Principal, Long Island, New York</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hundreds of adolescents spanning several grades
may seem overwhelming and appear, frenetic. As anyone who works with kids
turning 10 through 14 can attest, there is a super-charged energy. Passing
times and lunchtime resembles a human popcorn popper. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">From a student’s point-of-view, one may feel as
if he/she is the only person navigating adolescent challenges. The struggle to
get (and stay) organized, manage time, and prioritize tasks. Friendships,
family life, changing bodies, developing minds, and the roller coaster of
emotions may feel all-consuming. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our school’s master schedule includes Advisory,
Teaming, and Looping. To personalize and maximize these organization
frameworks, school-wide, we ask students, “Who is your Go-to Person?”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A Go-to Person is an adult who a student
perceives he/she can trust. This can be a current (or former) teacher, coach,
secretary, paraprofessional, school nurse, school counselor, social worker, or
school leader, what matters is the connection. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We speak early (and often) with our staff about
the developmentally responsive side of middle school. When at least 50% of our
focus is there, the impact can be seen in “the other 50%”: a student’s
attendance, motivation, focus, purpose, and achievement. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Go-to People know what needs to be brought to
our Learning Support Team, and what should be shared with a parent or at a team
meeting. Sometimes, though, what matters most is that trusting relationship
between an adolescent and an adult with whom a student identifies or they feel
simply “gets them”. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Remember being 13? Who was <i>YOUR</i> Go-to
Person?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Donald Gately. Middle School Principal, Long Island</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My wife. My wife is my “go to” person. Danielle Gately is the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the district just down the road from my school. She’s smart, funny, generous and caring. Before moving into her present leadership position, her career was spent exclusively in middle school, so she really gets it. That’s the main thing, you need a go to person who understands the unique nature of working with adolescent learners. Because they truly are different. They’re not bigger elementary school kids or smaller high school kids. Middle school kids are singular beings who only thrive when they are surrounded by adults who are committed to working with them. Danielle is this person and I’m so fortunate that I have the opportunity to come home from work and bounce things off of her. In addition to raising our five kids, we talk about everything education and middle school related. Some people might say that this is a corruption of the so-called “work-life balance”; that to bring home problems and concerns from the workplace isn’t healthy. We haven’t found this to be so. Probably because both Danielle and I share the same passion for our work that it doesn’t feel like we’re talking about “work”; instead, we are united by our passions. Our work and our lives are very much blended together. I don’t know what I would do without her support and advice.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Chris Legleiter.
Principal, Leawood, KS</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For every great leader, a mentor pushed that person into their
current reality. When we think of “who is you go to person”, my core beliefs
and decision making practices developed from a <u>combination of experiences
and individuals</u>. This has been pivotal in my development and from my
perspective; here is why a group of mentors is so essential:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Learning
from others increase greater capacity for growth<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Leadership is influence upon
others. You must find time to consistently learn latest strategies,
reflect and challenge the status quo. You can learn in isolation, but you
have greater capacity for growth when you have multiple people with
different perspectives and experiences to learn.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
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opportunities for reflection<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Having
an extensive PLN provides a platform where you get feedback from
others. They can share different strategies that you can consider
for next steps.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Growth is not automatic but connecting with others
becomes intentional practices.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Leaders have very busy lives filled with a variety of tasks, but when you
have “go to people,” it provides daily practices and time set aside to
reflect and challenge your thinking. Growth is what separates those
who are successful and those who are not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It takes time to grow and when you have a PLN pushing you, then you
will develop over time as a leader. </span></li>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Having a “go to person or people” is critical in any person’s
development as it provides capacity for growth, reflection and intentional part
of your work.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Brenda Vatthauer -
Middle School Principal, Hutchinson, MN</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Top 5-Who Is Your Go To Person? </span></u></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Who is the first person you seek out when there
is a need? The need might include a problem to solve, to obtain advice, a
listening ear, to gain insight and information, coordinate a large event, bring
together community partners, etc. Timing depends on the context and with
someone you trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A "go to"
person possesses qualities to help make one a better educator, parent, spouse,
community member or friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A "go
to" person has a reputation for:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">making solid decisions
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>well-grounded
in beliefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">prepared
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>responsible</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">growth minded
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>talented</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">well-rounded citizen
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>holistic in
points of view</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">give honest feedback
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>resourceful</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My Top 5 go to people, or people I have in my corner, I have
had firsthand experience with. I have grown from each group of people as
I reflect on earlier interactions which I valued and learned from. It is
the <u>relationship</u> not the transaction which makes the experience so
powerful. Genuine connections have been developed over time. So who are
these Top 5 Go-To People?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Middle
School Leader Voxer Group</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
- phenomenal educators who are inner driven, giving honest feedback.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Former Superintendent</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (from my first principalship) and <b>Assistant
Principals</b>-have a wealth of wisdom, knowledge and insight.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Administrative
Professionals</b>-have numerous connections that are limitless and they
are advocates who have your back.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Teacher Leaders</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">-have their pulse on the day to day happenings and give
input to help in navigating.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Community School Coordinator</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">-have a jackpot of resources to tap into along with the
coordinating skills to make it happen.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In education, a "go to" person can make a real
difference in your career and life. Take time to celebrate how they have
supported you in your professional and personal growth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Did you read our last collaborative post, about some of the “essentials" for middle school educators, teachers, and leaders for the start of a new
school year? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2019/09/what-are-some-essentials-for-middle.html">Click
here</a> to check it out.</span></div>
Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-51161830897899340912019-10-06T20:08:00.000-07:002019-10-09T08:43:00.645-07:00Lessons in Gratitude: Edcamp Long Island<div style="text-align: justify;">
It turns out, what an old friend and mentor told me is true: Life moves fast. And if you're not paying attention, you'll miss it. I guess time does actually fly, regardless of whether or not you're having fun. The last five years have gone by in what feels like the blink of an eye. And I almost missed it.</div>
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For that reason, I made a conscious personal decision to take a personal growth journey: My goal has been to work on slowing down, to resist the urge we have as busy humans, to live life on the surface. This decision is as much a quality of life decision as it is anything else. Fortunately, I am surrounded by strong role models: a healthy and happy family, a now college-aged daughter who lives everyday with a life full of meaning, trustworthy colleagues who I work alongside daily, and several friends and mentors who are generous with their precious time. I am lucky, I am fortunate, and I am truly blessed.</div>
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My life, by all appearances is "just right". I've also made a conscious decision to make a point of incorporating the written word into everyday life. Read more books. Write more, just for me. </div>
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Just write. </div>
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Besides reading and writing, I am a big podcast listener - mostly as professional nourishment and mental stimulation. But this summer, I came across one that resonates with me well beyond the time I listen to it, called <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/item/gratitude_benefits_your_brain" target="_blank">The Science of Happiness</a>. I can listen to most episodes in one sitting, on either the daily commute, to or from work. I found this podcast at just the right moment, a moment when I needed to find something like this. See, as traffic patterns shift in late spring, so does my daily commute. The detour I take is along a road where the Bay is on one side, and the Ocean, is on the other. (Not too bad a view either way.) And with the local speed limit enforced by local law enforcement, I have no choice but to drive slowly, enjoy the salt air, breathe deeply, and listen. I spent the majority of my spring and summer mornings reflecting, on finding happiness and even joy, in everyday experiences. As someone who has always struggled with work-life balance, I was ready for a change. Then I read this article about the value of 365 days of gratitude and how <a href="https://www.inc.com/cathy-huyghe/why-gratitude-is-key-to-your-work-life-balance.html" target="_blank">Gratitude is the Key to Work-Life Balance</a> . </div>
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Taking time to be grateful seems worth the time, as it may just be a key to finding joy and life success.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHo5IZh4cyKzhHbx8qldoIKAuc1kHgo2rglHqHOPNPdaii82Pjkzey50qszf8ngi31t1WA4P9iDzvrhQ7k6xwL7FKURKjJfEuHlP39sAilTZRbFh0cBPmCUdEYa01KEzZKRShjGiMw-l1r/s1600/edc.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHo5IZh4cyKzhHbx8qldoIKAuc1kHgo2rglHqHOPNPdaii82Pjkzey50qszf8ngi31t1WA4P9iDzvrhQ7k6xwL7FKURKjJfEuHlP39sAilTZRbFh0cBPmCUdEYa01KEzZKRShjGiMw-l1r/s400/edc.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This past weekend, we celebrated the 6th Annual Edcamp Long Island. As a member of the planning team, I've had the privilege of working with some of the most dedicated, passionate, and generous profession educators around. Each year, our team evolves and grows.And each year, we have new and returning attendees, all focused on learning, sharing, and helping one another to see another perspective on teaching, leading, and learning. Each year differs a little bit different from those before, based on who shows up and what topics land on the empty session board.</div>
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For several years, my edcamp experience was similar to my life experience: I discovered that, even as a member of the planning team, I participated only superficially. In retrospect, I had convinced myself that being "busy" was the same as being "meaningfully engaged". Turns out, they're not the same. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZNRnEV6unNk2eMlwOHgip4hfxf8vg-FDR7aoXxaj-o4eauvHe5M3YU2YJMX1DMnCcLmc1EEKeDaYEETtMJ4KwY_DwdwJZNiv6egyeGY0lqGeBXKI8Gx2iZht-U9mSebfGcpu0BFEOKn8/s1600/IMG_1743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZNRnEV6unNk2eMlwOHgip4hfxf8vg-FDR7aoXxaj-o4eauvHe5M3YU2YJMX1DMnCcLmc1EEKeDaYEETtMJ4KwY_DwdwJZNiv6egyeGY0lqGeBXKI8Gx2iZht-U9mSebfGcpu0BFEOKn8/s320/IMG_1743.jpg" width="320" /></a>This year, I decided to take a different approach. Yes, I'd arrive early, as I've always done, because there's NOTHING like catching up with old friends from the planning team. Being part of the morning-of ritual always brings me back to that sense of nervous anticipation that 1) not a single one of the 1,000 registrants will show up, and 2) no one would be willing to facilitate an edcamp session. I'll never forget our first Edcamp Long Island in which every team member committed to have two sessions in our "back-pockets" to throw on the board, if no one showed or facilitated. Turns out, we didn't need them after all.</div>
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Another favorite morning ritual of Edcamp LI is the charge of an empty board, which actually gets bigger every year because of strong registration. Standing outside with some friends, greeting and checking in attendees before they enter the host school, we see friends, old and new, some new to edcamp and other "edcamp veterans", some of whom we only get to see annually at this event.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2TKM646Ee7U_t3W_QKGXY-XyM9TV1oEgzp7a2jAEWGxwLqCx5NuxyQMo9nUZulAevH9PM1DvQ7gCCf_5u465HHg_i65UnXlasSJUUHfq12jh1KTi8HcVmuRUZORExkl41ywkTA8hsAqX/s1600/IMG_1738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2TKM646Ee7U_t3W_QKGXY-XyM9TV1oEgzp7a2jAEWGxwLqCx5NuxyQMo9nUZulAevH9PM1DvQ7gCCf_5u465HHg_i65UnXlasSJUUHfq12jh1KTi8HcVmuRUZORExkl41ywkTA8hsAqX/s400/IMG_1738.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1GFvAGmhyzuVl8NDYQEFYy2zgiLGsZGjEg94Q0im68YGUfR5QVX5EfNl5XJZNNky8PY7lj8qxLhTU9S048ZioEUb4CYeSIn9QKFWs-ZXSlMTyh5Z9nKa_rxvk1un5kpwLogWGX6mcANa/s1600/IMG_1740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1GFvAGmhyzuVl8NDYQEFYy2zgiLGsZGjEg94Q0im68YGUfR5QVX5EfNl5XJZNNky8PY7lj8qxLhTU9S048ZioEUb4CYeSIn9QKFWs-ZXSlMTyh5Z9nKa_rxvk1un5kpwLogWGX6mcANa/s400/IMG_1740.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The student musicians provided us with an Edcamp Soundtrack</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUY2jGP8uNJE6_om_qRf7n2yeXh7O91SixB-5ts-3au7JB6U_icmXSyJ-j27LX3k7ek_gvzRhLIT0u36m8Egb_BtbbyPWhEGRUk3keGkrf0xdyYhu36CWkcrvkLbx3OLkuU8ABuegyscXG/s1600/IMG_1742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUY2jGP8uNJE6_om_qRf7n2yeXh7O91SixB-5ts-3au7JB6U_icmXSyJ-j27LX3k7ek_gvzRhLIT0u36m8Egb_BtbbyPWhEGRUk3keGkrf0xdyYhu36CWkcrvkLbx3OLkuU8ABuegyscXG/s400/IMG_1742.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The student leaders who volunteered were amazing hosts!</td></tr>
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As the board fills, I remember how much I enjoy the sights and sounds of edcamp. One-on-one conversations that happen outside of sessions. Catching up with two old friends, each of whom is a second year middle school principal, both who are enjoying the heck out of working in a community that is thriving and who are appreciative of the amazing energy of adolescents. Listening to a new colleague at the coffee pot, saying that the best way to hook a teacher on a new idea is to show them how it will help their work. Having an impromptu discussion at the session board with someone from a neighboring county about how we can rebuild competition in recruiting and hiring the highest quality teaching candidates. Seeing student leaders with a proud, caring teacher, volunteering their time on a Saturday to help in every capacity, ranging from handing out snacks, to directing foot traffic, to performing in musical ensembles. Another student speaking to passersby about the value of being an live organ donor. (Her mother donated one of her kidneys to another loved one - the girl's grandfather!) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWlMbD0IJaeYpD84_WiWkJiNs1-NHxIk6L8DcFYICJUDzrnAuUfPHHtXkQsHXbMKEJflM4y8Ua_BVMoajrvciSNPt53eUQ1vQ54s0DscJu5rL56BmsDk4zf9j-hb-JbuWFN9Olsee58yq/s1600/IMG_1722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWlMbD0IJaeYpD84_WiWkJiNs1-NHxIk6L8DcFYICJUDzrnAuUfPHHtXkQsHXbMKEJflM4y8Ua_BVMoajrvciSNPt53eUQ1vQ54s0DscJu5rL56BmsDk4zf9j-hb-JbuWFN9Olsee58yq/s400/IMG_1722.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is just a sampling of the golden moments waiting to be discovered at Edcamp Long Island. </div>
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Following a quick coffee and grab-and-go breakfast, I decided that, rather than popping into the myriad sessions happening throughout the school, I was going to pick one that matters to me that I have more questions than I do answers. Like my morning commute and my new goal to resist superficial experiences, I decided to slow down and enjoy the experience.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7ZszMoUpnvrmcxN3T1SOQAFu3BRzHttcBtIstS7TPcBkUqlq8wKwuOFRqOTOTvF1MeD1ESDCvpZZf8-DvSRLOql35kZ_f7A4HKFPqkk_eb9aTf14SguyaOBF-XZfbWdKYvdqtvhyphenhyphensjLi/s1600/cr1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7ZszMoUpnvrmcxN3T1SOQAFu3BRzHttcBtIstS7TPcBkUqlq8wKwuOFRqOTOTvF1MeD1ESDCvpZZf8-DvSRLOql35kZ_f7A4HKFPqkk_eb9aTf14SguyaOBF-XZfbWdKYvdqtvhyphenhyphensjLi/s320/cr1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">My first session was <b><i>Culturally Responsive Pedagogy</i></b>. I attended, not expecting to contribute much, but hoping that I'd leave with thoughts that would resonate well after the session. My main takeaway from several small group and one-on-one discussions? We talk about our responsibility and we create lists to improve on priorities like being more culturally responsive. But if our largest action step is to purchase books with diverse characters and by diverse authors. It's harder than that, more controversial than that, and it takes courage to take steps towards doing this important work. It requires thoughtful and fearless educators, willing to unpack complex topics we don't fully understand, to ask more questions than provide answers, and to take risks with people we trust to support a school culture that embraces fostering culturally responsive practices. It requires us to delve beneath the surface, that we sometimes see in a typical school day.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOo-xGJ6MjrVXtEbHkIV2b1MRZ-XffOxp60Gz9BCfdCOJG_AoyEvT1bqS5dog6u7oMX_1Va6fXRKb4sVToL04S8hOkKc79bDRv8hSquf4JjzmUDDVqjdIKMzJF01xHwq_GP2aIhci0f9Y/s1600/cr2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOo-xGJ6MjrVXtEbHkIV2b1MRZ-XffOxp60Gz9BCfdCOJG_AoyEvT1bqS5dog6u7oMX_1Va6fXRKb4sVToL04S8hOkKc79bDRv8hSquf4JjzmUDDVqjdIKMzJF01xHwq_GP2aIhci0f9Y/s320/cr2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My next step is small but significant, because it's a step in the right direction: deciding to purchase <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/152504.The_Dreamkeepers?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children by Gloria Ladson-Billings</a> . I plan to use Twitter to stay connected with the session facilitators, <a href="https://twitter.com/dr_niri_art" target="_blank">@dr_niri_art</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/7dreamkeepers" target="_blank">@7dreamkeepers</a> who lead this work and build this culture daily. And I commit to learning more deeply about how we can support all members of our school community to experience school on terms that are responsive to their needs. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqrpATBQfmVrvEsmqnNgoQFJntx0UlYPxje9_iZGJ9tNqjiXI6ITEzOU82CC1N8mrtcecMQZoq_R95RfQMz7XmMdvoAp9Avvim62suDRh3efZltk8I7SxHjf7jOMNs_ag2hfAGNy9nnRv/s1600/rj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqrpATBQfmVrvEsmqnNgoQFJntx0UlYPxje9_iZGJ9tNqjiXI6ITEzOU82CC1N8mrtcecMQZoq_R95RfQMz7XmMdvoAp9Avvim62suDRh3efZltk8I7SxHjf7jOMNs_ag2hfAGNy9nnRv/s320/rj.jpeg" width="320" /></a>The second session I chose to attend, facilitated by an elementary school leader who can be followed on Twitter @Hillarybrom was <b><i>Restorative Practices: What do you do?</i></b> This session full of educators from all levels, from school of varied demographics, and the participants, it turns out, are all at a different phase of their journey in RP. One thing was clear, however, in our circular discussion: this is about relationship-building, community-building, and capacity-building. It was promising to realize that much of the time and energy that we devote to building a healthy school culture, one in which we strive to reach students before we teach them, is central to the work that goes into restorative practices. It's how we speak with students, the words we use in everyday dialogue, that supports more formal practices such as restorative circles, used for restorative practice and restorative justice. And one of the session attendees had suggested something I have heard for a long time: this will never be perfect and fully supported by all members of a school community. But, it's also not going away. It's the reason we got into education to begin with: to connect with students and help them find authentic meaning beyond their school experience. One of the participants shared the Ted Talk, <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en#t-706175" target="_blank">The Happiness Secret to Better Work by Shawn Achor</a>. Re-watching this clip through a lens of restorative practices has me reflecting on how we often approach our vision for school success, academic first and social-emotional second, if at all. Achor theorizes placing an emphasis on social emotional well-being will lead to being more productive and successful, not the reverse. I am grateful to have been in this space with others on a professional journey similar to mine: to help others find meaning in our work.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_lJ9bFnkXrZ-BDz_ABQgsR_v7xLCH3BjVIDExWMuMDyUOskfrwz23RPRW44FwsEWiu5u067s1gKuvbx6mQcvy6AVhQ8o5VSdQDAdwiZj6iATeaCuJOx1Gg-Rytz3c_yz-VuaJ6rES6YT/s1600/IMG_1739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_lJ9bFnkXrZ-BDz_ABQgsR_v7xLCH3BjVIDExWMuMDyUOskfrwz23RPRW44FwsEWiu5u067s1gKuvbx6mQcvy6AVhQ8o5VSdQDAdwiZj6iATeaCuJOx1Gg-Rytz3c_yz-VuaJ6rES6YT/s400/IMG_1739.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Instructional Technology Extraordinaire, Bonnie McClelland</td></tr>
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While I did not attend a third session at Edcamp LI, I did wake up the following day, thinking how I'd have liked to facilitate one on running a successful Parent Camp, as this seems to be taking shape thematically and organically in my school, with both parents and staff who want to learn more about middle school life. But like the morning commute, whether it's culturally responsive teaching, restorative practices, or learning in general, these things take (and deserve) our time.</div>
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In that moment, I remembered wanting to avoid being busy versus being meaningfully engaged. So, I caught up with an old friend, and together, we organized for the Smackdown, to close out our day.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZN8jPEgKowysAU2Y87FDEbejxXXxTsxK-Yhx6AU_W3O62kw8_1mEfsYFcHV4cHHNa0M4v2MqV3CX055a2RVTILQ7Tz8Cg72-qg2anqnuTuBFjsv6Ft24d3cbJSJ80d-MwtFE2RcgVezsj/s1600/smack.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZN8jPEgKowysAU2Y87FDEbejxXXxTsxK-Yhx6AU_W3O62kw8_1mEfsYFcHV4cHHNa0M4v2MqV3CX055a2RVTILQ7Tz8Cg72-qg2anqnuTuBFjsv6Ft24d3cbJSJ80d-MwtFE2RcgVezsj/s400/smack.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ultimate Smackdown Emcee, Jim Cameron </td></tr>
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Edcamp Long Island continues to teach me so much, about myself and helps me to sometimes remember, and other times, discover what I value. Reflecting on work-life balance, living a more meaningful existence, serving our students more deeply, or accepting that life (and work), we are often presented with more questions than answers. However, at the center of it all is a focus...on gratitude. </div>
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I am grateful to my Edcamp Long Island friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances as we join one another on our learning journeys. Question is, do we enjoy the Bay or the Ocean view together? </div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Slow and scenic wins the race.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITHsxewfLrbWkM8VmU6drebKSFSf2rP-GiW8CmHM2tOZhfcGZukf0AI_G-O0foLd56Qaatgsgmjw3kit1pICmzGCJ3CfWynzS4ONvsRoTyrG2WFvpVw0rSiv2jHv44vjEQhIBfom9Mxfg/s1600/IMG_1741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITHsxewfLrbWkM8VmU6drebKSFSf2rP-GiW8CmHM2tOZhfcGZukf0AI_G-O0foLd56Qaatgsgmjw3kit1pICmzGCJ3CfWynzS4ONvsRoTyrG2WFvpVw0rSiv2jHv44vjEQhIBfom9Mxfg/s400/IMG_1741.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edcamp Long Island Founders, Don and Danielle Gately</td></tr>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-50227270714079494962019-09-18T14:04:00.000-07:002019-10-09T08:43:21.588-07:00What Are Some “Essentials” for Middle School Educators, Teachers or Leaders, at the Beginning of the School Year?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This post is a
collaboration between a group of middle school leaders from across the
country. Periodically, these passionate and dedicated middle school
principals share their thoughts on issues of relevance for those “<i>in the
middle</i>”. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The 2019-20 school year
started over the past month across the country. What are some
“essentials” for middle school educators, teachers or leaders, at the beginning
of the school year?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Donald Gately.
Middle School Principal, Long Island</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For me, it’s important
to do something <u>new </u>every year. There is a truism that we needn’t
do new things just for the sake of doing them. To keep things fresh, I
need to always be trying new things, at least that’s how it works for me
personally. This is actually my 18th year as a middle school principal, I
know this because my second day as a brand-new principal was September 11,
2001, it was a tragic and challenging start to my career. This year,
inspired by one of my colleagues, Anthony Ciuffo, we implemented with our staff
an initiative we’re calling “Learning-Edge Buddies”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s how it works: At our first faculty
meeting, each member of our staff responded on paper to the following prompts: <b><i>What
are you going to try for the first time this year or what are you trying to get
better at? What’s your plan? What are some things you’re going to do
differently?</i></b> Next, each member of the staff crumpled up the paper
into a “snowball” and tossed it at someone across the room; pick up the
snowball and throw it again. Everyone picks up a snowball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is your learning-edge buddy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your role is to be a cheerleader and
supporter for your colleague / new friend as they travel on a learning journey
this year. A simple and elegant idea that so far is working
beautifully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many of our teachers
have commented that their learning-edge buddy drops them little notes, maybe a
small treat, an e-mail, a pat on the back, just to keep each other on track and
accountable to somebody besides ourselves. I’m excited by this
initiative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wondering what we will do
next year!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dennis Schug - Middle
School Principal, Long Island, New York</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Remember being 13? Who
among us, given the opportunity, would actually choose to return to this...dare I say, <b><i>unique</i></b> time of life?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">These questions stick in
my mind every September, facing a new school year, lying at the core of my
approach with new (and returning) students, families, and staff. Whether for
the first time, or a second or even third decade in middle school, September is
the time to re-evaluate our memories and perceptions of life in middle school,
to reset our perspectives. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Middle School is
amazing. Minute to minute, day by day, and month by month, there is this
indescribable energy permeating every square inch of space of the building. As
adults charged with finding ways to guide, steer, and sometimes harness this
energy, a willingness to accept this challenge represents a key to success with
adolescents. Catch the lightning in a bottle, and celebrate when you do. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Middle School is
complicated. Personal identity, evolving friendships, and puberty. While these
are some of the "typical" struggles associated with adolescence,
coupled with real-world issues, this makes middle school tough to understand,
leaving kids (and even sometimes adults) to wonder, "Am I the only one
who...?" </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">September presents a
chance for renewal, a rebirth of sorts. Provided the chance to, not necessarily
walk in our own shoes again, but to walk alongside a 13 year-old, that's where
the magic is, the privilege of Middle School. And that's for us adults as much
as the 13 year-olds who we serve.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Chris Legleiter - Middle
School Principal, Leawood, KS </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The school year is an
extremely busy setting but also provides great opportunities for educators to
positively influence and impact others. The middle level is unique as kids are
striving to grow as learners, develop independence and find their social place
among peers. Educators that thrive at the middle level use the following
“essentials” within their work:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Foster
Effective Relationships - </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is the most important factor in a successful classroom and school. It’s
all about the people and how do we support and encourage each other. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Effective
Instructional Leadership - </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Both
teachers and administrators are instructional leaders, and a primary goal
must be student learning. We must always learn new strategies to enhance
our work.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Focus
on Growth - </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The School year is long but
does move by quickly. All educators must focus on getting better at their
craft thru learning new practices, becoming connected with other
educators, reflect upon the work and adjust as needed.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Develop
Others - </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The best schools exist because
of its people. They also have a collective efficacy that “we are all in it
together “for kids. We must build others up and focus on “being the best
for the team, not the best on the team.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Show
your passion - </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">All educators go into teaching
because they want to make a difference. We must let others see our
enthusiasm, energy and positivity. Those things are contagious and it’s
great when kids see the adults having fun in their roles as it creates a
“community”. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The school year is a
marathon, not a sprint. Teaching is hard as everyday matters but it is great
because every day matters as we can impact kids. Be You and Be the Difference.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">LaQuita Outlaw - Middle School Principal, Long Island</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You spent the summer
thinking about all the different things you would try to be better this year
than you were the year before. Your desire to inspire students is at its peak.
Before the feeling passes, find a way to harness the excitement that you have
at this very moment. Grab a pencil (or a pen - whatever your preference) and
record the fine details of what makes you smile. The children’s genuine
admiration as they look at you when you speak. The way their eyes follow your
every moment as you introduce a new topic, or even the surprise in their eyes
when you show them something they’ve never heard before. Think about the
conversations they’re having with their peers around the task you’ve given them,
or the work that they’ve produced, which far supersedes anything you ever
imagined. It’s these moments that will carry you through the difficult times of
the year. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Use the list that you
generated to the sheer joy that brought you into education. There are an
endless number of ways to capture, or reignite, the beginning of the year
bliss. Here are some to consider:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Take
a picture that sits on your desk as a reminder of the moment that brought
you joy.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Celebrate
children! A note home to the child’s family, or a certificate that
celebrates an accomplishment will bring you back to why you do what you do<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Brenda Vatthauer - Middle School Principal, Hutchinson, MN</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>What Are Your Hopes and Dreams?</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Each year I look forward to connecting with
students, parents and staff when they return to school in the fall. I ask
students "What Are Your Hopes and Dreams" and listen carefully to
their responses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This question can
become a "coaching" conversation by asking several follow up
questions helping each student think about their future. The real power
behind the question comes when 8th grade mentors have a conversation with
incoming 6th graders about their hopes and dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not only a mentoring connection, but
an opportunity for growth. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Parents can play a significant role by carrying
out the discussion at home, driving to soccer practice or out for a meal
together. Middle school is a great time for parents to engage in the
"Hopes and Dreams" conversation with their child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teachers can promote this at Open House in
the fall by posting a welcome on their SMART board stating "What Are Your
Hopes and Dreams." The visual allows for a great conversation
starter.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I would encourage you to continue the discussion
by asking your staff what their hopes and dreams are for the upcoming
year. Ask staff to share their thoughts at a staff meeting before school
starts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This allows an opportunity for
risk taking and builds school culture at the same time. We are never too old
to have hopes and dreams for the new school year.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jay Posick- Merton Intermediate School, Merton,
WI</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The beginning of the school year is when we need
to focus on the 3 R’s-</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Relationships with students</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Relationships with staff</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Relationships with family.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most of the interactions we have before the
school year starts are with our staff. It’s important to provide our
staff time with one another and it’s also important to spend time with our
staff. It doesn’t need to be, nor should it be, all professional development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s time to talk about our expectations for
our students and for one another.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Once the students are in the building, it’s
important to connect with students as much as you can. Greet them when
they arrive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connect with them in the
halls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eat with them at lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Play with them at recess. Learn with
them in classrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And say good-bye to
them as they leave for the day.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Building relationships starts with the first
email you send, either at the end of the summer or as the school year gets started.
We have used flipgrid to have our staff share a brief video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Open House and Family Information Nights also
bring families into our schools.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Relationships are developed over time in 15-30
second increments. Make the 3R’s a priority for the start of the school
year and there’s a great chance it will be your best school year ever.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ted Huff - Educational
Consultant/Retired Missouri Middle School Principal</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As educators, it is
essential to remember what it was like to be a middle school student. Picture
yourself back in 8th grade. Two essential questions ring true: First, <i>Will I
be accepted?</i> And second, <i>Can I do the work?</i> If we empower our
students to confidently answer both questions with a resounding “Yes”, then our
students will be prepared to have a successful year.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Building positive
professional relationships with our students begins with the first days of
school.<b> </b>Dedicating the first few days of school to relationship
building, academic work won’t begin until the first full week of school. During
Character Connection Class (our academic lab) teachers and students work
together to foster a collaborative and accepting community through a variety of
them building activities. This is continuing throughout the rest of the school
year. During the “academic” and elective classes, the teachers also focus on
class relationships. Here they share the importance of getting to know their
students before jumping into curriculum work. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So goes the first week
of school, so goes your school year. Start off on the correct foot by building
a foundation based on relationships.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Laura Jennaro - Christian Education Leadership
Academy (K-8) , Pewaukee, WI</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I love the start of a
new school year! With it brings an opportunity for a fresh perspective
and a positive approach. We educators, are the luckiest people on earth;
we get to inspire youth every day. While blessed by this endeavor, we
also accept great responsibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
essential for educators, to embrace this responsibility in the following three
ways: show up, be curious about your people, and lead by example. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">SHOW UP When I
show up, I am present and engaged in the moment. I am not multitasking; I
do not have my phone out; I am listening; I am interacting. I am
curious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I seek to learn with and from
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In what ways can we show up?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">BE CURIOUS Stories
connect us. I enjoy learning the stories of my people, be it staff,
students, parents. Commonalities create an invisible bridge over which
relationships are developed. How do you learn other’s stories?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">LEAD BY EXAMPLE It
is not enough to talk the talk, we must walk the talk. Model what is
expected in all that you say and do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Inspire others with your actions.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Setting the tone for a
new school year is essential, and not always easy. Remember to give
yourself grace as you embrace this new school year and the opportunities it
provides!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-49632170051375506052018-12-29T10:47:00.002-08:002018-12-29T13:09:43.416-08:00Pause: My #OneWord2019<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Dad, look how beautiful the sunrise is…”</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-fc23490d-7fff-63b0-7e24-59421a867259"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Look up, Dad! Look at the stars!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are the words of our daughter, that reverberate in my thoughts at the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">start and end of each day. Celebrating her 18th birthday at the end of </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">next month reminds me that time moves fast - too fast. In the last several </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">months, I’ve heard these words most often while in the car - the passenger </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">seat - as my little girl learned to drive. This of course, is one aspect of </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">becoming an independent and self-sufficient young adult. (Come to think </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of it, she seems to say these words about sunrises and stars most often </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">before or after she was responsible for safely navigating the roads while </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she controls a two-ton moving vehicle.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcgPJIomtuzlf8w5TzaElR5yAIqzDAfmsmXIOgp0W8dVYSeKBuEuPdtp2_-aaI8gWQA87YMzbE39h47sbf3Gc5lKGXfaaVSgU-d04ZD3FHcPgLqUPtt90LG7Gqv246cGe-sPQNoHjER5V/s1600/pspaddle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcgPJIomtuzlf8w5TzaElR5yAIqzDAfmsmXIOgp0W8dVYSeKBuEuPdtp2_-aaI8gWQA87YMzbE39h47sbf3Gc5lKGXfaaVSgU-d04ZD3FHcPgLqUPtt90LG7Gqv246cGe-sPQNoHjER5V/s400/pspaddle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ee5b882f-7fff-317a-836d-f5f61b99855a"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Photo courtesy of </span><a href="http://pslifehappens.weebly.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">P.S. Life Happens</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Don’t sweat the small stuff. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c1e9b718-7fff-d703-659e-a2200aa3e279" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Laugh with others...and at yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Carpe diem. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As a middle school principal for the last 9 years, I’ve learned many things, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">about myself and my ability to impact outcomes. As part of this, I’ve l</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">earned the value of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">time </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and my ability to use it wisely. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Time is devoted towards “big picture” (leadership) priorities. For me, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">this includes holding myself responsible to ensure the emotional safety </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and academic opportunity of hundreds adolescents and their nearly </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">100 caretakers, each day. This, of course, doesn’t count the hours </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">spent </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> invested dreaming, worrying, hoping, and planning </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">towards their success beyond my time with them. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And there are “small picture” (management) priorities. These are the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">daily situational decisions school leaders make on a sometimes </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">minute-by-minute basis.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Undoubtedly, each is important, and intertwined in the daily work </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">of educators.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">On a “good” day, my 41 minutes, 9 periods a day, are managed with precision. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And on </span><span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre;">a more challenging day, I find myself managing my day...41 seconds at </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a time. Either way, the way we choose to prioritize our time is </span><span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre;">where leadership </span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre;">and management matter.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This is an important aspect of the magic of being a middle school </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">principal. While I’ve certainly got more grey hair on my head </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">than I did in 2010, I also have the honor of knowing, cherishing, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and being part of the stories of thousands of 10 to 14 year-olds, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and the adults who care for them and about them each and every </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">day. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When I started as Principal, my daughter was 9 years old. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In 2019, she leaves for her freshman year of college. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Time sure does fly. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyg3EbJdSf398uZGti9q6Xt8ZArDKfpcAeF53L8td7I1zcKw7R-RqmiAMX3w3d1ISbjxVmHKQG9KW4oH8xLRaaKcrpGLJY3FAkyWJnaZTlN1A3vKBtw8aFRARIMFO8DopKvGCGhm_mkFVx/s1600/pssunrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyg3EbJdSf398uZGti9q6Xt8ZArDKfpcAeF53L8td7I1zcKw7R-RqmiAMX3w3d1ISbjxVmHKQG9KW4oH8xLRaaKcrpGLJY3FAkyWJnaZTlN1A3vKBtw8aFRARIMFO8DopKvGCGhm_mkFVx/s400/pssunrise.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0e8552e0-7fff-d469-9552-6ccf98eaad9a"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Photo courtesy of </span><a href="http://pslifehappens.weebly.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">P.S. Life Happens</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Last Spring, I read the article in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Inc.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> magazine entitled, </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/work-sleep-family-fitness-or-friends-pick-3.html?cid=sf01001&sr_share=twitter" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Work, Sleep, Family, Fitness, or Friends: Pick 3”</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> . The author asserts, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">based on a 2011 tweet from Randi Zuckerberg that to be successful, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that one must streamline priorities, narrowing them to no more than </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">three. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Reading this article led me to draw two conclusions:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. To be truly </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">successful,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at least according to the article, </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t possibly </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“have it all”. (Or...can I?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. It was time to re-evaluate my idea of work-life </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">balance/</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">integration/life-fit. Reflecting on 2018, I was </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">overworking, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">under-sleeping, distracted, and </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not present</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for the most important </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">people in my life - my family and my friends. It was time for me to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">own </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">this outcome. To do so, it was time to make some changes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Following what felt like a busier-than-usual school year, I saw </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">through </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">a few prior professional commitments, and determined that </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">summer </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">would be a reset for me. While I wasn’t necessarily prepared </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Pick 3”, if I had to choose, I was starting simple. My overall goal was </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> to balance Zuckerberg’s five priorities. It was to begin to live a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">less superficial, more purpose-driven life. I was ready to see the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">sunrises every morning...and the stars, every night. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In the last six months, I commit (and, in some cases, </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">recommit) </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">honoring several personal priorities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Read and Write. Every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweat. Every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Breathe. Every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connect. Every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Pause. Every day. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Fortunately, none of these commitments are completely unfamiliar to </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">me. They ebb and flow at different phases of my life. What I have </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">noticed, </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">however, is that as soon as I become “too busy”, they’re the first </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">things to </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">go, replaced by more pressing...more “</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">important” </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">priorities</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">One of the books I read in the Summer of 2018 was </span></div>
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<a href="https://lauravanderkam.com/books/168-hours/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> by Laura Vanderkam. In it, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the author writes the following about how we use (and can use) an </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">immutable commodity that we all share: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">time</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>"True time management is about filling our lives with things that</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>deserve to be there."</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This idea resonated deeply with me, leaving me to question how</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">often </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">spend</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> time on things I could be otherwise </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">investing</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> time in doing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Considering how and where I invest my time has led me to pay closer </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">attention to daily decisions and the impact they have on long-range goals. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vanderkam adds:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>"This is what happens when you treat your 168 hours as a blank slate.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>This is what happens when you fill them up only with things that deserve</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>to be there. You build a life where you can really have it all."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwXQqA2kH6k0A0uWbZHGKsszZieoGMUxXWGsn5wwNP7RGSzZUziDzkZ6oL96omFbnwNiJjniB6eSvPmsHzQddI7Blk3RO0i5XKL7nKBffIJEZhA-hcU35ykEf18nMPF8Q0-jRi5f6a7zw/s1600/audio-158490_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwXQqA2kH6k0A0uWbZHGKsszZieoGMUxXWGsn5wwNP7RGSzZUziDzkZ6oL96omFbnwNiJjniB6eSvPmsHzQddI7Blk3RO0i5XKL7nKBffIJEZhA-hcU35ykEf18nMPF8Q0-jRi5f6a7zw/s320/audio-158490_1280.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Much like leadership and management tasks, my five priorities are intertwined </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">as well. They nourish and fuel each other. But one, I find, drives all others. For </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">me, it’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">PAUSE</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Before, during, and after each of these other priorities, in </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">2019 I commit</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to pause, to consider how I am prioritizing my time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Pausing </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to read and write. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pausing to exercise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pausing to breathe in and breath </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pausing to connect with those who matter most in my life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, pausing to </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">check in with myself, to get on track and to stay on track. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">One thing’s for sure - some of my time in 2019 will be devoted toward pausing</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">to appreciate the sunrises </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and to appreciate the stars. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">After all, we only get 168 hours a week. Better make them count.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1bbstu20W8axWqymNYMPNEKbJ2bcLeQBeQFQQjtT8rzBj-Llpd7p-Ja_6ALaYz4Wl9iOhP8EFFhQ75Ny4gfYHfXn-_piWl4WoejxSsMFodnYaZMPpCh-Y-DLkocFxoKYfx8l4KoGaj03V/s1600/parkdriving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1bbstu20W8axWqymNYMPNEKbJ2bcLeQBeQFQQjtT8rzBj-Llpd7p-Ja_6ALaYz4Wl9iOhP8EFFhQ75Ny4gfYHfXn-_piWl4WoejxSsMFodnYaZMPpCh-Y-DLkocFxoKYfx8l4KoGaj03V/s400/parkdriving.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Author and Founder of </span><a href="http://pslifehappens.weebly.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">P.S. Life Happens</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Read my previous #OneWord blog posts here. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">#OneWord 2015: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2015/02/perspective.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Perspective</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">#OneWord 2016: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016_01_01_archive.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Stretch</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">#OneWord2017: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Elevate</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 18.6667px; white-space: pre;">Looking forward to reading yours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 18.6667px; white-space: pre;">Happy New Year!</span></div>
Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-26114886246796289162018-03-26T02:53:00.000-07:002018-03-27T09:51:55.737-07:00Of Robots, Rubik's Cubes, and Responsibility<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">On Saturday, March 24, it was my privilege to attend the <a href="http://www.liconnectededucators.org/">Long Island Connected Educators' Summit</a> hosted at W.E. Howitt Middle School, in Farmingdale, New York. Otherwise known as CELI, this event (the fifth annual), is led by Dr. Bill Brennan and a team of dynamic, passionate, and dedicated teachers, administrators, and students from the Farmingdale School District. This team inspires, both professionally and personally. </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make some time to visit the Twitter hashtag #CELI18 and you'll know what I mean. This was a memorable day for us all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, CELI resonated differently for me. Catching up with friends and colleagues greeted one another with handshakes and hugs. Talk turned quickly to what makes us proud and what challenges us. Standing with my cup of coffee, I partook in conversations about "the new job", how different schools prepare for, respond to, and prevent crises, and how we can better address issues involving equity in education. Amazing, when you think how this was free, on a Saturday, and we were among </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">of hundreds of educators, eager to connect and learn together, while we sipped a second (or third) cup of coffee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">As part of <i>Learning Leadership</i>, this month I'd planned to write about experiences of late that have been nudging me to see school differently, and to challenge myself to help and to support others to see it a differently as well. Before Saturday, these thoughts involved robots, the Rubik's Cube, and current societal events that are directly impacting our students and school communities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The quote below, captured beautifully by Bonnie McClelland, has me thinking. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had the good fortune to be in the room when these words were spoken, and I've found myself repeating them even since I first heard them spoken during the opening CELI panel discussion. The dynamic young adolescent who expressed it, spoke it proudly in her opening introduction, where said her name and she told us, "<i><b>I love robots!</b></i>" It was at that moment, she captured everyone's hearts and everyone's full attention. It was then that all in the room knew this day would be different. This was only the beginning, our first chance to learn from the wisdom of children, of adolescents, of young adults, and of one another.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The entire day was filled with student voice and educator voice. Thematically, attendees seemed to be reminded that, above all else, we've got a lot to learn, but also that we've got a lot to be thankful for, because there are others around us who are willing to learn with us, and to teach us. I won't attempt to share all of that here, but I do feel it important to express gratitude to Bill Brennan and his planning team. Thank you for knowing your impact, sharing your wisdom, and modeling the way schools can and should work...for all learners.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The tweet above from Eric Sheninger recently caught my eye, tying conveniently to my current line of thinking and the themes of CELI. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">First, I started seeing things differently in my own life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A 13 year-old who I know well has been involved in </span><a href="https://www.firstinspires.org/" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> since his start in middle school. You may know an adolescent like this. He's at-times, a self-assured leader, and in most cases, he'd otherwise prefer to blend into his surroundings. This year, in addition to programming and designing a robot for competition, his team also presented on how to solve a real-world problem: to use what we know about hydrodynamics to research and recommend how to purify contaminated water that comes as a result of natural disasters. Going to his competitions, you wouldn't know this. There's a deejay, an emcee, referees on rollerblades, concessions. There's a noisy, crowded, organized gymnasium, with hundreds of students and dozens of schools, competing with one and rooting for one another.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A visit to the FIRST website clearly shows what matters most: core values of gracious professionalism and "coopertition" (a combination of cooperation and competition). And these values, they shine through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>"FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn important life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect - of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own future." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>- Dean Kamen, FIRST Founder </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With "robotics season" now behind us, I've been thinking, how can we make "school", for students and teachers, more like robotics?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A pre-adolescent I know well has long solved puzzles, played board games, designs and builds anything imaginable. He's gotten into constructing fidget spinners, watching YouTube videos, and then watching YouTube videos about how to design a better fidget spinner. Along comes the return of the Rubik's Cube, and he's moved onto algorithms. The kid teaches himself how to do things and is unafraid of trial and error, designing prototypes, iterations, and of failure. Because he knows, failure is nothing more than a "first attempt in learning". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Each of these kids I describe shows signs of being a "systems thinker". Each is a problem-solver. Both are cooks and bakers, musicians, mad scientists, and when the mood strikes them, athletes. They are tactile learners and kinesthetic learners. They are readers, but more so when they're able to apply what they read to be meaningfully engaged in learning something new. And, these boys...they're my sons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As an educator-dad, I've been pleased with my kids' education since our first Kindergarten experience with our oldest child, over a decade ago. Fortunately, for my kids - like so many other teachers' kids - they're good students because they know how school "works". They're courteous </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and respectful. They're organized and can manage their time. And most importantly, they're good people, helpful, empathetic, and caring towards others. And, they're also "typical kids". When asked what they did at school, the first response is often, "Nothing". When asked what the best part of the day was, the answer is either, "lunch" or "when the school day was over". This often reminds me, it's my job, as the adult to ask better questions, to delve deeper, and to be patient awaiting a response. After all, I have to remain hopeful that, despite what they may tell me. I have to believe that they did <i>something</i>. Right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These kids come from a good home, where learning and hard work are valued. They are well-fed, well-clothed, and have opportunities that they're grateful for being afforded. I'm thankful for them, and am proud of them every day. And at school, they are known and they know they are known. That matters, and it makes all the difference, keeping a balanced message between home and school. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My intent here is not to brag about my kids. It's to illustrate that, while these are two kids who I know, I am reminded that there are kids out there who are not quite as fortunate, to be known and to know they are known. Some are dealing with more than anyone should be expected to handle, and they do it with grace, with perseverance, and with hope, that someone will make an effort to know them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This brings me back to this weekend in Farmingdale. Attendees (myself included) were welcomed with enthusiasm and </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">enthralled by stories of innovation,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> there were a number of other important takeaways. Embrace change and celebrate mistakes. Approach a challenge, prepared to accept failure (likely numerous times). Think, "We're not there YET, but we will get there, together." This attitude was pervasive among the adults. But possibly more impressive (and adults with a growth mindset are always impressive), were THE KIDS. Having the opportunity to listen to words of encouragement, to learn about robots and makerspaces, and to listen to them close the event by PRAISING the adults is what made this so memorable an experience. Thinking back to the tag line on the FIRST website, serves to remind us all what it's about: "<b><i>More than robots.</i></b>"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Upon my return home from CELI, I couldn't help but watch the #MarchForOurLives coverage across all news channels. This included the <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/977620153847435264" target="_blank">six minutes and 20 seconds of solemnity by Emma Gonzales</a>, one of the students who attends Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As I watched, listened, and waited intently for Ms. Gonzales to teach us. It was then that I realized that <i>all of our students have something to teach us</i>, and we have an obligation to listen. If we allow ourselves, we may just learn something from what they are willing to share with us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Whether a student with a Rubik's Cube, with a passion for robots, or some with a life experience that will change the world for the better, we as educators have a responsibility. A responsibility to listen. A responsibility to honestly ask and answer tough questions. And a responsibility to ensure what our students are learning is relevant, so they are equipped with the skills to succeed in the world they're inheriting. If our students' are willing to fail, to try again, and to learn, shouldn't we adults make that same commitment to learning?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Looking for the next opportunity to continue to learn with others across Long Island, New York, and the globe? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://www.smore.com/46qe5" target="_blank">Register today</a> to attend <b><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/edcamp-leadership-new-york-tickets-42511878172?aff=erelexpmlt" target="_blank">Edcamp Leadership New York: Long Island</a></b> on <b>July 20</b> and <b><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/edcamp-long-island-5th-annual-oct-20-2018-tickets-44365456274" target="_blank">Edcamp Long Island</a></b> on <b>October 20</b>. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Looking forward to learning together!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 1: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ccountability</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 2: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RAVO</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 3: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ollective Wisdom</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 4: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">esigning Conditions</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 5: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">volve</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 6: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eedback</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 7: </span><a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate (My One Word...about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iving and Receiving)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 8: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call Me Coach (a post about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oops)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 9: </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I.</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">..am back at the blog.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 10: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourneys & Meetings</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 11: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/knowledge.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">K</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nowledge. There's more to it than that.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 12: </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/08/learning-leadership-and-lists.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><b>L</b>earning, Leadership, and Lists</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Day 13: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/manage-like-munson.html"><b>M</b>anage Like Munson</a></span><br />
Day 14: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/names-and-norms.html"><b>N</b>ames and Norms</a><br />
Day 15: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-oneword-for-2018-optimize-our-impact.html"><b>O</b>ptimize (my #OneWord for 2018)</a><br />
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Day 16: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2018/02/promise-perspective-and-potential-its.html"><b>P</b>romise, Perspective, and Potential: It's About the People</a><br />
Day 17: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2018/02/quitting.html" target="_blank"><b>Q</b>uitting</a></div>
Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-64152883001396276902018-02-22T09:40:00.001-08:002018-03-27T09:52:23.763-07:00Quitting<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Dad, I want to quit."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I am embarrassed to admit it, but three weeks ago, this was the basis for this blog post. This statement, uttered by my nine-year-old son, was upsetting to me. After five years of playing baseball, he decided he was done. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He had his reasons: </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Baseball is boring." </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"I am afraid to get hit by a pitch." </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"I'd rather play basketball...and soccer...and ride my bike...and swim...and play outside with my friends." (All good reasons, that reminded me of what a pre-adolescent considers motivating.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Selfishly, for me, after 12 years of coaching youth sports throughout each season, in my mind, last spring was not to be <i>my</i> final season, because<i> I</i> was not done coaching, and enjoying all that comes with it. Stepping back, I realize now, had I written about this, I would have made this <i>about me</i>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But this is not about me. So I didn't write this post. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Two weeks ago, after engaging in a challenging parent meeting, I thought I knew the direction of this post. During a heated and emotional conversation, the parent explained to me, through tears and personal anguish, that his son was suffering. Yes, he has great grades. Yes, his attendance is better than it's ever been. And no, he does not have any blemishes on his school discipline record after all these years. He joins clubs and plays sports. He's viewed as an energetic leader-type who does not take "no" for an answer when it comes to defending something he believes in as being "right". And he is suffering miserably with depression, unbeknownst to anyone at school who thinks he or she knows him. He's seen personal tragedy, and he's seen death, up close, too close for any child or any adult. And all these years later, he struggles, with nightmares, with fear of loneliness and isolation, and with an emotional paralysis, that prevents him from feeling heard, from feeling a sense of self-worth. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This meeting got me thinking about the issues that challenge our students every day, and how, the students who struggle the most may also be adept at hiding their struggles, burying them deep. How many students, outside of school, are facing challenges they didn't create or invite, struggles beyond their control? How many of our students have family members who are battling addiction, domestic violence, and are navigating the complexities of making ends meet for their family? Amazing to consider, kids' resiliency and courage. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And how many of our students depend on school to be a safe and secure place, one which has predictable routines and people who care for their personal well-being. How many of our students rely on school to be the place where they can “check their problems at the door” so they might spend if even just a few hours, focusing on dreaming and working towards a dream of a better life and a better future? So many students, so many stories. We have to ask, how many of these stories do we really know? And how many of these students do we really support? And how many of these students do we truly know and how many know that we know them? </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">How many do we miss?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">How many of our students <i>quit</i>? </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And how many adults stand by and let them, without doing what is needed to prevent it from happening? How many adults stand by, and <i>let them quit</i>?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Nearly a week ago, I realized my reason for writing this post.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By now, we learned details about the latest school shooting, this one at Stone Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, that has left 17 people dead and 23 injured. We are hearing students and families from this and previous school shootings, speaking out and demanding action. And we hear a refrain of typical responses: mental illness, the protection of Second Amendment rights, and the proposal of increased legislation that will theoretically reduce access to assault weapons, being referred to by some victims' family members as “weapons of war” in the hands of everyday people. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Questions of, “What could’ve been done to prevent this?” and, “What can be done, so that it never happens again?” have made their return, as people grieve and struggle to make sense of another countless school tragedy at the hands of a student. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This reminds me of what has plagued education, and perhaps, society, for far too long. We see a problem that we have seen before and we “admire” the problem. We make excuses and we get distracted by less important priorities. We wait for a student to fail - we watch for these "symptoms" in the form of academic, behavioral, social, or emotional changes. Then, we watch them fail. And then we react, often times, with a high degree of emotion. We perpetuate the problems. And we normalize the response and the outcome. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We do this in education all the time. And when we see it happening outside of education, we accept it, often without acknowledging that it is occurring, and move onto the next headline. When are we going to challenge our thinking on this? When are we going to push back on what may be "human nature"? </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is where we need to shift our focus: from a reactive one to a more proactive one. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, as part of a strategic master schedule planning initiative that is underway in the school where I lead, I read </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Making-Big-Schools-Feel-Small/dp/1560901659" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Making Big Schools Feel Small</span></a><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Paul S. George and John H. Lounsbury. There are several salient points of emphasis. Important to note, this book was published in the year 2000 - nearly two decades ago. And yet, the words may be more relevant than ever. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In a nutshell, the book is about fostering a sense of “smallness” at school. It’s about building and sustaining high-quality and trusted relationships between adolescents and the adults who serve them. It’s about students being known, and knowing they are known. And it’s steeped in research, and includes the opinions of 105 educators, 586 parents, and 1,100 students from 33 schools. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A few key points from the authors:</span></u></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>“Small units that nurture long-term teacher-student relationships and counter feelings of anonymity or alienation may be a key factor in preventing school-related acts of violence”</b><span style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (5). </span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>“Schools that provide small, close-knit communities have, many believe, the best chance to prevent suicides and the kind of tragic violence witnessed in schools in recent years. Juvenile delinquents almost universally lack a bond with the school or with a teacher”</b><span style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (9).</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>“The social-emotional tone of a school affects whether or not students attend school, how they choose to behave while present”</b><span style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (13).</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>“Young adolescents quite typically feel a sense of alienation, but long-term relationships can counter that by helping students feel that they are an important part of an important group”</b><span style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (14).</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The more informal contacts of students and advisors over time, the greater the sense of community and less the sense of alienation”</b><span style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (14)</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It's hard to imagine that this book was written 18 years ago. It is research based, and endorsed with words and wisdom of experts in the field of middle level education, as well as testimonials from middle schools that are invested in this work of being developmentally responsive to adolescents. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So one has to ask, why aren’t more schools investing more in this philosophy?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And where are our opportunities to create "cultures of connectedness" in our schools?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe it's because we become filled with a sense of feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge, by the magnitude of the responsibility.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, it's smaller than you think.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, I penned a blog post entitled, </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/names-and-norms.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Names and Norms</span></a><span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">included a few simple, yet intentional ideas for connecting with kids. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">While these are just a few small steps, they are indeed important steps that we can and must take, if we are going to reduce feelings of isolation and desperation among our students as well as build community. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we invest in community-building, we can help to transform the experience of each of our students, as they go from feeling anonymous to a sense of belonging and being important members of a community. There may appear to be a lack of empirical evidence on the benefits of school connectedness. However, if we knew we could be part of building significant relationships, that, as Dr. James Comer wrote, would result in significant learning, why wouldn’t we do it? And what they have to gain, while difficult to quantify, is well worth the risk. O</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">ur students have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is our opportunity to live by this quote, prominently displayed in my office, that represents my personal philosophy on why we lead - to build capacity in others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As a community of educators:</span></u></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Don't we owe it to our students, our schools, and our profession, <b><i>to act</i></b>?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Isn’t it our profession obligation (if not a moral imperative), <b><i>to act</i></b>?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And <i><b>if we don't act</b></i>, what right do we have to tell our students not to quit, if we ourselves aren't willing to hold ourselves responsible for living by the same expectations?</span></li>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 Days of Learning Leadership</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 1: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ccountability</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 2: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RAVO</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 3: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ollective Wisdom</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 4: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">esigning Conditions</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 5: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">volve</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 6: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eedback</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 7: </span><a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate (My One Word...about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iving and Receiving)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 8: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call Me Coach (a post about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oops)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 9: </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I.</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">..am back at the blog.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 10: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourneys & Meetings</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 11: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/knowledge.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">K</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nowledge. There's more to it than that.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 12: </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/08/learning-leadership-and-lists.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><b>L</b>earning, Leadership, and Lists</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Day 13: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/manage-like-munson.html"><b>M</b>anage Like Munson</a></span><br />
Day 14: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/names-and-norms.html"><b>N</b>ames and Norms</a><br />
Day 15: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-oneword-for-2018-optimize-our-impact.html"><b>O</b>ptimize (my #OneWord for 2018)</a><br />
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Day 16: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2018/02/promise-perspective-and-potential-its.html"><b>P</b>romise, Perspective, and Potential: It's About the People</a></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-77845721011540527202018-02-04T18:54:00.002-08:002018-02-22T11:31:13.781-08:00Promise, Perspective, and Potential: It's About the People.<div style="text-align: right;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Lately, I find myself thinking deeply and critically about the purpose of education. I'm reflecting on K-12 education: first, my own that I experienced, second, that of my own children, and third, for the 677 students in the school where I am blessed to lead each and every day. In contemplating the complex intersection between school leadership and management, I can’t help but reflect on where leadership and management meets, and how it impacts school culture.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-739c7101-62e3-0482-876f-4e66c697b86d"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Management works <u>in</u> the system; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">leadership works <u>on</u> the system." </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-739c7101-62e3-0482-876f-4e66c697b86d"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Stephen Covey</span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-739c7101-62e3-0482-876f-4e66c697b86d"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This school year, in some (but not all) ways, I've gone "back to basics". One example of this is a commitment I've made, to write a letter. The letter I have in mind is to the future students in my school. The topic is what they can expect of the education they will receive. This is a personal-professional legacy project, a challenge issued by a leadership mentor of mine. Another example of this year's approach is in response to some unexpected life circumstances that have arisen for a number of staff members. This has created a need to be available to serve their needs, in the interest of some members of our school community, who need my support. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-739c7101-62e3-0482-876f-4e66c697b86d"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's about the long and short view, a confluence of factors revealing a tension between "Leadership" and "Management". </span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-739c7101-62e3-0482-876f-4e66c697b86d"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb_p1dxkSBbI9rAgYjlAXy01Lz9Wc6b4fbVApXQgwJPBmdwky9WEAW0qwdpGd360SuvarJXL68_TNLJud0tcWVT7dgGD0rosABFGzc9SR9K7roP-Suj3WOQ6mCXD8X6Q3aXtYaK1_Fie3/s1600/puppy-1647692_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb_p1dxkSBbI9rAgYjlAXy01Lz9Wc6b4fbVApXQgwJPBmdwky9WEAW0qwdpGd360SuvarJXL68_TNLJud0tcWVT7dgGD0rosABFGzc9SR9K7roP-Suj3WOQ6mCXD8X6Q3aXtYaK1_Fie3/s400/puppy-1647692_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-739c7101-62e3-0482-876f-4e66c697b86d"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The need to balance between leadership and management presents opportunities, to reflect upon how a leader's decisions impact those who matter most in our work: our students. While there are times when we fall prey to what John Hattie refers to as "the politics of distraction", there is no more important time than now, to identify what we want for our students, and as a result, what will be our focus, as school leaders. Despite distractions, the best school leaders maintain their obligation to keep students' best interests at the forefront of our thoughts, our words, and our actions.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-739c7101-62e3-0482-876f-4e66c697b86d"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first leadership mentor is much revered as a keen and perceptive manager of details, no matter how small they may be. Through my early formative experiences in school leadership, I gained a quick appreciation for how close scrutiny of details can serve the organization, and in turn, serve the needs of the students and school community. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During our close work together, I would often listen as my mentor would mutter quotes that stick with me, to this day. For example, when we'd run a fire drill, he'd say, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"You play like you practice, and you practice how you play."</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In a post-drill analysis, we'd dissect where things went well and could've been more efficient. My mentor explained and modeled, breaking down these components, this worked well when practicing for a fire drill. He'd say, "</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proper preparation prevents poor performance."</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We'd look at how much time a drill would take for people in different parts of the building, working with different populations of students. We'd bring people together to conduct our analysis and collectively reflect on what we did well and where we'd commit to doing better next time. Every second counted. Every detail mattered. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These management strategies resonate in my day-to-day management of details, to this very day. Now, when faced with a planned or even an unexpected event, the importance of planning and preparation is at the front of my mind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, not every decision a school leader makes can or should be treated as drill practice. Great leaders know this.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VExX5KJ9MY9waaPxm7nvU_h4Fvdy-b0outP37DSF-Bkfkuu_2TlTwKhG-_rXu30UL9VFmkdcZtDVovehsZmDMOMQy7mo9RwVKSg___g6ze25TIQ_77J0cCfkunNVO-TEYUgiF0m-UjTh/s1600/plan-707359_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VExX5KJ9MY9waaPxm7nvU_h4Fvdy-b0outP37DSF-Bkfkuu_2TlTwKhG-_rXu30UL9VFmkdcZtDVovehsZmDMOMQy7mo9RwVKSg___g6ze25TIQ_77J0cCfkunNVO-TEYUgiF0m-UjTh/s400/plan-707359_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do we message what's most important? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every day presents a fresh start and opportunity to convey what’s most important to others, through our thoughts, our words, and our actions. These messages may be less about procedural management, are more about snapshots of our leadership vision. They reflect our intentions, our hopes and our dreams for our school community. They represent opportunities for others to see our leadership values and our learning priorities for both students and school community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"It's about the people, people." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I smile when I think of these words. The first time I said them aloud was at the inaugural Edcamp Long Island. During the Smackdown. I blurted this response to the question, "What is your big takeaway from our day together?" As anyone who has attended or has been part of planning an edcamp knows, there is an electricity that surges through our personal connections with those whom we've decided to learn with for the day. Often, this feeling continues, into the friendships that result and the learning that flows into our schools and into subsequent professional learning events we attend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is where I learned, what we do as leaders: It’s all about the people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While it’s vital to pivot comfortably between management and leadership in a school building, it’s equally as important to keep vision focused on who we serve, and why we serve. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBdKmunCRO4dhP5okYXpkNK3OoS1nX8Q2D2NZlQL4dkTrBAGvsXj0sVcTmD1PzbiBMzLIQFVd2Nv8-ET9yVe9_K3II83B-ZDcIiJ9H2P9IpVM0ZLKlPUhA8XNRg0pk_M8mvo713zCnWyJ/s1600/quotes-729173_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBdKmunCRO4dhP5okYXpkNK3OoS1nX8Q2D2NZlQL4dkTrBAGvsXj0sVcTmD1PzbiBMzLIQFVd2Nv8-ET9yVe9_K3II83B-ZDcIiJ9H2P9IpVM0ZLKlPUhA8XNRg0pk_M8mvo713zCnWyJ/s400/quotes-729173_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Looking beyond the drills: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Promise. Perspective. Potential.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Promise</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two decades ago, as a new entrant to the teaching profession, I saw an opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. Regrettably, in retrospect, my teaching career was more about how I was to impact one group of students: "my students” and “my class". While I made a promise to be a great teacher, looking back, in all truth, it was more about me than anyone else. Today, that promise has evolved. Today, it’s my privilege to serve in a role where I can be part of making decisions that result in positive outcomes for hundreds of students, and a generation of people. While my promise has evolved for the better, my commitment to the promise for that the future holds steady. It’s helping others to discover and fulfill the promises they make to themselves. It’s no longer about me. It’s about others. It’s about them. It’s about us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What promises do you make </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to your students or those who are impacted by your decisions? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perspective</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People's perception of a situation is their reality of that situation. Not everyone has had a positive school experience. For some, it was with a teacher or fellow students, and for others, it was a challenging subject area or extenuating circumstances outside of the school day. These mental models often inform the experiences of these people, as adults, and we've got an obligation to meet people where they are, listen to and understand their perspective, and walk with them towards our new reality, together. Conflict resolution is an unavoidable aspect of school leadership. Having the courage and tact to navigate such circumstances is an essential part of maintaining a positive school culture. Whether students have a difference of opinion or adults disagree, it's the role of the school leader to be tactful and respectful in resolving conflict, peacefully and with student dignity in mind. Active listening and maintaining an empathetic mindset not only yields better results, but it also models for others how we can all do this. Honoring what we want for the other party, for ourselves, and most importantly, our priorities for the relationship between us, that is where leadership lives and school culture thrives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you place and maintain empathy,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">even in the most challenging of circumstances? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Potential</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I was first afforded the chance to lead the school where I currently serve as Principal, the school was not yet two years old. The vision was set and the master schedule, built for success. Those years prior to my arrival, I would have to imagine, were most challenging - defining the school culture as it found its own level. As teachers blended practices and students shaped and defined expectations, it was then that the seeds were sown. When it became my unexpected privilege, being handed the responsibility as “master gardener”, it was was chance to take a school community to the next level. While this may sound great, as a new principal, it did not come easily at first. For starters, I didn’t quite possess the “green thumb” that was necessary to yield consistently flawlessly abundant “crops” that made up a positive school culture. Fortunately, I as a member of the school community, I, too, am a learner, among other learners. In a school, and in any school and any classroom, when we look close enough, we can see where potential lies. We can nurture it, draw it out, and make the leadership choice to celebrate it. Now, eight years in, I see reasons to celebrate every day. And, I know, the best is yet come. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you grow the potential in others? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvEZ8zw0JwxEa8pCllAwmlf4zMMSZ_CK-eTjQiC2ydK3-YBFP5Ij8uPL8mI008Cq7Xz3f0U7VyI5M9IUijZhk00jPbVXLYxviUjUBIlqqyS9rrUDtn1e3DVAFY_hKVcT99fKOCu3o5LW7/s1600/kOF2bbEf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvEZ8zw0JwxEa8pCllAwmlf4zMMSZ_CK-eTjQiC2ydK3-YBFP5Ij8uPL8mI008Cq7Xz3f0U7VyI5M9IUijZhk00jPbVXLYxviUjUBIlqqyS9rrUDtn1e3DVAFY_hKVcT99fKOCu3o5LW7/s400/kOF2bbEf.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image Credit: Lee Araoz</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“This is not a drill.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next time we have a fire drill, undoubtedly, I will smile and think of the words of my mentor: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"You play like you practice, and you practice how you play." </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And as we exit and re-enter the school building, safely and soundly, settle in and get back to the learning at hand, I will remind myself: It's about the people, people. It's about promise. It's about perspective. And it's about potential.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most importantly, leaders remember: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's about the people.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 Days of Learning Leadership</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 1: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ccountability</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 2: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RAVO</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 3: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ollective Wisdom</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 4: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">esigning Conditions</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 5: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">volve</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 6: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eedback</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 7: </span><a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate (My One Word...about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iving and Receiving)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 8: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call Me Coach (a post about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oops)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 9: </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I.</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">..am back at the blog.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 10: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourneys & Meetings</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 11: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/knowledge.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">K</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nowledge. There's more to it than that.</span></a></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 12: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/08/learning-leadership-and-lists.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><b>L</b>earning, Leadership, and Lists</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Day 13: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/manage-like-munson.html"><b>M</b>anage Like Munson</a></span><br />
Day 14: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/names-and-norms.html"><b>N</b>ames and Norms</a><br />
Day 15: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-oneword-for-2018-optimize-our-impact.html"><b>O</b>ptimize (my #OneWord for 2018)</a></div>
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</span>Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-4138823137824387312017-12-31T16:02:00.000-08:002018-02-04T17:46:59.316-08:00Optimize (My #OneWord for 2018)<span style="font-size: large;">One of the most exciting aspects of becoming an educator who values and appreciates being "connected" is the accountability factor. One annual example of this has been the #OneWord phenomenon, in which educators from across the globe openly commit to one word as a driving focus for the year. It's proven inspirational to read what others share as theirs as much as it's proven to be a source of strength to be able to focus on one word, amidst what is typically a high-energy, demanding lifestyle as a middle school principal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My own #OneWord journey began in 2015 with <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2015/02/perspective.html">Perspective</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It continued in 2016 with <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016_01_01_archive.html">Stretch</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And it evolved in 2017 with <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html">Elevate</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This year, I have the added advantage of several blogging communities, which provides numerous accountability partners and mentors. One in particular has been an A to Z blogging project that a group of local connected educator friends and I have engaged in, via social media (Twitter and Voxer) and in person (unconferences, meet-ups, and conferences). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back when this idea was first launched, the goal of the members in the group was to publish a post every two weeks, which would have neatly gotten us through the alphabet in a neat and timely manner. But of course, for those of us who have been around long enough to realize, learning (and life) is anything but neat and tidy. There are obstacles to progress, mental roadblocks, and external "politics of distraction". It's interesting to consider, if we can be forgiving of ourselves to get off track (or sidetracked), can we allow this more for our students and the adults in their lives? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My #OneWord for 2018 is <b>OPTIMIZE</b>, which can be defined as to </span><span style="font-size: large;">"make the best or most effective use of a situation, opportunity, or resource".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thinking back on 2017, I've learned a lot. But one thing I did not capitalize on enough was having the courage of some of my colleagues who participated in the #ObserveMe movement. That is why it's at the top of my "to-do" list for 2018. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because feedback is one of the most complex, misunderstood, underutilized, and valuable aspects of being in education. As a school principal, it's my responsibility to supervise and evaluate teachers. I view this process as a something between an act of compliance and an instructional coaching experience, in which I benefit as much if not more than the cooperating teacher in the process. One of the challenges to this process is that it's an isolated, all-or-nothing event that has historically been something we have to "get through". One has to ask, is "getting through" something going to yield long-term benefits to any party involved?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is one of the driving reasons that in 2018, I will look to OPTIMIZE my impact as a school leader. Five core areas of focus for me to do this are:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Communication</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Collaboration</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Learning</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Leadership</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Relationships</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I invite anyone who is willing to help me grow and improve as a learning leader to take a few moments to provide me with some good, honest, constructive feedback. Whether we've interacted by way of a phone call or email, a meeting, video call, or presentation, I would love to hear from you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One disclaimer to remember, this is not about me. This is about being able to <b>OPTIMIZE</b> <b>my impact</b> for the students and staff in our school, the families and stakeholders in our community, and for one another, to help our profession flourish.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QEkbZ1Md5kLYsQ-7WUPbb5_EPGE8M7zRb0ucgYoh_A0sTtd7nE9txzSlnrDqTJp-DYYV8SNh29fwZXe4SwFzO5wIXomROiCynT3JRHOd-t5jVY-mQppu3CwiSmgu5-E25szvIAWFnqMN/s1600/observeme.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QEkbZ1Md5kLYsQ-7WUPbb5_EPGE8M7zRb0ucgYoh_A0sTtd7nE9txzSlnrDqTJp-DYYV8SNh29fwZXe4SwFzO5wIXomROiCynT3JRHOd-t5jVY-mQppu3CwiSmgu5-E25szvIAWFnqMN/s1600/observeme.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JBi9r_yrkvGMZHeZxnR36t0zNb-X5ALF5eeO4Rc32B8/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JBi9r_yrkvGMZHeZxnR36t0zNb-X5ALF5eeO4Rc32B8/edit?usp=sharing</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy 2018! What's YOUR #OneWord?</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 Days of Learning Leadership</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 1: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ccountability</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 2: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RAVO</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 3: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ollective Wisdom</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 4: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">esigning Conditions</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 5: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">volve</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 6: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eedback</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 7: </span><a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate (My One Word...about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iving and Receiving)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 8: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call Me Coach (a post about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oops)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 9: </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I.</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">..am back at the blog.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 10: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourneys & Meetings</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 11: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/knowledge.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">K</span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nowledge. There's more to it than that.</span></a></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 12: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/08/learning-leadership-and-lists.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><b>L</b>earning, Leadership, and Lists</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Day 13: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/manage-like-munson.html"><b>M</b>anage Like Munson</a></span><br />
Day 14: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/names-and-norms.html"><b>N</b>ames and Norms</a></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-52327853270518916412017-12-10T13:04:00.000-08:002017-12-10T13:44:39.822-08:00Names and Norms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wouldn't you like to get away?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes you want to go...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where everybody knows your name,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And they're always glad you came,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You want to be where you can see,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our troubles are all the same.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You want to be...where everybody knows your name.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isn't it funny how sometimes the most subtle of life events can transform us back to another time? For me, the song lyrics above take me back to growing up in the 1980's, watching </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cheers</span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, one of my weekly favorite shows on television with my Dad. Now, I know what you may be thinking. A comedy about a group of adults who meet up regularly in their favorite watering hole. Is that really something a kid should've been watching, and with his parent? Well, let me remind you, this was a simpler time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-84580a44-4230-b72c-241a-53a13f14d032" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my favorite characters was a witty king of one-liners, Norm, who was always prepared with a quip, upon entering Cheers. His response, however, was preceded by an important detail, which can be found by watching this three second clip: </span><a href="http://viewpure.com/tAqIKpbHXrQ?start=0&end=0" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cheers Norm</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> .</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See what happened there? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Norm was greeted, by name, and routinely so. Welcomed into a familiar community - his community - that allowed him to be comfortable in his own skin. Norm knew he was among others, some of whom shared his life challenges, some of whom could empathize and listen, and others of whom had unique challenges of their own, who can lend an ear or even, relate to Norm's circumstances.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-84580a44-4232-37a9-7c5e-4a34dbf1d358" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not that I was thinking about any of this while I was watching and laughing along to the laugh track with my Dad, but now, as a middle school principal, I have a new appreciation for this show. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How often do we go about our lives and our work without stopping to engage in the important things. So often throughout my life, I’ve benefited by the generosity of others. This has </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">reminded me to stop and do this more often. As a result, I’ve recommitted to making sure I am doing the little things that sometimes make a big difference for someone else. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I've spoken to you on the phone lately, or we've interacted via GHO or Voxer this year, or even better, we've encountered one another in person, I want to say thank you. You've helped me do this. So...thank you.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What does this have to do with being a school leader, an educator, or someone fortunate to work with and for children?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now more than ever, we need to commit to the small things. For example, what if we made the use of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">names</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> one of our </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">norms</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In October and again in November, I had the good fortune to chaperone two student trips; one with my teenage son's school and the other with the students at the school where I serve as Principal. Since those trips, I have carried, in my pocket, two laminated pieces of paper, neither of which is larger in size than a business card. One of these cards has the names of students who were in my "meal group" and the other has students' names from my "activity group". I carry these around so that each day, I am reminded to check in with as many of these students </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by name</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFTJO4tTy0cbx9c9sF0vHHDggEJn8uhvyjsMogZAPm8k8BEHz67QVKs3Y6rC3pcwBoxdYwOV43sH3DgT-Xb19EX-8Fe7llY_wKLw54EKelxfMPG2KYtfH36qujWjMxInpV-Vq42yGKbyb/s1600/names.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFTJO4tTy0cbx9c9sF0vHHDggEJn8uhvyjsMogZAPm8k8BEHz67QVKs3Y6rC3pcwBoxdYwOV43sH3DgT-Xb19EX-8Fe7llY_wKLw54EKelxfMPG2KYtfH36qujWjMxInpV-Vq42yGKbyb/s400/names.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, as one might imagine (if you work with adolescents, you know this), some engage with me and respond, some ignore my greeting, a few look at me, like, "Why are you talking to me?" I take none of this personally, but rather feel good knowing that these students are known, and know in our school, they are known. Kids need to hear their names. Greeting them allows me to consider some of the challenges they're facing, remembering their best challenge is my worse challenge, as a kid and now, as an adult. (Remember what I said before, watching Cheers with my Dad was during a simpler time, in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>the</i></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> world and in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>my</i></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> world.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you're lucky like me, maybe your school has an Advisory program or a character education or SEL program of some sort. But don't feel like you need one of these programs to make </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">names</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">norm</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the biggest challenges of school leaders today is what results when we focus on what we "have to do" instead of what we "get to do". Each of the following ideas requires minimal preparation, other than scheduling them on your daily and weekly checklist, and maybe asking for an "accountability partner" to help you.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>3 ways to promote an inclusive school community:</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. </span><a href="http://viewpure.com/PIHtuKc3Gjg?start=0&end=0" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Opening Doors</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the daily habits I have worked to build is to meet and greet our students, as often as possible throughout the school day. One of the best high traffic, low pressure meeting places, is where I can hold a door for students. These spots provide the opportunity for eye contact, the exchange of pleasantries, and an opportunity for me to use a student's name and for him/her to hear his/her name. An unintended consequence, I've learned, is that students have begun to hold doors for one another, and for their teachers. A component I’ve added over the years is to incorporate a “pitch counter” which I use as a “hello” or “good morning” counter. In middle school, this has been a fun way to remind adolescents that sometimes we adults need the reciprocal greeting as much as our students need to hear it. You'd be surprised how helpful teenagers can be, especially when you tell them you're "just looking for a 100th person to say good morning to you that day".</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Name Cards:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Keep a list of names of students on an index card in your pocket. Learn these names by asking questions of your school counselor, psychologist, nurse, teachers, and paraprofessionals with whom they work. Refer to the names on the card daily, and update it regularly. This will help, not only as a physical reminder to stay connected with students, but also to reminder that behind each of these names is a unique story. Collaborative leaders are catalysts to those around us, to ensure that students succeed, when they are known, and they know they are known. When we write names down, it seems as though it promotes our using them with greater frequency - that's good for everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two-by-Ten: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes we encounter students whose names we know before we meet them face-to-face. You know who I’m talking about - “THAT kid”. Well, that kid needs us more than any of us know, and he’s going to ask for it in many ways that will challenge how we choose to respond. One strategy I’ve adopted for many students (and even some adults) is what researcher Raymond Wlodkowski refers to as, </span><a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education_update/jul14/vol56/num07/The_Two-Minute_Relationship_Builder.aspx" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the Two-by-Ten Strategy</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> . Simply put, select one student, and invest two minutes a day for ten consecutive days, speaking about any school-appropriate topic the student would like to discuss. This may take some practice and some artful questioning, but once achieved, the outcome is a personal connection, between a child and trusted adult. Do you have two minutes a day to invest in a child?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why is this important? It's about building efficacy, in one another and in our school communities. Caring teachers already do this, and with intentional practice, we can all do our part, in building a community of trust.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peter DeWitt writes in, </span><a href="https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/school-climate/book257999" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">School Climate: Leading With Collective Efficacy</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Corwin, 2018), "Collaborative leaders need to keep in mind that the experience for each student is different when it comes to classroom climate." DeWitt goes on to note that, today, in a not-so-simple time, there are significant issues we can and should be tackling in the safe confines of our classrooms and school communities, among them, issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation. DeWitt continues, "If schools are to be places where all students feel included, then we as educators need to have conversations, read books, engage in debates, and hang up posters and artwork that depict the very students who attend our schools and depict the very population that lives within our country." At it's most basic level, this begins with using one another's name. This is where a "Culture of We" begins.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmEZjFwN4JNbzUN_RbX-4be3JP52PL4bgPrSKJcCU-22RjmZJCWIHfeOfY_afnbYCqh3U6iSpggx7V0XlTaa1uwIJXvpYlQj6L5oclwxwS7WT3nmXVCiXVS6qoHOVw2zGeHwEHBCD54mk/s1600/we-566327_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1600" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmEZjFwN4JNbzUN_RbX-4be3JP52PL4bgPrSKJcCU-22RjmZJCWIHfeOfY_afnbYCqh3U6iSpggx7V0XlTaa1uwIJXvpYlQj6L5oclwxwS7WT3nmXVCiXVS6qoHOVw2zGeHwEHBCD54mk/s400/we-566327_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve written previously about the work of Peter DeWitt and others in </span><a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My #OneWord2017</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s important of considering research to confirm or challenge our gut instincts as educators. However, when we look at the vital role </span><a href="https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/collaborative-leadership/book249055" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collaborative Leadership</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> plays in impacting student achievement, teacher-student relationships (with an effect size of 0.72) are paramount to the success of individual students and in turn, can be a catalyst for success in our school communities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why not make a commitment, right now, to knowing your impact on student achievement and making the most of how you use it? </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 Days of Learning Leadership</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 1: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ccountability</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 2: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RAVO</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 3: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ollective Wisdom</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 4: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">esigning Conditions</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 5: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">volve</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 6: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eedback</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 7: </span><a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate (My One Word...about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iving and Receiving)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 8: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call Me Coach (a post about </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oops)</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 9: </span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I.</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">..am back at the blog.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 10: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourneys & Meetings</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 11: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/knowledge.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">K</span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nowledge. There's more to it than that.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 12: </span><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/08/learning-leadership-and-lists.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><b>L</b>earning, Leadership, and Lists</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 13: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/12/manage-like-munson.html"><b>M</b>anage Like Munson</a></span></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-9218268876473120492017-12-04T18:05:00.000-08:002017-12-10T13:43:27.126-08:00Manage Like Munson<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>"I like hitting fourth and I like the good batting average. But what I do everyday behind the plate is a lot more important because it touches so many more people and so many more aspects of the game."</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>~ New York Yankees Captain, Thurman Munson</b></i></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Leadership reveals itself in some of the most unexpected places.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The summer before fifth grade was a lonely, yet memorable summer. My family had just relocated from the outskirts of New York City to the suburbs of Long Island. In what seemed like an instant, I went from being a "city kid" playing "up the avenue" to being a Long Island "farm boy". In my ten-year-old mind, I was abruptly converted from being a "City Mouse" to a "Country Mouse". It was a complicated time for a kid.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At my mother's daily urging, my June days were spent on my bike, exploring the neighborhood. One day in particular, I came to discover that the public library had a roving "Book Mobile", driven by a library employee through my neighborhood in the lazy days of summer. As a boy on the cusp of adolescence, I was a sports fanatic. When it came to books and reading, the one genre that could capture and hold my attention was biographies and autobiographies of any and all sports figures, past or present. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hopping on my bike, each week, I'd ride the two blocks to meet the Book Mobile. It always seemed to be filled with a wide array of books for me to peruse. That summer, thanks to an intuitive and caring librarian, I fell in love with reading, much like I had fallen in love with the game of baseball.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Baseball was my life, and reading about it wasn't far behind. As a die-hard New York Yankees fan, one particular figure whose story caught and held my attention was that of Yankees catcher Thurman Munson.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJB1flP-5TlMNcNOny3A9TiCjAK20N0joegaYymhn4CClixJ7AbKyr45Tpy2Xov85lDluLxvL64HbW6-UX0kRszNEBClOcSzZ75gz2t9mD4lvUNWYi2h0yX6rxfk1359KFwDnDrkuUAmS/s1600/baseball-2804477_1920.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJB1flP-5TlMNcNOny3A9TiCjAK20N0joegaYymhn4CClixJ7AbKyr45Tpy2Xov85lDluLxvL64HbW6-UX0kRszNEBClOcSzZ75gz2t9mD4lvUNWYi2h0yX6rxfk1359KFwDnDrkuUAmS/s400/baseball-2804477_1920.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nearly 30 years later, I found myself in a waiting area office, pacing in anticipation. As I tried to convince myself I wasn't nervous, I couldn't help but notice the array of Yankees paraphernalia neatly positioned on the shelves and walls, among them, a myriad of tributes to Thurman Munson. Seeing this brought me back to what I'd now consider a simpler time, settling my attention, and focusing me on a theme that often challenges me, as a now veteran educator: the fine line we walk between school management and school leadership.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thurman Munson was a catcher, and a great one, at that. Over his 11 year playing career, tragically cut short when he was killed in a plane crash, he was a six-time All-Star, awarded three Gold Gloves, was named Rookie of the Year, and earned the Most Valuable Player award. The Yankees teams on which he played won three American League pennants and two World Series Championships. Widely known for his tenacity, his ability to make quick decisions, and his unapologetic leadership, this was undoubtedly why Munson was named New York Yankees Captain, eventually having his uniform number 15 retired.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">His primary role and responsibility?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To catch the ball and throw it back to the pitcher.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5q2DVt3VigT41YQfCdNTN81jIM3pksI2dTbZVyDiOzvvMOj2AlrbUNlwF9TgMvRKr2-6wwaDTAmYYDcx80r4jNtk0ZUx2XRS5KCQ4evPjBZqHfW0sA2oPIHd1q47Jb6BMVARkzdRIjPO/s1600/catcher-632974_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5q2DVt3VigT41YQfCdNTN81jIM3pksI2dTbZVyDiOzvvMOj2AlrbUNlwF9TgMvRKr2-6wwaDTAmYYDcx80r4jNtk0ZUx2XRS5KCQ4evPjBZqHfW0sA2oPIHd1q47Jb6BMVARkzdRIjPO/s400/catcher-632974_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a school principal, I think about these qualities of Munson, his impact, and how they relate to the demands of a leadership position. While remembered for the championships, for the awards and the accolades, time forgets his primary role: being reliable and predictable, in the fundamentals aspects of his role. Being able to throw and catch a baseball is where Thurman Munson made his mark as Captain.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This walk down memory lane has led me to reflect on five personal-professional management questions that drive my responsibilities as a school leader:</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Am I communicating effectively, fostering trust and opportunity for open and honest feedback?</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Am I making the most of my time, placing a premium on collaboration and mutual support?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Am I maximizing my own professional learning, targeting where I need to improve?</span></b></div>
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4. Am I surrounding myself with role models, who drive me to my own brand of professional excellence?</div>
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5. Am I honoring relationships around me with those who make me a better leader for others?</div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Each of these questions relates to management, and in turn, leadership. When Thurman Munson, attended to the basic needs of his battery-mate on the pitcher's mound, awaiting his return toss, trust grew. Leadership grows and influence expands when a firm commitment to mastering personal-professional management is made. This is where management meets and folds into the larger realm of leadership. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This leads me to wonder, in the experience of others:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Where do your leadership opportunities and management tasks intersect with one another?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>What management tasks fit within a wider scope of your leadership?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>When is the point that managerial tasks elevate leadership?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Comments and feedback are invited...and welcomed!</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 Days of Learning Leadership</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e137034d-2481-45d0-97ba-a5c55e23e97a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 1: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ccountability</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 2: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RAVO</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 3: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ollective Wisdom</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 4: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">esigning Conditions</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 5: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">volve</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 6: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eedback</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 7: </span><a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate (My One Word...about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iving and Receiving)</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 8: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call Me Coach (a post about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oops)</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 9: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">..am back at the blog.</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 10: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourneys & Meetings</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 11: </span><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/knowledge.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">K</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nowledge. There's more to it than that.</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 12: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/08/learning-leadership-and-lists.html" style="text-decoration: none;">Learning, Leadership, and Lists</a></span></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-41002854556862145012017-08-04T09:38:00.000-07:002017-10-22T08:49:22.010-07:00Learning, Leadership, and Lists<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIZGsM3RWdNpJOp3fZquEPags9rnCb0aclfPRjy-Fvtd8whzOK0jDEctrFyeI1XizkvoVG4Ol_Qa3aKtcaxadifVBPwWuUDea4d_yT3BemnpZGEUewlFQgmsh6Z9M8TavNP3HNf5X7IY2/s1600/LL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIZGsM3RWdNpJOp3fZquEPags9rnCb0aclfPRjy-Fvtd8whzOK0jDEctrFyeI1XizkvoVG4Ol_Qa3aKtcaxadifVBPwWuUDea4d_yT3BemnpZGEUewlFQgmsh6Z9M8TavNP3HNf5X7IY2/s320/LL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ask any educator to share a memory of working with a student, a family, or a colleague, and you’ll likely be inspired. These become learning and leadership milestones, cornerstones to how we define ourselves as educators, and marks of our legacy and the reputation of our profession. </span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6c379122-ae1a-6124-5802-3e0b98bda5b3" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But when was the last time you made time to notice when you evolved as a professional learner? </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For me, becoming a Connected Educator has been a personal-professional tipping point. But it wasn't Twitter, Edcamps, or experimenting with instructional technology that has had the greatest impact. It’s been my renewed approach why I lead, how I learn best, and what I can do to maximize my impact as a school leader. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One such practical meeting place, quite simply, lies in my use of lists.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who among us, hasn't (or doesn't) use lists? To-do lists. Grocery lists. "Honeydew" lists. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lists have withstood the test of time, in getting us on-track, and keeping us on-track with personal and professional productivity. And lists are precisely where we can keep learning forward. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's how.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"To-Learn" lists</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We should all be keeping a list of "professional to-do's". You likely have developed this on your own, with your school or district team, and as part of any external professional organizations to which you belong. When you attend a traditional professional development workshop, an Edcamp, or a national conference, you will encounter new ideas, new concepts, and others, willing to share their success, so it becomes your success. Here’s one way to avoid what’s commonly known as "drinking from the fire hose":</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>TOMORROW</i>: What is one new practice, tool, or protocol that I will try in my classroom/school/district?</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>THIS WEEK</i>: What is one learning conversation I will initiate with a professional colleague?</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>THIS MONTH</i>: What is one resource I will share with someone in a different professional position than the one I hold?</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>THIS YEAR</i>: What is one project or initiative I will explore, for gradual future implementation with my colleagues?</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Use your tool of choice and organize and maintain this list in the way that works best for your learning style. Revisit it and monitor it often. Keep it updated. And invite others to help you stay accountable to what you've set out to do. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twitter lists</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As someone who has been using Twitter as a professional learning tool for the last four years, it just isn't humanly possible to keep up with all the learning, the people, and the resources that are available 24/7/365. To remain productive, purposeful, and focused, consider establishing and using Twitter lists that will support your goals. For example, I keep Twitter lists to curate resources for my weekly Monday Memo for Faculty. I refer often to a list personal-professional mentors who I can count on for modeling, support, and feedback. And I use lists to keep up with what my friends with whom I collaborate on all things educational leadership. And for fun and in an attempt to be part of something else larger than myself, I maintain a Twitter list of over 2,000 NY Connected Educators. While each of these can be used for professional enrichment, using lists in this way accomplish something else vitally important in our field and in our schools. They make the world a smaller place. They help us to realize, we're all more alike than different. And they encourage learning in and across communities.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To-Be-Read lists</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This idea of lists is not a new one. In fact, this very idea was re-framed for me at my first Edcamp by one of my leading personal-professional mentors who has since become a dear friend. The session I had attended was about...a book, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Checklist Manifesto</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Dr. Atul Gawande. To this day, I continue to recommend this title, since it offers such low-input, high-output strategy work for being more efficient and effective, in work and in life. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As an avid reader of content both in and out of the education field, I keep a running list of books, authors, and series that I refer to often and update regularly. A To-Be-Read list can keep us in touch with what our students are excited to be reading, it can fuel us professionally, and it can allow us to cross-pollinate our ideas, our dialogue, and our perspective. But maybe most importantly, to-be-read lists remind us that in order to be high-impact leaders, we must first commit to being readers and learners. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ready to evolve? </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s on </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">your </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">professional learning list? </span></span><br />
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<b><u>26 Days of Learning Leadership</u></b><br />
Day 1: <a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" target="_blank"><b>A</b>ccountability</a></div>
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Day 2: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" target="_blank"><b>B</b>RAVO</a></div>
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Day 3: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" target="_blank"><b>C</b>ollective Wisdom</a></div>
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Day 4: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" target="_blank"><b>D</b>esigning Conditions</a></div>
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Day 5: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" target="_blank"><b>E</b>volve</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
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Day 6: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" target="_blank"><b>F</b>eedback</a><br />
Day 7: <a href="https://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/giving-and-receiving.html">Elevate (My One Word...about <b>G</b>iving and Receiving)</a><br />
Day 8: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html">Call Me Coach (a post about <b>H</b>oops)</a><br />
Day 9: <b> </b><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html"><b>I.</b>..am back at the blog.</a><br />
Day 10: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html"><b>J</b>ourneys & Meetings</a><br />
Day 11: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/knowledge.html"><b>K</b>nowledge. There's more to it than that.</a></div>
Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-12533701463810989792017-07-29T14:48:00.000-07:002017-08-04T09:40:21.431-07:00Knowledge. There's more to it than that.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Recently, I couldn't help but laugh when a group of friends and I were in a non-school discussion and I linked it back to learning, to school, and to leadership. Someone in the conversation remarked that no matter what, I seem to be able to bring most conversations back to education. I have yet to decide if that's a good quality of a bad quality (it's also gotten me in trouble at times). Regardless, it's forced me to acknowledge one thing: nearly all the time, teaching, learning, and leading is at the forefront of my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In recent months, I've invested some time learning about where Bloom's Taxonomy intersects with the SAMR Model. And what I've come to be reminded of is that school is meant to be <i>so much more</i> than basic recall and recitation of facts, and more than the teacher imparting knowledge on his or her students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Knowledge. There's more to it than that. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGCma0-mN6D_Cir_9cGYVdUCBTCXMGvI6t-LcHipDleNnbCWohIO-2SROMCACykd5ObHmtXDXpkjFe6P_5csZol1bYSZFboN5VXC-B9pCOIzxiUuXNosnZPvVIvE9sVl_xaTy1KQSQpVq/s1600/herodotus-1211819_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGCma0-mN6D_Cir_9cGYVdUCBTCXMGvI6t-LcHipDleNnbCWohIO-2SROMCACykd5ObHmtXDXpkjFe6P_5csZol1bYSZFboN5VXC-B9pCOIzxiUuXNosnZPvVIvE9sVl_xaTy1KQSQpVq/s400/herodotus-1211819_1920.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So this summer, I've been deliberate about learning and in some cases, re-learning, something with which I'm already familiar, but making the time to see it through a different lens. These activities have provided a fresh look at something I've done before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For example, bicycle riding. There's nothing quite like the feeling of engaging in strenuous physical activity. It can have a significant positive impact on our mental and emotional states as well. I alluded to this in a post I wrote entitled <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016_01_01_archive.html">Stretch</a>. Since the writing of that post, it's been a physical (and in turn a mental) struggle to maintain a steady running habit, as a result of a series of nagging injuries. So I've moved on to something new. W</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">ho among us hasn't ridden a bike, for pleasure, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In recent times, I've come to miss the sensation, the benefits of distance running, that have long served as an outlet for creative problem solving, stress relief, and physical fitness. So this year (at the urging of my teenage daughter), I began attending spin classes, which happens to have been part of my physical fitness regiment years ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This same daughter, who I taught to ride a two-wheeler some years back, was now inviting me - encouraging me - to join her in this new "everything old is new again" challenge. And what have I learned as a result?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXw_YpU_Pmbxvdsl3x6gdCGbGk6eB8CwZW211qKEOsyxXGlLiT8a_wJ10-croXUvjYK_I0SaETZVvUMgRCr4Dr0A0Ht6rGRYaiMdtYOuePHWB4bt7eOs1ic0da09aBWEOlIEixsCI8A7n/s1600/bicycle-1713165_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXw_YpU_Pmbxvdsl3x6gdCGbGk6eB8CwZW211qKEOsyxXGlLiT8a_wJ10-croXUvjYK_I0SaETZVvUMgRCr4Dr0A0Ht6rGRYaiMdtYOuePHWB4bt7eOs1ic0da09aBWEOlIEixsCI8A7n/s400/bicycle-1713165_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My visceral reaction is that we spend far too much time, in education, allowing ourselves to treat teaching and learning like riding a bike. Are you the kind of teacher or school leader who prepares for parts of the school year, <i>as you always have done</i>?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Don't get me wrong. Classroom and school routines and expectations are important. Efficiency and consistency are important. And high impact protocols and practices are important. But now consider the last time you tried a completely new approach to start or to end the school year. When was the last time you took an "old reliable idea", and reworked it with enhancements to both the teaching and the learning side of the equation? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>This new school year, why not challenge ourselves to re-imagine something familiar? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Enter...the spin class.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Xc4u3SbfeXdbwo6as_a80ShoZ5kVW1qrNOVvNsGdFNVch2P3SiDiq2CxMb-O0NQ30SmJgOyj6ks5JgFxl0-IJhmqNnBNeRMBMU_kXXbetqedZCHnPBZuD08-943RHdf-0bCykEfLn52J/s1600/spinning-1171843_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Tinos; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Xc4u3SbfeXdbwo6as_a80ShoZ5kVW1qrNOVvNsGdFNVch2P3SiDiq2CxMb-O0NQ30SmJgOyj6ks5JgFxl0-IJhmqNnBNeRMBMU_kXXbetqedZCHnPBZuD08-943RHdf-0bCykEfLn52J/s400/spinning-1171843_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Culture</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The very first thing I noticed as I entered my first spin class in nearly 15 years was how the instructor welcomed each of us with a smile, a greeting, and some small talk that made each participant feel welcomed and valued. It's such a simple and important gesture to build community. This theme ran consistently throughout the class. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">D<i>o we capitalize on building a culture of trust in our schools? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Personalization</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We each sit in neat rows, facing the instructor, who is also seated on her bike. While she makes several announcements that pertain to maximizing the overall experience for us all, there is also space for differentiation. When she squawks, "When you're ready, a quarter turn to the right!" followed by, "A full turn...now two full turns." At this point, I realize my starting point and turns will differ from my neighboring bike rider. And to start each transition with, "<i>When you're ready</i>," I come to appreciate that, as a new rider, I am going to be ready at a different time than anyone else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>How might we personalize our approaches to new learning? </i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Modeling</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The instructor is positioned at the front of the classroom. If this were a school setting, this may be a red flag for a teacher-driven classroom. However, there's a distinct difference here: the teacher is doing the same thing that the students are doing, and at the same time. We can pattern our form after seeing what the teacher is doing. We can appreciate the joy of the experience and the thrill of overcoming incremental challenges. And maybe best of all, we can celebrate a shared accomplishment. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Where do our opportunities lie to learn alongside of our students?</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Scaffolding</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Each series builds on the previous series, as the workout intensifies. To experience this as a learner, this is distinctly different when riding a spin bike. The instructor sets the scaffold for a given series, and it is my job, as the learner to regulate and to monitor my own progress, making adjustments where they are needed. The teacher encourages us in to add resistance, she is transparent in the struggle herself, and she adds feedback, in the form of praise and encouragement, each member of the class seems to respond to the challenge to scaffold his or her own experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>When might we scaffold of our own learning, with or without the support of others? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Formative Assessment</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One area in which I invest significant time with our teachers is in effective use of formative assessment, as a means of informing both teaching and learning. Sitting on (or leaning over) a spin bike, I can't help but notice the role formative assessment plays in how the class runs. A favorite aspect of this particular class is the strong playlist that drives our motivation throughout. But having attended this class on multiple occasions, I've come to appreciate, not all of the songs are the same, or are played in the same sequence from one day to the next. The instructor reads the room and is responsive to our feedback, which could be based on the energy we bring, both individually and collectively, to the class. Based on non-verbal feedback the class offers the teacher, she alters the instruction accordingly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>What role does formative assessment play in your instructional decisions, that will lead to greater levels of meaningful learning?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Each one of us is surrounded by opportunities to push our schools, our teaching, and our leading beyond our comfort zones, and past dispensing knowledge to others in our learning communities. And when we have the courage and the tenacity to do this, we often realize, we're not the only ones who are thinking this way; case in point, the tweet below, from Cornelius Minor. The tweet was attached to a short video clip...about how we can push the outer limits of riding a bike. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One has to wonder, if we can push limits with a bicycle, what's stopping us from doing more of this in the education field?</span><br />
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<b><u>26 Days of Learning Leadership</u></b><br />
Day 1: <a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" target="_blank"><b>A</b>ccountability</a></div>
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Day 2: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" target="_blank"><b>B</b>RAVO</a></div>
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Day 3: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" target="_blank"><b>C</b>ollective Wisdom</a></div>
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Day 4: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" target="_blank"><b>D</b>esigning Conditions</a></div>
Day 5: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" target="_blank"><b>E</b>volve</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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Day 6: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" target="_blank"><b>F</b>eedback</a><br />
Day 7: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8709392309126245550#editor/target=post;postID=1391742807908925289;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=4;src=postname">Elevate (My One Word...about <b>G</b>iving and Receiving) </a><br />
Day 8: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/01/call-me-coach.html">Call Me Coach (a post about <b>H</b>oops)</a><br />
Day 9: <b> </b><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/06/i.html"><b>I.</b>..am back at the blog.</a><br />
Day 10: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2017/07/journeys-meetings.html"><b>J</b>ourneys & Meetings</a></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-10518036584109155012017-07-17T10:31:00.000-07:002017-07-29T08:51:30.681-07:00Journeys & Meetings<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The cast etched into the paperweight appears to be two people, facing one another. Either between them or behind them (depending on how you see it) appears to be an an obstacle, maybe a road or a river. While there is story unto itself regarding the meaning of the etching, I couldn't help but relate the symbolism to the journeys we take on the road to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learning Leadership</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The title of the image is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Journeys & Meetings.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJyj2lN7HXqtNtm6o8ug0wG5Kl6OkqxVd0Y3v6ViElNBNavjoW9PKM5Peci_9Q_hFIFx9TmWS2F4PwD-79k9Z6vy97PWFRVNrup3fMnnBZI10mGO9lGWYdpZFdWvJmz2VNrsBSwMP1bMD/s1600/J%2526M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJyj2lN7HXqtNtm6o8ug0wG5Kl6OkqxVd0Y3v6ViElNBNavjoW9PKM5Peci_9Q_hFIFx9TmWS2F4PwD-79k9Z6vy97PWFRVNrup3fMnnBZI10mGO9lGWYdpZFdWvJmz2VNrsBSwMP1bMD/s400/J%2526M.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Maybe you look at this and see two different people, facing one another. Or, maybe you see this as one person, looking at a mirror image of himself or herself. Regardless, recent weeks have taken me on new personal-professional pathways. This time has also given me pause, to look back on what I've learned in the last school year.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the days that followed the end of the 2016-17 school year, the 3rd Annual Edcamp Leadership: Long Island was hosted at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, New York. And then last week, I was fortunate to be invited to serve as a facilitator at the AMLE Leadership Institute in San Diego, California. But this post is not specifically about either of these two events, or the hundreds of passionate educators with whom I've learned. Rather, it's a first attempt to fuse what those who I met in recent times have helped me discover, about who I am and may become, as a school leader.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my very real fears headed into this past school year was that I wouldn't be as familiar with our middle school students as I once had been. I mentioned to my Faculty at our final meeting the year prior that I was concerned I wouldn't know our students, their names, and their stories.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because I've been on a fortunate journey my entire career, which has now spanned two full decades.</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a teacher for the first half of my career, I'd gotten to know families of students quite well, in ways only a teacher can. Each experience resonated: the successes, the struggles, the failures, and the progress.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I transitioned out of the classroom and into administration, the students who I taught were the students who I supported as an assistant principal. Then, when the middle school where I work as principal opened, my first students were my first seventh and eighth graders. It was rewarding to see these students (and their families) again, as "our kids" shifted from childhood into adolescence. As a new middle school principal, to enter into a new unfamiliar role, it was uniquely comforting to know that some of the same students who learned to love reading, writing, and math in my classroom, were among the students who would help me learn how to lead as a school principal. In recent years, as members of the last class I taught graduated high school and embarked on the their own life journeys, I've been confronted with some complex emotions. The school I had devoted myself to for two decades left me feeling isolated and alone.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then this year happened.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, I opened myself up to the idea my professional journey could take me places I couldn't anticipate or imagine. Like my mother, following her lifelong dream to travel the countryside and meet her family, I too, could commit to new meetings, and new journeys.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside of school, I've fortified my professional priorities to become a highly effective principal, so our school community (and all it's members) can thrive. While there are, no doubt, parameters outlined in rubrics and offered through isolated snapshots of feedback, being "highly effective", I've also come to realize there are many, countless in fact, educators among us who engage in highly effective practices. And maybe best of all, they are also willing to open their doors, their minds, and their hearts, to willingly engage in dialogue that supports and promotes the improvement of other leaders.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="we-566327_1920.jpg" height="241" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/dn1Kk-eG_PZn6bUWQ-TlV8khKboYABnmkZrRRI8h4RfDVm2rap6VjM-Wc9t7UvKhSe9oiI9tJuzDnwfUBABTyoSRXTX3UbYl4DJEW7aMK45U1eiIn70lFxHSAL8Yk7NoHnFj6GJh" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="533" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are three things I've learned so far...</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;">We Can:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love what we learn, working with teachers. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The void I feared heading into this year was filled by my effort to connect, personally and professionally, with each of my teachers. What this has taught me is that we should assume that teachers want nothing but the best for our students and our profession. I've also learned that teachers are always willing to help, but that it will look different, teacher-by-teacher, and I need to be aware that I'll have to ask at different times and in different ways. While I'm not there yet will every teacher, every day we are that much closer to understanding one another. We share common priorities: learning, caring, professionalism, collaboration, and a value for clear two-way communication (to name a few). My teachers this year have taught me to do what I've often told them, when they'd ask what I expected: Enter new situations with an open mind. And know that we all enter our school building with the best intentions for our students and for one another.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What have you learned this year, </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>from approaching new learning with an open mind?</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />-----</b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;">We Can:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Embrace learning the stories of others.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simply put, some of my best days this school year have been talking to students one-on-one, but really, REALLY listening to their stories. Thematically, the most meaningful stories I've heard this year have involved adolescents overcoming obstacles. A ten-year-old, who overcame an illness and a prolonged hospital stay. A 13-year-old, who challenged himself to ride his his bike for 40 miles, to challenge himself physically and mentally. A teacher who is navigating family illness and personal loss. And a father who is advocating for his daughter, because even though it may not come across this way, he only wants the very best for his daughter's academic future. These are among the dozens of stories I've heard, and the hundreds of stories that are out there yet to be learned.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, I've moved from a stance in which I am primed to react or respond, to one of active listening, in hopes that I can better understand the root of their concern for a child. I've come to appreciate and value the time spent with my staff, especially one-on-one; it's helped me realize, there is so much more to those who come to school and teach kids. Personal stories, shifting family dynamics, struggles and successes, all shape who we are and they impact what we bring to our interactions with students.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What student's, parent's, or staff member's story has helped you understand how others see the world?</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />-----</b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;">We Can:</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resist isolation. (Remember, we are not alone.)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, I've had my share of unexpected family health struggles and a few unanticipated professional challenges. Being willing to embrace wearing my heart on my sleeve, remaining tenacious and true to myself, listening to the stories others have shared, and striving to surround myself with people who inspire me to be better has focused me and continues to drive me. Best of all, as long as we make time to nourish our relationships, the connections we've made will only flourish. They've provided a frame of reference, a standard to which we can apply to new relationships. Tuning into what's important, cross-pollinating professional learning, and honing in on what works will nourish us. It's good to know I'm not alone in thinking about this. To paraphrase a tweet I read recently (about hiking and mountain climbing):</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"...remember...the best views are not only at the top. Enjoy the journey."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="353" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UNHADQvprEr3BdLUfAQqjrR-wW6-Yexrwvdz1n8uDsuM3FplWMDp6xL1xPkITJ6DJIXlF_h-YbeQsKq55O6M2mb3oqTE7v6DnDe18pR-teoNyv4FdDh-P0DGhLUPVvH6OwdWHLyG" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="533" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What is a view you've enjoyed, along your journey?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Journeys & Meetings from this year continue to have a profound impact, on how I treat others and how I see the world. They've provided context and vision for the next opportunity to learn; to learn about serving others, fueling our profession, and driving myself on the road to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learning Leadership.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What Journeys & Meetings lie ahead in your future?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">______</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This post is dedicated to those who are part of my journey: my School Family, my Edcamp Long Island Family, and my AMLE Leadership Institute Family. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And of course...my own Family. </span></div>
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</span></span>Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-53121424793488526192017-06-27T08:33:00.001-07:002021-07-19T14:06:05.927-07:00I...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKLruPuHGoxNrKnzD1SVPIJ0cJRKzZchMvXDt_eA6zZww2nbHzb5Mwt5DHlaC_Wrkq0iMa2Ljv5Ex4Czl6faNrhs1Yndx10uKpX6lmaXx-h18rOJXXrEM9cKK5ROdvHkGbmJRKombkRVS/s1600/game-1600071_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKLruPuHGoxNrKnzD1SVPIJ0cJRKzZchMvXDt_eA6zZww2nbHzb5Mwt5DHlaC_Wrkq0iMa2Ljv5Ex4Czl6faNrhs1Yndx10uKpX6lmaXx-h18rOJXXrEM9cKK5ROdvHkGbmJRKombkRVS/s400/game-1600071_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Several months ago, in an effort to become a more dedicated and more skilled writer</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">, I issued a challenge to several friends. These friends graciously accepted, and in turn, extended the challenge to several of their friends, and so forth. The challenge, in my ambitious mind, was to blog twice a month, sharing posts with one another. Each post was to correlate with a letter of the alphabet, I thought, as a way for me to stay focused...on <i>Learning Leadership</i>. I started strong, and went strong. For 8 posts. Then, I abruptly stopped. </span></span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">After 8 posts. </span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">8. Posts.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf4yQ_1Sq7KYdfk-rlHtb-i7LybEMXzUHHR694u3CbfAF-yIIJySWPxamBnjuWLPZrEUtzFzzaqgWTBY4vwJ9KWyW7rJ0neFY6GxyKWlIOeje2pPTgaMhO1vNPm5uQtwPgXUT0wATwIBi/s1600/ball-2437026_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf4yQ_1Sq7KYdfk-rlHtb-i7LybEMXzUHHR694u3CbfAF-yIIJySWPxamBnjuWLPZrEUtzFzzaqgWTBY4vwJ9KWyW7rJ0neFY6GxyKWlIOeje2pPTgaMhO1vNPm5uQtwPgXUT0wATwIBi/s400/ball-2437026_1920.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">See, what I was reminded of from January to June, is that for as much as we sometimes want things to go <i>exactly</i> as planned, they rarely (if ever) do. We can design the perfect schedule, hire and mentor the best teachers, adopt the best, most rigorous curriculum. We can have wonderful students, supportive families, and a trusting community. But much like what happens after the opening break shot, school (and life) doesn't remain packed tight into a billiards rack. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">What I was also reminded of, however, after 20 years in education, is that every day we get a fresh start. Every day is a day to start over, to get it right.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">So today, I wipe my slate clean and start over. But first, I'd like to attempt to close out my end-of-the-school-year thoughts...from A...to Z.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBq8WYAT1jOXQcpPLXDXMOtvkLr4KQ1AWFSAOfklJXSfHR4bPfw8VfJxiNU5eXyXygqYuek1Pn3wNUzSU2YZpMTjqSgWM4ygTQoy8aEvInAf9QYpB-xagw33__QCgqC46qneep0pV-tLdR/s1600/board-1375791_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBq8WYAT1jOXQcpPLXDXMOtvkLr4KQ1AWFSAOfklJXSfHR4bPfw8VfJxiNU5eXyXygqYuek1Pn3wNUzSU2YZpMTjqSgWM4ygTQoy8aEvInAf9QYpB-xagw33__QCgqC46qneep0pV-tLdR/s400/board-1375791_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Accept</b>...my shortcomings, my weaknesses, and my imperfections.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Believe</b>...ALL students can achieve, and we must commit ourselves to entering our school with the best intentions for our school community.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Choose</b>...to see the glass as always half-full. Education needs this now, more than ever.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Dedicate</b>...myself as a learner, first. Several years ago, I gave up on the idea that any one of us knows everything. But I will not stop trying to be better, or to be great for kids.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Extend</b>...the invitation to learn, to collaborate, and to understand others' point-of-view.</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Forgive</b>...myself for mistakes I've most made in the last two decades as an educator (and while I'm at it, my last four decades on the planet).</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Go. For It</b>....with every new opportunity, to learn something new, to do something that scares me, to risk failure, to be better.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Honor</b>...our profession as educators, every day. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>I. See. You.</b> Remembering that every student, every family, and every staff member has a story gives me the vision to be responsive to people's basic human needs, before all else.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Juggle</b>...the responsibilities of being an educator, be a husband and a dad, and being someone who struggles to keep work-life balance...or is it integration?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Know</b>...I am good at certain things...that I haven't always been good at...which makes me comfortable going into a new situation knowing I may not "get it" the first time around.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Listen</b>...to our students...to our parents and caregivers...to those who are willing to share wisdom and can teach me something new.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Marinate</b>...in what I learn. I don't always expect to walk away from a new experience with an exact, precise outcome, but rather one that I can integrate into my practice, a task, or a project.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Need</b>...feedback. From teachers. From colleagues. From parents. From students. From people who understand, who want to understand, and who disagree with me.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Offer</b>...100%. If I am going to expect others to do the same, I need to be willing to show my passion - for hard work, and always striving to be more, to do more, for others, and for something much larger than any one of us. And my willingness to be vulnerable, to criticism and skepticism.</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Persevere</b>...through times that challenge us, that test our beliefs, that present seemingly insurmountable obstacles. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Question</b>...why we do, what we do. Ask this essential question: Is this what's best for our students? Will this decision yield an outcome or product that best serves our students and our school community?</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Respect</b>...the perspective of others. Change is not easy. Shifting beliefs requires patience and a willingness to move incrementally.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Stay the course. </b>No matter what, don't quit. Don't ever quit, especially when it will result in improving learning conditions for our students.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Thank</b>...a teacher, a parent, or a mentor, whenever possible. Success is not possible without their support.</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Understand</b>...that everyone is fighting a battle of some sort. Taking a step back to realize there are reasons for people's actions or reactions will only help us serve them better in overcoming their challenges.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Value</b>...the meaning of being responsive, progress and achievement.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Wish</b>...nothing more than to have opportunities to guarantee that conditions exist so students can be all they want to be, do all they can dream and aspire to do.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>eXtend</b>...my hand, my ear, myself to help others as a servant leader.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Yearn</b>...to witness progress, to celebrate success, to understand why we do what we do.</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>Zero in... on what matters. </b>Being developmentally responsive and focused on academic achievement for each and every student. Being a supportive force for our parents and our marginalized populations. Being someone who is unafraid to give credit, remove obstacles, and to take blame. Bringing people together to learn, to celebrate, and to be celebrated. Being a small part of something much larger, something that cannot be tucked neatly and compactly into a rack.</span></li>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br /></span>Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-25464489820320883722017-01-09T15:23:00.001-08:002017-01-21T13:40:31.759-08:00Call Me Coach<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Jay Posick, Principal of Merton Intermediate School in Wisconsin, and </i></span><i style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dennis Schug, Principal of Hampton Bays Middle School in New York are fortunate to </i><i style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">receive daily inspiration from our Twitter and Voxer groups. During a recent Voxer conversation among a group of middle school principals, the topic of coaching sports took center-stage. The following post was written in collaboration, between Jay and Dennis, two Principal-Coaches. This piece is dedicated to the Impatient Optimists, the #MiddleLeaders.</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>On a personal note, thank you Coach Posick, for your friendship and for being a role model in middle level leadership. - DS</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jay:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I was a high school and college athlete and always a student of whatever game I was participating in at the time. I had great coaches who always took the time for me. There were coaching openings for volleyball at my former high school and I was selected as an assistant coach. That was the start. I wound up coaching high school volleyball, basketball, soccer, and track and field. When I hung up my high school coaching whistle I started coaching at the middle school where I taught. I added cross country and wrestling, two sports I had never participated in, to my coaching resume. In recent years, I have had the privilege of coaching 8th grade boys and girls basketball. Coaching is something I consider a privilege.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dennis:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Waiting on line to sign my daughter up for basketball, parents were told, regrettably, that the league was a coach short of running an eighth team. Kids would be waitlisted and likely turned away without one more parent volunteer willing to coach. When I arrived at the registration table, I mentioned my willingness to help out in any way necessary. By the time I returned home from sign-ups, a voicemail message awaited me: “Dennis, we’d like for you to coach a team for us.” As a former teacher, I was game. This decision, not exactly made by me, turned out to be one of the best things that could’ve happened. I was a new Principal. And I was a new basketball coach. It didn’t take long before I realized, this was not something I HAD to do. Coaching kids was something I GOT to do.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/WGq5k9WzWLj49I6CrxdpIAYjvJEEG5IftVyhyk2GyC9SpuI8r0YTCiEViVl4NEPVhUKft7fl55rgz8LcfkYoMqzTnDoWhe-fcIMFEnwhKmcTkvahWFhBbRDJHCsZ5EwduQHpKbRc" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="hoops.jpg" border="0" height="225" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/WGq5k9WzWLj49I6CrxdpIAYjvJEEG5IftVyhyk2GyC9SpuI8r0YTCiEViVl4NEPVhUKft7fl55rgz8LcfkYoMqzTnDoWhe-fcIMFEnwhKmcTkvahWFhBbRDJHCsZ5EwduQHpKbRc" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why is coaching important to us?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jay:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> As a principal, I don’t often have the opportunity to be a teacher in the classroom. When I’m a coach, the gym is my classroom. I can teach the basketball fundamentals and I can teach the joy and love of the game, too. The practices are the daily lessons I’m able to teach and the games are the assessments. But the score isn’t as important to me as it used to be when I was coaching in high school. Don’t get me wrong- winning is important. But what’s more important is seeing the progress of the individuals and the team.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dennis:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> One of the most rewarding aspects of being a teacher has been seeing a kid succeed, beyond his or her wildest dreams. I am proud to say that on occasions, I’ve been a member of a teaching team that’s created conditions for kids to love learning. I’m also privileged to have been afforded opportunities to teach students </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how to read</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In the classroom, I felt surrounded by these moments, surging pockets of success that I could witness exploding at different times for different students. As a Principal, one of my greatest misgivings about leaving the classroom was the concern that I’d no longer be there to see, first-hand, when a student exceeded his or her own expectations of what’s possible. Coaching basketball would change all of that for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jay:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> There are a few lessons I have learned being a principal and coach.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>It’s an honor to be the kids’ principal and coach.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s nice to be called Mr. Posick, but it’s even better to be called coach. I don’t even think twice when the need arises for me to be a coach. It’s a privilege to coach these young men and women.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>It’s about the journey, not the destination.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s awesome watching the players progress and improve. Ultimately we would go undefeated and win the year end tournament. But we’re not the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers, we’re the 2017 Merton Mustangs and we will strive to get better every day in every way. If that means we win all of our games, great. But if not, we’ll sure get better every day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>It’s about making sure the kids are better people than they are basketball players.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">We must all show good sportsmanship, teamwork, and effort, and not just on the court. It makes me feel great when our players and team are recognized for being good sports, working together, and giving it our all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>You make an impact on the players so make sure it’s a good one.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">The players are always watching and listening. How I behave as a coach toward our players, our competition, and our officials has a lasting impact. I do my best to stay positive, even when things aren’t going our way, and hope that this positivity can turn the tide in the game.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dennis: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being a coach and principal present numerous lessons that have nourished each role. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both sports and learning are about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">having fun</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and finding joy in personal fulfillment. </span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">When we answer the call to serve children, we commit ourselves to this fundamental value. Designing conditions that promote meaningful and joyful individual success serves a basic need that resonates long after our time together in a classroom, a school, or on a court. The impact of such an experience, done right, is mutually beneficial, for both adult and child. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Athletics, like learning, is about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">making progress</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></i></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each of us begins at our own starting point and moves forward at our own pace. We focus on our goals, we analyze our technique, we practice, and we improve. And together, we celebrate our successes. Today I view “success” much differently than when I first started (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">winning</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> doesn’t always necessarily equal </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">success)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Who taught me this? It was the young ball player who began, unable to reach the basket, who within a season, was making layups. That’s winning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Athletics provide opportunities to model </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">integrity</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a coach, there have been games we’ve won and games we’ve lost. But the outcome - the score - has never mattered. What matters most is each player being able to ask and answer honestly, the questions: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Was a good teammate? Was I a good sport? Did I do my personal best? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Modeling these qualities for our players has reminded me when I’ve needed it, that each player on our team depends on me to uphold the honor of being in a position to positively impact kids.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Being a coach gives us practice...with balance.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anyone who is a school leader knows, being an educator can be challenging. Our time, our energy, and our focus is required both on and off “the job”. But sometimes, when we can easily log a 12-hour workday, it’s also important to make the time to step back to recharge our own batteries. Only then can we restore perspective so we’re our best when we’re back in the role as Principal.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Being a coach and an educator provides so many valuable life lessons...for us, as Principals. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Three Lessons Learned as a Basketball Coach:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kids:</b> Each player reminds us he or she comes to every practice and every game with a story. Players arrive excited, confident, and in some cases, nervous and even on occasion, reluctant. Some have played organized sports, while others are new to the experience. Each player has a personal context and an expectation for what being a member of our team will bring to their lives. Before we can practice skills, it's always important to build a team culture that embraced meeting each player where he/she is and designing experiences that promote personal success. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Families:</b> Parents are busy people. Parents also, no matter what, have it in their hearts that they want what’s best for their kids. So when a mom or a dad (or another primary caretaker) reaches out, by phone, email, or in person, there’s an obligation to listen closely and to demonstrate that we both share a common goal centering on their child’s best interests, and that we will work together to maximize this mutual commitment. And when we are together, whether sitting courtside on one side of the gym or the other, when we cheer and we celebrate, we are doing it TOGETHER.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Teamwork:</b> “Knicks on three! Knicks on three! One. Two. Three. KNICKS!” This was the chant that we’d engage one another in before and after each game and practice. It reminded us that, as a team, we relied on one another to bring out the best in each other and to support one another as teammates. Being a basketball coach has served as a reminder that in order for us to thrive together, each member of our team had to feel valued as a contributor and integral to our success. It’s also proven that each of us defines terms like “success” or “progress” differently. While for some, it’s about becoming a more selfless teammate, for others, it may be about having the strength to take shots that not only reach the rim, but that eventually go in, on a consistent basis. It’s about setting goals and accomplishing them, but in the best interest of the collective team. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">In conclusion…</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Undoubtedly, the life of an Principal is a busy one. And the demands of being a parent today stretch us, sometimes to frustration and other times, exhaustion. However, one thing’s for certain: Our decision to leave work a little bit earlier than usual or arrive earlier than normal, a couple of days a week, has been a gift. And while after so many seasons, the players and the years start to blend together, there’s one gift that will always remain. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">They called us coach.</span></span><br />
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<b><u>26 Days of Learning Leadership</u></b><br />
Day 1: <a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" target="_blank">Accountability</a></div>
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Day 2: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" target="_blank">BRAVO</a></div>
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Day 3: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" target="_blank">Collective Wisdom</a></div>
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Day 4: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" target="_blank">Designing Conditions</a></div>
Day 5: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" target="_blank">Evolve</a><br />
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Day 6: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" target="_blank">Feedback</a><br />
Day 7: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016_12_01_archive.html" target="_blank">My #OneWord2017: Elevate (about Giving...and Receiving)</a></div>
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</span>Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-13917428079089252892016-12-30T17:18:00.002-08:002017-10-22T08:45:02.100-07:00My #OneWord2017: Elevate<span id="docs-internal-guid-a6aacf3c-51f9-8939-5fb8-ecf558e7864b"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-a6aacf3c-51f9-8939-5fb8-ecf558e7864b"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a6aacf3c-5269-4e51-6b80-fd84d0349bc1"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first major decision leading up to each New Year is choosing "One Word" on which to focus over the course of the next 365 days.</span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-a6aacf3c-51f9-8939-5fb8-ecf558e7864b"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a6aacf3c-5269-c33b-58be-0ada5d824e04"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the years of accepting this challenge, the sources of my inspiration tend to vary. Maybe it's because the month of December historically represents a period that ranges from professional exhaustion to personal decompression. Maybe it's because I am reflecting, growing, and evolving, facing a season of perpetual renewal. Or maybe, it's a combination of factors. Regardless, while narrowing my #OneWord2017 focus poses a significant challenge, this process - the struggle - is it's own reward. You can read my two previous entries here:</span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-a6aacf3c-51f9-8939-5fb8-ecf558e7864b"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a6aacf3c-5269-c33b-58be-0ada5d824e04"><a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2015/02/perspective.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perspective</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (#OneWord2015)</span></span></span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year's post, while inspired through an extensive level of professional reading, dialogue, synthesis, and integrated application was also inspired deeply by the following (58 second) video clip:</span><a href="http://viewpure.com/HTjqz0_wsZo?start=0&end=0" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joey's Wedding Speech</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> .</span></span><br /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now I hope you're still reading. If you're a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friends</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fan, you've likely gone and started binge-watching the series on Netflix in the remaining hours of 2016. If you're not a fan, hang in there, so I can explain how this video clip correlates with my #OneWord2017.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hearing so much about "giving" and "getting" during the holiday season always gives me pause to consider this in my own life’s work. As a proud connected learner, I've reaped the benefits of the resource sharing that occurs through steady use of tools like Twitter and Voxer. The personal friendships and professional mentorships that've been established and sustained through these communities have made me a better learner and a better leader. Undoubtedly, I have more than benefited (and continue to do so daily) from from all that I get out of these experiences.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But I often wonder: What do I </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">give</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to these exchanges?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quite honestly, it doesn't feel like it's quite enough, if ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="296" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/MNdHPv6ss2WIeRUk6I_XHlqDzugVhF6P8WLXtxQU1VE309lf_0o5WIpY04hBX2sr0hqgQzpAKXe7brD6iWX4AE4b1DNFzKrCANvchbxYv7zawhqVOJLzDr-yMOFXyE87eWoL9Eq5" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="533" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The above quote, resonates deeply. In researching its origin and historical context, according to the International Churchill Society, while it's often attributed to this great historical leader, there is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no documented evidence</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that Churchill ever uttered or wrote these words.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In these </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unprecedented</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> times, where we must navigate seas of “fake news” and times when</span><a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2016" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">post-truth</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is becoming widely recognized as “the norm”, to learn that Churchill may never have uttered these words...was bothersome and upsetting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I started digging around a bit. And while I may still only be scratching the surface of “the truth”, according to information on the International Churchill Center's website, while there is an extensive collection of quotes </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">falsely</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> attributed to Churchill, the following words </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">were</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> spoken by Sir Winston Churchill on October 10, 1908.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"What is the use of living, if not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? How else can we put ourselves in harmonious relation with the great verities and consolations of the infinite and the eternal? And I avow my faith that we are marching towards better days. Humanity will not be cast down. We are going on swinging bravely forward along the grand high road and already behind the distant mountains is the promise of the sun."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wow. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And here I am, joking around about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friends</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> episodes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sir Winston Churchill’s words from over a Century ago seemed to be waiting to be discovered. In times of uncharted societal landscapes, an ever-shifting political paradigm, and an era yearning for trusted leadership, the value of a timeless pearl of reassurance may not have come at a better time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To consider how these words apply to our schools, to our responsibilities as educational leaders, and the direct impact of of teachers’ actions on our students' futures. That's a powerful notion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="228" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1xJogWxDD5CI_bPtzVHMYkQwmSD0kIa7sZp2c6aJwMBQK8ZpxPDbkeQ9ShgsrPVlm-XKpBdtnIVHfQNOyON3jLQG7B5d1pi_1Llu5AKVeVCeW-stYRpcY0_sNbqH0lBKKF7JZ1Cm" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="533" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This brings me to my #OneWord2017: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elevate</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the last eight weeks, I’ve been involved in a book discussion, featuring</span><a href="https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/collaborative-leadership/book249055" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collaborative Leadership</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, by Dr. Peter DeWitt. Through active engagement and reflection on DeWitt’s book with a multitude of active, reflective leaders and learners, I came to have a renewed appreciation for the place research can occupy in everyday education; teaching, learning, and leadership. And while our “gut instincts” tend to reinforce our long-held beliefs of "what works" in schools, infusing healthy doses of research-based evidence into conversations and practice will serve to uphold, refute, or open us to consider how our guts tell us about "what works".</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a long-time school teacher, I must admit, there were times when I grew quite comfortable with “going with my gut”. About what works with kids, with parents, and as a member of a learning community. And every now and then, as a veteran school leader, to succumb to my gut instincts over pushing myself further to guarantee a decision is the right one, based on facts and grounded in research.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One item in particular that continues to resonate with me, long after completing the book, is the place that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">collective teacher efficacy </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">occupies in leading successful schools. For anyone not yet familiar with</span><a href="http://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John Hattie</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the effect sizes that impact student learning, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is commonly known as the “hinge point”, whereby one year’s worth of focused input will yield an output equivalent to one year’s worth of growth in student learning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So where does collective teacher efficacy fit into this?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to DeWitt, who on page 59 cites Bandura (1997), “collective efficacy is defined as “a group’s shared belief in its conjoint capabilities to organize and to execute the courses of action required to produce given levels of attainment” (p. 477). The impact teacher collective efficacy stands to have on student learning is 1.57. When school leaders focus on teacher self-efficacy, establishing a sense of collective efficacy, and a concerted teacher collective efficacy, it will yield achievement results...for students.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can school leaders </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">elevate</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> teacher collective efficacy?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DeWitt offers significant examples of how this can be done in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collaborative Leadership</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; a must-read for 2017.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The following three questions, based on ideas presented by DeWitt, will balance what I "give and get" in terms of my own learning, and will challenge me to be a catalyst for teacher collective efficacy in 2017. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do I weave professional learning into daily dialogue?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each member of a learning organization has something to contribute and something to gain from learning something new.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do I co-construct personalized goals with teachers?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each teacher has a focal point for an area in which each would like to get better, or even, become an expert.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bringing us together makes complementing one another's qualities and supporting one another's success possible.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No doubt, choosing a #OneWord2017 may feel like an important decision this week, but there will be many more challenging decisions to come in 2017. In these times of elevated stakes, intensifying a focus on teacher collective efficacy will most certainly help me elevate my ability to become a better leader and a better learner...for others.</span></div>
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<b><u>26 Days of Learning Leadership</u></b><br />
Day 1: <a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" target="_blank">Accountability</a></div>
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Day 2: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" target="_blank">BRAVO</a></div>
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Day 3: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" target="_blank">Collective Wisdom</a></div>
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Day 4: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" target="_blank">Designing Conditions</a></div>
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Day 5: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" target="_blank">Evolve</a><br />
Day 6: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/12/feedback.html" target="_blank">Feedback</a></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-89467462611800386092016-12-11T19:54:00.005-08:002017-07-17T10:54:06.262-07:00Feedback<span id="docs-internal-guid-f13bf660-efcb-576c-6b05-9feb2fb9ade8"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-f13bf660-efcb-576c-6b05-9feb2fb9ade8"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-f13bf660-efcb-576c-6b05-9feb2fb9ade8"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBmLR4W9aSC3bgp7zw2o8nGwJ23pLS0EI9AOghVFQmPYGbMXtLF_iDeJuy9pzNZH_OGEakoevJs_4XM8MbiN6OV7X9BEbCKG8JSyn-OR3h2PoFe_jhRJpYlS4Ml4Ao0XbEGYzA3GFpKsn/s1600/small-stone-bridge-1768473_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBmLR4W9aSC3bgp7zw2o8nGwJ23pLS0EI9AOghVFQmPYGbMXtLF_iDeJuy9pzNZH_OGEakoevJs_4XM8MbiN6OV7X9BEbCKG8JSyn-OR3h2PoFe_jhRJpYlS4Ml4Ao0XbEGYzA3GFpKsn/s400/small-stone-bridge-1768473_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-f13bf660-efcb-576c-6b05-9feb2fb9ade8"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-f13bf660-efcb-576c-6b05-9feb2fb9ade8"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lately, I'm reflecting on what I'd consider the biggest mistake from my teaching days: the manner in which I chose to perceive </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feedback</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In hindsight, I deeply regret opportunities I've missed, to improve and to grow as an educator. And I think about learning from those mistakes and applying a different mindset, as a school leader.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thematically, this idea of feedback has been weaved throughout numerous discussions I've had, both in and out of my school community. Given the body of work of Grant Wiggins, Jim Knight, Peter DeWitt,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, and John Hattie, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feedback matters</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do we know about why feedback is important?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feedback has a significant impact on learning.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://visible-learning.org/" target="_blank">Hattie's work</a> indicates that the hinge point of .4, yields a year of progress based on a year's input in this area; feedback offered specific to a targeted goal supports an effect size of .75.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feedback is a complex, but crucial progress loop.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://fisherandfrey.com/" target="_blank">Fisher and Frey</a> present the components of feedback as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feed up</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (clarify the goal), </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feed back</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (respond to the evidence), and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feed forward</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (make adjustments and follow-up).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feedback must be central to the observation process.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Collaborative-Leadership-Influences-That-Matter/dp/1506337112" target="_blank">DeWitt</a>, when a principal is willing to serve as an instructional coach, new learning should be a goal and an intended outcome, for both the teacher being observed and for the principal.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feedback is goal-oriented. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.instructionalcoaching.com/radical-learners/" target="_blank">Knight’s work on instructional coaching</a> begins with a goal that has been co-constructed between teacher and coach, is fed with resources and support, and is focused on improvement. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feedback is a learning catalyst.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the work on feedback as conducted by <a href="https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Wiggins</a>, where the notion that "there is no time to give and use feedback", it’s vital to keep in mind, feedback is that which causes learning. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Undeniably, each of these examples represent the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bridges</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> we can build in our schools today.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA4RTo1CTUO11s5zxAdTL5BymmaIssQt2TBo7Ri9TpMqCCPxg41VAX97ke5gqwbCECFusCstyVut64_hFSLBcaR5zZ3Z_ttqTt8bQddPp1FysVpMt6y6oKB6IE70t2L5rxMCu35afpsx4/s1600/arrows-796133_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA4RTo1CTUO11s5zxAdTL5BymmaIssQt2TBo7Ri9TpMqCCPxg41VAX97ke5gqwbCECFusCstyVut64_hFSLBcaR5zZ3Z_ttqTt8bQddPp1FysVpMt6y6oKB6IE70t2L5rxMCu35afpsx4/s400/arrows-796133_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="text-align: start;">But not long ago, where there are now bridges, there were once walls.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a teacher, I was expected to conduct formal observations, as part of fulfilling a contractual obligation. At one point, based on my years in teaching, I was considered a "veteran teacher". One particular day, I was observed by a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new administrator. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s just say, I had my reservations. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This guy is going to come in and tell me how I was doing as a teacher? Right...</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seriously, come on now. Isn’t there a first-year teacher he can cut his administrative teeth on, instead of this veteran teacher?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>not</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a healthy mindset for me to have as a teacher.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I set to task: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I pulled out my latest and greatest, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dog and pony show</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkF7o8yGBx-3tcu-RzGmfU5-29N5rmn-5uuFcWH5uBrIQ6uuSLAHtuvg7V5YjrfrzAZf3KhoOPYhyv7lQMRgt2YYVgeu-oO0pX6gePtaEhvideN2WyblCzhcCPRtG1ZONT98NZzoq2qDt/s1600/false-98375_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkF7o8yGBx-3tcu-RzGmfU5-29N5rmn-5uuFcWH5uBrIQ6uuSLAHtuvg7V5YjrfrzAZf3KhoOPYhyv7lQMRgt2YYVgeu-oO0pX6gePtaEhvideN2WyblCzhcCPRtG1ZONT98NZzoq2qDt/s400/false-98375_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I won't forget the exchange he and I had. He came. He saw. He documented. And we scheduled to meet a few days later.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The period before our meeting, he hand-delivered my "write-up": a stack of papers that included his notes on my teaching "performance" and an attached article about the benefits of using "H.O.T.S." (i.e., Higher Order Thinking Skills) which he indicated, I should use when crafting questions in the future.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our post-observation conference went something like this. We met in his office. He elaborated on the research supporting H.O.T.S., citing that the level of questions I used was on the knowledge/comprehension end of Bloom's Taxonomy. He referenced the article he provided, and encouraged me to use H.O.T.S. questions in future lessons. Unfortunately, this was where the conversation ended. I signed three copies, kept one, and filed it away with the others. I didn’t read the article and I never thought about it after that day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdlHaFqjFB-kNI2BLh0nuydzUBv3hyy1_CTpBRrrOWiit-gTY1eSUnO38XH9M1nQWW42ZAeWQ4i2c0Hfcl_voVEiHKpS5wZYTuNu68n9zejGnJ11rYc4fRo8KPuYCwd-lGy7K_9_rvfW2/s1600/feedback-1793116_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdlHaFqjFB-kNI2BLh0nuydzUBv3hyy1_CTpBRrrOWiit-gTY1eSUnO38XH9M1nQWW42ZAeWQ4i2c0Hfcl_voVEiHKpS5wZYTuNu68n9zejGnJ11rYc4fRo8KPuYCwd-lGy7K_9_rvfW2/s400/feedback-1793116_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In retrospect, all these years later, that is all I remember about this observation. No doubt, there was some potential for growth, and my failure to capitalize on well-intended feedback contributed to this missed learning opportunity. This experience changed how I prepare for and approach these types of encounters, now as a school leader. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Throughout my 20th Century teaching experience, when we as educators treated observations as "events", it built up walls. A visiting administrator, whom was known in a limited capacity evaluated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the teaching</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that occurred in a block of no more than 45 minutes. The mark of a successful host teacher was that, if the students appeared engaged, productive, and happy, the supervising administrator, in essence crossed the teacher off a list, and there would be no subsequent conversations or classroom visits to follow. Not pushing further, to understand, to seek a deeper understanding. That built walls. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a self-assured, organized, and creative classroom teacher, why was it that I perceived the mission of being observed to be keeping someone away? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had A LOT to learn.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a school leader, I struggle to see how, a visiting administrator didn't make ongoing feedback a priority, and central to our work together.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, in my role as a school building leader, I've chosen to shift my approach, carefully considering the following:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How I give meaningful feedback.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How the feedback I give is processed and put into action.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How I synthesize feedback I'm given.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How I use feedback, as a perpetual learner and an evolving leader.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've taken steps to re-commit myself to ensure history doesn't repeat itself. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In hindsight, there were good days and bad days in my classroom, great lessons, average lessons, and bad lessons. Sometimes this was due to how I prepared, sometimes to how I implemented, and sometimes how I reflected on the relative success...or didn't. And there were certainly points in a good lesson where it became a great lesson, and of course, a good lesson that suddenly went bad. And there was a pivotal point in these lessons when the shift occurred. Regrettably, I didn't stop to consider when this happened and how to capitalize on it in future lessons.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, as a veteran school building leader, I strive to avoid acting the way I did as the teacher, making the same mistakes I perceived that administrator had made with me, as one of his teachers. I also make a concerted effort to avoid creating conditions in which "my teachers" feel they are in a position to defend information I am presenting to them about their classroom teaching.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>How can school leaders begin to use an instructional coaching mindset to build a bridge for feedback?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Make it about us - working together - to achieve a goal.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Make it about getting better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Make it about learning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 24px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm not quite there yet. But deciding to build bridges where there were once walls has proven to be a significant first step to make a difference in the impact of feedback, on our students and on our schools. </span><br />
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<b><u>26 Days of Learning Leadership</u></b><br />
Day 1: <a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" target="_blank">Accountability</a></div>
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Day 2: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" target="_blank">BRAVO</a></div>
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Day 3: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" target="_blank">Collective Wisdom</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Day 4: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" target="_blank">Designing Conditions</a></div>
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Day 5: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/11/evolve.html" target="_blank">Evolve</a></div>
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</span>Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709392309126245550.post-90824584034413422892016-11-27T04:22:00.000-08:002017-01-11T13:01:22.063-08:00Evolve<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Every so often, educators are presented with opportunities to reflect on the intersection between where we've been, where we are, and where we are going. Three recent experiences have me contemplating this. First, a skilled veteran teacher who I had the privilege of mentoring earned a promotion as a school leader. Second, a team of teachers and I collaborated to recommend a new teacher for appointment. Third, I was included as part of a college interview panel, for aspiring teachers. Through each experience, I've reflected on the the need for educators to actively embrace the evolution of our profession.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thinking back to the start of my teaching career, I was most focused on the following:</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was eager to teach. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was a hard worker. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I loved working with kids.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiRNOUsriHwkBWPguIqzfnD1zxrGfiuy36ssDZ-Zdp4Gj85YYF_rvpbSEfWfUcJK6XmJHLyax5N-AESWzZXnnfvMyE9vOPXwSRz9DQKxeBdtRaB0jdQr5Vq3OUXXEvrVTTPbLxwa-Z4Wf/s1600/gears-1666499_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiRNOUsriHwkBWPguIqzfnD1zxrGfiuy36ssDZ-Zdp4Gj85YYF_rvpbSEfWfUcJK6XmJHLyax5N-AESWzZXnnfvMyE9vOPXwSRz9DQKxeBdtRaB0jdQr5Vq3OUXXEvrVTTPbLxwa-Z4Wf/s400/gears-1666499_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Noticeable absent from my 20th Century mindset? The word <i><b>learning</b></i>. T</span><span style="text-align: justify;">he work of John Hattie and Peter DeWitt has helped to restore and renew my perspective that f</span><span style="text-align: justify;">or our students and schools to thrive, teachers and school leaders must make </span><i style="text-align: justify;"><b>learning</b> an individual and collective focus, each and every day</i><span style="text-align: justify;">.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Effect</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Know thy impact.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last summer, I engaged in a book talk on <i><b>Visible Learning for Teachers</b></i>, by John Hattie. This fall, I've been involved in a fall book talk on <b><i>Collaborative Leadership</i></b>, by Peter DeWitt. As a result, this three word sentence has become a mantra of professional learning and educational leadership. <i>Know thy impact. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As both an aspiring and new teacher (and a new administrator), my view was narrow: regrettably, it was <i>all about me</i>. Now, as a more reflective school leader, I can see deep value in the work of Hattie and DeWitt. It's unparalleled in it's potential to support educators in becoming what Hattie aptly refers to as "expert teachers", and what DeWitt considers "collaborative leaders". </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The depth and magnitude of Hattie's work is significant:</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">It encompasses over 1,100 meta-analyses looking at the effect size of over 150 influences on learning.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">When an influence has an effect size of .40 or greater, it is referred to as a <i>hinge point</i>, indicating that this influence can yield at least a year's learning for a year's input or effort.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hattie knows what works in a teacher's efforts to have a significantly positive impact student learning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">According to DeWitt, Hattie found that "95 percent of everything that teachers did had a positive effect on student achievement, and include any teaching strategies, school conditions, or home conditions that affect a student's performance" (26). However, there can be a distinction drawn between high-effect and low-effect teachers. On page 26 of <i><b>Visible Learning for Teachers</b></i>, Hattie cites Slater, Davies, & Burgess (2009), stating, "The effect of high-effect teachers compared with low-effect teachers is about d = 0.25, which means that a student in a high-impact teacher's classroom has almost a year's advantage over his or her peers in a lower-effect teacher's classroom." This begs a question: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>In our profession, aren't we obligated to challenge one another to maximize our impact?</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Evaluation</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"The ultimate requirement is for teachers to develop the skill of evaluating the effect that they have on their students." (Hattie, p. 36).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over a ten year teaching career, I spent significant time all-too-consumed with what (and how) I was teaching, when I should have been investing in what and how my students were learning. I allowed myself to be distracted and/or consumed by how my performance was being externally evaluated by administrators. And I lost that which is most valuable and significant to the process of becoming a high-impact teacher: the impact of my efforts...<i>on learning.</i> This experience leaves me to wonder how I may have been a better teacher, had I considered how my instructional planning, desired outcomes, and decision-making impacted my students' learning. Despite the prevailing notion that a teacher's "gut instincts" lead to what's best for students, and sticking with my perception of "what works", I regret that I didn't dedicate time and attention to considering the impact of proven research. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What would the impact be, if evaluation was approached as more than a just a traditional top-down mandate?</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBaA4LgzkEdyE0JqQTwUL3q7WpCH6P-cbmTPfrvLiNCld2P8BvP6mdb6ZJ1bMcJ8moH1Qx1HIhL-fxJc547wSg_rMCgCLduwcqGZAAID3c5T6KFramyW1endRz4YpBnAbOFiVWOMPFexj/s1600/be-1779751_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBaA4LgzkEdyE0JqQTwUL3q7WpCH6P-cbmTPfrvLiNCld2P8BvP6mdb6ZJ1bMcJ8moH1Qx1HIhL-fxJc547wSg_rMCgCLduwcqGZAAID3c5T6KFramyW1endRz4YpBnAbOFiVWOMPFexj/s400/be-1779751_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Expertise</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"The results are clear: expert teachers <i>do</i> differ from experienced teachers - particularly in the degree of challenge that they present to students, and, most critically, in the depth to which students learn to process information" (Hattie, p.34). </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Becoming an experienced teacher requires one to return to the teaching profession year after year. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Becoming an expert teacher, however takes time. Every teacher should aspire to become an expert teacher. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As Hattie writes, "Students of expert teachers are much more adept at deep, as well as surface, understanding, whereas experienced non-experts are as adept at surface, but not deep, learning" (33). For our <i>students</i> to move past the superficial, <i>we too</i> must be willing to do this. A look at the tools being used for evaluation reveal domains and language that puts learners at the center of the highly effective range. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With each teacher-student interaction, consideration of this idea of <i>expertise</i> should consider the value of:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">responsive scaffolding and tiered questions to promote deeper learning (as well as modeling for students how they are expected to develop questions that promote their own "thinking about thinking"). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">lesson design and how embedded tasks lean towards the desired outcome. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">the role assessment plays in informing learning (<i>Did the students learn what was intended?</i>) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">the role assessment plays in and in informing instruction (<i>Did I deliver instruction that advanced learning for individual and groups of students?</i>) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">student feedback to determine the degree of "learner responsive" teaching.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;">A focus on how students learn will open us to pathways that reveal the strengths and learning preferences of students. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>With the data to guide us, what stops us from committing to take the first step towards becoming "experts"?</i></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Evolution</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Make no mistake. while I am fascinated with the work presented by Hattie and DeWitt, I am at best, a novice. But I can't help but marvel at what I am learning and am eager to continue to dive deeply, to integrate professional learning into my leadership practice. The challenge is to evolve daily and to share this reflective process with the teachers with whom I work. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>If progress is a daily expectation for students, what impact would result if we applied this thinking to our evolution as educators?</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdSwlZRHjmkUs9JOSh88VXeGesQYLiRkcVcU-aavcoU_rdNCAZUPe35W5A-yPqZ5JU-pfskCH7xhmyYmJ78sZX6lLN3wCr78O9vwYB3NrO2aSlGEyPpk8TVrWZPtTFLNTm1dxb-SpbTol/s1600/LL+Bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdSwlZRHjmkUs9JOSh88VXeGesQYLiRkcVcU-aavcoU_rdNCAZUPe35W5A-yPqZ5JU-pfskCH7xhmyYmJ78sZX6lLN3wCr78O9vwYB3NrO2aSlGEyPpk8TVrWZPtTFLNTm1dxb-SpbTol/s400/LL+Bridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: start;">
<b><u>26 Days of Learning Leadership</u></b><br />
Day 1: <a href="http://bit.ly/2d2P2sP" target="_blank">Accountability</a></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
Day 2: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dG7xl3" target="_blank">BRAVO</a></div>
Day 3: <a href="http://bit.ly/2dfap8W" target="_blank">Collective Wisdom</a><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
Day 4: <a href="http://dennisschug.blogspot.com/2016/10/designing-conditions.html" target="_blank">Designing Conditions</a></div>
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Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03421602885343623493noreply@blogger.com2