Reflections

When I first saw the conference flyer for a Digital Leadership conference for March 30th and 31st, my first thought was no way I can be out of district right before STATE TESTS . No way. I have to be in school. I have to "get through the next month".What would I possibly learn in a two day conference with 80% of the school year nearly over? The answer? Plenty... Here are some of my major takeaways: The story of my school is up to me. Tony Sinanis challenged us to think critically about our schools and what they are really saying. Is what you promise the community really happening? Do your messages reflect that? In the end, it's not about my position. It's about what I do in that position. What actions am I taking to best support my school and students for our "messy world" (as Tony puts it)?  I take a lot of flack from some other administrators about twitter and the power of it. PD is not something that happens TO you. It's something th...

I've written before about my PLN and how much they have changed my career. I won't rehash all of that but suffice it to say, they have (and continue) to have a profound impact on me. I've been doing my part to promote twitter as a collaboration and PD tool. I'm weathering the twitter jokes from some while helping to show those that are interested some of the possibilities. I'm also trying to keep up with blog reading and writing as I have found them both to be a method of reflection for me. So here I sit on a snowy Thursday, slowing down just a little due to the two hour delay we have. I've just finished reading Dr. Joe Clark's recent blog post . Yesterday was a tough day for some of the students in my school. Reading Dr. Clark's post reminded me of two things: 1) I'm not alone in this balance of leading with the heart in mind. Many of our students are dealing with so much. Saying "so much" doesn't even capture the depth of what the...

We have an amazing math team in our middle school. For the last two years, this team has worked at an incredible pace to implement new math skills and standards. Part of our work has had us collaborating with Betty Barrett, Math Consultant. She has been the "expert" in this initiative for us. With her help, we've been plugging along, reflecting, adjusting and hoping we are doing things "right". Today, in email, she sent along this reflection: It was so comfortable and encouraging to spend the morning with you folks on Thursday. I am realizing just how different we all are from two years ago. You all understand the math better yourselves; the examples you see in textbooks, the Modules, and on-line have taken your own thinking to higher levels. You are teaching your students their math through Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract development. In the end they probably will memorize the algorithm processes, but I believe that there is more und...

One of the things I have to get better at is organizing all the great clips that inspire me. I have begun to collect some of the clips (gathered mostly from my PLN) that have helped motivate me or inspire staff. Please check out the link and let me know of any others that you think might fit this channel. This is the song I play, over and over, when I am feeling crunched by outside influences or decisions that impact my work as an administrator or even a Mom. "Every time you get up And get back in the race One more small piece of you Starts to fall into place" -- STAND And one more song... What I hope every student (including my son Sam) will be able to do -- Dream Big. "When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud 'Cause it will carry all your cares away And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself And it'll help you feel okay" - Dream Big