Reflections

Sometimes, you have to buy your own flowers. Sometimes, you have to find the good and celebrate it all on your own. Work like ours is slow and steady. We might see gains in small pieces and sometimes shortchange that view by focusing on what is still left to be finished.  In many ways, that's unfair. Incredibly unfair, in fact.  The to-do list never gets any shorter. I once had a mentor who'd counsel me..." You keep trying to make this a sprint. That's not the kind of race you're in. It's a marathon. "  He was right except the part that implies a finish line. Sometimes there are competing forces that slow down our pace. The trick is in learning how to get through them. On some days, our results are better than other days but staying in the race still counts.  The work we do in our schools and for all of our children (and our teachers!) is too important and too big to allow the race to stop, the efforts to weaken, the climb to stall, or the pace to ...

When I was a middle school principal, we often hosted visitors to our school. One of the best compliments I ever received from them was about how the school "felt". Time after time, people were impressed with the interactions they had witnessed and would ask me how we created that culture. When pressed to quantify it, I 'd cite student attendance rate, teacher attendance rate and discipline data. But, I was always missing concrete data for how it "felt". Eventually, I gave up trying to quantify it and relied on the impressions and feedback from those within our school and those coming to visit. I was (and will always be) proud of the climate in that school.  Earlier this week, my sister in law took my nephews to their Kindergarten Orientation. I happened to notice what she wrote on Facebook, " Going to be an exciting year for these two!! They have great teachers, and the atmosphere here is comforting!!!"   There it is again. That feeling...from a Mo...

We were discussing the pros and cons of starting over in a new high school and he stopped me mid-conversation.  Abruptly, he remarked. " Mom, what are you most afraid of? ".  I told him that staying where he already knew everyone had its advantages. Many of them. Including the one about already knowing who the " bad guys"  were or where the rough spots could be.  "But, I'm not afraid of mean kids, mom."   I quietly marveled at his ability to accept the change and not to be afraid. He told me about the extended opportunities this new place would bring for him and how he really needed to start thinking about his future.  Many hours later, I am still thinking about the resiliency within his words and the lessons I can learn from them for myself. Change can be hard and perhaps even more so for adults. Arriving to a new school as a student, teacher or as a leader requires a certain amount of courage. People may not understand your intentions at ...

I imagine when my son leaves for college in 4 years, I'll feel the same way. I imagine my heart will be breaking as I think about how fast time has flown and not being able to have things stay the same. I imagine I'll convince myself this is what has to happen and to be happy for him. I keep telling myself that lump in the throat goodbyes like this are tests of our courage.  In just a few days, I'll be saying goodbye to the district I've been connected to for the last ten years. Ten years. The last four years of that decade have been in a remarkable place within the district, Corinth Middle School.  I've told anyone who would listen to me over the last four years all about our work, all about this team, and all about our incredible students and families. I've shared what I've learned and what we've accomplished. I've stood on sidelines and quietly cheered on successes and I've stood among them when we needed to dig deep. In 4 years, we we...

A collaborative post written by Lisa Meade and Christina Luce We’ve realized,  the longer we’ve been connected, there can appear to be a hierarchy of sorts online. We are quite clear where we rank in that hierarchy (near the bottom to middle) so recognize our perceptions may not match that vantage point of those near the top or wanting to be near the top. We choose to be connected educators because we believe there is power in that connectedness. Twitter and other social media platforms offer many ideas, resources and inspiration for us to use in our practice and reflection. Many of these ideas are found in incredible blog posts written by our colleagues. And once in awhile, we write a post that we hope helps someone. However, sometimes there are blog posts, comments and tweets that aren’t so incredible or inspiring. In fact, sometimes, they are downright condescending. Instead of encouraging, challenging or inspiring, these posts demean or ridicule the practices of ot...

It's our last week of school and I found myself at a nearby shopping center this evening, weaving in and out of stores looking for some end of the year presents. I knew I had to find something for a teacher I can't bear to lose but am losing for reasons outside my control. Somehow, I am hoping this sentimental card and gift remind her of the work she has done here and how much I will always believe in her.  Next, I decide to pick up a card for a co-worker I know is struggling with worry for a dear friend we share. I haven't been able to stop and put into words what I want to say so I am hoping the card reminds her how much I am thinking about her too.  And then, I think about all of the people that help me run my building day in and day out. I have incredible team leaders, meticulous AIS coordinators, an outstanding school counselor and the best of the best in nurses. I decide to pick up something (small) for them too.  Then, I start thinking about the teaching assi...

The end of the year brings a flurry of feelings. Like many leaders at this time of year, I am lost in reflection hoping I've done my best and made a real difference in my school. I am collecting some feedback through a teacher survey and even an additional student survey. However, I've also gathered additional information through reflection and reading. Over the last few days, I've been fortunate enough to read a copy of Hacking Leadership by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis. The official release of the book is TODAY. The timing of the release is simply perfect! It serves as a personal and powerful reflection tool for leaders. There are "10 Hacks" and each provide steps to take immediately and then "blueprints for full implementation". What is neat about these blueprints is that they are followed by answers to "overcoming pushback". That section of each hack makes this book unique. I've read many a book that tells me what I should or...