Reflections

I have been fortunate enough to be an educator since 1992 and sometimes catch myself off guard when I think about how much I've learned and how much I still need reminders on. After all of these years, I know that the major source of frustration in this work can come down to communication. And despite all of my best efforts, I still miss a step (I should have known) here and there. I am also acutely aware of misperception .  I think we have images of roles and those can become outdated. I sometimes wish it didn't exist when it comes to leadership and even try to work in full defiance of it but the older I get, the less patience I seem to have for it. What do I mean by this? My answer won't be popular but I'd ask kind readers of this blog to bear with me as I work this out in print. What do I mean by this? I mean, that no matter our best efforts as leaders on all levels, there still exists a tendency to jump to the wrong conclusions about leaders and efforts . So...

I was three and a half hours away from home with two teeenagers and my mother in tow. The tire gauge light came on and of course, worry kicked in. I pulled off the highway and pulled into a nearby Stewart's gas station to fill whichever tire it was that needed air. A very nice young woman watched me struggle trying to remember what the air pressure number  was for the tire. I knew it was on the car or tire somewhere. So, there I am, in the 20mph wind with my hair flying all over trying to remember. She asked if I needed some help and I quickly admitted yes. She explained that the PSI number I needed could be found right inside my door. And boom, she was right. 33. She stayed with me as I fumbled with each tire making sure I was all set. It was so kind of her. She advised me not to worry if the tire light did not go off right away.  I thanked her at least five times before she drove out of the gas station. We arrived to our destination just fine and the car sat overnight. I...

This week was tougher than usual. I try to remind myself that weeks like this past week or other difficult events arrive as pulse checks. They are sent our way to remind us what a rough week feels like which only makes us appreciate the less rough weeks and positive events more. So many struggles on so many levels but it occurs to me in the quiet of this Sunday morning that this is the work. The work won't always easily come to us. Sometimes, we have to persevere for the resolution. It's a test to see what we're made of. Maybe as a leader, an educator, an ally, a daughter and a mother.   During these times, we are often misunderstood. Those that say things about our situations to others, but not directly to us, do so to get us off track. Others want to argue efforts or suggest ulterior motives.  Earlier this year, I was advised that I was the fifth or sixth (can't remember exact number used) Assistant Superintendent in a district in the last five years. He went on to ...

Guest Post by Erin McMahon, M.S.,  Board Certified Behavior Analyst, NYS Licensed Behavior Analyst I recently walked into a classroom and immediately dodged a series of flying wooden blocks. The student throwing them was too young to yet write their whole name, still sporting Velcro sneakers. I followed the student when they opened the door and fled the classroom and went into another room. “Hey (name withheld for privacy), what’s going on today?” I asked, kneeling on the floor near the student. “I’m not going back. My class is f---ing boring,” was the reply. A plan was made with the unwavering support of the classroom teacher, administrators, and school mental health professional. We contacted home and outside service providers. The next day was better. Each day since then has given everyone hope. There will be setbacks, but connections have been made. The plan didn’t happen overnight but the entire team invested in the student. Fast forward to students whom a...

After nearly 26 years in this field, I still feel like a novice.  As a teacher, I always wondered if I was doing my best. I moved into administration and realized the work I had been so quick to evaluate as a teacher was even harder to do as an administrator. I've had the honor of serving in positions in many different levels and know that each has its benefits. Still, each of it has its struggles. We are conditioned to believe that great leaders aren't supposed to admit that. Well, I've never considered myself a great leader. You'd think after over 10 years in administration, I'd have it figured out. But, I don't. If I am entirely honest, I sometimes feel like I am playing the role of Chris Gardner in this clip. I've arrived to the interview in the wrong clothes and don't look the part of the position. "He said you're smart. I like to think so. And you want to learn this business? Yes sir, I want to learn this business. Ha...

If we considered the odds, he wasn't supposed to "make it". He was an active, athletic youth who had little interest in schoolwork. He could easily do the work, especially math, but there wasn't a reason to excel at it. Over the course of his school years, he collected numerous behavior referrals.  In elementary school, teachers labeled him a smart mouth. I can still recall the memory of walking by his fourth grade classroom and seeing a desk in the air. It wasn't the student who had thrown it. It was his teacher, acting out of such frustration. In high school, things got tougher. People on the outside assumed he was too deep in trouble to stand for. He eventually dropped out of school. Since the age of 15, he had always been employed (had those soft skills that employers wanted but maybe schools didn't quantify at that time), so he worked. A year later, he decided to return to school. Imagine the bravery that took back in the late 1980s. The merit of...

"All still means all, right? Doesn't mean some of them , or the easier ones, or the ones with only great manners. Can't just mean the ones without difficult learning needs or who protest they can't stand our efforts. It means all. That all is so important to our work because once we let that all mean only some, we run the risk of failing students, some whom could be our very own children. We'd never let that be ok. So, how can we let it be ok for the kids with other parents? And, if we let it be ok, how do we decide which ones are worth saving and which are…" These are the words I wish I had said, as an Assistant Superintendent, as I considered a recent interaction. There were some recent conversations around specific students that were presenting with major defiance and beating us at launching more obstacles than we could appear to meet. But, the words didn’t come to me as eloquently. I reassured the person in my conversation that we were on the right tr...