Reflections

At the end of the year, teachers will sometimes ask students to write letters to next year's kids. Our talented teacher mentor coordinator took a spin on that assignment and had our newer teachers write letters to the newest of teachers we will hire next year. There's such wisdom and optimism in each letter. Their words of advice are a positive way to end this year and to begin our next one.  I've chosen a few examples that I think we can all glean a lesson or two from....myself included. Be authentic, be kind, be different, be vulnerable. Your students will appreciate it and so will you. Sometimes it is hard to stay positive if you are surrounded by negative people so make sure to be around those who share your same ideals. Don't try to change yourself but instead dig deeper inside for more of who you are.  Teaching isn't just about what's on your curriculum map,  it's about identifying what your student...

It seemed a little silly to be sitting in the audiologist's booth at my age. She asked me about my hearing difficulties. I told her I had trouble hearing low tones in both ears and it has been something I've struggled with my whole life. She looked at me oddly as if I wasn't telling the truth. I explained it seemed to be more of a hindrance now. People appeared to be growing old of repeating themselves to me and I couldn't always catch every word those with lower voices were saying. Understanding voice mails is especially difficult. (Thank goodness for a patient secretary that will listen to them with me when needed.) I sat in the booth struggling to complete the task. At times, I even closed my eyes trying to concentrate and pick up parts of the sounds or words. For most of my life, I've made fun of my hearing loss. But in reality, it hasn't been all that funny. I know I am missing so much of what is being said. It can be hard to follow large conversation...

The mom is struggling on the other end of the phone to explain the situation involving her daughter to me. She asks me to put myself in her position. She asks me what more the district can do to support her daughter. Her baby. Her one and only. I tell her I am surprised by what she has shared as we've never seen the behavior or worry she is reporting. I attempt to reassure her that her teachers haven't seen it either. Her daughter blends into every other kid in the hallway. Her daughter says a polite hello to the adults who do interact with her. Her daughter completes her homework and tries not to really engage with many. Her daughter feigns enthusaism when the need arises. Her child works relentlessly at blending in and becoming invisible. Her mom tells me that's her biggest maternal fear. She knows as the days go by, her daughter will grow more and more anxious which will make the evenings and next mornings before school that much harder. She asks me if I know what ...

She writes: I am not a person who is comfortable writing about myself or my experiences. As a child I learned that my personal written words could be used against me. However, I have been following your blog and took a tremendous leap of faith and wrote about an experience I had. It has taken me a couple of days to gather the mental strength to take another leap and share this with you. You inspired me to put some things down into written words. ❤ When you have been an educator for a while, you will certainly face the inevitable ebbs and flows of emotion and energy. You will ask yourself, “Am I making a difference?” . At the start of all our meetings; teachers, teacher-leaders and administrators are asked “Why are we doing this?” , in context of working toward improving learning and student growth, and the answer is obviously “for the kids” . But the question we quietly ask ourselves in the moments of low energy, high frustration, lack of feeling effective, mounting time ...

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 ...