Duty to Self

As the dust is somewhat settling to the start of my 14th school year I am starting to find a bit more time to read and reflect and truly start thinking about what #SAVMP. To say there was a big cloud of dust to start the year would be fairly accurate.  But, like all educators, we strive to be resilient daily but I found this year to be particularly hard in balancing life.    

In PA we are required to take Act 45 classes (Principal PD-PILS) with other local principals. During class last week (and every class so far) these has been some very worthwhile dialogue and I have been able to utilize many of the teachings and share back with our faculty. One activity that hit home was when we were presented with 3 lists of leadership traits from 3 well-known leaders with varying leadership styles (I forget who they all were now but will find out and edit :). 

Even though varying in styles, age, and practice, most characteristics overlapped between the 3, and during our breakout sessions most principals resonated with the most common themes of leadership such as serving others, making connections, building trust, communication, etc... HOWEVER one principal who's district is going through major cuts and has had numerous major challenges so far this year was the only one who chose "Duty to Self" as one that resonated.  She shared her numerous trials and tribulations that has effected her this year and said if she didn't have grounded her in this life perspective, she didn't know how she would be able to get up each morning. 

It is easy for us to forget about ourselves while trying to complete our job to the best of our ability, but if we don't take care of ourself first, how are we going to be able to take care of others?   

My Educational Journey/Why I Lead #SAVMP (Part 2/2... Lifelong Learning and the Pursuit of Student Achievement)

My second year teaching I have to say was my best year professionally so far. The trials and tribulations of the first year made me realize I had a long way to go to become an effective teacher. My management improved to the point where I actually considered it my strength. With my management system in place, I began to truly feel like a teacher. It was a special class whom many I still keep in touch with to this day.

From Day One I connected with the class and they were eager to learn. I found that with having a positive rapport with the students, I was able to truly focus on providing a rigorous academic environment where student learning was stretched. By May, I was able to expand the 8th grade science curriculum to include elements of a high school Physics class. It was amazing how the students loved and were successful learning a subject that most high school students dread.  The following year was much the same, but toward the end of the school year an opportunity arose for me to take a position as a teacher in a charter school in west Philadelphia at a public school which was turned into a charter due to low performing scores and what the district declared as an "unsafe learning environment."

Having 3 years experience entering the position, I was one of the more veteran teachers. That being said, I realized during my first day that I knew nothing about teaching. My management techniques did not work and most students were not academically motivated. My first year there I learned what resiliency in education really means. Days were long and challenging but we had a united faculty who together grew daily as professionals. We weren't afraid to take risks and our hearts were in it to provide our students with a high quality education.

Becoming a leader of a school is something that I always thought about and being one of the most experienced (even if it was only 3 years) our middle school team would look at times to me for leadership. There is a debate whether leaders are born or made, for as long as I can remember I tried to be a leader in everything I did. However, true leadership doesn't occur until others look to you for guidance. Once I started my grad classes I knew I made the right choice. I was thoroughly engaged in each class and I was able to bring a lot of what I learned back to school. Like I am sure most of you who are principals will attest, going through any ed. leadership program, your teaching effectiveness skyrockets. In a way it brought everything together and I was able to look through each lens (teacher/principal) and understand the true system. I understood how important the principal's role is in providing a safe learning environment and ensuring that each student is provided a top notch education.

Do I miss the classroom? Yes, and after this year I will have spent more time as an administrator than in the classroom, but I have not forgotten where I came from. I engage with students daily and "management" issues are left for before/after school so student learning is at the forefront of my daily walk abouts.

Today, now more than ever, we need resilient, passionate, visionary educational leaders. The current reforms in education are not simply "initiatives" but rather a new way of focusing on what is best for our students and their future is in our hands.

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”

 - John Maynard Keynes

My Educational Journey (Part I. I almost quit...)

Fourteen years ago this month I was gearing up for my first year teaching 8th grade at St. John the Baptist in Philadelphia (Manayunk), PA. I remember feeling nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time. I never taught a lesson to anyone older than a 5th grader and that was in Oxford, PA which was much different than what I was about to get myself into. I had a grade partner who was brand new as well but I had a mentor who showed me the ropes and  a principal who believed in me.

That being said I was ready to say goodbye to teaching by December of that year. I knew I couldn't quit but there was no way I was going to do this for more than one year. Law school was always an option so maybe I would try that. Why was i going to quit? I had 29 students in my classroom, I had zero classroom management, I taught the subjects (I think) but students weren't learning and they definitely were not engaged. Each day I went home feeling defeated. I started taking LSAT prep classes and figured I'll enroll somewhere in the fall, being a lawyer was always something that was in the back of my mind so I was content in my decision.

I remember coming back from Christmas break and feeling at peace and looking forward to doing my best to get my students ready for high school. Then something started happening, each day got better and better. Classroom discussions were highly intensive, my management techniques (albeit horrible thinking about it now) improved, and I started feeling like they were truly learning something. By May I decided to postpone law school until the following fall and I signed on to teach for another year.

So what changed?

1. I made a connection with my students. Trust is not something that happens overnight, my students began to see that I cared for them and I was doing my best to prepare them for high school. I knew their hobbies/interests, if it was drawing, music, or sports I showed genuine interest in each of them as INDIVIDUALS.
2. I made learning relevant. I used Sixers box scores to teach math, I referenced their favorite music artists, in short... i threw away the teacher manuals from 1974 and focused on the standards/guidelines 
3. I began to believe in myself. My mentor was a huge help all year, many times she would talk me "off the ledge" and give practical advice that I was able to use immediately and my grade level partner and I grew together. Above all though Sister Angela, the principal who believed in me when she took a chance and hired me, made me realize that I was in the right place. I would never be where I am today without her taking a chance.

My TedXPhiladelphiaEd Experience - "When I'm King of the World"

Wow...

My Inner Bill Conlin came through hence the reason for my King of the World approach to this post... (Bill Conlin is a legendary HOF philly sports writer for those of you wondering and often wrote posts such as this)

When I'm King of the World...

Every person who is involved in education (parents, kids, politicians, teachers, custodians, principals, supers, etc...) MUST attend this day long conference

When I'm King of the World...

All Teachers start class with HIGH GRADE COMPLIMENTS VIA @MRCHASE

When I'm King of the World...
All teachers understand that sharing their practice is a moral imperative and we learn more from each other than anything else via @kristenswanson

When I'm King of the World...
All Teachers will see themselves as EDUCATORS not "Math Teacher" or "5th Grade Teacher" via Sharon Campbell WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR EDUCATING THE YOUTH, IT IS A COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE

When I'm King of the World...
"Each student is a chance for greatness" via John Hunter Each student is a bottle of promise, as educators, we need let it out

In closing, I think this quote sums it up best about our place in history...

"History is made by those that make the waves not those that ride them or watch them from the shore."

Who will you be making the waves, riding the waves, or sunbathing?

#NoOfficeDay Reflections, Take Aways, and Questions...

Reading through David Truss's Blog, I came across a wonderful post alluding to his venture into a #noofficeday.  This along with other lively discussions as well as entertaining creative discussions alluding to classroom observations made me decide it was time to try it for myself.   

I do spend the better half of most days in classrooms, but with over 35 classrooms most of the days I simply get a "snapshot" of each room.  Even on this day, although I did get to many of the classrooms, I did not make it to each one.  This was fine though, my key rationale for the day was to "GET INVOLVED" and to "SEE WHAT A DAY IS LIKE IN OUR CLASSROOMS."

My key reflective question I had going into the day was:

Are our students truly engaged?  Are they active in their learning process?  Do they truly UNDERSTAND the material?

When I first arrived at St. Annies 4 years ago, I saw a building full of incredibly bright students.  They were fantastic "traditional" students who could take knowledge that they were taught, study it, digest it, and then regurgitate it when asked.

HOWEVER, when we began to focus more on critical thinking and the WHY? behind everything, I saw students hesitate and all of a sudden become deer in headlights...

What I saw during my #noofficeday was progress... Our students are more engaged, they are not performing mundane tasks, they are becoming LEARNERS... 

So it was good to see progress in these areas, is there still room for improvement?  Obviously...  We are not there yet, but we are moving in the right direction. because if you are not moving forward, then you are moving backward...

Catholic Guilt and Cursive

I am glad to see there's been a lot of talk about cursive writing and the place it has in today's classroom. Handwriting, to say it mildly, was always my weak point (Highest grn ade I ever received for it was an I aka. improvement needed...).

I did receive numerous negative comments on my writing throughout my educational career and I managed to graduate high school, an undergraduate degree in elementary education and a graduate degree in educational leadership.  All with awful handwriting.

My first job was at a Catholic School in Philadelphia (In the Year 2000) run by a wonderful Sister of the Immaculate Heart who to this day I still fell in debt to since she took a chance on me when I was a 21 year old rookie looking for a job.

To prove I was worthy of this position, I was going to develop the best weekly lesson plans she had ever seen.  I spent a lot of time writing them and was proud when I sent my plan book on Monday morning to the principal to be checked over. 


Before my  next breath, Sister was on my loud speaker asking me to come see her.  My heart dropped, what could I have done wrong?

"What is this?!" (in a way only a nun can say it)...

"My lesson plans Sister" (in my most timid voice)

"Why are they in RED PEN and why is it not in CURSIVE?!"

"Ummmm.... I thought Red pen looked nice and I can't really write cursive."

"YOU CAN'T WRITE CURSIVE!!!???"

"No Sister" (Head down, true Catholic guilt setting in)

"Well I guess you have some learning to do!"

Not the best first interaction with my principal, but I figured it could be worse. (It did the following week when I ended up losing my car with all of my teacher manuals )

So for the following weeks, each week the plans were handed in, black pen, cursive and all.  Yet again I got the dreaded call down to the office about a month later.

"Okay Brad you win.  My eyes are tired and frankly I'm giving in.  How would you like to write your plans?"

"I would love if I could type them and then print them out for you each week.  That way you can read them and I am a much better typer than I am at cursive."

"Fine"

"Thank you Sister."

I won that battle but when Sister came to observe me, let's just say my handwriting on the board didn't meet her approval.... (This is before we had projectors and a computer hooked up to it with a smartboard etc...)

So what's the point of cursive?

Being a Catholic School Principal today, there is still a high priority that many teachers and parents place on good handwriting.  It is still part of the guidelines and curriculum.  It is still a grade on kids in the primary grades report cards.  Parents do still challenge teachers about their child's handwriting grade.

It pains me that this has to be a part of our school.  It's not that I believe it should be completely abolished, but the focus has to change.  I agree with the people who ask "what is being taken out due to handwriting instruction?"

The majority of school districts and private schools usually state somewhere in their mission/vision about "preparing students to compete in a global economy and become 21st century learners who critically think, collaborate, and communicate."

DOES CURSIVE PREPARE THEM FOR THE GLOBAL ECONOMY OR IS IT A 21ST CENTURY SKILL???

I know I have my opinion...

Motivation... If We Understand It Better, How Can We Lead People To Their Passion?

Since I was around ten years old I knew my passion was education, I think it began while I was helping my Dad coach my 6-year old brother's soccer team.  The same motivation I was trying to instill in the 6 year olds to play better soccer, I now strive to do with my faculty... That being said, although they may seem like 2 completely different scenarios, I believe more and more that the MOTIVATION, be it of 6 year olds or professional adults are not that dissimilar.

Being a big sports nut and ex-coach (I retired :)) many leadership books written by coaches truly resonate with me.  Being an avid Notre Dame fan, one of the first books I picked up in terms of "leadership" is a book by Lou Holtz: Wins, Losses, and Lessons...


What Coach Holtz addresses and hits upon better than most is his on-going quest to find different passions and more importantly, the idea of being part of something much bigger than yourself.  His emphasis on leading others to their passion and finding what motivates not only his players, but his assistant coaches, is something that should resonate with all educational leaders.

Holtz on Passion:

"As far as a passion is concerned, everybody needs four things in life: everybody needs something to do, someone to love, something to hope for, and something to believe in. You have to have those four things."

Holtz says "you can pay people to perform, but you can't pay them to excel".

How do you get your faculty and staff to excel? Does the need or want to excel come from themselves, or can we, as leaders, draw that out of people?

In closing....

"...You can delete people that aren't motivated, but if somebody is not motivated, it is simply because [he or she does not] have any goals or aspirations. The reason so many people do not aspire for greatness is because they do not know how good they can be, or they are afraid of failure, or afraid that they may not reach it. Your job as a coach is to show people how good they can be, and get them to think in terms of getting better in different areas of their life. The trust, the commitment, and the care certainly help. Just getting people to have something they want to accomplish with their life [is vital]. Then, show them how they can do it."-from leadernetwork.org



YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!!!