Why We Stand; Opportunity

 Why We Stand; Opportunity

In the past few months we have heard and watched as many refuse to stand in an act of protest toward our country. Many claim that society has been unfair or unjust to them, they have been oppressed, they disagree with the political structure within our country, or that they deserve more. We appreciate all of these sentiments and want to explain why we stand. We stand because we have the opportunity to do so.

1. We have the opportunity to live in a country that gained its freedom from a monarchy that would not hear the civil arguments put forth in our Declaration of Independence. Our founders did not want to leave their beloved England’s rule, and when Britain brought in their military might to force its will upon the colonies, a people without a government and a military  stood and fought for the freedoms and opportunities that we now enjoy. Our declaration is beautifully worded to show that our founders believed that ALL deserved certain inalienable rights endowed by our Creator.

2. We have the opportunity to have the Constitution that sets forth for a new nation guidelines that balances and restricts the powers of a federal government and gives in writing the power to WE the People. We live in a democratic republic because of the wisdom of our founding fathers, and their concern for their posterity.
3. We have the opportunity to have Bill of Rights that gives in writing certain rights that government cannot infringe upon. We have the opportunity to read and study the aforementioned documents. If the government is chipped or broken we have the opportunity to fix it.
4. We have the opportunity to live in a country that was in the lead culturally to abolish slavery and work towards equal civil rights for men and women.
5. We had the opportunity to expand as a nation. We cannot judge our past on current beliefs or sentiments. We had the opportunity
6. We have the opportunity to live in a country where we do have the right to voice our disagreements with our government, and have the opportunity to select or deny them through elections. We do so civilly and respectfully.
7. We have the opportunity to live in a country where when there has been a mistake made, we admit it, find a resolution, and move forward.
8. We have the opportunity to live in a country where we all have the right of a free public education.
9. We have the opportunity to live in a country that after two hundred and forty years we are still leaders in food, energy, manufacturing, technology, entrepreneurship, science, education, medicine...and the military that is represented with us today.
10. Our military has provided support for the world in times of madness.
11. Our military has won wars and given the reigns of leadership to men and women of those countries to lead.
12. Our military on a moment’s notice stands for us against enemies seen and unseen.

We DO NOT live in a perfect nation, and no one has ever said that our nation is perfect. We DO live in a nation where rugged individualism CAN go hand in hand with teamwork and collaboration, where strength partners with compassion, and when communication is civil and respectful our voices are heard more readily. We live in a nation of opportunity! We live in a nation that when the flag is presented we stand, when the pledge is said we stand, when the National Anthem is sung we stand, and when our service members are presented we stand.

Why? Because we have the opportunity, and they have sacrificed for that opportunity!

Get out of Your Office

Get Out of Your Office!

You Can't be an Office Troll

How can a school administrator efficiently create the positive culture within the school community and manage from their office? About fifteen years ago one of the points that bothered me as a teacher was when I found myself trapped at my desk. Emails, phone calls, grading, planning, and sometimes speaking with students I would find myself trapped for thirty to forty-five minutes in one specific place; my desk!

Embedded

As a classroom teacher I made a concerted effort to get out of this trap. Gone was the trap of the desk-I taught amid the classroom arrangement. I changed the arrangement constantly and would even make the seats into a maze. I would sit next to students, on the floor, working alongside during projects, read and write with them, and sometimes just talk as we worked. Students would be assigned to sit at the teacher's desk, and this became a place of honor for many...some would even claim that they were the teacher for the day. What I found was I connected on a more personal level with students. I continued this practice up to the day I finished my tenure as a classroom teacher. You can actually get a feel for the pulse of the classroom when you are embedded in the classroom. 

We expect our teachers to engage their classes. How are we modeling this as administrators? 

I have heard of principals taking the desk out of their office and placing it in a commons area. I think this is a great start, but why even take our desk? In today's world of education we can have our office with us. I have either my laptop, iPad, or phone with me when I am out of the classroom. Think of the benefit of meeting the students and staff where they are with nothing between them and you? I am a big guy, and do not fit well in our elementary seating. If I can sit at a student desk or table, then almost anyone else will be able to! There is always the option of sitting on the floor.

Three years ago in 2014 I started meeting everyone where they were. ( Luke 10:5-8 speaks of doing this on a religious and spiritual level) The assistant principal and myself take the morning arrival duties, lunch duties, share recess duties, and do dismissal all so that we are with the students. We talk to the students. We build relationships! Many would see us as having a good time, and we are. This past year I had a third grade student asked about what a principal does, and he replied, "Mr. B acts busy and has a good time with the kids." I am glad our students have that perspective and not one of a stressed out manager. 

Change for the Positive

One of the biggest opportunities that we have is to tell our school's story. How can you tell a story if you are not involved. Telling a story as an observer and not a participant changes the perspective in how we can tell the story. The past two years we have worked hard at getting the word, our story, out to our local community. We have found that our story's reach is going well beyond our local community. Our school has four hundred plus students. some of the posts we put out on social media have over fifteen hundred views. Those are 1500 people hearing a positive story that we are writing as we improve. We post pictures and comments on social media about the great things we see students and teachers doing while we are with them. We call parents and let them know what their students have done well. Many times these calls are done within minutes of the engagement in the classroom. 

Be We

The administration team teaches when the opportunity arises. We all look for those teachable moments. We help with differentiation. We help with standardized testing of individuals or small group when needed.  In the morning we read to the entire school, and we start our day instructing about citizenship and personal goal setting. We eat with students, and sometimes staff (we have great pitch-ins). We are in classrooms mornings and afternoons. Technically these might be informal walk throughs, but we all get to the point that it is missed if we are not in those classrooms. Teachers ask us to come and take part in activities. Students stop us to read us something or tell us something that they have learned. Students share their successes in their goal setting. We make sure we have time to collaborate daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly throughout the year. We are modeling our expectations. We are on the move. We are teachers! Be involved! Be WE; not us and them.

Eclectic is My #oneword2016 and More

ec·lec·tic

əˈklektik/

adjective

1. 1.

   deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

   "her musical tastes are eclectic"

   synonyms:

   wide-ranging, broad-based, extensive, comprehensive, encyclopedic;More

2. 2.

   PHILOSOPHY

   of, denoting, or belonging to a class of ancient philosophers who did not belong to or found any recognized school of thought but selected such doctrines as they wished from various schools.

noun

1. 1.

   a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

This is How We do it!

I wrote a post about this word a couple of years ago. I find myself still drawn to the word, and the application of it in education. As a lead learner I believe THE best practice is to take a little bit of everything that works and USE them all in the presentation of materials for our students. There is NO one concept or method that will meet all of our student's needs. Having a large tool box from which to pull our lessons will only benefit the students with a more complete approach. If we look at our assignment summary or grade book and see a repetitive pattern...read chapter, outline chapter, vocabulary from chapter, quiz or test over chapter, and REPEAT; we are most likely not engaging students. If we are still presenting material in a whole group atmosphere, and never allowing for student choice; we are missing some great teachable moments. If we have never worked with a small group of individual student; start small and work into more individualized instruction! Offer multiple means of assessment. Take baby steps; there is NO silver bullet!

Recalculating...

Our standards are no more than a general compass to point us in a general direction, and our curriculum outlines or maps are to give us our routes in getting at our destination. Ultimately the course we choose comes down to independent teachers. I realized this past summer that some people can get off the easiest route, shut off the GPS, and find their own way to a destination that is much more enjoyable, more engaging, and might only add a few miles and minutes to a journey. People who do this will have experiences that others will not, merely for comfort and safety. Some of our best lessons will be when our students, "think," they have gotten us off topic!

Take the road less traveled! We have, for the past fifteen years been controlled by the test, it is time for us to swing the pendulum of change back towards the middle. Formative assessment is important, and data does help us measure growth, but if we are only teaching to the standards, and ultimately the test, our students are missing a great deal of learning that would go far beyond any standard or test.