Catching the wily Fox...

"Build an eight-foot-long wooden fence in the forest.

Lay out some bait and then go away for a week.

The fox is too crafty to be caught in a simple trap, and he will smell you and avoid the fence for days. But eventually, he'll come and eat the bait.

At the end of the week, build a second length of fence at a right angle to the first. Leave more bait.

The fox will avoid the fence again for a few days, then take the bait.

At the end of the second week, build a third wall and a gate. Leave more bait.

When you come back at the end of a month, the fox will be happily prancing in his safe enclosure, and all you will have to do is close the gate. The fox will be trapped.

This, of course, is what happened to us. The industrial age built the trap we're mired in, but it didn't build the trap all at once; it took centuries to perfect. And we were seduced. Seduced by the bait of decent pay and plenty of prizes. Seduced by the apparent security of the enclosure. And once the gate was shut, we were kept in by the threat of shame, the amplification of risk, and society's reliance on more and shinier prizes.

For us, though, the situation is even more poignant than it is for the fox. As the industrial age has faded away and been replaced by the connection economy--the whole-open reality of our new economic revolution--the fence has been dismantled. It's gone.

But most of us have no idea that we're no longer fenced in. We've been so thoroughly brainwashed and intimidated and socialized that we stay huddled together, waiting for instructions, when we have the first, best, and once-in-a-lifetime chance to do something extraordinary instead..."

Are you ready to fly... are you ready to make art?


**Excerpt from the introduction of "The Icarus Deception" by Seth Godin

I'm sorry..

I tweet during meetings, conferences, and sometimes even during small group discussions...

When I hear something impactful & worthy... I want as many people to know about it as possible...

I try to blog on a regular basis and consider blogging to be just as valuable (if not more) than traditional in-service professional development...

My self-reflection is done via blogging, and for me, that is how I digest, assimilate & deconstruct my experiences and thoughts...

I talk about and encourage others to read the books I am currently reading or have recently read...

Reading provides me new insights and perspectives, some of which really excite me, so I like to share that excitement with others...

It seems I don't communicate much in person but have no problems communicating in the digital space...

Sometimes I feel more comfortable with members of my PLN because I have known them longer thus I feel more comfortable... it's not you, it's more me and my slow comfort process...

I approach things a little bit differently and see potential and possibility differently than most...

I really try to approach life with a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset... I prefer I can't do it yet, over I can't do it...

I would rather error on the side of being empathetic and understanding...

I make mistakes and I want to be treated like I treat others...

I don't always have an immediate response to your question or the situation we happen to be discussing...

Some of us take more time to process a situation and some of us aren't going to talk over others who may be the more vocal in the group...

I said something you don't agree with or if I made you feel uncomfortable...

I am a firm believer that we can grow and learn just as much from those with whom we disagree as from those with whom we agree. I also believe a certain level of discomfort does us all a little good...

Don't read this as a pity party narcissistic post. We all live and work in a society where interacting and communicating with other humans is of the utmost importance. Consequently, we must be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others to fully understand their perspective and viewpoint. The more tolerant and accepting we are of others, the better off and more successful we will all be...

It's our personal responsibility...

"Great teachers are firmly convinced that they are responsible for student learning and consistently bend their efforts toward doing a better job every day. These teachers see better ways in which to teach their students; they believe that how they talk about the specific topic and the ways in which they lead students to experience it can make each lesson more engaging; and they believe that they are personally responsible for student learning. 

Most of us recall our favorite teachers because they cared deeply that we shared their passion and interest in their subject, they seemed to take extra effort to make sure that we understood, they tolerated and learned from our mistakes, and they celebrated when we attained the success criteria. 

These passionate teachers had the same time, same curriculum, same exam constraints, same physical settings, and the same class sizes as other teachers, but they certainly communicated the excitement of the challenge, and their commitment and caring for learning..." 

(Pg. 35 from Visible Learning for Teacher by John Hattie)

I've heard many positive comments about the book "Visible Learning for Teachers," and now I see why. We have plans to start a book club this summer and I would love to add this book to our "must read" list.

If you were to create a list of the attributes and characteristics of great teachers, what would you include on that list? Or, would it be impossible to create a list of what qualities great teachers exhibit because sometimes great teachers just have the unquantifiable "it" factor...

Maybe it's as simple as... personal responsibility...

When was the last time...?

- You did something you have been procrastinating...

- You asked someone for help...

- You laughed so much that your jaw hurt...

- You made a point to "pay it forward..."

- You tried something new...

- You encouraged a friend, family member, or colleague to do something great...

- You made a list of the great things going on in your life...

- You took a walk & simply observed the world around you in a non-judgmental way...

- You said something positive to someone who was obviously having a bad day...

- You rekindled a strained relationship by being open & honest...

- You listened to some up-lifting music driving toward no particular destination...

- You thanked someone you had forgotten to thank...

- You exercised and broke a sweat...

- You helped someone because you knew they were struggling...

- You pushed yourself to be great...

If we all did just one thing from this list on a daily basis...think how much better the world would be!

Approach every day with the goal of making the world a better place than it was yesterday...

Don't give up...

You know that idea you shared with your colleagues... 

You were so excited to share the idea and you spent plenty of time trying to figure out the best way to get this information out to your colleagues. You tried to put yourself in their shoes so you could make this idea relevant and applicable to what they were doing. You even found a couple additional resources to complement the idea you were enthusiastic about sharing. You envisioned their response and knew they would be greatly appreciative of your time and effort to share an idea you think would benefit their practice, and most importantly, their students.

Unfortunately, the way it played out in your head isn't exactly the way it played out in real life...

If you are new in your position or new in your district, or if you are just trying some new things and new approaches, you most likely know what it feels like to share something with such passion and enthusiasm only to feel as if your words were falling on the proverbial deaf ears.

It's not a good feeling, and after getting that feeling several times, it's easy to see how some educators decide to work in isolation and simply focus on doing "their thing" rather than the collaborative and open-communication approach we would all benefit from.

It may be tough not to, but the easy thing to do is to give up on sharing new ideas. New ideas cause people to feel uncomfortable because it is the unknown, and it's human nature to fear what we don't understand. Additionally, it's easy for the person who is sharing these new ideas to be ostracized and cast aside as someone who is "pushing" their own agenda.

What you might not realize is that even though it appears these new ideas are going unnoticed and that people are ignoring anything and everything you say, I can almost guarantee that a few people are taking notice. Even more so, I would be willing to bet they are secretly having conversations about these ideas and possibly even trying them out in their classrooms. 

This won't be evident (at first), but after a while a few pockets of "initiators" will begin to form. People who didn't hear the idea first hand will begin talking about this new approach because they are hearing it second hand from others. You might even get a nice email thanking you for taking the time to share. You might... 

You might also never hear anything. You might never know how this idea or how the time you spent talking about it affected those around you. Even though you might not ever know, is not an excuse to stop doing what you do...

Don't give up... 

We can't afford for you to give up. Our kids can't afford for you to give up...

Instructional shifts with the CCSS

Do nothing, say nothing, be nothing...

The path to growth and development can be ugly at times.  Educators are part of a world that is continually changing and evolving, and as such we are forced to take a leap, and at times take a leap when we are not ready.  Going through all my undergraduate classes at Mizzou we were always told how rewarding and fantastic the field of education is, and from where I sit right now I could not agree more.  

So...the big question is...why are we afraid of standing out?  Why are we afraid to speak up at meetings?  Why are we afraid to try something that has never been done before?  If education is so rewarding and fantastic, why do we have so many educators afraid to act...?  For all the great things we learned in college, they seem to have forgotten a big one...they never told us in our undergraduate classes the amount of criticism and failure that go along with being an educator...

As an educator, it is almost guaranteed you are going to do something or say something somebody does not like.  Contrary to belief, you will not melt, nor will you spontaneously combust!  The reality is you are going to hurt, you are going to feel pain, and you are going to want to react.  Hopefully, after reading this post you will have a slightly different perspective as it pertains to criticism and failure.

I would first really like to make a distinction between criticism and failure.  Failure is something that happens; we learn from it and hopefully make the necessary changes so we can avoid making the same mistakes again.  Failure is a valuable learning tool, and if used effectively, failure can be one of the most important things to ever happen to you.  We ALL experience failure at one time or another.

Criticism, on the other hand, is something you get from somebody else.  You have no control over what they say or how they say it, and most importantly criticism can hurt much more than failure.  If you fail, that can be the end of it...you failed, next chapter or end of story.  Criticism is not so easily forgotten because the words can penetrate deep into one's mind and heart.  When someone is criticized the words can permeate throughout an entire school...those simple words of criticism can stop an entire building from doing anything ever again that is remotely similar to what the criticized person did.  Fear of criticism is almost always worst than failure.

How can we convince people it is worth it to take a chance and risk failure, or even more, risk being criticized?  We have to create a culture and environment that encourages innovation, risk taking, and most importantly taking a leap even if we are not ready...support and reaffirm those risk takers!  At times, we need to address the elephant in the room.  By recognizing something we are not doing as well as we should, we are able to take the first step in accepting open criticism.  We need to help educators to use criticism in a productive manner by providing helpful feedback.  There is nothing worse than criticism without any helpful feedback.  Additionally, be an example for others by not criticizing your colleagues, and if you feel the need to criticize something or someone, make sure you bring your book of solutions with you!

If you have time check out Seth Godin's view on criticism and failure in his book Tribes.  One final thought...every time you get criticized means that somebody took notice of what you did or what you said, and more importantly it affected them enough to tell you how they felt.  As much as it hurts, do not give them the power to bring you down...allow the criticism to fuel you toward growing and developing to do what is best for kids...

A little #edufunny never hurt anyone...

Because you probably need a good laugh...

The Tech Savvy Administrator...

In a few weeks I will be doing a presentation at MASA's (Missouri Association of School Administrators) Spring Conference. My session is titled, "The Tech Savvy Administrator: Using Technology and Social Media to Enhance Your Brand." I must give credit to Chris McGee (@cmcgee200) for help with this presentation as we covered several similar topics at METC13 and CSD's Best Practices Conference a few weeks earlier. Since I still have some time prior to my presentation, comments, suggestions & feedback are most welcome!