Second Guessing...

This is a year of new experiences. New curriculum. New standards. New vision and mission for our school. And a new mindset for me as a teacher. I spent some time reflecting upon who and what I need to be as a teacher, and why I teach. I gave myself permission to find my passions and indulge in my own loves in life.

I had big plans for my students this year, and I set the bar pretty high for myself.  Even when fear crept in, I believed in my plan and plowed forward thoughtfully and purposefully.

One of the new elements we added this year is Genius Hour.  I introduced it the first week of school. The students were so excited and our room was abuzz with ideas. This was when something confusing happened, something I don't remember it ever happening before. I was bombarded with a question. It was different for each student, but it in essence they were all asking the same thing.

Each student started with, "Can I..." Some couldn't bear to make eye contact. Others
grimaced as they asked. All displayed some emotion that would not be associated with joy, but instead anxiety or fear. They were opening up and they were so scared I would deny them their own ideas and passions.

I met each of these students with affirmative answers, reassurance, excitement, and awe. I loved all their ideas and they needed to know their passions were validated. But it was getting out of control! Every student was second guessing themselves. They lacked confidence in their own interests. All I could do was express my love for their ideas and help them think through the brainstorming process. I watch their eyes and faces light up when I did not deny them, but instead engaged them.

I gave the students a proposal form to help them organize their ideas. They asked if they had to wait until next Friday to get started, and of course I told them they could get started right away. We have time in class on Friday set aside only for Genius Hour, and unfortunately the next Friday I was out of the building and the class had a sub.

As the third Friday rolled around, my heart was so worried they would have forgotten their great ideas and we would have to start from scratch. I quietly asked if anyone wanted to meet with me to discuss their proposal and project ideas. Almost all of the students raised their hands. I actually stood with my mouth hanging open. I was filled with hope and joy that this was working.

I had second guessed myself and this process, but my students pushed forwarded because they did not second guess me. They trusted the process, and therefore took matters into their own hands.

I met with more than half my class, literally howling in excitement over their ideas. Each project was so unique! So special, so thoughtful. So much better than anything I could have planned for them to learn. They had resources, notes, interviews, timelines, and materials. They did not even need me.

Afterwards, while I was privately reflecting on this experience, I remembered a TED talk I had watched over a year ago. Sugata Mitra's talk, The Child-Driven Education, is profound and powerful. 

Mitra hits on two ideas that seem to be deeply related to this experience I am having with my students. He says, "If students have interest, then learning will happen." It was clear to me that my students were engaged in this process because they had interest, not because I told them to get something done.

There is also this notion that when adults step aside, students will rise to the challenge. I had left my students to devise their own plans and ideas. I showed them I trusted them, and I wholeheartedly communicated that I knew, without doubt, their ideas were beautiful and worthy of sharing. They did not second guess me, and they stopped second guessing themselves.

My favorite idea from this talk is by far the role of the grandmother. "Stand behind them and admire them," Mitra's says.  This was all I had to do to ignite the spark in these students. I praised, admired, and nurtured each one of their "Can I..." questions until they naturally morphed them into "I will..." statements.

As Mitra's closes out his talk with the idea of self-organizing systems, I continue to think about how I can create and cultivate this type of learning environment everyday. What is my role, and how to I help grow these amazing learning systems- the ones where I am not in charge but simply a person that nurtures my students and guides them. If it could look and feel the way it did last Friday, then I am willing to do anything to get us there.

As I go into a new week with my students, I will be paying close attention to where they, and I, are seconding guessing our abilities. I will pay close attention to where I can offer admiration, hope, confidence, and love to my students thoughts and ideas. I will help them see their own ideas and passions are powerful and worthy.  Together, we will move to a self-organizing system of learning where all my students can be engaged and thrive.

What great passions and ideas have you squashed down because you seconded guessed yourself? Where did you stop exploring because you let someone else devalue your ideas? In turn, how can you display admiration for the people around you this week? When your students and staff trust you enough to share their ideas, what is your reaction to them? Do you second guess them or do you inspire them?

Roadblocks to Innovation #SAVMP

(Image shared by William M. Ferriter)

As I wind down from the high of the first couple weeks of school starting, I cannot help but feel exhausted.  It has been a string of long days, late nights, and very early mornings. As I try to wrap my head around how I am going to organize my lessons and content for the next week, I cannot help but feel like every idea, every plan I had, just isn't good enough.  In fact, I am so dissatisfied with my current plan of action that I am left feeling a little helpless and lost.

The fact of the matter is that I can no longer bring myself to teach content or lessons in a silo. I feel a huge sense of regret when I think about doing anything in my class that students cannot find relevant, relate to personally, or challenges them to grow and change. Any moment they are not on the edge of their seats with excitement I feel like I am failing them.

Over the last couple weeks I have absolutely loved teaching. I have seen and heard profound and beautiful ideas from my students. They have made me laugh. I have stood observing in complete awe of their kindness and care for one another and towards me.  These last couple weeks have been some of the greatest highlights of my teaching career. I have also loved sharing these lessons and learning moments with my PLN.  If what we are doing is not worth sharing with the world, is it worth even doing at all?

So what's the problem? Why is this week so much harder?

The question I keep going back to is how innovative do I have to be?  What is the expectation? What separates the mediocre from the truly great?

Because, the truth is, innovation is exhausting.

This, of course, does not mean I do not strive for amazing "lessons" that reach and move all students everyday. I push, guide, and support my students to stretch their thinking and abilities to the point of amazing themselves in every discussion and piece of literature and writing. But I have to be okay with the fact that everyday will not be a homerun.

Like most of my students, my biggest roadblock when it comes to innovation and success is fear. At a deeper level, I am the obstacle. I second guess. I lack confidence. I am scared. No amount of external support can really combat these blockades; it has to come from within me. Sometimes this shift from the center of my comfort zone to the unknown is exhilarating. Other times, it is paralyzing.

If I have learned anything during my journey over the last couple of years to transform my teaching, it is that nothing great happens without risk. Risk, usually, is like jumping out of a plane. It is simultaneously the most terrifying and more exciting thing you will ever do. Some days are spent waiting safely on the ground, other days are like looking down from the plane waiting to jump.  If you commit though, if you leap into the unknown, it is unforgetable.

On your innovative journey, what is your greatest roadblock?  What stands in the way of making you and your students truly great?  What qualities do you have, deep inside, that will help unleash innovation in others when there is hesitation or fear?  What qualities do you have, deep inside, that are waiting to be unleashed?

Highlights: A Beginning of the Year Reflection

(Photo by Richard Shaw)

As we finish up our second week of school, I cannot help but be filled with joy and gratitude. Every day has been full of new experiences, joy, support, and laughter.  My students are amazing, creative, and so much fun to teach.  My colleagues have really banded together this year and we are such a strong and supportive team.  The administration, as always, has been the constant foundation of support for us all and has helped ensure the first couple weeks flowed smoothly.  Overall, it is the best beginning of a year I have had as a teacher.

Most of what I did with students over the past two weeks has been completely new to both me as a teacher and them as students.  I did not reuse material from previous years, and the tasks I helped students complete asked them to move outside the normal scope of skill-based learning.

All in all, I found so much success in these activities that I wanted to make sure I shared what was happening in my classroom.  In the spirit of sharing, I believe it is important for all of us as teachers to showcase our classroom.  In any given day I can only be in my classroom with my students.  But, it is more likely than not that you are doing something in your classroom that my students and I can benefit from.  If we don't share than nothing is shared, and we all lose.

Highlights

Kid President and #Awesomeyear
In the past, I have always taken time at the beginning of year to help students create goals. This year my approach was a little different, as I wanted to make sure that students got a chance to explore what it would take to make this year awesome.  We watch Kid President's Pep Talk and the kids worked in small groups to brainstorm how they could apply some of the quotes from this video to their own life.

After sharing their personal connections, students took time to create their own #awsomeyear quote. The only requirement was it it had to be 140 characters.  As a sat late one night reading what they believed would make this year awesome for them, I was brought to tears by their raw honesty and genuine display of hope for themselves and others.  They provided me inspiration and I wish I could have them all tweeting them out instead of posting them only on my back wall.

Live Wire
Our school has been working hard to adopt the Tribes character education program, and during our staff training we engaged in a community building activity called Live Wire.  I adapted this activity to use with my kids as it was really powerful when I completed it with my colleagues.

Each student received a pipe cleaner and a blank note card.  They were asked to twist, bend, and shape their pipe cleaner into a shape or design that described themselves.  They then used the note card to write a short description of what the pipe cleaner represented about themselves.

Again, I was beside myself with joy as my students so honestly shared themselves with me and the class.  Some were very simple and straightforward, while others reached a depth that greatly surpassed these kids' twelve-years of age.  If you are looking for a powerful and fun way to get to know your students, I would highly recommend this activity!

Digital Footprint
I have a 1:1 Chromebook classroom and this will be the first year that many of my students are engaged in technology integration during instruction.  To help students begin understanding how the concept of a Digital Footprint applies to their activity online, I adapted a lesson from Common Sense Media called "The Trillion Dollar Footprint."

The lesson and activities offered here are amazing in helping students understand what happens when they post information online.  These activities allow students to track what happens when you are not honest online or when you are reckless with your online behavior.  This lesson set the foundation for reflection upon our own work online and how we will craft and control our digital footprints this year.

Innovation Notebooks & Genius Hour
In an effort to cultivate innovative thinking and student voice, our middle schoolers will be engaging in Genius Hour once a week.  This is a huge shift in practice for both teachers and students, and we decided to help students get started by giving them a place to record their ideas.  This was the gift of the innovation notebooks.  We gave these to students and introduced Genius Hour by asking this question:

Students responded with a collective gasp.  They were excited and nervous.  They could not believe this was happening.  I could not believe we had waited so long to fuel this kind of passion.

Weekly Learning Blogs
During the reworking of our middle school humanities curriculum this summer, our staff spent a great deal of time brainstorming how we could make reflective learning a part of our instructional practice. We decided that blogging was a powerful way to encourage reflective thinking, so we developed the Weekly Learning Blogs.

Each week, students will get a chance to write about something they learned during the week. There is no requirement on subject matter or content, the post just has to describe and reflect upon something from the previous week.  Students jumped right in as if they had been doing this forever.  They loved the chance to reflect upon a topic of their choice, and many expressed how it was helpful in thinking about their own strengths and weaknesses.  I also got an opportunity to learn about what they learned in each class, which is a very powerful perspective that we are sometimes shielded from as classroom teachers.  I think this practice will prove to be extremely powerful in the lives of our students' learning throughout the year, as well as an incredible opportunity for us as teachers to assess and reflect upon on our own practices through the help of our students' voices.

Art Carts
This has been, hands-down, the most fun I have had with my students in a long time!  The Art Cart Derby is a local community event that partners with a number of organizations to help students build and race derby carts.  Along with a few other adults in my building, we have been building these carts with a group of fifth and eighth graders.  We have been meeting after school to help the students construct and decorate their carts, which are made from 100% reused and recycled materials.

This week our students got a chance to travel to a local building-consignment shop to gather additional materials and design T-Shirts for race day.  We also got to meet Bud Norris, pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. Our eighth-graders stood in front of adults and other students to explain the building process of their carts and answered questions afterwards. We ended our day with a pizza picnic in the park. It was a beautiful day in every way possible.

Lowlights

Tell me how you really feel...
I don't think this would be a truly reflective post if I did not take a minute to think about where I can improve myself.  I will offer this image from a student, as it probably speaks more honestly than I am capable of when referring to myself.

Final Thoughts

As I move through this year, I will sincerely work to become a better teacher each day through positive actions, hope, and reflective thinking. I will work to see the strengths in all people around me, students and adults alike, and support these people through their weaknesses.  I will open and close every day with an attitude of love, laughter, and joy.  In times of struggle I will be honest with myself and others, and I will ask for help.  In times of accomplishment, I will be humble and show appreciation to those around me, for what we can accomplish together is so much greater than what I can achieve on my own.

As this year unfolds, what practices will you put in place to ensure the success of your students and yourself? How will you make sure that you are sharing the greatness of your students and learning community outside of your classroom? In this new year, how will you work towards and encourage others to achieve the most #awesomeyear yet?

Who Will Know Your Heart?

Photo by KB

The first week of every school is always filled with strong emotions for me.  There is anxiety, excitement, joy, anticipation.  It always seems like there is so much to do to prepare for the students to arrive, yet nothing gets done fast enough or with enough time left in the day to finish the To-Do list. I usually have a few moments of tears and terror during this time, feeling as if I will never be ready when that first bell rings.

Something was different, though. I began to trust myself as an educator, a professional, and just all around adult.  I stopped second guessing every decision I made and walked through the beginning of the year with a confidence I have not experienced in the past.  Instead of melting down in fear, I worked with purpose and accepted that not every single thing would be perfect. 

This year, I did not feel the same anxiety I have felt in the past.  For the most part, I was so excited and every idea that became a reality filled my heart with joy. This was also the first year I was surrounded and supported by my PLN and felt connected to my co-workers after building some stronger relationships through our Tribes character program.

This summer I began the journey of becoming a connected educator. I have met some of the most inspiring people I have ever encountered, engaged in paradigm-altering conversations, and I have felt more kindness and support than I have experienced at any other point in my career.  I have build real relationships and I trust these people as if I was working alongside them in my building every day.  

In a very real sense, they truly know my heart. They have celebrated victories with me, and at the same time they have talked me through some very emotional spots.  I have found friends, mentors, and buddies. I have even connected with people inside my own building because I can share what's happening in my classroom even when they can't be in there with me.  

I decided to open my heart, try something new, and believe in others.  In return, I received the gift of growth and change, not alone, but alongside many others traveling this same path.  We trusted each each, held hands, and took the plunge.  

Trust was there and it was important.  More than that though, I needed faith. Because faith, for me, is always one step ahead of trust.

So as I planned for this first week, I began to focus on who my students would need me to be this year. The beginning of the year is crucial for building a classroom culture of respect and trust.  What would I need to do to make sure that my students would feel safe, inspired, and motivated in my room?  

This is complex, yet so simple at the same time.  I would need to show my students I had faith in them. I would need to show them the belief I had for them was real and unwavering.  I would need to let them know me, so in turn I could get to know them.  

As your students return and emotions run high, how will you engage your students and others around you in a way that builds trusts?  In what ways can you support your students and colleagues by showing you have faith in them and the decisions they make. How much faith will you have in yourself and the people around you this year? Who, this year, will know your heart? 

Whose Team Are You On? (#SAVMP)

PPPCS Middle School Team (2013)

What makes a team special?  Is it communication? A common goal?  The ability and determination to work hard and band together to rise above the rest?  I would say all of these qualities make a team effective and powerful, but they are not what makes a team special.  You know, the type of team that is the best at what they do but also has fun doing it.  That is a team built upon layers of trust.

In teaching, we talk a lot about relationships. It is important to let people know who you are, to listen and communicate, and to support one another.  Do these things build trust within a team?  I think so, but it is deeper than that.

Trust is developed when members of a team all collectively choose to be vulnerable with one another. It starts with honesty, sometimes about work-related issues, sometimes personal matters.  It is built upon when the members of a group start to reveal aspects of themselves, honestly and openly, realizing that they can be themselves,100%, without fear of it ever being held against them.  

This doesn't happen overnight; it is a process. 

Together, that team builds upon a layer of honesty and openness.  This allows teams to to grow and support one another.  It encourages trust in the most loving form.  Once there is this bond, a team can push its members, even when it means having tough conversations and addressing weaknesses and failures. The foundational trust allows people to know that they must look at themselves and improve because the people on their team need them to be better and to grow. They grow together and trust that the people around them will push themselves to be their best, even when it feels the worst.

These teams, the special ones, tend to stay together.  They grow and change together.  The years go by, they celebrate and grieve together, they lean on one another. They laugh together and they cry with one another. At times, feelings are hurt, but not for long, because the well-being of this group is superior to individual egos. Humility overpowers in even the toughest times.

The teams I am describing here, they can be found everywhere, in schools all over the country.  Yet, these teams are special because each is comprised of a group of people that not only enjoy what they do and trust one another, but have a deep and growing love for one another.  They have become a family. The trust they built back in the beginning, it grew into so much more. 

What are you doing to build your team?  How are your actions encouraging honesty, trust, and vulnerability? What are you doing to make your team special?

Starting Off Right: Ready...or Not (#SAVMP)

(Photo by KB)

I came to a hard realization about myself this week.  I had time to think, reflect, and talk through some of these things with people I trust and respect.  In the end, I have to admit to myself I am not ready to be a leader.

This week I had two situations, interactions with others, where I was overly emotional.  I didn't listen well, and I felt like I had to push my ideas and thoughts about the topics instead of considering other points of view.  I was too pushy and it made people uncomfortable.  I was more worried about my opinions then trying to understanding the impact these situations would have on others. I should have stopped, stepped back, thought.  Instead I just bulldozed forward.

Overall, I acted poorly. 

I have a tendency to beat myself up when I feel I have not acted as my best self.  It can get pretty ugly. I  decided to try something different this time, though. I reached out for help.  I needed mentorship, and I called upon an experienced leader that I have connected with through Twitter; someone I consider both a mentor and a friend.  I am supremely jealous of anyone that gets the pleasure of working with Jimmy Casas on a daily basis; I can only imagine how wonderful he is to have as a leader.

I was able to leave that conversation feeling much more level headed, optimistic, and with a better understanding of how I need to act going forward. Jimmy also reminded me that I am going to have failures, now and along the way, and I need to be aware of this so I can learn and continue forward movement. The negative emotions were washed away with action steps and an attitude of positive modeling.  And I felt relief that I did not have to figure all this out on my own. 

I have so much to learn. As I navigate my way through this next year, my goals are to stay attuned to my strengths and weaknesses as a leader. My reflections will focus upon where I can improve and strengthen my weaknesses. I am determined to grow in all areas of my job, not just in leadership, but as a teacher and with my students (of course). I am going into this year knowing I do not have to maneuver these challenges alone, and similarly I have an incredible support system with whom I can celebrate successes.

What changes of mind, action, and attitude might you need to change to have a successful start of the school year? What reflection goals might you think about focusing on to ensure honest inventory of your growth? How can you help yourself and your staff move through times of struggle to a stronger, more powerful place of trust and community?

How will you start the year off right?

Hope and Heartbreak: Building a Tribes Community

(Photo used by permission: Broken Whisker Photography)

Training Reflection: Day 2

In continuing our training to build a better culture and community within our school, we completed day two of training with Tribes.  We were put into tribes, or small groups, with a few of our colleagues and Nancy, our facilitator, told us it was time to deep deeper.  Things were about to get personal.

First she asked us to pull out our phones and choose a picture to share with our tribes.  This was fun and I learned something new about each of my colleagues.  I got teary-eyed sharing my image during the first image, but I pulled it together, and we moved.  No problem...

Next, we were given a piece of wire and asked to manipulate it in a way that would represent the course of our lives.  This "Live Wire" activity seemed harmless enough.  Nancy put on some music and everyone worked intently to twist, bend, and twirl their wire into their own story. Then we shared our stories with our tribe groups.  

That is when things got uncomfortable for me. Today was the first time I was brought to tears in front of my coworkers.  Today I was open and vulnerable enough to be moved deeply by stories of personal pain and struggle. I felt silly, dramatic, a little out of control of my emotions.  I didn't like it and fought to stop it.

But while one of my co-workers told his story, through a beautifully designed wire, he shared about heartbreak and hope. He was so honest and brave and trusting. What I respected most was he took advantage of what Nancy has been calling the "right to pass." He simply stated that of the three most tumultuous events represented on his wire, he would share only one with us. He showed how it was simultaneously safe for our group to trust each other with these histories and to not share everything.  

Live Wire: Personal Histories

The training touched on many other aspects of building a community, including 21st century skills, multiple intelligences, and building reflective practices. While all of this was important for our understanding of this program, I will be taking away our experience in our own tribes, the influence this had on my overall well-being as a part of this team, and how I can reflect on my emotions to this experience.

Tribes, unlike many of other character programs, focuses on building and changing the culture within a school. It is not about a specific lesson or skill, but about a community. Together, we want our students, parents, and teachers to feel as if they work in the most amazing community, one that will support them through anything they may encounter.  

The focus is to build a community that is strong in times of both hope and heartbreak.

Yesterday I trusted the process.  Today I trusted my community.  Tomorrow, I remain open-minded and willing to learn, for I have the greatest trust that together we can only continue to grow in this experience. 

Trusting the Process: Tribes Training Reflection (Day 1)

(Photo by KB)

Today was an incredibly full day of learning and growing for me as a teacher.  As I reflect upon all the information I consumed today, I must admit that one word comes to my mind. Trust.  I engaged in Tribes training, which is a character education and culture development program my school is adopting. I also attended David Culberhouse's webinar focusing on the four pillars of leadership.  To end my night, I engaged in the Seth Godin TED talk, "The Tribes We Lead."  This talk really brought together my two earlier experiences from the day!



The Tribes character program is unique in so many ways.  Our school completed a rigorous meta-analysis of many different character programs before deciding on Tribes.  One of the important factors in our decision was that the program was tailored to the different needs of middle school students and elementary students.  Tribes realizes that middle schoolers need a different approach and their teachers need different training.  Anyone that has taught middle school, has middle school children, or sat next to a middle schooler at the movies one time, knows this to be true.

Additionally, Tribes focuses on the exact topics addressed in Godin's talk, connecting people to lead a movement.   Our school focuses on educating the whole child and needed a program that offered more than scripted lessons or a curriculum; we needed a way to lead and build relationships.  Tribes is a way of teaching and building culture through relationships and developmentally appropriate learning, which made it a better fit than most other programs we researched.

The training was really enlightening and a very powerful experience for me as a middle school teacher. While we learned and practiced a number of "energizers" to build community, the afternoon was focused on diving deeply into the developmental factors of adolescents.  The social, moral, physical, intellectual, and emotional needs of our students were explored.  Our group also discussed the competencies we need to build and the processes for creating a culture of purpose, autonomy, and problem solving (sound familiar Dan Pink fans?). When dealing with this age group, we don't often examine these factors in much detail, so I found this to be a complete change in the way I view our students' needs and addressing their behaviors. Our students need us to understand their developmental needs in order to help them both mature and learn.  Additionally, this reaches far beyond the classroom and into their lives at home and in the community.

Later, while listening to David Culberhouse discussion the pillars of leadership, he talked about his concept of the Family Footprint.  He stated that we often look at organizations as a small part of who we are, but in reality the organization doesn't stop when we leave.  That organization travels with us. This is the Family Footprint. The culture we create is based around individual encounters. We leave imprints that echo past each interaction. Our imprint ripples. Our organizational culture follows people into their homes and families, and therefore we must reflect upon what we are offering the people around us when we lead them.

I couldn't help but relate this to my students and today's training.  Our school is so special in the fact that understand the Family Footprint and how we impact our students both at school and beyond.  We are now working to lead them in a culture that recognizes, celebrates, and fosters their needs in all developmental areas. What an amazing opportunity for us as a school!

This brings to Seth Godin, as he states that leaders must challenge the status quo, build a culture and connect people to one another. He brings up an important point that leaders don't need everyone to follow them. Even though our school's culture is everyone's responsibility, as we don't need everyone in our school to love the Tribes movement we are creating.  We just need enough people to connect and believe in the movement.  I walked out of our training today truly believing in our team to challenge ourselves and move out of what is "usual" in our practice because we believe the connections we make with our students and our culture is more important than us being comfortable.

Tomorrow, we build our tribes within our staff.  I am not sure what this will entail or look like, but I am extremely excited to connect with my colleagues in this way.  I will remember that tribes are formed when a group that is disconnected but already have a yearning for something bigger and better. This is how a movement is formed.  Leaders organize and connect people. 

Tomorrow, I will trust the process, connect, and lead.

Be Gentle With Yourself

(Photo by KB)

As I prepare to start back to school this week, I feel slapped in the face with the overwhelming reality that the rubber is about to meet the road.  All the great ideas, conversations, collaboration, and curriculum writing I engaged in this summer must now be applied. I feel more than ready to step up and meet these challenges. In fact, I am ready to sacrifice a lot to make this our most successful year. 

I am not scared or overwhelmed by the work that must be done. The most frightening thing for me this year is balance. This concept that the scale can't swing too far in either direction. The notion of balance, particularly in relationship to my work and personal life, is a terrifying concept to me.

I am no good at this; I become immersed in my work and I let everything else fall to the side.  For me, this is so hard because I am a perfectionist.  I am willing to discard things that are important to me in order to perfect a task, job, or plan (or, honestly, your image of me).  I am too hard on myself most of the time and I have trouble stepping back and prioritizing when I am in the middle of a project.

As I have thought about my summer and the tasks ahead for this school year, I have been hyper-focused on my students, team-building, innovation, passion, and creativity.  These are so important and build a foundation for me and my pedagogy.  If I am honest with myself, I know none of those things are sustainable in my practice if I don't care of myself first.

I realized this summer how much my passions had been cast aside, and I vowed to never let this happen again. I can never again let so much of myself fall away. In an effort and mantra to never forget to take care of myself, I will be posting this simple image above my desk this year. I am willing to bet I am not the only teacher that needs to remember this!

As we all venture into another exciting school year, I hope to be gentle with myself. I will make a concerted effort to take care of my needs, listen to my body, and nurture my passions. I will make a commitment to choose my sacrifices carefully, for I will never get that time back. This year, I will strive for balance, allowing myself to be imperfect and trusting those around to love me despite my flaws, as I would with them.  This year, I will not lose myself, but instead grow more completely.

How will you be gentle with yourself this year?

Believing in Bravery

(Photo by Richard Shaw)

The opposite of bravery is not cowardice but conformity.

-Robert Anthony

As I started to build my PLN this summer I was introduced to so many educators that have stunningly inspiring blogs.  I have been following a few people regularly and jumping into others when I see posts linked on twitter.  Since becoming a part of the School Administrator Virtual Leadership Program (#SAVMP) I have discovered some of the most moving, heartfelt blog posts I have ever read. Several times I have been moved to tears while reading personal descriptions and reflections on life and leadership.

I have also begun blogging this summer, and it has been an emotional experience for me. As an English major in college, and language arts teacher, I am no stranger to writing. I have always felt very comfortable expressing myself through my writing, though I have never, ever, liked sharing my writing. Aside from being a seriously lazy proofreader, I write my heart on my sleeve. My writing is more honest and raw than what I am able to verbalize in conversations, which makes it nerve racking to share. The saving grace is that I have gotten an overwhelmingly positive response, and every person that can relate or finds meaning in my writing is a little reminder that it is okay to expose myself in this way. 

Our second point of discussion for #SAVMP focuses on our philosophy.  My personal reflections of my philosophy have been on my mind lately, and I blogged about this recently. George Couros asked us to consider what Simon Sinek says about leadership.  I discovered Sinek's talk earlier in the summer and found it to be extremely powerful in reflecting about my own why. Sinek's idea of the Golden Circle and why we lead is a question I pondered when trying to understand my own passions this summer.

Today as I was wondering around Twitter, I came upon the blog post Be Brave by Matt Gomez.  This concept, this one rule, perfectly encompasses what I strived to do this summer.  It is also exactly what I hope to transfer to my students this year.  Really, I hope my students, colleagues, and I can all be brave together.  This year, more than any other, I need bravery both personally and professionally.  This year, I will ask my students and our staff to push themselves beyond what they know, moving from where we are comfortable into the unknown.  I will ask them to share themselves, to expose their practice and reflect deeply on the work we do together.  It is very exciting work, but let's be honest, it is scary to be exposed.  

If we are to be courageous, we must first be brave.

So this year my philosophical shift will be cemented in the one rule Matt has for his kindergarteners: Be Brave.  Be brave in new situations, be brave enough to try new things. Be brave in believing in myself and trusting other.  When I am wrong and need to pivot or change, I will be brave. I will try to be brave even when I am fearful.  

What does bravery look like for you? How will you lead those around you to be brave?

Could I Lead? #SAVMP

(Photo by Richard Shaw)

When I saw the #SAVMP description I thought, "That is amazing, I wish I could be a part of this!"  Getting connected with teachers using social media has been the highlight of my summer, and I was extremely jealous of all the administrators that would get a chance to "organize" around the principles of mentoring and connecting.  

Always looking to stretch the limits, I signed-up even though I am not an administrator.

I have spent the last year trying to figure out my place in education.  I am a teacher, but I have been involved in a number of different projects allowed me to expand professional roles. I worked with the non-profit Digital Harbor Foundation, working hard to be a digital leader and take innovative risks in my classroom.  This allowed me to see myself in leadership roles such as organizing professional development and influencing the practice of other teachers.  I also started mentoring student teachers and found this to be extremely rewarding and really stretched me to become a better teacher in so many ways.

I have always said that I would never become an administrator.  As I read so many blogs from #SAVMP mentors and mentees about why they lead, I keep seeing mentions and tributes to the leaders that have come before them- the influencers, the outstanding mentors that inspired them to do more and lead the way for others.

Early in my career I was so afraid of administrators and people in leadership.  This probably stemmed from my first interview ever as a teacher.  Nervous and unsure, at 22 years old and one month out of college, I arrived to my interview early, with my high heels and a smile. 

When the principal came out of his office, I stood and introduced myself.  He did not hold out his hand to shake mine, and in fact took a step back.  He frowned and said, "You could never teach here.  You are too young and way too small." He turned around, walked back into his office, and shut his door.

As ridiculous as this was, I would find that the sentiments of principals during my next few interviews would be strikingly similar. I went on to have an array of experiences with my administrators, ranging from disengaged to intimidating, some all together frightening in their approach to leadership. 

Until I started working at Patterson Park Public Charter School, I had never gotten the chance to work in a school community that believed in shared leadership and encouraged, even fostered, all staff to be leaders. PPPCS has amazing leadership, and equally as important, a strong community among the staff.  Everyone looks out for one another, there is shared support, and everyone's strengths are valued.  

This is where I learned what true leadership could be like, when a community forms around a common goal, and the leader is not as important as the communal effort.  For our team, it is about supporting everyone to ensure our students get the best our school can offer them.

I joined #SAVMP because I am at a crossroads.  I love teaching and being in the classroom, but I am starting to gain the courage to think that there may be a place for me outside of that space. The reality is that I want to lead for the same reasons I want to teach.  With my students, I lead them to discovery, understanding, and growth. I would want to lead for those same exact goals.  Rather than why do I lead, often I am thinking could I lead?

So while I figure this out, I am here as a mentee, in the most green form.  I hope to discover, gain new understandings, and grow.  The most exciting part is that there are so many people in this community that have been in the place that I stand, trying to figure out their direction and path.  Lucky for me, I don't have to do it alone.  

And hopefully, in the process, I can add something of value to the experiences of others.

Why I Teach #SAVMP

Photo taken in Khayelitsha, South Africa (2008)

This year, I will have a connected classroom.  I reached out on Twitter and was overjoyed when I got responses from teachers all over the US wanting to connect our students.  I thought this would be a great way to allow my students to learn outside the wall of our classroom, become global citizens, and teach digital citizenship.  It is exciting and different from anything we have ever done in my class.

@MrJFawson I would love that! Let's connect and set it up! #21stedchat
— Jenna Shaw (@Teachbaltshaw) August 5, 2013

I connected with Jared, a teacher from Utah, and we sent a few emails right away.  I was pleased to hear he had done this before. He suggested a lot of great activities we could do together while also detailing some logistics and planning details that would make all this run smoothly.

Perfect!  I was ready.  But then he sent me this...

Of note my students come from a very conservative religious suburban white area, it will be good for them to interact and get some perspective from a more diverse east coast point of view. Can't tell you how valuable this is. During the election last year we worked with a school in New Jersey and one in Iowa and it was nice for my students to hear a different point of view from what they got at home and the community.  

I teach at a charter school in Baltimore City.  Our school is an extremely diverse setting with kids that represent almost every population of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.  It had never occurred to me that my kids could be a vital part of other classrooms building cultural awareness.  What a powerful experience for all of us.  We are breaking barriers and building a more understanding global community. This is why I teach!

And then, all of a sudden, I had this thought:

What if George Zimmerman had been in Jared's class?  

This was so overwhelming for me I cried, in public, while I was feverishly jotting down notes for this blog post.

Our jobs as teachers are so important.  With the resources and tools available to us with technology it is no longer about changing our students' lives, but about being a part of absolutely creating the most wonderfully connected and understanding society of people to ever be a part of our world.  Our students can understand other people in a way that has never been afforded to any other generation. There is no reason for anyone to be an outsider or isolated from people that are different from themselves as long as they have brave teachers willing to help guide them through these vitally importantly connections.

So today, I realized why I really teach.

I teach because I want our children to be brave, compassionate, strong, and loving.  I want to live in a world where people understand each other's hearts because they can connect with others that are nothing like them on the outside, but realize they internally share everything. I teach because I know, now more than ever, this is possible.

Moving From Teacher to Helper

Photo by Richard Shaw

As August rolls in, I can't help but feel the summer slowly slipping through my fingertips. Like each school year, I feel like each summer I have "off" as a teacher gets better and better. This year I have become more connected to other teachers in Baltimore and beyond the boundaries of our city.  I engaged in a deep reworking of my school's curriculum and instructional practice, and I got to do this with my talented colleagues, some of which I rarely get a chance to collaborate. It has been a great summer for learning.

I am incredibly lucky that I also celebrated my second wedding anniversary, while simultaneously celebrating a full year as a homeowner and dog owner.  This was also the seventh summer my husband and I spent together. And this got me thinking...

Let me take a minute to tell you a little bit about Richard, my husband, and I promise it will make sense why in the end.

Richard hates school.  He doesn't read books.  He is introverted and soft spoken.

But...

Richard is a real life google (ask him anything, he knows the answers!).  He loves literature and nonfiction, and is extremely well read.  He can also engage in conversations with anyone, around just about any topic (see the first comment in this paragraph).

What I have learned from my husband is an insight that has deeply affected how I interact with my students.  Richard hated school because there wasn't a single thing going on there that he couldn't teach himself.  He decided that is exactly what he would do, and he didn't receive a formal education after 9th grade.  Yet, ask him about politics, agriculture, technology, law, history-- yup, he knows all about it. He didn't need a teacher or a school to teach him that stuff.  

Have you ever taught a kid like Richard?  I most certainly have.

So as a teacher, where does that leave me? Do my students need me or can they do okay with all these resources available around them?  Well, of course students need teachers, but they don't need us to learn.  Really, they need us to help them discover what is available, to help give them the confidence to follow their interests and passions, and to believe in themselves.  

My job, really, is to help-- not teach. So I am moving from "What can I teach you?" to "What can I help you learn?"  Let me help my students understand the world around them, find the answers to their questions, and explore things that don't make sense.  Let's help one another make sense of all the confusing, complex, and amazingly beautiful situations surrounding us.  My goal this year is to move from a place of teacher to that of communal helper, where everyone in my classroom has this same job title.

What have you learned this summer?  What lessons and new understandings will you carry back to your students?  And, most importantly, who in your life is helping you?

(Thanks to my husband for always helping me make sense of my world.  It is a lesson I'll be taking back to school with me this year.)

Innovative Practices: Changing Minds vs. Creating Cultures

Photo by Richard Shaw

This has been an excellent month for learning.  As usual, with great learning experiences come deeper questions and challenges.  I was lucky enough to work with An Estuary's Summer Institute, which included a group of teachers from all over the country.  This was a talented group of teachers that are dedicated to developing themselves, their staff,  and the teaching profession.

One of the questions that kept arising in our session was how to get other teachers and staff members to "buy into" new and innovative teaching practices.  It can be a scary place for teachers when they feel like they are all alone in their school, trying new practices, and being the odd man out.

My experience has shown me that it is more powerful to create a culture of innovation rather than changing people's practices.  What I mean is that when you are in an environment where teachers are not expected to be innovative, it usually doesn't work to tell them they need to change.  No one likes to hear this, especially if they feel successful in their current practice.  

So why not create something new, a culture that doesn't already exist, and then invite others to participate?  How can you harness the power of connections and relationships to create real change? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Make Suggestions Solution Oriented 

Even though you have some new tool or idea that you think is great, trying to get all the teachers on your floor to adapt it without reason might be a hard sell.  I never suggest anything to our teachers unless it offers a solution to a problem they are having.  I listen to what teachers want, then I help them find the tool that works for that task.  The conversation usually looks like this: You wish you could get quick quiz results?  Oh, have you tried these apps? No? They are awesome-want me to show you how I used them?

When teachers are able to see how something applies to them, impacts their students, or offers a solution, they are much more likely to try something new.  The key here is that you need to build a community in which teachers talk, listen, and problem solve together.

2. Tap into Strengths

Just like our students, each teacher brings something unique and special to their instruction. I know teachers that lecture all day long, but have the most incredible relationships with students.  How can we tap into those strengths and build a stronger culture of innovation?  

One powerful way you can help involve teachers is inviting them to add their strengths to your lessons. Ask them to co-teach or help with a lesson where they can bring these qualities elements.  Not only is this an amazing professional growth experience, the kids love when you disrupt the normal flow with "guests" in the room to add new flair.  Personally, my closest colleagues have been those I have taught alongside. 

3. Shut-Up and Smile  

Whenever something new is created there are skeptics.  That is normal, natural, and (for me) motivating. If someone isn't on board, just shut-up and smile.  Most likely you will not change their mind in one conversation.  Your efforts will be better spent being an example to your school community, taking your own risks, sharing your experiences, and always leaving the door open for the skeptics. 

If we want to create this culture, we have to model it.  Be purposeful in your practice.  If you lead by example and model innovation, your students will be the spokespeople for the work that happens in your class.  Other teachers will begin to seek you out because they want to be a part of this new culture. You won't have to recruit if you invite them to join you on their own terms.  

At the end of the day...

Teachers want to grow and are inherently drawn to reflection and self-improvement. Similarly, they are usually discouraged when others try to implement changes, as our teaching practices are a personal part of who we are as professionals.  Making space for teachers to dive into something new is much more rewarding than trying to get them to change what they already know. 

How are you working to make innovation the expectation, rather than the exception? What do you do to encourage, support, reflect, and build this culture together?