The Residence on Marine – West Vancouver

The Residences on Marine is being developed by Atti group and will be a boutique mid-rise building. Located at 1327 Marine Drive in West Vancouver, the Residence on Marine is centrally located at the entrance to the Ambleside community of West Vancouver, featuring Ambleside Park and Beach, as well all the shops and services along Marine Drive including its popular Farmers Market on the weekends.

The Residences on Marine will provide its homeowners to the best of the North Shore and Vancouver. With single-level living, featuring modern, open floor plans, attention to detail and high-quality craftsmanship.

To be kept up to date with this development and many more like it, register with us today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not an offering for sale. No such offering can be made without a disclosure statement. E.&O.E.

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Crest by Adera- North Vancouver

Crest is Lonsdale newest development being built by Adera, the multi-disciplined organization known for creating homes with West Coast style. Crest is located in the heart of North Vancouver Lonsdale corridor on the corner of 8th and Lonsdale at 150 East 8th Street.

Crest will include 178 one, two and three bedroom homes (including 17 townhomes) with underground parking over two buildings all designed in a West coast modern design and architecture that Adera has become well-known for. Some homes will feature Private roof top patio, stunning views of the north shore mountains and and downtown Vancouver

 

Building amenities include a bike room, guest suite, party room, fitness studio, billiards room and much more. In addition to great condos, the location offers easy accessibility to golf, local parks, restaurants and other entertainment sites, too.

To stay up to date with this development and many others like it, register with us today!

 

 

 

 

E. & O. E. This is not an offering for sale. An offering for sale may only be made after filing a Disclosure Statement

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Southgate City – Burnaby

Back in 2011, developer Ledingham McAllister bought the old Safeway distribution centre and dairy plant with an ambitious vision in mind. It isn’t often that a fully masterplanned development like Southgate City comes to a major city like Burnaby. This new condo development will become an integral part of the skyline in South Burnaby. As envisioned, Southgate City will include up to 20 condo towers of between 24 and 46 storeys in height, and a variety of low- and mid-rise buildings, all of which combined will consist of about 6,400 residential housing units that will support a population of 20,000 people. The pedestrian- and public-transit oriented development is planned around a five-acre central park that will serve as the Southgate City’s core feature.

The 60-acre development also includes numerous smaller parks, creek-side greenways and open areas, all of which are designed to help foster interconnection between all of its residential and commercial elements. This planned interconnectedness also includes easy access to the rest of Burnaby, and greater Vancouver, via road upgrade connections, pedestrian/bicycling paths, and its proximity to the Edmonds Skyway Station. Proposed commercial ventures include a gourmet grocer, cafés, community shops and restaurants. A new community centre is also included in the plans. The final result will be a stunning community developed from the ground up.

Southgate City will rapidly become one of the most exciting places to live in all of the lower mainland.

With the first building, Precedence, starting sales soon; home buyers will have the opportunity to secure their view of what will become the definition of master planning. Residents will be able to wake up and look out to the green space, fountains, and inviting public spaces. Driving to the hottest restaurants and shops will be a thing of the past with the best that Burnaby has to offer just steps away.

What sets Southgate City apart from other developments is the attention to detail put into every aspect of the design. There are plenty of new condo developments to see in Burnaby and surrounding areas but few, if any, offer the total and complete lifestyle that Southgate City will offer. A new community centre is just one part of the plan that aims to provide residents with a superior living experience in the heart of South Burnaby.

This will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting, inspirational, and popular new condo developments in Burnaby and the entire lower mainland. Stay tuned for more news and developments about Southgate City as construction moves ahead.

To be kept up to date with Southgate city, Register with us today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not an offering for sale. No such offering can be made without a disclosure statement. E.&O.E.

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February Reads: So Much Good Stuff, It's Hard to Choose

February always trips me up.  I think I've got plenty of time, and before I know it, March is knocking at the door.  Who'd think a few missing days at the end of the month would create such havoc in my reading world?

I started 2018 off with a roar, spending plenty of weekends and nights unapologetically reading.  It was wonderful.  I'm going to try to do the same in February, but life has a way of taking my plans and turning them upside down.  

February may be a short month, but that doesn't stop me from trying to read as many books as I can before the end of the month. I'm currently reading two books that I won't list here, but they'll probably show up as reviews in the next week.  Here's what I've got planned to read in February:

I've read about the Halifax explosion before, but this new book looks to be fascinating!

A historical novel about Mary Pickford and her friendship with Francis Marion in early Hollywood.  

Ahhhh!!  This book!  I can't wait to read it!!  

A publisher review book from the author of My Name is Mary Sutter.  Cannot wait to dive in!

I had such a hard time deciding which books to show on this post.  I've got another 5 or 6 demanding to be read this month.  Clearly impossible (unless I take a nice, two week vacation) but nevertheless, they egg me on to at least try.  We'll see.  

On the book group front, I finally got together with a group I affectionately call the book nerds.  There are six of us, and we meet every month and talk about what we're reading.  We've been meeting for probably 6 years, and recently took a hiatus and finally regrouped last night.  We always have such a good time.  I had to write down a few more titles that appealed to me, and even took a book home.  We've made plans to meet again in early March, and we'll have even more books to talk about.  What I love about our group is that there's no pressure on what to read, but rather an exchange of books that we've each read over the previous month, and what we did or did not like about them.  Usually the rest of us end up reading the same books, and it's fun to discuss what we each thought of the books.  Such a great way to hear about a lot of books from friends who have different tastes.  

We have a member who loves to read mysteries and young adult, another who is the most well read person I know--she reads fiction that usually involves other countries, current issues, and important moments in 20th century history.  Another reads multi-cultural books that she also shares with her high school English students; another just buys ebooks on his Nook that are daily specials and reads them. He enjoys family dramas. Our final member reads a lot of young adult novels (and listens to them on audio with her son), mysteries, and non-fiction centered around the Catholic faith.  All of us are open to reading different genres, authors, and ideas.  And we all know I read just a bunch of stuff; whatever appeals to me.  

Happy February everyone, and let me know what you're reading.  I always love to hear from you!

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PMP:100 Celebrating One Hundred Episodes of Storytelling

When I was ten years old, I had an old tape cassette player. It was the kind that had a built-in speaker and looked like a radio the size of small book. You know, the kind with four square buttons on top: Rewind, Forward, Play, and Record. Sometimes I’d lay on the carpet and tape […]

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4 Reasons to Invite Parents to Your Next Professional Learning Day

Most of my work is now leading professional learning opportunities for educators.  It is such a blessing, but it is also quite challenging in a climate that seems to be tough on schools. The world is changing in front of us, and many of the demands that come from politicians with no teaching experience, are counterintuitive to where we need to lead our students.   Our students are being asked to be creative, but too often, “accountability” is measured of schools through multiple choice exams.  There is a disconnect, and that issue has led many teachers to forget why they are there in the first place.  I believe that the majority of teachers get into the profession to make a difference, but they are pushed to get a grade out of their students at all costs. They haven’t forgotten their “why”; it has been continuously pushed out of them by external factors.

So I can understand why during professional learning, many teachers rush there to get early, to sit as far away as possible from the learning, or ask questions not to move forward, but to hold on to what they have always done.  I understand, but it is still frustrating to see.  I hope to not only get people to feel some discomfort but to inspire them to new learning and help relight that fire if that is needed.

Educators will always have constraints placed on them, which is why I have continuously encouraged to people to innovate inside the box. We need to make things happen within those constraints. Long-term though, we need more than educators advocating for better opportunities for our students; we need our communities more than ever.

There is this notion that parents want the same type of education for their children that they had.  I believe this to be untrue.  Parents want what is best for their children, and if they know nothing different than their own experience, then they default to believing what they had is what their children should have.  How do we create a different and informed perspective?

One of the things that I think could have a significant impact on professional learning days is inviting parents. This is not only for accountability as educators to how we use this time but also how parents view education and advocate for meaningful changes to the people that listen to them. Below are four reasons I believe more schools and districts should make parent participation in professional learning a norm, rather than an exception.

1. They become advocates for new types of learning in the classroom.

   As stated earlier, parents want what is best for their children, but if they never experienced anything different, why would they advocate for something they don’t know.  Create the experience on those days that parents say, “This is so much better than anything we had as kids.”  If you can do that, they will become your most prominent advocates for meaningful change to the people that need to hear it most.  I am not only talking about politicians, but also other parents in your community.  Empower those voices in your community.

2. Accountability to implementation and delivery of learning is increased.

   A student participating in a professional learning day once said to me of their teachers, “If teachers are doing this on these days that we are not here, why are they not getting any better?”

   I will never forget that moment, and it haunts me.  If no one outside of the school knows what happens on those days, do they genuinely get implemented? Having stakeholders present in the room creates a much more in-depth accountability, and would probably create a greater sense of urgency to get things moving forward.

   I want you to think about the negative arguments (not criticisms challenging ideas, but the naysayer that fights you on everything) that you have had on your professional learning days from other teachers.  Would they have the same tone if stakeholders were in the room?

   Having those we serve in the room when we are learning could create a more significant sense of urgency to move forward, and not merely hold on to what we have always done for the sake of just doing it.

3. Their feedback would be beneficial for both the community and students.

   Maybe your professional learning is boring. Perhaps you are on the wrong track.  Having parent stakeholders in the room is not an opportunity only for them to learn from you, but you to learn from them.  This leads to the last point.

4. Your professional learning would get better.

   Honestly, I have seen some professional learning days that were terrible in my experience as an educator, as they seemed to be whipped together in the last minute because the day on the calendar said that was your day to bring the staff together.  With time being the most valuable currency in the world, how we spend it on those days is crucial.  We ask teachers to do things differently in the classroom, while professional learning often looks the same.  If more of our stakeholders would be involved, would we not care more about how we not only participated but the type of experiences that were delivered in the first place?

 

Parents should not be the only ones invited to professional learning days. When it is age appropriate, we should ask students to be a part of those days to hear their voice as well.  We often talk for them, but not to them.  That post will be for another day (or I encourage you reading this to write the student equivalent).

But too often, new things happening in schools come to parents as a surprise, and they see the product but aren’t part of the process. When we look at inviting parents as an opportunity for both the parent and the school, it becomes a powerful way to create meaningful change together, instead of fighting it along the way.

• February 11, 2017 The Students are Paying Attention
• May 27, 2013 Experience Matters
• August 30, 2016 Spoon-Fed Learning
• April 9, 2015 8 Things to Look for in Today’s Professional Learning (Part 2)
• April 6, 2015 8 Things to Look for in Today’s Professional Learning (Part 1)

Source: George Couros

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4 Reasons to Invite Parents to Your Next Professional Learning Day

Most of my work is now leading professional learning opportunities for educators.  It is such a blessing, but it is also quite challenging in a climate that seems to be tough on schools. The world is changing in front of us, and many of the demands that come from politicians with no teaching experience, are counterintuitive to where we need to lead our students.   Our students are being asked to be creative, but too often, “accountability” is measured of schools through multiple choice exams.  There is a disconnect, and that issue has led many teachers to forget why they are there in the first place.  I believe that the majority of teachers get into the profession to make a difference, but they are pushed to get a grade out of their students at all costs. They haven’t forgotten their “why”; it has been continuously pushed out of them by external factors.

So I can understand why during professional learning, many teachers rush there to get early, to sit as far away as possible from the learning, or ask questions not to move forward, but to hold on to what they have always done.  I understand, but it is still frustrating to see.  I hope to not only get people to feel some discomfort but to inspire them to new learning and help relight that fire if that is needed.

Educators will always have constraints placed on them, which is why I have continuously encouraged to people to innovate inside the box. We need to make things happen within those constraints. Long-term though, we need more than educators advocating for better opportunities for our students; we need our communities more than ever.

There is this notion that parents want the same type of education for their children that they had.  I believe this to be untrue.  Parents want what is best for their children, and if they know nothing different than their own experience, then they default to believing what they had is what their children should have.  How do we create a different and informed perspective?

One of the things that I think could have a significant impact on professional learning days is inviting parents. This is not only for accountability as educators to how we use this time but also how parents view education and advocate for meaningful changes to the people that listen to them. Below are four reasons I believe more schools and districts should make parent participation in professional learning a norm, rather than an exception.

1. They become advocates for new types of learning in the classroom.

   As stated earlier, parents want what is best for their children, but if they never experienced anything different, why would they advocate for something they don’t know.  Create the experience on those days that parents say, “This is so much better than anything we had as kids.”  If you can do that, they will become your most prominent advocates for meaningful change to the people that need to hear it most.  I am not only talking about politicians, but also other parents in your community.  Empower those voices in your community.

2. Accountability to implementation and delivery of learning is increased.

   A student participating in a professional learning day once said to me of their teachers, “If teachers are doing this on these days that we are not here, why are they not getting any better?”

   I will never forget that moment, and it haunts me.  If no one outside of the school knows what happens on those days, do they genuinely get implemented? Having stakeholders present in the room creates a much more in-depth accountability, and would probably create a greater sense of urgency to get things moving forward.

   I want you to think about the negative arguments (not criticisms challenging ideas, but the naysayer that fights you on everything) that you have had on your professional learning days from other teachers.  Would they have the same tone if stakeholders were in the room?

   Having those we serve in the room when we are learning could create a more significant sense of urgency to move forward, and not merely hold on to what we have always done for the sake of just doing it.

3. Their feedback would be beneficial for both the community and students.

   Maybe your professional learning is boring. Perhaps you are on the wrong track.  Having parent stakeholders in the room is not an opportunity only for them to learn from you, but you to learn from them.  This leads to the last point.

4. Your professional learning would get better.

   Honestly, I have seen some professional learning days that were terrible in my experience as an educator, as they seemed to be whipped together in the last minute because the day on the calendar said that was your day to bring the staff together.  With time being the most valuable currency in the world, how we spend it on those days is crucial.  We ask teachers to do things differently in the classroom, while professional learning often looks the same.  If more of our stakeholders would be involved, would we not care more about how we not only participated but the type of experiences that were delivered in the first place?

 

Parents should not be the only ones invited to professional learning days. When it is age appropriate, we should ask students to be a part of those days to hear their voice as well.  We often talk for them, but not to them.  That post will be for another day (or I encourage you reading this to write the student equivalent).

But too often, new things happening in schools come to parents as a surprise, and they see the product but aren’t part of the process. When we look at inviting parents as an opportunity for both the parent and the school, it becomes a powerful way to create meaningful change together, instead of fighting it along the way.

• February 11, 2017 The Students are Paying Attention
• May 27, 2013 Experience Matters
• August 30, 2016 Spoon-Fed Learning
• April 9, 2015 8 Things to Look for in Today’s Professional Learning (Part 2)
• April 6, 2015 8 Things to Look for in Today’s Professional Learning (Part 1)

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Easy Pizza Pockets

Easy Pizza Pockets come together in a snap and are totally delicious. Fill them up with your favorite pizza toppings for the perfect game day snack!

This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s® Yeast as part of the Bake It Yourself Blogger Program. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make My Baking Addiction possible.

I’m going to be honest with you here, I have no interest in football. Like zero.

(more…)

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Main & Twentieth by Landa Global in Vancouver

Main & Twentieth is a collection of 42 boutique one bedroom, two bedroom, and loft homes with stylish interiors, open layouts, generous outdoor spaces, and a beautiful, lush central courtyard. Located at the corner of Main St & E 20th Ave, Main & Twentieth is surrounded by all the eclectic shops, restaurants, schools, transit and diverse community resources that Main Street has to offer.

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Teaching Principal Revisited

I have been a fulltime principal for about ten years. A few years back, I took on teaching the sixth grade social studies class at the same time. I wrote a mighty fine blog about it: http://principalspov.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-benefits-to-being-teaching.html. I was a social studies teacher before becoming a principal. During my first few years in the classroom, I taught sixth grade. It was a good experience, but proved to be too difficult to try again.

Since December 4, I have taken on a 75-minute math class. You see, our 4th/5th grade math/science teacher is out on maternity leave, and the longterm sub I hired decided this was not the work for him. I have been unable to find someone to take the rest of the leave. So, we have been cobbling together the instruction for these kids.

Our interventionist is planning and sometimes teaching the science for both 4th and 5th grades. She works with whatever daily sub we find to make sure the students are still getting some science. One of the special educators had been co-teaching 4th grade math and has taken over the full teaching of that class. That left only 5th grade math. The interventionist wasn’t available as she was busy teaching 7th grade at that time. The special educator had to deliver other services during that slot. That left us no other option but me.

I am loving it. I am learning tons and getting to know this group like no other in the building. I have earned some capital with the elementary teachers as I try to learn how to use Eureka Math (nee EngageNY). Had attended the training in August 2016 and had exposure going back a year or two before that. I thought I understood the program on a superficial level. Well, now that I have taught it for eight weeks, I can say that Eureka is not a script that any untrained person can follow. We need real teachers who understand math and math pedagogy to make sense of the program. We need real teachers who can assess where the kids are. We need real teachers to make real educational decisions.

I’m not sure I fit that description, but with some help and lots of trial and error, I am making it work. That said, I can’t wait for the teacher to return from her leave, and I’ll miss this class at the same time.

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Park Hill in Langley

PARK HILL is a new community coming soon to Langley’s Willoughby neighbourhood, located off 68th Ave and 201 St, in a peaceful residential neighbourhood giving you room to breathe. This boutique collection of 2 & 3 bedroom townhomes and contemporary 1, 2 & 3 bedroom condos is located in a quiet residential area nestled against 1,200 acres of lush parkland and community trails. Park Hill has two phases of development. Phase I is over 80% sold and moving quickly. Register now to have our team contact you with details about our remaining inventory, and for priority access to Phase II.

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Motivating staff in the winter doldrums! #FabFridays for 2018!

We’re all feeling the blahness here in Texas…multiple weeks of cold weather…we just can’t handle it! Spring break is HOW  many weeks away?? HOW many assessments do we have coming up? We like to joke that October and February are like the armpits of the school year. Not a lot to look forward to, but […]

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Leading in schools does not start, or end, in a formal leadership position

A significant number of educators aspire to move into formal educational leadership positions, or to move up another rung on the leadership ladder. Moving into an educational leadership position can be extremely competitive in some schools and districts, to the point where we may not be able to get the leadership positions that we aspire to. In order to secure particular positions, or to rise above the competition, being able to demonstrate leadership experience and articulate the impact of leadership matters. But what if you are not yet in a position of formal leadership to be able to speak with any authority on the topic?

While having been in a formal leadership role is an advantage, it is not necessarily going to land you the position. So, aspiring leaders should not be discouraged because of this lack of formal experience. It is essential, more than anything else, that aspiring leaders have shown initiative to lead, develop their skills and grow professionally, whatever level they may be at.

There are many different ways that aspiring and existing leaders can enhance their credentials in preparation for taking that next step. Unfortunately, some educators are not willing to do some of this less formal, unpaid and less recognised work in order to get there.

If we are to consider that leadership only matters in a formal, recognised and paid leadership position, then we have got the wrong view of what leadership is about. The first thing that any educator should be able to talk about in terms of leadership is how all teachers are leaders and the way we demonstrate this in our everyday interaction with students, colleagues and parents. Beyond that, it is down to other ways that we may show leadership, in particular, how we work with and lead adults:

The following are some ways to develop leadership without being in formal, recognised and paid leadership positions:

Leading a school or community event. Being involved on the organising committee for a school event enables us to gain valuable experience in working with different stakeholders within and beyond the school community. Our communication, inter-personal and organisational skills are all put to good use here.

Coaching a sports teams, or leading a club / activity. Extra-curricular activities are wonderful ways for us to be involved in the life of the school, yet clubs and activities pose challenges that help us develop leadership skills. When coaching a sports team, the role of the coach in working with parents and their level of commitment and expectation is a great way to develop all important leadership skills. For example, how did the coach manage the difficult parent who was expecting too much from their child? Clubs and activities also involve attending competitions and tournaments, which require activity leaders to be part in the running and coordination of an event, a weekend away, or a two-week tour. Think about the leadership skills needed to successfully take the the debating team away to State finals – addressing safety concerns, communication with parents and students, organisation of payment, transport, accommodation, and that is before you even get to the event.

Contributing to teacher skill share sessions, or teacher mentoring schemes. The opportunity to share your expertise but, more importantly, use that expertise to help other teacher grow is highly valuable. Through these opportunities we develop our ability to apply explicit instruction to leading adults and also supporting them to overcome challenges and frustrations. Through mentoring we gain a valuable window into seeing some of the challenges our colleagues face, how they view things and the different types of people we work with. A great mentoring, or coaching, challenge is to work alongside a colleague that is different from yourself. We have to lead others in our schools who may not think, act, or agree with us.

Developing a new course / program of study. Some of the best leaders are great at finding holes that need to be filled. A great way to start on a journey into curriculum leadership is to volunteer to be part of a team that establishes a new course for students. The conversations in that development team are packed with lessons in collaboration that are applied to leadership. Just trying to agree on the format, structure and content of a course can be a challenge in itself.

Two things that all of the above less formal, less recognised, (in terms of pay and formal authority) leadership positions have in common are that we must take the initiative to use them as a means to growing personally and professionally, while also understanding that leadership starts with serving others without expecting to be immediately, or ever, being recognised for our contribution.

If your motivation to be a leader is for the recognition it brings to you for your expertise, whatever that may be, then I’m afraid you may end up being disappointed.

Originally posted on the Ed Leader blog

Connect with me @richard_bruford

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What’s Your Priority? Passion or Proficiency

Passion and proficiency. Both are important. But what's your priority? What comes first? Some teachers know their content, have great strategies, and work hard every day. And yet they aren't getting the results they hope for. 

In Future Driven, I wrote about the importance of rekindling passion in an accountability era where proficiency has been prioritized to the detriment of everything else.

"More than proficiency, we need passion. We need people who are passionate about life, solving problems, helping others, and doing amazing work. Passionate people aren't just concerned what's in it for them. They don't want someone to take care of them, to create a job for them, or make it easy for them. They want to make a difference in the world. They want their life to count.

Proficiency is about cheap labor, following the rules, being an interchangeable part. It's following the map, taking orders, playing it safe. In school, it's being ready for the next grade level or for college. These aren't bad things. But it's not what allows us to use all of our gifts." 

If we are going to crush apathy in our schools and create learning that's irresistible, it won't happen by doubling down our efforts to reach proficiency. We have to start by developing environments where students can rekindle what it means to be a passionate learner.

After all, they came to us this way, right? When kids entered school for the first time, they were filled with curiosity, creativity, and hope. They came to us with these qualities so shouldn't they leave us with them also?

So what can you do to create that passionate learning culture in your classroom?

1. Model passionate learning yourself. Be curious yourself. Learn rights alongside your students. Your energy, enthusiasm, and excitement towards learning will make a huge difference for your students.

2. Focus more on developing interesting questions, engaging in deeper and better thinking, and making meaning with your students. Some things are more valuable than getting right answers. Intellectual curiosity is exciting if it isn't crushed by fear of getting the wrong answer. Let's start with questions.

3. Connect learning to making a difference. Give students ways to learn that will impact their family, their community, a global society. Help students make a difference now. We aren't just preparing leaders for the future. Kids need opportunities to lead and make a difference now.

4. Connect learning to creativity. Passionate learning involves creating something new, not just regurgitating established information. Creativity allow us to connect who we are to what we are learning. We are creative beings. We need opportunities to create.

5. Connect learning to emotion. Developing our cognitive abilities needs to go hand in hand with developing our emotional abilities. Let's work on developing conditions where learning connects to the heart and not just to the mind. I'm not sure where it originated but I love this quote, "Information without emotion is rarely retained."

Hugh Macleod (@hughcards) shared this bit on his Twitter feed. It captures so much truth in such a simple visual. The world is rapidly changing. The type of work and the value of different kinds of work is also rapidly changing.

Proficiency won't help you compete with robots or zombies. They know their stuff. They have the market cornered on proficiency. But they can't go deeper. They're soulless. If you want to be great, you have to be an artist. Not necessarily an artist who paints, or sculpts, or writes poetry. But you have to offer more from your humanity than a zombie is willing to give or a robot is able to give.

So here's the challenge. If your students are mostly doing robot work or zombie work in school, how are they going to be ready to do art work in a world that demands it? 

As our world becomes increasingly automated and technological, our students are going to gain the greatest advantage not just by their proficiency, but by their ability to leverage emotional labor to produce great work. 

Need more evidence this is true? Google found that technological know-how ranked last in the list of qualities of employees that were most valuable to their company. Proficiency came in dead last.

Is proficiency still important? Absolutely. But if we keep pursuing proficiency to the exclusion of what's most important, we are doing our children a terrible disservice. 

What are your thoughts on passion vs. proficiency? If we generated more passionate learning, would proficiency take care of itself? I want to hear from you. Leave a comment below or respond on or .

        

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Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Well, since After You had me bawling at the end, I had to wait months before I found out just what adventures awaited Louisa Clark in New York City.  Yes, this is the third book with Louisa Clark, who became a very well known character when Me Before You became that novel you had to read, even knowing it would completely wreck you. Well, the follow up, After You, wrecked me, too.  I felt hopeful reading Louisa's adventures in New York City, and expected they would end happily. 

I'm not going to tell you if that is what happens, because that would just spoil the whole book for you.  What I will tell you is that Louisa is still on her journey to discovering just who she is, and just what makes her happy.  She's decided to accept a job, working as the assistant to a very rich woman-Agnes Gopnik- leaving Ambulance Sam, who helped her grieving heart heal.  A very new relationship, it will need to stand the test of long distance.  Anyone who's had a long distance relationship knows just how damn hard, if not impossible, they can be.  As Louisa is thrown into her job and a world of wealthy New Yorkers, she struggles to adjust to a new life and still hang onto Sam, who is a bit bewildered without Louisa.  And then there's Josh, an American who looks heart-stoppingly like Will.  And he's got an obvious interest in Louisa.  

Still Me is a fitting conclusion to Louisa's journey of heartache, love, and just plain growing up.  There's no age where we're suddenly grown up.  For Louisa, well, it appears that she still has a lot of decisions to make, and some of them will break her heart. Again. 

Jojo Moyes portrays New York City is all its vibrant, messy, busy energy. The tension in the Gopnik apartment was palpable, and while that was a large part of the plot, I preferred the last half of the novel, where Louisa's life is really shaken, and she gets to know the elderly neighbor, Mrs. De Witt, much better.  Their relationship was a gem, and one of the best parts of the novel.  

So while I won't give much of the plot away, I will say this:  Louisa comes full circle, and it's been a journey.  At times you want to shake her; other times, you  get just what she's thinking.  Will she get her happy ending?  Where will she end up? Read Still Me and find out.  At a time where women are standing up, pushing themselves forward, and demanding to live life on their terms, this novel seems very timely.  Louisa is learning to do just that, even if it means she may have to say goodbye to her chance at everlasting love. 

Ah, I always love reading Jojo Moyes' novels.  Overall, I was happy to have a conclusion to Louisa Clark's journey.  If you've read Me Before You, and After You, well, geez, of course you have to read Still Me! Please, read the other two first. It will give you a full understanding of Louisa, and how far she's come. 

A big thank you to Pamela Dorman Books/Viking for a review copy.  I don't think I could have waited any longer for this!  

Available January 30th in the U.S. in hardcover, large print paperback, ebook, and audio. 

Rating:  4/6 for a satisfying conclusion to Louisa Clark and her journey of grief, love, and starting over.  And dang it, this one made me cry, too.  

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Avoid Binary Thinking. Go To The Grey.

Much of what we do in education falls into grey areas. Yet, many of the conversations we have regarding education seem to use black and white statements and fall into the category of binary, or dichotomous, thinking. Binary thinking leads… Continue Reading →

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Making Choices for Our Children

When I was 15 or 16 years old, my mom talked to me about moving from the small town that we lived in at the time (Humboldt, Saskatchewan) to a larger city (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), as my parents were looking at some business opportunities.  Being the stubborn teenager I was at the time and being fully embedded into my separate sports teams and having a good circle of friends, I adamantly refused to move and threatened to live on my own if they wanted to leave.  Moving to the city would be the worst thing they could have ever done to me at the time of my life, or so I thought in my mind.

I often think back to that conversation and how I convinced my parents to not move to Saskatoon.  As someone who was really into sports, would more exposure in better programs have created an opportunity for me to play basketball at the post-secondary level?  Would I have met new friends and formed a larger circle, while keeping my close friends that I still have today?  Everything happens for a reason, but every decision made, or not made, has an outcome.

The reason I am bringing this up is that in a recent workshop, I talked about how I am very thoughtful of what I share of my daughter online and that we do not want to embarrass her in the future.  But at some point, I want to talk with her when she has a better understanding of social media and talk about what pictures she is comfortable with being shared, and which ones she is not.  We are posting pictures of her online to not only share with family who are not able to see my daughter on a regular basis, but to also help start her off with a positive digital footprint.  I was challenged that as she grows older, will the pictures I deem now to be appropriate for sharing, become ones she later resents?  Is it fair that she is having pictures of her posted right now without her consent?  In a world where getting googled is now becoming the norm, we want her to take advantage of that, not lose opportunities.  It is complicated, but as a dad, I am doing the best I can with what I know.

As I thought about this, it dawned on me how sharing images on social media is a newish phenomenon, but parents have been making decisions for their children without their input for years.  I don’t remember my parents talking to me about which elementary school I would see as the best fit for my future goals when I was making those decisions at five years old.

Parenting is complicated.  We make choices for our children, not because we want to punish them, but we want to put them in the best situation moving forward. My daughter hates eating, but then we let her watch Peppa Pig, and then she started eating.  We are cognizant of how addicted she is to this show, so do we decide to let her watch it so she will eat, or disallow it while she doesn’t eat?

I often wish my mom would have forced me to stick with piano lessons or send me to Greek school to learn the language.  I fought back, and some decisions my parents held to, and some they had more flexibility.  But all of the decisions were made with the knowledge they had and with the best interest of my present and future.

My belief as a parent and an educator is to focus more on what children can do, as opposed what they can’t. I will do my best to emulate this quote:

• June 20, 2017 The Worst Approach to Teaching Students About Social Media
• December 8, 2011 Another Man’s Treasure
• April 10, 2010 Finding a Path to Passion
• December 8, 2017 Learning Everywhere, Anywhere, and From Anyone
• March 6, 2015 More Than Just a “Phone”

Source: George Couros

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10 Steps to Slowing Down the Gossip Train

Nothing cuts through the core of our heart and soul more than unkind chatter at work among colleagues that is meant to be hurtful. Often times, personal details about an individual are shared with others with the intention of causing personal harm and damage to one’s reputation.  These comments, regardless of whether they are false, true, or somewhere in between scattered with uninformed half-truths, are toxic to schools, businesses, & organizations alike. My interactions with others over time have convinced me that gossip is one of the biggest culture killers we are facing today in the work environment.  And until we begin to address the gossip in our work places, we will never reach the standard of excellence most organizations aspire to achieve, or in many cases, expect and even advertise.

I decided to share my thoughts on this topic because of a number of educators who have reached out to me privately over the last few months who are at a loss of what to do. When they described the level of toxicity in their organization and shared specific examples of the things that had been shared, I couldn’t help but think that the amount of gossiping that exists in our schools & organizations has reached epidemic proportions. The individuals who contacted me were genuinely hurting, struggling on what to do & how to respond, and in some cases, contemplating leaving their schools in hopes of finding a healthier culture. This is discouraging on so many levels because quite frankly, we cannot afford to be losing dedicated and caring school employees to such bullish behavior. Our teachers and support staff cannot be at their best if they are having to worry about constant negative behavior or worse yet, risking finding themselves at the mercy of hurtful gossip. In these specific cases, none of these teachers and principals had been on the receiving end (that they were aware of anyway), but rather had grown tired and weary of others who were gossiping about their colleagues and feeling and seeing the negative impact on their teammates and buildings. I did my best to support them and give them some suggestions on how to deal with those in their organizations who seem to thrive on hurting others through their unkind words.

So, how can we begin to do our part to stop this epidemic?  Here are a few suggestions on how to address the gossipers.

1. Take time to listen to what they have to say. Warning. Staying silent could send the wrong message and give this person the impression that you agree with their comments. So make sure to…
2. follow up with a question(s). You will want to make sure that you did not misunderstand what was shared while at the same time being clear that you are not taking sides. Ex: “Are you saying that…? Then…
3. express your gratitude for their trust. It’s okay to respond to those who gossip to you directly that you appreciate the fact they felt comfortable enough to share such comments with you. However, in order to not come across as party to the gossip, be sure to…
4. defend the victim. Respond to the gossiper by telling them that this has not been your personal experience with this individual(s). And even if it has been your experience it is not your place to judge. At this point, I suggest you…
5. follow up and challenge them in a caring and respectful way. Ask if they have had an opportunity to communicate this to the person(s) they are gossiping about. If not (which is usually the case), remind them that we are all vulnerable to others sharing things about us that are hurtful and verbalizing that…
6. we all should be given the opportunity to respond before comments are shared about us. Advocate for the victim by pointing out to the gossiper that most people if given the opportunity, would want to know what they could do to alleviate any concerns by either stopping the behavior that resulted in the chatter, admitting wrongdoing, or clarifying a potential misunderstanding. Afterwards, …
7. ensure them that what they shared will stay with you & that they need not worry that you would share this with others, especially the intended target(s). Express to them that you have no intentions of violating their trust & that what they shared will stay with you in confidence.  In a direct way…
8. encourage them again to go talk to the individual(s) they are talking to you about because you have no desire to listen their comments again until they have shared their thoughts openly with the person they were talking about. As you walk away…
9. give them permission to come talk to you again to share what they learned from the other person after they have spoken to them. And finally…
10. maintain your integrity & never repeat to others what was shared with you.

There is no perfect formula that will guarantee that we can eliminate gossip from the work environment forever. However, I do believe that we can reduce its toxic impact if we begin to treat the host(s) in a way that reminds them that we are all prone to this disease, and rather than join in, we should join together. By following the steps above, we improve our chances of the gossipers not returning to share their hurtful words with us, thereby reducing the pool of people who are willing to take part in this toxic practice. Ultimately, we are all responsible for minimizing the number of gossipers in our organizations and the only way to do so, is to take personal responsibility for combatting them with integrity so that they walk away having had someone model to them how to manage themselves in a more caring, positive, and productive way.  Remember, when we gossip, it actually says more about us than the people we are gossiping about.

Rather than jump on the gossip train, pause and ask yourself, “I wonder what they are saying about me to others when they walk away?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Making Choices for Our Children

When I was 15 or 16 years old, my mom talked to me about moving from the small town that we lived in at the time (Humboldt, Saskatchewan) to a larger city (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), as my parents were looking at some business opportunities.  Being the stubborn teenager I was at the time and being fully embedded into my separate sports teams and having a good circle of friends, I adamantly refused to move and threatened to live on my own if they wanted to leave.  Moving to the city would be the worst thing they could have ever done to me at the time of my life, or so I thought in my mind.

I often think back to that conversation and how I convinced my parents to not move to Saskatoon.  As someone who was really into sports, would more exposure in better programs have created an opportunity for me to play basketball at the post-secondary level?  Would I have met new friends and formed a larger circle, while keeping my close friends that I still have today?  Everything happens for a reason, but every decision made, or not made, has an outcome.

The reason I am bringing this up is that in a recent workshop, I talked about how I am very thoughtful of what I share of my daughter online and that we do not want to embarrass her in the future.  But at some point, I want to talk with her when she has a better understanding of social media and talk about what pictures she is comfortable with being shared, and which ones she is not.  We are posting pictures of her online to not only share with family who are not able to see my daughter on a regular basis, but to also help start her off with a positive digital footprint.  I was challenged that as she grows older, will the pictures I deem now to be appropriate for sharing, become ones she later resents?  Is it fair that she is having pictures of her posted right now without her consent?  In a world where getting googled is now becoming the norm, we want her to take advantage of that, not lose opportunities.  It is complicated, but as a dad, I am doing the best I can with what I know.

As I thought about this, it dawned on me how sharing images on social media is a newish phenomenon, but parents have been making decisions for their children without their input for years.  I don’t remember my parents talking to me about which elementary school I would see as the best fit for my future goals when I was making those decisions at five years old.

Parenting is complicated.  We make choices for our children, not because we want to punish them, but we want to put them in the best situation moving forward. My daughter hates eating, but then we let her watch Peppa Pig, and then she started eating.  We are cognizant of how addicted she is to this show, so do we decide to let her watch it so she will eat, or disallow it while she doesn’t eat?

I often wish my mom would have forced me to stick with piano lessons or send me to Greek school to learn the language.  I fought back, and some decisions my parents held to, and some they had more flexibility.  But all of the decisions were made with the knowledge they had and with the best interest of my present and future.

My belief as a parent and an educator is to focus more on what children can do, as opposed what they can’t. I will do my best to emulate this quote:

• June 20, 2017 The Worst Approach to Teaching Students About Social Media
• December 8, 2011 Another Man’s Treasure
• April 10, 2010 Finding a Path to Passion
• December 8, 2017 Learning Everywhere, Anywhere, and From Anyone
• March 6, 2015 More Than Just a “Phone”

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Twitter Is Like Going to the Grocery Store

A few months ago, I took a group of teachers to visit the Ron Clark Academy (RCA) in Atlanta. It was an amazing experience to see the school up close and learn along with educators from all across the country.

During the opening, Ron Clark shared that visiting the school is kind of like going to the grocery store. When you go, you don't take home everything that is on the shelves. You pick out the things you need, the things you like, or the things you want. But you have lots of options.

Everyone is not going to fill their shopping cart with the same items at the grocery store. Likewise, not everything that happens at RCA will work for every teacher, every classroom, or every school.

However, there are some amazing selections for you to consider. And if you are passionate, creative, and inspired, you will see all sorts of ways you can bring pieces of RCA to your work. 

And if you've lost a little of your passion, creativity, or inspiration, you might just rekindle that too!

I think the same can be said for building a Personal Learning Network (PLN) and connecting on Twitter. Not every idea you encounter on Twitter will go in your shopping cart. 

Some things might not work for you right now. You'll pass over those. 

Some things might seem too big to fit in your cart right now. You can consider those again in the future.

You might only go shopping once a week at first. Later, you may want to stop in daily to see what's new.

That's what's great about it. It's completely up to you. And customized for you. With a little skill, you can get out of it what you need, whenever you need it.

Twitter is actually more like Amazon than your neighborhood grocery. Part of Amazon's mission is to be a place where "people can find and discover anything they might want to buy online." 

Twitter is like that for educators. You can connect with people who are like-minded and get ideas and support for just about anything you want to accomplish as an educator.

And you can do it just about any time and any place that works for you.

It's a total game-changer. 

Jeff Nelson adapted the following list from my satirical post about Twitter PD. I admit I had fun with the satire, but he put a positive spin on it. There are just so many reasons for educators to use this tool. It's such a great way to grow and learn.



Who else thinks Twitter is a game-changer? How has it impacted your work as an educator? I want to hear from you. Leave a comment below or respond on or .

        

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