“A Blessed Unrest”

In my opinion, Bruno Mars was one of the most memorable Super Bowl half time shows I have ever seen. I have seen him in concert, and he is an amazing entertainer. When I recently saw this video being shared on Facebook, I had to share it myself.

A couple of things that stuck out to me.

First of all, not only remembering where you come from, but also celebrating it. Listening to Bruno Mars talk about his humble upbringing was quite powerful, especially in how he talked about how important it was that they (his family) had “each other”. It really was a powerful statement.

The second part that stuck out to me was his drive. As someone who is extremely talented, he knows that this talent is developed, and that he can still grow. This insatiable drive to become better is something that I have noticed the most successful people have. Success is measured in many different ways, but the qualities to become successful in any endeavour, are very similar.

This poem (Blessed Unrest) was shared with me recently, and this part stuck out to me:

To become better, we have to have an insatiable drive to so, and the work ethic to match.

 

• November 21, 2016 The Mantra of An Innovative Educator (Video)
• March 22, 2015 Innovation has no age barrier.
• August 14, 2015 Closing Our Eyes in the Pursuit of Innovation
• June 2, 2016 Embracing Meaningful Change at All Levels
• September 8, 2016 The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting Soon! #IMMOOC

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PMP:045 Shawn Sheehan “Teach Like Me” (Lessons in Risk, Failure and Wow)

In this episode, I sit down with Shawn Sheehan and talk about the lessons from his life, teaching, and advocacy for education. Shawn is the 2016 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for National Teacher of the Year. He is an Algebra I teacher from Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma. He […]

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Last minute gifts that an admin can give…freely! #taketwo

It’s that time of year. Where everyone has their eyes on the holiday break. Where you may tempted to hit snooze just one more time. When maybe what you can gift a class of 30 or a staff of 60 just can’t seem to be found in a store. I have some suggestions that won’t [...]

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Never Hold a Learner Back Based on What You Don’t Know

Going through university to become a teacher, my goal was to become a kindergarten teacher.  This was what I trained for and it is what I wanted to do.  Before I was even done university, I had an interview for a kindergarten opening at a school division near to where I lived, and I was ecstatic.  The interview was going great, and I felt I had the job, only to find out later that they decided to go with someone else.  Disappointed, but wanting to grow from the experience, I called them to ask for feedback, and was informed that they actually were planning to call me that day to offer me a job.  High school technology teacher.

What?

In university, I put together a website, that went on my resume, and at the time, it made me seem like a computer expert. Honestly, I had no idea how to use technology, nor did I think it was useful.  When I called my mentor teacher to ask her advice, she told me, “A job is a job. Take it, be awesome, and you will be able to teach something else later. Just get in the system.”  Nervously I accepted, and years later, I am glad I did.

Since this course for technology with students was module based, I actually could work along students (I would try to be a little bit ahead), and they could learn from me, and I could learn from them. Sometimes I would get stuck and just say, “Does anyone know how to do this part of the program?”  Some students would know, but sometimes no one would have a clue in the room, so we would all furiously try to figure it out.  Often when a student sees that the teacher doesn’t know something, they go out of their way to find the information, and share it back.  We didn’t have to learn technology, we had to learn to learn.

Because of this experience, I have never felt uncomfortable saying things like, “I don’t know”, or “Can you help me figure this out?” Whether I am the teacher, or the student.  One of my favourite quotes attributed to Albert Einstein is the following:

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”

There is no shame in not knowing something.  There is so much to know.  Yet as teachers, we need to know how to figure things out.  What a lot of people will challenge here is that I am saying that content is not important.  I am not saying that at all. It is just understanding that even the “experts” do not know everything, but to become an expert, you have to have an insatiable curiosity to grow, develop, and learn.

Yet I have seen in education that we often hold back our students based on what we don’t know.  For example, are teachers less likely to encourage students to create a video to share their learning, if the teacher doesn’t know how to make a video?  When we say to students, “I have no idea how to do this, but I am sure that many of you can figure it out”, that goes beyond engagement; it is empowerment.  When I work with educators and I am brought into a room and they show me things that I have never seen or learned, I know that there is a different level of excitement in the room because they know that their knowledge is valuable to me, not only the other way around.

Never hold a learner back based on what you don’t know.  Develop that same insatiable curiosity, wonder, and drive to learn, that we should embody as educators.

• August 30, 2015 Staying the Same is Ultimately Falling Behind
• June 23, 2016 New Beginnings, New Opportunities
• October 18, 2012 Let’s Figure This Out
• July 3, 2015 Do the best leaders really just leave people alone?
• June 2, 2012 Insanity

Source: George Couros

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Never Hold a Learner Back Based on What You Don’t Know

Going through university to become a teacher, my goal was to become a kindergarten teacher.  This was what I trained for and it is what I wanted to do.  Before I was even done university, I had an interview for a kindergarten opening at a school division near to where I lived, and I was ecstatic.  The interview was going great, and I felt I had the job, only to find out later that they decided to go with someone else.  Disappointed, but wanting to grow from the experience, I called them to ask for feedback, and was informed that they actually were planning to call me that day to offer me a job.  High school technology teacher.

What?

In university, I put together a website, that went on my resume, and at the time, it made me seem like a computer expert. Honestly, I had no idea how to use technology, nor did I think it was useful.  When I called my mentor teacher to ask her advice, she told me, “A job is a job. Take it, be awesome, and you will be able to teach something else later. Just get in the system.”  Nervously I accepted, and years later, I am glad I did.

Since this course for technology with students was module based, I actually could work along students (I would try to be a little bit ahead), and they could learn from me, and I could learn from them. Sometimes I would get stuck and just say, “Does anyone know how to do this part of the program?”  Some students would know, but sometimes no one would have a clue in the room, so we would all furiously try to figure it out.  Often when a student sees that the teacher doesn’t know something, they go out of their way to find the information, and share it back.  We didn’t have to learn technology, we had to learn to learn.

Because of this experience, I have never felt uncomfortable saying things like, “I don’t know”, or “Can you help me figure this out?” Whether I am the teacher, or the student.  One of my favourite quotes attributed to Albert Einstein is the following:

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”

There is no shame in not knowing something.  There is so much to know.  Yet as teachers, we need to know how to figure things out.  What a lot of people will challenge here is that I am saying that content is not important.  I am not saying that at all. It is just understanding that even the “experts” do not know everything, but to become an expert, you have to have an insatiable curiosity to grow, develop, and learn.

Yet I have seen in education that we often hold back our students based on what we don’t know.  For example, are teachers less likely to encourage students to create a video to share their learning, if the teacher doesn’t know how to make a video?  When we say to students, “I have no idea how to do this, but I am sure that many of you can figure it out”, that goes beyond engagement; it is empowerment.  When I work with educators and I am brought into a room and they show me things that I have never seen or learned, I know that there is a different level of excitement in the room because they know that their knowledge is valuable to me, not only the other way around.

Never hold a learner back based on what you don’t know.  Develop that same insatiable curiosity, wonder, and drive to learn, that we should embody as educators.

• August 30, 2015 Staying the Same is Ultimately Falling Behind
• June 23, 2016 New Beginnings, New Opportunities
• October 18, 2012 Let’s Figure This Out
• July 3, 2015 Do the best leaders really just leave people alone?
• June 2, 2012 Insanity

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The battle to find time in schools – we need to consider teacher efficacy

Teacher and school leader workload issues very much stem from the fact that there is not enough time to do the job properly. Some time back I commented on two ways that leaders can support teachers with workload issues, as to a large extent school leaders must take the initiative and lead in providing teachers with the support and guidance needed to tackle the many demands placed upon them.

Leaders, however, should not solely focus on what tasks they can take away from teachers and focus their priorities in the direction that it is most needed, leaders have a huge responsibility to also work with teachers to make them more efficient at what they do.

It is not advocated that when workload issues arise in schools, we first start with a conversation about teacher efficacy, as that would be like waving a red rag to a bull. That said, if we are serious about improving schools, then we do have to look at our own efficacy both as leaders and as teachers.

We should be asking the following questions:

• Is there a quicker way to do this in order to get the same desired result?
• Is what I am doing actually effective given the time I am spending on the task?
• What technologies can we harness to improve workflow and help us accomplish a task with less effort?
• Do we make the most our of the collaborative planning time made available to us?
• Is my classroom time utilized effectively, so that students get a better learning experience during their contact ours with me?
• Is there a reason for us to still do this task in this particular way, or do we still need to do this task at all?

Discussions about personal efficacy, whether it be as a teacher, or as a school leader, need to be approached with an open-mind and with a willingness to be self-critical along with a desire to be better at what we do.

School leaders need to be aware that if everyone in a school had this approach to personal efficacy, then we would be making further strides of improvement than we are currently. The topic of efficiency and efficacy, therefore, requires leaders courageous enough to bring up this discussion to those who are less inclined to discuss their own work, preferring to keep the agenda focused on what others can take away rather than be inconvenienced by the suggestion of changing personal work habits.

This conversation needs to be put on the table in all of our schools but must take place with a high degree of empathy on the part of the leader initiating the discussion. Not everyone has the ability to learn new technologies at the same pace, some of us are better at collaborating than others and some of us are more insecure in our role as a teacher than many of our colleagues. Subsequently, working to improve teacher and leader efficacy needs a differentiated approach rather than one size fitting all. That is what we ask of teachers in classrooms working with students, so we must do the same when working with teachers.

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People are Beautiful

       So I have spent the last six weeks or so traveling around the world interviewing at amazing schools, trying hard to find that perfect long term fit for my family and career. It’s been an inspiring, exhausting, and exhilarating experience, and probably the best professional development that I’ve had in a very long time. I have touched down in many countries, I have seen many faces, and I have met so many incredible people along the way, and the one enduring take away that has resonated deeply with me throughout it all is that wherever you go in the world…people are beautiful!

       We’re living in an interesting time in our world these days, and it’s very easy to get stuck on all of the negative aspects of life that seem to bombard us at every turn. From terrorist attacks, to natural disasters, to election results, to refugees and war, and to everything in between, it can be hard to focus on all that is amazing and beautiful in our lives and world. It’s also hard to slow down enough, and to look closely enough, to see all that is beautiful in the people that we interact with every day…the little things…like noticing a smile or a random act of kindness or a kind word, and being open and present enough to let something that small inspire our days.

        I feel like I have seen the very best of people over the last several weeks, and I have been inspired and touched by all of the people who went out of their way to help me, to get to know me, to listen to me, and to put me at ease. I’m not just talking about the people in the schools that I visited, although they were all beautiful and inspiring in their own right, but the strangers that I met that had no stake in being kind to me…the strangers I met who helped me with my luggage, and with directions, and with some unsolicited advice and recommendations. The taxi drivers and ticket agents and shop workers and everyone else I met who were just going about their daily lives, but who still managed to smile at me, and talk to me, and to ask about my life…The world is bursting with beauty and beautiful people, and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see this so authentically over the past month and a half all over the world…

        So, with the holidays coming quickly, and the end of the long semester right around the corner, I want to challenge us all to reconnect with the beauty of our world, and the beautiful people that we come in contact with each and every day. Notice the smiles, and the kind words, and look hard to notice what makes each person so special and unique…and be kind and your best selves for others. People are filled with goodness and light so take the time to see what makes them shine…I promise it will make your day and fill your heart with joy. Oh yeah, in case you are wondering, I won the lottery and landed at the American School of Paris! It’s been a long six weeks but some of the best experiences in my life…thank you to everyone that has been beautiful to me along the way…I’ve noticed it. Have a wonderful week everyone and remember to be great for our students and good to each other.

Quote of the Week…

A life lived for others, is the only life worth living – Albert Einstein

 

Beautiful People – Aasha Thakkar

I’m thankful for
the beautiful people
in the world
like you.

Beautiful faces are
those that wear
a friendly smile
that say, “I care.”

Beautiful eyes are
those that show,
the kindness and warmth
that glows below.

Beautiful lips utter
kindly words
that show the soul
like the songs of birds.

Beautiful people
touch and bless;
they inspire hope
and happiness.

You will always be,
beautiful to me. 

Beautiful Videos – Please take the time to watch this week! – 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkSPAHeqd8Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW8BDgLpZkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME9PmSZedB4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZTm-iYUpm4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jAC3FFXUgY

Inspiring Articles/Websites – 

http://ift.tt/2gVnoiL

http://ift.tt/OiN5HW

http://ift.tt/2gVw4We

http://ift.tt/2fZKnEY

http://ift.tt/VPY6Ea

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