The Universe Sent Me a Romance Novel to Read: The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake

I was cataloging new materials at the library last week and this came across my desk. At first I didn't pay any attention to what it was about, but something made me pause and take a second look. Aha! After realizing I didn't have anything romantic at all on my reading list for February, the universe decided to hand me something to read. Thank you, Universe. 

The Hygge Holiday is a novel that will, quite simply, make you want to light candles and cozy up with your favorite blanket and something warm to drink. It's a delightful tale about Clara, a Danish woman traveling around England, who finds herself in the small town of Yulethorpe shortly before Christmas. Yulethorpe was, just a few short years before, a bustling, delightful town full of quaint shops, lovely restaurants, and a steady stream of folks from all around. Yet now the last shop, a toy store, is closing down, and the only remaining pub is a bit bare bones. Yulethorpe has lost it's mojo. Clara befriends Louisa, the owner of Alden's Toys, as she announces she's giving up, closing the shop and flying off to Spain. Clara offers to flat sit for her, and asks if she can keep the shop open, since Christmas is coming soon and folks need to buy gifts. With Louisa's blessing, Clara settles into the flat, and soon has the toy store open, creating amazing window scenes that draw crowds and generate positive buzz in Yulethorpe. 

Joe Alden, Louisa's son, is a high-flyer in London, always working, never taking a day off, and he's frustrated he can't get a hold of his mother. He drives down to Yulethorpe to see what's going on, and he clashes with Clara. Clara herself practices  hygge--which is a Danish concept of slowing down, enjoying life, and making simple changes that keep you happy and content. Yes, it means having candles, making supper, creating a cozy home, taking the time to enjoy the scenery on a walk. Can Clara work her magic on Joe, and get him to put his phone away, slow down and rediscover the simple pleasures of life?

There is a romance between Joe and Clara, but it's pretty minimal and slow paced. The main focus of this novel is really about becoming aware of the simple pleasures in life, and how they can create a sense of contentment and peace in all of us. Simply slowing down, puttering at home, and shutting off the phone can help us destress and enjoy life. It's fun to watch Joe slowly let go of his frantic London life and discover that he really doesn't enjoy his job, his cold apartment, and all those take out meals. The physical toll it is taking on him becomes more and more apparent as he spends more time around Clara. 

This was a sweet, fun read; just what I needed this week. I would definitely read more Rosie Blake novels in the future! I can guarantee you'll want to buy candles and comfy throws after you've turned the last page. If you already practice hygge, congratulations! You've learned the art of de-stressing. 

Rating: 3/6 for a sweet tale of turning off, tuning out, and enjoying the simple joys of life. I would love to read more tales set in Yulethorpe. 

Available in paperback and ebook. 

from Bookalicious Babe Book Reviews http://bit.ly/2DlXldD

Connecting Personalized Professional Learning to a Bigger Purpose

I received this question and image from David Voves today regarding a passage from “The Innovator’s Mindset“:

“Reading today and with personalized pd, I always question what I have in orange. Wondering if you could give me insight?”

“Personalized Learning” for educators is something that is gaining more traction in education, and rightfully so.  If you want someone to be innovative in an area, they are more likely to bring and create powerful ideas in something they are passionate about as opposed to an area in which they don’t care.  When I think about how to effectively empower educators to create personalized professional learning for themselves, I often think of Google’s “20% time”, where employees had 20% of their own time to move forward Google as an organization.

“We encourage our employees, in addition to their regular projects, to spend 20 per cent of their time working on what they think will most benefit Google. This empowers them to be more creative and innovative. Many of our significant advances have happened in this manner.”

A couple of things about the above quote:

1. It is personalized YET ties directly to moving the company forward (“will most benefit Google”).
2. The quote is taken from this article which challenges the ideas that 20% time wasn’t 20% of 100%, but was more of an “overtime” initiative and more like “120% time”.

Why do these two points matter?  Let’s start with the second point first.

If you are passionate as an organization to provide opportunities for personalized professional learning in your organization, you have to create time where it can happen. Right now, we are more at an “overworked” crisis than ever and anything that you see as that will genuinely move your organization forward, you will create time for within the constraints of a regular workday.

I am not saying that educators shouldn’t learn on their own time at any point, as all professionals that excel in their job will find time to do so. What is important is that providing time for personalized professional learning mirrors something that not only will move your organization forward but also create better learning opportunities in classrooms for students to do the same since they will be taught by people who have not only heard about it but have lived and experienced the process. “Innovation” is a process and finding that time within the constraints of your work shows the willingness of administrators to “innovate inside the box” to improve the learning of both organizations and individuals.  I have seen districts create PD days that are focused 100% on giving educators their own time to work on initiatives that they are passionate about and it has had a tremendous impact on their learning. Even things like EdCamps within schools or districts provide an element of personalized professional learning, but what is important is that we not only provide time for conversations but also provide time for action based on those conversations.  It is a challenge, but it can be hugely beneficial.

To the first point, as a reminder:

1. It is personalized YET ties directly to moving the company forward (“will most benefit Google”).

If we want personalized professional learning to effectively move organizations forward, it should be tied to the vision of the organization.  What is important is that there is flexibility in how it is linked to the vision.  For example, I worked in a district that had one vision that was co-created within the community that spread over 100 geographic miles.  Each community had it’s own unique needs and opportunities, and so the purpose of having “one vision” was not to have everyone doing the same but have everyone moving toward a shared vision in a way that made the most sense for their school community.

The easiest way to understand if a staff member’s learning is connected to a broader vision is to ask them. This goes beyond “accountability” since the conversation would be beneficial to all parties involved if they are willing to learn from one another.

Classrooms and individual educators should have some of that same opportunity. When I say “some,” I don’t necessarily believe there shouldn’t be anything that we all do together. But if we want to “empower” our students, we have to help our staff not only see themselves in the more significant purpose of the organization but create opportunities to empower them to bring that purpose to life in a way that brings out their passion and helps them to excel.

Having the autonomy to create a pathway for your learning that ties to a more significant purpose of the organization can be something that benefits at the individual and organizational level.  These conversations are crucial to helping move education forward.

 

• April 4, 2015 Inquiry Based Professional Learning
• March 21, 2013 The Danger of Extremes
• May 16, 2017 5 Great Non-Education Books That Might Change Your Thinking on Teaching and Learning
• December 30, 2017 The Importance of “Sales” in Education
• March 11, 2011 Stories Around the World

Source: George Couros

from Connected Principals http://bit.ly/2SvqDAg

Connecting Personalized Professional Learning to a Bigger Purpose

I received this question and image from David Voves today regarding a passage from “The Innovator’s Mindset“:

“Reading today and with personalized pd, I always question what I have in orange. Wondering if you could give me insight?”

“Personalized Learning” for educators is something that is gaining more traction in education, and rightfully so.  If you want someone to be innovative in an area, they are more likely to bring and create powerful ideas in something they are passionate about as opposed to an area in which they don’t care.  When I think about how to effectively empower educators to create personalized professional learning for themselves, I often think of Google’s “20% time”, where employees had 20% of their own time to move forward Google as an organization.

“We encourage our employees, in addition to their regular projects, to spend 20 per cent of their time working on what they think will most benefit Google. This empowers them to be more creative and innovative. Many of our significant advances have happened in this manner.”

A couple of things about the above quote:

1. It is personalized YET ties directly to moving the company forward (“will most benefit Google”).
2. The quote is taken from this article which challenges the ideas that 20% time wasn’t 20% of 100%, but was more of an “overtime” initiative and more like “120% time”.

Why do these two points matter?  Let’s start with the second point first.

If you are passionate as an organization to provide opportunities for personalized professional learning in your organization, you have to create time where it can happen. Right now, we are more at an “overworked” crisis than ever and anything that you see as that will genuinely move your organization forward, you will create time for within the constraints of a regular workday.

I am not saying that educators shouldn’t learn on their own time at any point, as all professionals that excel in their job will find time to do so. What is important is that providing time for personalized professional learning mirrors something that not only will move your organization forward but also create better learning opportunities in classrooms for students to do the same since they will be taught by people who have not only heard about it but have lived and experienced the process. “Innovation” is a process and finding that time within the constraints of your work shows the willingness of administrators to “innovate inside the box” to improve the learning of both organizations and individuals.  I have seen districts create PD days that are focused 100% on giving educators their own time to work on initiatives that they are passionate about and it has had a tremendous impact on their learning. Even things like EdCamps within schools or districts provide an element of personalized professional learning, but what is important is that we not only provide time for conversations but also provide time for action based on those conversations.  It is a challenge, but it can be hugely beneficial.

To the first point, as a reminder:

1. It is personalized YET ties directly to moving the company forward (“will most benefit Google”).

If we want personalized professional learning to effectively move organizations forward, it should be tied to the vision of the organization.  What is important is that there is flexibility in how it is linked to the vision.  For example, I worked in a district that had one vision that was co-created within the community that spread over 100 geographic miles.  Each community had it’s own unique needs and opportunities, and so the purpose of having “one vision” was not to have everyone doing the same but have everyone moving toward a shared vision in a way that made the most sense for their school community.

The easiest way to understand if a staff member’s learning is connected to a broader vision is to ask them. This goes beyond “accountability” since the conversation would be beneficial to all parties involved if they are willing to learn from one another.

Classrooms and individual educators should have some of that same opportunity. When I say “some,” I don’t necessarily believe there shouldn’t be anything that we all do together. But if we want to “empower” our students, we have to help our staff not only see themselves in the more significant purpose of the organization but create opportunities to empower them to bring that purpose to life in a way that brings out their passion and helps them to excel.

Having the autonomy to create a pathway for your learning that ties to a more significant purpose of the organization can be something that benefits at the individual and organizational level.  These conversations are crucial to helping move education forward.

 

• April 4, 2015 Inquiry Based Professional Learning
• March 21, 2013 The Danger of Extremes
• May 16, 2017 5 Great Non-Education Books That Might Change Your Thinking on Teaching and Learning
• December 30, 2017 The Importance of “Sales” in Education
• March 11, 2011 Stories Around the World

from Connected Principals http://bit.ly/2MVLFmj

PMP141: How Culture Drives Successful Learning Communities – Interview with Dr. Kyle Palmer

Recently, I had the privilege of talking to Dr. Kyle Palmer about the lessons he has learned in his years as a teacher, principal and district leader. As we talked about the successful professional learning teams his teachers have led, Kyle commented that when our hearts hurts when students fail, then we are willing to […]

from Connected Principals http://bit.ly/2WO3S9M

PMP141: How Culture Drives Successful Learning Communities – Interview with Dr. Kyle Palmer

Recently, I had the privilege of talking to Dr. Kyle Palmer about the lessons he has learned in his years as a teacher, principal and district leader. As we talked about the successful professional learning teams his teachers have led, Kyle commented that when our hearts hurts when students fail, then we are willing to […]

from Connected Principals http://bit.ly/2WO3S9M

Likeable vs Trustworthy Leadership

We had the opportunity to hear from Anthony Mohammad today as a leadership team. (How very fortunate am I that we have these kinds of opportunities as a district?!) It was a great presentation on the four skills of a transformational leader. I don’t know anyone who is a principal who wouldn’t want to be thought […]

The post Likeable vs Trustworthy Leadership appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.

from Connected Principals http://bit.ly/2UHqirC

Two Positive Ways to Look at Change

I’m known for the quote above, and there are two ways that it has helped me frame “change” in a positive context.

1. Some change will come your way, and you need to see solutions where most will see obstacles. I heard this advice; you can “go” through it or “grow” through it.
2. The most important and meaningful “change” is often the one you can initiate yourself.

For the sake of this post, I am going to look at the second point.

This is hard advice for many, but I have given it often. When you are struggling at a job or don’t seem to get along with a boss, or you are unhappy with your position or role, sometimes the best thing to do is leave.  I will be honest that at certain points in my career, leaving was the best thing I had ever done. This was not because of any one person or “boss” but having a fresh start for myself and having the ability to start anew was a way to both refresh my attitude and reinvent myself.

Some people see this approach as “quitting,” but sometimes when we stay in less than ideal situations, we are sometimes just giving up on ourselves.  With every door that closes there is the opportunity for another to open.

I remind people of this all the time; a risk is taken sometimes in the things that you don’t do. We just don’t necessarily see it at the time.

For example, I woke up this morning and went for a run on a treadmill. At any point, I could have fallen and hurt myself. The risk is obvious, and I could have stayed safe in my bed for the same amount of time. The “risk” I am taking, which is not imminent, but still there, is the long term damage not exercising can have on my health.

We often have more control over our situations than we want to admit. You can wait for change to happen to you or you can make it happen yourself. Although the choice can be hard, we have to acknowledge that in some capacity, it is always there.

• May 22, 2016 When it’s time to leave…
• October 24, 2017 The Stress of Learning
• June 23, 2016 New Beginnings, New Opportunities
• October 2, 2016 Taking Advantage of a Blank Slate
• July 9, 2017 Take Advantage of the Blank Slate

Source: George Couros

from Connected Principals http://bit.ly/2Sz1AMw