Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Leading Education: 10 Powerful Twitter Posts from 2015

Photo by Got CreditCC BY 2.0

Educators are a powerful force on Twitter. The learning and sharing is outstanding. Here's a look back at 10 powerful tweets from 2015. These thought leaders always challenge and inspire.

1. Todd Whitaker flips boring professional development on its ear. When educators learn, it should also inspire more engagement and excitement about teaching and learning.





2. An earlier image described what kids should do with technology, but how does that apply to leaders? It's not about the tools, but how the tools support enduring goals of connecting, leading, and learning.





3. Beth creates and shares many beautiful and inspiring images. We should always be reminded of the power of our words on students. We should always aim to encourage and lift up.





4. This encouraging Tweet from Sylvia Duckworth honors the journey of each individual towards tech greatness. I really enjoy the creativity and visual brilliance of Sylvia's sketchnotes. Great ideas!






5. Every teacher can relate to this meme. If only our students could understand. We all enjoy Twitter humor to brighten the day.





6. 2015 was a big year for Google Classroom, and Alice Keeler is a guru on the subject. Her blog is packed with tips and tricks for getting the most out of Google in the classroom.





7. This post had a simple but profound message. What do students want to hear from teachers? Great advice for making interactions with students more meaningful. 





8. Tech and teaching rock star Vicki Davis shared this image. It's a great menu of options for students to reflect on learning.





9. This chart shared by Derek McCoy extends the classic KWL chart to take thinking deeper.





10. Warning: Shameless plug alert. Yes, I included one of my Tweets in this list. I'm not sure the origin of this brilliant and widely-shared image, but it captured my imagination. Adaptable learning IS the skill of the future.





Bonus: If you want to make some noise on Twitter, just tweet that school is closed. My daughter Emma would love to have that power.


Question: Which of these Tweets is your favorite? Or, do you have an awesome Tweet of your own to share? Leave a comment or share on Twitter and Facebook

Monday, December 28, 2015

Leading Education: 10 Amazing Blog Posts From 2015












As the new year approaches, it's a great opportunity to reflect on the past year and to look forward to what lies ahead. So here is a collection of outstanding posts from 2015. It's an exciting time to be an educator. Innovation, creativity, and growth mindset continue to be important themes. These 10 posts are certain to give more clarity to your work as an educator as we head into the new year.

1. MindshiftKQED - Sir Ken Robinson: Creativity Is In Everything, Especially Teaching. 

Ken Robinson's newest book, Creative Schoolswas published in April. This excellent post highlights a few of the main points from the book. Creativity is a process of having original ideas that have value. It's about fresh thinking. Creativity is not the opposite of discipline and control. It's not a linear process, but a passion for discovery and learning.  

Sir Ken Robinson: Creativity Is In Everything, Especially Teaching

2. Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator - The Teacher Is Not The Most Important Factor When It Comes To Learning

Conventional thinking is that the teacher has the greatest impact on student learning. Although teachers make an impact, Lisa Nielsen exposes the myths taking this thinking to far. She explains that the student is still the most important factor in learning, and if we would design learning with that in mind, we could make incredible progress in education. The questions below help to illustrate the point.

If the answer to any of the below questions is "no," even a great teacher will find their job difficult.

  1. Does the students care about the topic?
  2. Does the student want to learn the topic?
  3. Is the teacher's style compatible with how the student learns best?
  4. Is the student developmentally ready to learn the topic?
  5. Is the student fluent in the language of the topic that is being taught?
  6. Does the student live with his or her parents?
  7. Does the student live above the poverty line?
  8. Is the student healthy?

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: The Teacher Is Not The Most Important Factor When It Comes To Learning

3. TeachThought - 7 Strategies to Help Students Ask Great Questions

This post was part two of the TeachThought feature on questioning as a strategy for learning. 

7 Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions

4. A.J. Juliani - Technology Can Transform Education, But Not Without People

As 18,000 educators were descending on Philadelphia for ISTE 2015, A.J. Juliani published this fantastic piece. He writes about the connections with people that are possible now as a result of technology, and that is the most important thing. It's not about the tools available themselves, but how they allow us to connect, build, and grow. 

Technology can transform education, but not without people #ISTE2015 - A.J. JULIANI


5. Classroom Q & A with Larry Ferlazzo - Response: Classroom Strategies to Foster a Growth Mindset

Growth mindset continued to be a major topic of discussion in 2015. Larry Ferlazzo published this piece with contributions from growth mindset guru Carol Dweck and a number of reader comments. Dweck gives three things you can do right away in the classroom to influence student mindsets. There is also a great video with a student reflecting and challenges and mistakes. 

Response: Classroom Strategies to Foster a Growth Mindset

6. Edutopia - The 8 Minutes That Matter Most

English teacher Brian Sztabnik addresses the most important part of lesson planning, the endings and beginnings. It's so important to create suspense and capture your students interest to keep curiosity and learning at a high level, even beyond the class period. You'll want to try the four strategies for beginning a lesson and four strategies for ending. Great stuff! 

The 8 Minutes That Matter Most

7. Bethany Hill - The Time is NOW to Innovate!

When is the right time to innovate? Right now of course! Innovation has been one of the hottest topics of 2015. And the Innovators Mindset by George Couros has fueled the discussion. In this blog post, Beth Hill reflects on how to start the discussion in your school. She reminds us we have to view innovation as a mindset. When we do, we can begin to innovate in every opportunity we have in our school.

The Time is NOW to Innovate!

8. Aaron Hogan - 5 Ways To Spread Optimism in Times of Change

It's not uncommon to encounter resistance to change, but how can we turn negative comments into opportunities for positive growth? Aaron Hogan details five ways to influence the person who is set on responding to every idea with "yeah but" phrases. Responding with optimism is essential for an effective leader.

5 Ways To Spread Optimism in Times of Change - Leading, Learning, Questioning


9. David Geurin - What If Schools Were More Like Google and Starbucks

Warning: Shameless plug alert! Yes, at the risk of self-promotion, I will include one of the top posts from my blog in 2015. But I must credit Eric Sheninger for his inspiration. After spending a day learning with him in Kansas City, I just needed to explore some of the ideas a little further. Can you imagine if we took lessons from some of the most forward thinking companies and applied them to education? Well, that's what I describe in this post.


@DavidGeurin Blog

10. We Are Teachers - The Emojis of Teaching

Perhaps one of the most fun pieces of 2015, this post looks at how emojis can be used to describe the teacher experience, both the ups and the downs of the profession. Every educator will get a good laugh out of this post, and you'll be able to relate I promise.  

WeAreTeachers: What These 34 Emojis Really Mean to Teachers


Question: What are some of your favorite blog posts from 2015? Share a link in the comment section or give a shout out to your favorite blogger on Twitter or Facebook.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Schools Should Never Confuse Excellence and Success


The problem with success is that it usually involves comparison to others. How do I measure up? Did I win? Was I the best? Was I the smartest? When individuals, teams, or schools are focused on success, anything less than first place is disappointing. Setbacks and failures can be devastating.    

In contrast, excellence is a habit of mind. It's about being the best we can be. Excellence is giving your best effort, maximizing your talents and gifts, and reaching for your highest potential. When you seek excellence, you realize failures and successes are inevitable along the way. 

Even when you seek success, you may still find failure. But when you seek excellence, success usually finds you.

10 Thoughts on Success vs. Excellence

1. Positive culture and motivation are harmed when schools focus on success. We should take success and failure in stride and aim for excellence. Even when we fall short of the expectations of others, we can still demonstrate excellence daily.

2. It's too bad that excellent things happening in a school might be overshadowed by test scores, or other measures, that weren't as successful compared to a neighboring school or district.

3. Some of the best work happening in schools is overlooked. Quiet excellence needs to be recognized and celebrated too. 

4. Often the school or teacher that is celebrated for "success" enjoyed a distinct advantage from the start. They started at third base, but everyone thinks they hit a home run.

5. Schools seeking success play the testing game. They take actions that are not really best for student learning, hoping they might result in higher test scores. Test prep and teaching to the test are unfortunate examples of this.

6. When teachers compare themselves to others, it invites either despair or pride. The despairing teacher: "I can never be as well-liked by the students as so-and-so." The prideful teacher: "I am so glad I don't have classroom management problems like so-and-so." Excellence isn't about comparison.

7. Educators motivated by success are often seeking to elevate their own status, even climbing over the backs of others.. 

8. Educators motivated by excellence value others and are happy when others are successful. 

9. In Missouri, our state department of education has a goal, Top 10 by 20. The catchy slogan means Missouri will be one of the top 10 states for education in the nation by 2020. The idea of creating a statewide vision for improvement is a good one. But does this goal focus on success or excellence? Does this goal rely on comparison to others? 

10. To be excellent, we must focus on the actions, attitudes, and commitments that lead to excellence. As Albert Einstein noted, "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." Creating value for self and others is excellence.

Question: Are schools too focused on success over excellence? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below, or on Twitter or Facebook.



Thursday, December 24, 2015

A Teacher's Christmas Wish


As the carol reminds us, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." We especially know how magical Christmas can be for kids. It's supposed to be a time filled with joy and happiness for all.  


But for many students, and some teachers too, the holidays are stressful and difficult. The hardships of life seem magnified around the holidays. In our school, two families were suddenly faced with heartbreaking personal loss just before the break.

So as we gather with our families to rejoice and be thankful, I know that teachers in our community and all over the world will also be thinking of a student, a family, or a fellow teacher, who might be suffering during the holiday season. 

Teachers have generous and caring hearts. I can just imagine that in the midst of the holiday bustle, a teacher is thinking of her students, lifting them up in prayer. 

It's a teacher's Christmas wish.

That she will have love and care during the holidays and all through the year.

That he will have a warm bed, food to eat, and someone to keep him safe.


That she won't be afraid.


That he won't feel lonely.


That someone will pick them up, dust them off, and wipe their tears.


That there will be something under the tree.


That there will be peace at home.


That there will be loving hugs.


And that after the holidays are over, all of the students will return to school with good memories of Christmas, feeling supported and ready to learn.


It's a teacher's Christmas wish.



Question: How are you mindful of your students during this season? Leave a comment below or respond on Twitter or Facebook.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Stay Out of the Social Media Madness

"Stay out of the social media madness!"

That was a comment I received on a recent survey asking teachers for feedback on how I'm doing as building principal. I think it's always good to ask for feedback, but you have to be willing to accept the responses, whatever they are.

And every response is a great opportunity for reflection. It's a starting place for understanding. It makes me curious to know where individuals are coming from and how I can serve better. 





So how is my use, and promotion, of social media bumping into something for this person?

I'm not exactly sure. Maybe they only see the negatives of social media. Maybe they think I'm self-promoting. Or distracted. Or have my priorities out of line. Or maybe I've let this person down in some other area and this is just where it's directed?

It makes me wonder if I've fallen short in sharing the positives of social media? How it can be used to build community, discuss ideas, celebrate learning, and tell the story of our school. That there are new and different ways to use social media, ways that might be positive and productive.

So I am having an honest dialogue with myself, "Have there been negatives to my social media involvement?"


Retrieved: https://twitterforeducation.wikispaces.com/

The answer is yes. There have been negatives. Social media does have pitfalls. I've felt it pull me too far in at times. There are dangers that must be avoided. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

But I've worked on not letting it pull me in too far. I've set boundaries for my workflow. Family time is family time.

So for me, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I feel good about what I contribute and the connections I make using social media. I can be proud of that.

But I also realize Twitter won't work for everyone. Some people are turned off by social media and might better learn and connect in a different way. 

The feedback I received was valuable. Even if I don't change my approach to social media, the comment I received gives me insight. And it causes me to reexamine if social media is as beneficial as I believe it to be. It's good to reflect on feedback we receive, whether we agree with it or not.


5 Positive Ways To Use Social Media

1. The best free professional development I've encountered. It's available 24/7 and 365 days a year! Where else can you connect with people all over the world to learn and grow, to share ideas, and to get inspired? I've even chatted with some of my biggest heroes in education. Through these conversations, I learn new things. I develop shared meaning with others. That's true collaboration.

2. A platform to advocate for ideas that matter to me (personal voice). There are things that are important to me that I want to promote. I want to see better opportunities for students, stronger schools, and empowered teachers. That's why I share my thoughts on leadership, innovation, #FutureReady, #EdTech, and more.

3. A way to engage with our students, school, and community. I use social media to connect with our community through our school Facebook and Twitter. It's great to post pictures and highlight outstanding accomplishments. I like to share things from the classroom and from the extracurricular side. Go Liberators!

4. A platform to uplift, encourage, and celebrate. Just like in my face-to-face interactions, when I share positive words with others online, it lifts me up as well as others. I've found a positive community of dreamers, believers, and thinkers who challenge me and make me stronger.




5. An example for students of how social media can be used in positive and productive ways. Social media doesn't have to be shallow, vein, and a waste of time. We can use it to promote big ideas, to energize a cause, and to develop professionally. Right now, millions are using social media to network professionally, start a business, and build a personal brand. It's important for students to have digital literacy skills, now and for their future success.



Question: How are you using social media to improve your professional life? Leave a comment below or share on Twitter or Facebook.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

How to Spark a Movement in Your School

Making a difference in a school doesn't require a 5-year strategic plan. You can spark a movement right now. When you see a problem, you can do something about it. You can be the catalyst for positive change. And it's outstanding when people from every corner of the school, not just administration, are initiating change.

A couple of months ago, I was drawn into a conversation a few of our teachers were having about getting our high school students more excited about reading. These teachers had joined together to study Book Love, a fantastic read by Penny Kittel. 

They began to share with me their vision for establishing classroom libraries. They wanted students to have more choices for reading, more time for reading, and greater voice to share their reading with others. They were completely energized and nothing could stop them. They had a vision for how a stronger culture of reading in our school could impact students forever.




It was the beginning of a movement. Soon, classroom libraries began to take shape. We started placing orders for new books from a variety of genres. 

Students were surveyed to learn more about their reading habits. Teachers from every content area were recording book talks to share personal reading with students. 

Our librarian even decided to reorganize the entire library collection by genre, all a result of a few extraordinary teachers, a book study, and a vision.

Students were talking about it. Teachers were talking about it. There was a spark.

Not every movement results in lasting change, at least not in a substantial way, but there's always a chance. It really depends on the meaning behind the movement and the commitment of the movement leaders.

So how can you spark a movement in your classroom or school? Follow these 5 easy steps.


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5 Steps to get a movement started in your school

1. Start with empathy. What are you passionate about? What breaks your heart? Empathy isn't content to see a problem and do nothing. Empathy makes us want something better for our students and our school. Dream about what could be.

2. Learn Together. Find at least one other person who shares your concern. Together, become informed, share ideas, plan, discuss. Think of ways the problem could be addressed. What are possible strategies based on the information gathered?

3. Rally support. Reach out beyond the initial group. Bring admin and other teachers on board. But don't stop there. Get students and parents mobilized as well. Have a call to action. Ask, "Will you help us?" Be ready to suggest ways your new converts can help. Listen carefully to new ideas that might be brought forward too.

4. Turn energy to action. Now it's time to follow through on the great ideas. Encourage the troops. Get moving. Communicate clearly who is doing what. Set timelines for reaching goals. Give more encouragement. 

5. Celebrate. When something great happens with your movement, let people know about it. Make it visible. For the movement to continue to grow and become lasting change, you have to help people stay energized.

Question: What movement will you start at your school? What needs to be change? Leave a comment below. Or share your ideas on Twitter or Facebook.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Why the never-ending pressure for kids to learn more, younger?

Of course, we want students to be challenged and to achieve their potential. But it seems there is an unhealthy press to have kids learn more, younger.

Kindergarten kids must read.

Elementary students write research papers instead of personal narratives.

Algebra I happens in 8th grade, or even 7th some places.

Some students are graduating from high school with upwards of 30 hours of college credit. Confession: Dual credit has saved our family a ton of money on college tuition so it's hard to be critical here.

But I have to wonder what is the point of all this? Is this what is referred to as the human race? What are we racing against? Life expectancy is steadily increasing right? We have MORE time to reach our life goals last time I checked.

With the recent ESEA Reauthorization (goodbye NCLB, Race to the Top), it seems some of the madness may be ending, at least from the standpoint of federal policy. For some reason, policymakers seem to think raising standards will "fix" education. But higher standards don't necessarily result in better learning for kids. Great learning is about developing great teachers, great schools, and stronger communities.

An ineffective teacher or school will still be ineffective even with higher standards. Change happens when the process changes, when educators change how they do business.

So maybe instead of pressing more curriculum down on youngsters, we could make learning more personal and meet the needs of individual learners. Some kids will read in kindergarten, or even earlier. Some kids might benefit from Algebra I in the 8th grade. Some kids need more time but will get it eventually.

Teach students first, curriculum second.

So we don't need to hurry learning. No more pressing. Create great learning environments and experiences and allow students to find their passions and become adaptable, lifelong learners.

Maybe there is still hope for finger paint. And learning to be kind. And just being a kid.

Question: What are your thoughts on kids learning more, earlier? Leave a comment below or share on Twitter or Facebook.