(Originally posted on Leading Inspired.) During a workshop a few years ago, it was shared that we, as educators, need to work smarter, not harder. I took this phrase to heart, because I always felt I was working so hard, spinning my wheels, and it was time for me to get smarter about the work […]
A Veteran Teacher’s Advice on How to Be
By Julia G. Thompson A Veteran Teacher’s Advice on How to Be the Inspiring School Leader Your Teachers Need A building administrator has a thankless job almost all of the time. Making sure that a school runs smoothly can be a crushing responsibility. Everyone in the known universe—parents, teachers, students, the community, social media–has plenty […]
Successful Leadership is Shared – Dan Fo
(Originally posted on Habits of Reflective School Leadership.) By Dan Fowler Over the past 2 weeks, our school leadership team has been fortunate enough to work alongside our teachers, both at the district level and school-based level, in developing their curriculum through the “Backward Design” process (A process created and perfected by Jay McTighe and the late Grant […]
Belding, Vernon, Rooney – 21st Century P
Imagine that you are not an educator, and do me a favor. Close your eyes and think about what comes to mind when I say one word…principal. Most of the people that I know outside of the educational field will mention one, if not all three of these names: Richard Belding, Richard Vernon, and Edward […]
Principals do Sleep Sometimes – Jessica
(Originally posted on Love the Learning.) By Jessica Hanson One of my awesome first grade teachers shared this with me and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the first grade humor within the story. But, after closely reading the story I thought, “Wow, this first grader may be on to something.” Principals can command kids. […]
Spirit – Creating a Space Where Hope is
Originally posted on Skins of Ill Shaped Fishes.) By Bjorn Paige Have you ever had someone you trusted be so honest with you that you found yourself shaken? It’s in those moments when we’re blessed by the clarity only another pair of eyes can give us about ourselves that we grow. It’s seldom a compliment, […]
5 Tips to Help Teacher Morale – David El
(Originally posted on A Principal’s Life.) By David Ellena In this day and age of “education reform”, it seems that teachers and public education are under attack from all sides. The media and politicians continually erode the public confidence in the very people who we watch dedicate themselves on a daily basis to our students. […]
A Connected Educator Should Run Twitter ...
(Originally posted on McCoyDerek) By Derek McCoy This recent article on Vox.com caught my eye about the CEO of Twitter – Twitter’s CEO is stepping down. Here’s why the company’s in trouble. It was an interesting read about popular social media site. I was drawn to it because Twitter makes me think of connected educators […]
To Inspire and Be Inspired – Annabelle’s
(Originally posted on Expanding Learning Frontiers.) By Brad Latzke Last October, Annabelle, a grade seven student at Shanghai American School, came to school just like any other day. She felt a little dizzy before going home. Within hours, Annabelle suffered a devastating stroke brought on by several undiagnosed brain tumors. She underwent emergency surgery and her […]
Seven Ways To Grow Leadership Respect –
(Originally posted on Terri Klass Consulting) By Terri Klass Managers are frequently asking me how to gain the respect of their teams and bosses. They feel that they have great insights to share but are having a challenging time being recognized. They will inquire: “Why can’t I get my boss to respect my decisions?” “My […]
3 Administrative Non-Negotiables: How I ...
(Originally posted on Hallway Access.) By David Hochheiser School administrators bear the weight of myriad responsibilities. Our days are filled with diverse questions, interactions, scenarios and tasks. Some of these happen predictably and can therefore be planned for, but many realities in our purview present themselves organically, with little forewarning. Schools are living systems, hopefully […]
Embrace a Mistake – Amy Heavin
(Originally posted on Leading Inspired.) We’ve all heard the quote by Vince Lombardi, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” Every moment is a learning experience. Mistakes are no different. We all make mistakes. We are human – it is bound to happen. If we are not willing to […]
Getting Things Done – Breck Quarles
(Originally posed on A Principal Journey.) By Breck Quarels “Procrastination is attitude’s natural assassin. There’s nothing so fatiguing as an uncompleted task.” – William James I don’t know about you, but I tend to be a natural procrastinator. Thankfully, I’ve gotten better over the last few years, but summer seems to bring the procrastination monster […]
The Most Dangerous Phrase in Education –
(Originally posted on Communicate, Coach, Care: The Central Purpose.) WARNING!!!! You are about to be exposed to a highly dangerous and contagious phrase. These words, when used together in a sentence, can be toxic to others, and cause damage that can take years to repair. Hold your breath, grit your teeth, and read the phrase […]
You Better Stop…Make Mistakes…and Listen
(Originally posted on Love the Learning.) By Jessica Hanson From August 21st, 2014: “This week I am having my teachers write letters to themselves. The prompt is: “I want to teach somewhere that….” They are to return them to me, signed and sealed. I am not going to read them. At some point in the […]