Education is at a pivotal point right now and too often, educators make excuses for why change isn't happening as it needs to be. More teachers need to step into leadership positions to share their unique expertise and experience.
Visions and missions are living parts of a functioning school community and we must treat them with care and clarity. As new leaders and community stakeholders get involved, it's appropriate and necessary to make adjustments. Make sure your vision is more than an idea created in isolation decades ago, make sure it is the lens through which important decisions are made for the betterment of your kids.
When you reflect on the kind of leader you are or the one you'd like to be, how would you describe yourself? How would others describe you?
We must share our challenges and our successes and always strive to be a community of collegial learners who create the most welcoming environment for our kids.
Learning is exciting and nerve-wracking, but mostly exciting. I will take this most recent experience with me into my new job as I get to know my colleagues and start to develop relationships with them that is going to require a fair deal of trust. Change always requires trust. What do you need to feel confident when trying new things or old things that you haven't done in a long time?
Doing new things can be scary, maybe even paralyzing but that doesn't we shouldn't do new things. We must build up our courage and do what we ask our students and colleagues to do every day.
If we want to be leaders, we must model the behaviors we expect our students and colleagues to exemplify—which means connecting with the vulnerability in a meaningful way.
Education is all about collaboration and relationships, and this writing experience is one worth sharing. Read about how 10 authors and editor got together to write a special book for a great organization.
As another school year officially comes to a close, I soak in the stillness of the empty space and all of the learning it holds within its once text-rich walls. Saying goodbye is always bittersweet, but when you know you aren't returning, there is a finality to it that lingers closer to sad.
Mastery of content and skills take time and kids need to be allowed the amount of time needed to attain that mastery. We need to offer them opportunities to show what they know in a variety of ways and then not penalize or reward those who do it slower or faster. Mastery is just that and it doesn't matter when a child gets it, it only matters that they do.
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