BEAMing with Pride

Today was an AWESOME day!  It was one of those days when you remember that work isn't work - it's about those you spend the day with and KNOWing WHY you are doing what you do.  We were afforded the amazing opportunity today to rise high and sign the beam - forever etching our names into the structural beams of Dolores W. McClatchey Elementary.  These six elementary princiPALS and future DME teammates have been a great support network, a fabulous design team, and great friends!  Today was a milestone - signing the BEAM!

To Other Working Moms...Just a Funny

How many of you can relate...

It's the weekend and you know it is a very busy upcoming week!  You look at the calendar for the weekly nighttime events and realize, "I must make a meal plan."  In our house, we have a calendar hanging on the wall in the pantry.  If you want to know what's for dinner one night, go check out the calendar.  My 10 year old son looks daily - he likes to know what's on the menu!

To be prepared for a very busy Monday, I chose to make BBQ crockpot chicken overnight the night before.  It was in the fridge and ready for everyone to eat Monday night, as it fit into their schedule. It was one of those nights where each one of us had a different place to be!!

Of course, momma left instructions for the boys.  Dad leaves to go to his meeting.  There was a brief exchange of "K, what will you have for dinner?"  K responds with "hot pocket, I guess" and go the affirmative "ok" from dad!  My sweet little boy sees his opportunity - hook line and sinker!  No one "reminded him" of the BBQ chicken in the fridge, which is not his favorite anyway!

A couple of hours goes by.  Momma gets home from board meeting and asks him what he had for dinner.  When he begins with "Why?" I knew this would be an interesting conversation!  Well, you know that BBQ chicken that was so thoughtfully prepared?  It wasn't touched!  He took his opportunity of freedom!!  "So, big K, what did you eat?"  With an interesting look on his face and a slight grin, he announces..."A hotpocket, an uncrustable, and a bowl of cereal!"

All I could do was take a deep breath and say, "I guess you know what you are having for dinner tomorrow night!  BBQ Chicken!" Oh, the memories!  That will be one for the books!

What Does Real Life Look Like?

Eric Sheninger shares, "School should reflect real life".  We must think, how has the world of a child changed in the last 150 years?  Even with all of the changes, in reality, Peter Senge sees the worlds as more similar than dissimilar.  If school truly reflects real life, then he's spot on!

We should be asking ourselves, "What do we want kids to do with technology?"  I would hope we want them to use it as a tool and not a learning outcome.  Make prezis or raise awareness?  Start blogs or start conversations?  Create wordles or find answers to their OWN questions? Design flipcharts or change minds?

In recent conversations with learning designers, I'm uncovering an underlying passion and desire for creating "experiences" for students and adults.  I see PLNs of teachers where they are reaching out, learning, sharing, and growing with experiences in Google Classroom and Genius Hour.  Who wouldn't want to be able to spend time each day on a PASSION project that has PURPOSE...delivering what you have learned with PRIDE!  How about a place where you give a little time for discovering passions and in turn, the learners fall in love with their time at school?  Let's be creative - let's do the right thing for learners - let's take our schools to the next level and create experiences where our customers keep coming back with excitement!

Today, I learned...

A common thread today as I read through various blogs was innovation.  Innovation looks different for grade spans and requires not only change, but transformation in our educational system.  Each day when I open Twitter or browse through TweetDeck, I become more and more passionate about creating innovative learning experiences for kids and adults.  Why would I want an environment where desks are in rows, kids are quiet, technology is limited, admittance into challenging learning is very selective, and punitive grading systems define students?  I don't!  It's not right for your child and it's not right for my child!

My eyes have been opened to what 21st century skills should look like in 2016 and beyond.  Let's face it, the desire to have students be collaborators, creators, communicators, and critical thinkers has been around for a long time.  However, HOW that looks in today's world is much different.  Writing a letter to grandma doesn't happen for our kids.  Texting Grandma or commenting on Facebook to Grandma DOES happen.  The communication style has changed!  Problem solvers do not need to find the answer, they need to create the problem.  Anyone with a passion for 21st century learning should read this http://www.thethinkingstick.com/the-4-cs-of-learning/.

I find myself looking at teachers through a new lens.  I see them as Learning Designers - what does that look like?  What does that sound like?  I'm not quite sure...but, I know one thing!  I am willing to take that vision and run with it!  Wanna join me?

The Importance of Vision and Strengths

Inspiring excellence in 21st century 
learning environments to empower students for tomorrow....Yes, that is my personal vision statement.  

After a recent assignment for a class at DBU, I was instructed to discuss the importance of vision, personal passions, and a personal best-case scenario for the future, just to name a few.  In addition, I've recently taken StrengthsFinders test and discovered my top five themes.  My top theme was futuristic.  Funny enough, I wrote about the importance of vision before the StrengthFinders test determined futuristic was my top strength.  

Nelson Mandela once said, “Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.”  A simple statement with profound implications, Mr. Mandela shared the importance of vision.  Vision comes from relationships with others and builds off of the past and present in order to elongate the future.   Visionary leaders have a burning desire to transform what “is” to what “can be”. 

In The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner lay out a framework for creating a vision reflecting on the past, attending to the present, and prospecting the future.  Exemplary leaders are forward-looking.  They are able to envision the future, to gaze across the horizon of time and imagine greater opportunities to come.  Great leaders think long term.  Marcus Buckingham writes in The One Thing You Need to Know, “Leaders are fascinated by the future.  You are a leader if and only if, you are restless for change, impatient for progress and deeply dissatisfied with status quo…because in your head, you can see a better future.  The friction between ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’ burns you, stirs you up, and propels you.”  This is visionary leadership. That sense of meaning and purpose must come from within and a vision must have meaning to those in, around, and outside the organization. Kouzes and Posner state, “When visions are shared they attract more people, sustain higher levels of motivation, and withstand more challenges than those that are singular”. 

In a 21^st century world operating schools with an industrialized factory model, visions are more important than ever.  The future of our children depends on leaders to create a new vision of transformation and 21^st century educational experiences.  Through the dedication and beliefs of Texas public education stakeholders and leaders of the visionary Schlechty Institute, a new vision for public education in Texas has emerged.  Their vision begins the process of transforming more leaders to believe a greater future for our students.

In addition to being futuristic, I am a maximizer.  I like to find strengths in others and build upon those - that indirectly often allows relationships to grow and creates an environment appropriate for overcoming weaknesses.  Focusing on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence helps me seek to transform something strong into something superb. That will be my focus for McClatchey Elementary.