The Monday morning memo ~ 31

As the end of the year nears and our last ounces of energy are exhausted, a few images with words can be more powerful and impactful than any well-written statement could ever be...

The Monday morning memo ~ 30

What do you see?

So often our eyes and mind play tricks on us... they distort and manipulate what we see, or at least, what we think we see. It's all about our perspective, and what we ultimately end up seeing can be easily influenced by our attitude and our willingness to see either the positive, or the negative...

If you have hall duty or bus duty in the morning do you see it as an opportunity to greet each and every student with a smile to ensure their day at school starts off right, or do you see it as just another short straw that you have drawn...?

If you know a colleague who is struggling do you see it as a chance to help him/her with their struggles because we work as a team, or do you turn your back on them and ignore their struggles while being thankful it's not your problem...?

If you have a conversation with a colleague and you disagree, do you see it as an opportunity to learn about another perspective or do you concentrate all your energy on proving that your perspective is correct...?

If you make a mistake do you see your failure as a chance to learn and grow or do you see your failure as a defining characteristic that will always follow and haunt you...?

If you experience success in your classroom with a particular activity do you see it as your professional responsibility to share it with your colleagues or do you see the activity as something you must protect and hide from others...?

If you get stuck doing something that isn't your job, do you see it as an opportunity to learn about another role in education or do you see it as a burden that shouldn't fall on your shoulders...?

If you are selected to do lunch supervision do you see it as an opportunity to build and strengthen student relationships or do you see it as wasted time that comes with the job...?

If you have a student who is unmotivated in your class do you see it as a chance to help the student find the root cause of the issue or do you see the student as another lazy and unmotivated kid...? 

If you are assigning work to be completed outside of school, do you see the other time commitments and constraints your students may have or do you see homework as more important than family and/or interests and hobbies...?

If you discover that a student is passionate about something that is not related to your content, do you see it as an opportunity to connect and relate your content to his/her passion or do you see his/her passion as something that is getting in the way of his/her learning...? 

Does what you really see match up with what you 

really want to see? Does what you really see match up with what's best for our students?

Every day before you go to work think about what set of lenses you are wearing, and remember that from time to time it's not necessarily a bad idea to throw out your old lenses for a set of new ones...

The Monday morning memo ~ 29

Stop trying to figure out how to punish students into compliance & spend your energy on figuring out how to engage them with purpose...

The more the student becomes the teacher and the more the teacher becomes the learner, the more successful the outcomes are...

True leaders know leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up...

When we block everything & try to control every aspect of schooling, we are sending a very loud "trust issue" message to our students...

Nothing stops an organization faster than people who believe the way you worked yesterday is the best way to work tomorrow...

You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there...

Don't fear the unknown & don't fear standing out... it's those who stand out who ultimately stand up...

Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't...

Young kids love school... they smile down the halls... they run to class & hug their teachers. Then they stop... they stop it all... 

Want to keep most people happy, then do nothing & avoid change. Want to make your best people upset, follow the same rule.

No matter how many mistakes you make, or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying... 

Technology won't replace teachers...but teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who do not...

It's not what kids "know" that's important, it's how they can apply, demonstrate, explain and transfer the "known" that's important...

An assessment is supposed to give info, to be used like a thermometer, NOT a hammer. It's a tool for the teacher & kid for teaching...

The only two people you should ever compare yourself with is the person you used to be & the person you want to be...

The most important information & "data" you will get from a student won't come from a worksheet or a test, it will come from a relationship...

If you aren't excited about the activities & instructional units you are doing in your class, then your students won't get excited either...

Forget STEM... start talking about STEAM... science, technology, engineering, ARTS, & math...