Looking to the Future

I have been watching a lot of baseball. We haven't had a great year. Some decisions have been questioned and the answer was, "We will be great next year." That made me think. We should be preparing for the future. But you know if you look for the red light down the road you might hit the car in front of you in the butt. So how do you prepare for the future without wrecking the present? 

First, look at what you have to start with. This may not be what you consider championship quality. But as a leader it is your responsibility to get them where you want them to be. 

Next, evaluate each teacher and hourly worker. What are their good points and what are the points that need growth? That's the easy part. 

Then comes the hard part. Tell them. Yep tell them. What do you see that's good? What do you see that's not as good? I struggle with this part as do most people. It's so hard. 

However, I can't build my future team by ignoring my present team. There are some really good teachers coming I know! But there are some really good teachers here already. They just need to be told what changes need to be made in order to grow. If I just let them continue to teach as they always have they will never change. That doesn't mean they can't. I am not going to throw them away and only work with the new, young teachers. My older, more experienced teachers have a lot to show us. Every few years the curriculum changes. Those teachers have been through the changes before and know how to flow with it. Most of these experienced teachers also know how to manage the classroom. 

I don't know all the answers but I do know we can't throw the baby out with the bath water. Yes we need change, but we don't have to start completely over. If you build a team with all new players you will not be successful. The experience is missing. A great baseball team marries the experienced players and the new players to build a new, stronger team. If you don't use your experience you are setting yourself up for failure. 

Quit looking so far down the road that you don't see what's right in front of you. Like the old saying, it's as plain as the nose on your face." Grow what you have, teach what you are getting, and see success in your present instead of having to wait for the future! 

My opinion

                                   

                             

I have been reading a lot of articles and books lately. Some say reteach- redo. Some say build grit. I am not sure which is right. I can see the benefits of both.

One amazing author says giving zeros tells the students the work wasn't important. We should reteach, let re-do, and give full credit. I agree with this because if I require lesson plans from my teachers, and if the teacher takes the time to develop amazing lesson plans, they should require the student to learn the standards. Each standard is required so why would we let the student get away without doing the work and without learning the standard? Why would we allow students to move on (or not) to the next grade unprepared? We all know the next year's teachers will make a judgement on what the student knows. Because of all of this we have developed a ZAP policy at my school. (Zeros aren't permitted.) If a student doesn't do the homework, doesn't finish the class work, or does poorly on a test the are sent to ZAP. In ZAP they are required to complete all work or be zapped again until they do. This has been extremely successful. Most students do not want to miss break or other free time and will get work done on time. 

I recently read a compelling article that says when we started lavishly praising kids and handing out trophies to all we made kids coddled, slower, and less likely to persevere. I agree somewhat with this as well. We have developed a set of students who want to wait until the retake to learn it. We have a set of students whose parents will come to school and demand their child be allowed to turn their project in late because they are "busy". The work is half done but want all credit. 

I do believe we should reteach and retake. It is our responsibility to make sure every child in our class learns what is necessary. If a child isn't doing the work the teacher needs to handle that. My opinion is that the student isn't there "yet". But we can get them there. Zeros are not permitted and that teacher needs to set expectations so the students know it will not be acceptable. The teacher should not accept the half-done project. Make them complete it. The teacher should also be held responsible for keeping the students engaged and making them want to learn. Students will rise or fall depending on expectations of the class, teacher, and school. 

But what about "that kid" : the one that will not do anything, the one that stays in ZAP for a week and still hasn't finished, the one after reteaching stills makes a poor grade? These are the students we end up having to give the zeros to. Time runs out and you have to make the decision to go ahead and move on. Are we teaching that student responbility? Doubtful. I know this because the next 9 weeks he does it again. 

Which is the correct answer? I am not sure. What I do believe though is that every student and every school is different and may require a few different things. We as a school system need to develop what is best for us. Maybe that requires a little bit of both philosophies. 

However, all this is my opinion. And you know about opinions: they are like feet- everyone has them and most of them stink. You decide. 

Today's Digital Leader

Digital leadership is a necessity in today's world because digital learning is the future. All magazines and newspapers are online. My phone can do what my desktop can do. So the question remains- as a school leader what am I going to do about it? I use Twitter, Remind, Blogger, Instagram, Facebook, all things Google, etc. but am I encouraging my teachers and students too? Good question. Now some of these I use to promote our school. I believe it's important to flatten the walls of our school and let the community know what we are doing and how we are learning. Most teachers and students are on these social media sites. But I want my teachers and students on more than"social" media. I want them learning. I have learned so much in the last year and I want them to learn from it too. Here are some things I want my teachers to be working on.

Twitter-  I want my teachers on Twitter chats. A list of chats and some great information can be found on www.cybraryman.com. Jerry Blumengarten has compiled a list of Twitter chats and "how to's".  Twitter helps me stay abreast of all the new and important things happening in education. Coming from a small town we sometimes get comfortable and do not attempt to grow. Twitter keeps me growing. I have also had the amazing opportunity to "meet" some wonderful authors such as Eric Sheninger (Digital Leadership), Todd Whitaker (What Great teachers Do Differently), and Dave Burgess (Teach like a Pirate). I have also been able to chat with great principals such as Daisy Dyer Duerr and Beth Houf. 

* Google Hangouts/ Docs/ Sheets - I am obsessed with Google right now. I can work on documents and spreadsheets from home or from my phone. That's awesome. I can then send to my teachers and they can edit them or share them. I want my teachers to start using this with students. They can email them to the students and no copies are being made. Students can use them to answer questions, research, or do make-up work. Hangouts are also great to help students who have missed school and need some tutoring. Teachers can work together and help every student without having to go anywhere. The ideas are endless.

* Blogging- I love to put my thoughts into a blog. Sometimes I want to teach something, but sometimes I just want to vent. I want my teachers to use blogging in the classroom. Every student should have a blog. There are many free student blog sites such as Edublog, Kidblog, Weebly, and 21classes, plus many others. Information on these can be found easily.

March 13 is Digital Learning Day. We will be on Spring Break that day so I have asked my teachers to come up with plans for April, and we will do our own Digital Learning Day. I cannot wait to see what they have come up with. The only rule is no paper and pencils. It should be a wonderful day. I hope it will motivate my teachers to step outside their comfort zone and do some new amazing things. I will share our day with you next month.

It is what it is

Today made the 6th day in 2 weeks we have been out of school. Now you have to remember, I live in the south. Mississippi does not get snow and ice on a regular basis so this has been quite different for us. I have rescheduled 9 weeks exams and STAR tests 4 times. We are supposed to start state testing next week. Did you hear what I said? We have gone to school 2 1/2 days in 2 weeks. In those 2 weeks were supposed to do have 9 weeks tests and STAR testing. That hasn't happened and now we have to state test. I woke up this morning (out of school again) with a massive headache and my husband said, "Are you stressed?" Haha.

I took a breath and realized he was right. I had let this stress me completely. I had taken the whole problem on my shoulders. My teachers and students are very important to me. Their happiness and stress free life is very important to me. So I wanted to take all the stress off of them and try to fix all. Did I mention I'm a middle child. That means I'm a fixer. So for 2 weeks I have been trying to fix our weather problem. Guess what? It isn't working. I have finally realized I'm only in charge of my school- not the weather. I have always said, "It is what it is, and that is all it is." I have even said I want that on a t-shirt.  

It's time for me to remember that. It's time to put things into perspective. I'm going to school tomorrow, I'm going to greet my students that I haven't seen in a while, and I'm going to talk to them about the snowmen I know they built. I want to hear about their sledding and their snowball fights. The tests last just a couple of days but these memories will last forever. What's important in life is suddenly apparent. 

My stress is gone, my thoughts are clear: "It is what it is, and that's all it is. 

Love.....

I sit here tonight kind of in a state of shock. A neighboring student's parent was killed in a car accident today due to icy conditions. She was a "Good Samaritan" helping someone who had troubles on the ice. She dies along with another mom.

I'm kind of numb. We sit here all worried about 9 weeks tests and state testing. But you want to know the truth? None of that matters. That sweet mother of 4 - yes 4- has lost her life and those children have lost their mom. 

It's time to make priorities. 

State testing is a requirement, I understand that. But you know what? I'm not going to freak out because we have missed a week of school right before state testing. I'm not going to get upset because we can't finish STAR testing. I'm not going to lose it because 9 weeks test are next week. 

Having tests are important for a couple of reasons- have the students caught on to what we are teaching? Do they need remediation? Can we move on? Otherwise ..... I just don't see the big deal. 

Priorities

Should we celebrate our loves? Mom, Dad, Children, Students,  Teachers, Athletes, Coaches...... The answer is yes. Let's celebrate Life. Let's take a minute to tell those we know... I love you. Because tomorrow .... Well tomorrow isn't promised. 

Today is the day to let them know. 

So to my teachers at IMS, my students and parents, my IMS family; I love you all dearly. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. 

Wishing Life Away

I'm sitting here on another snow day thinking of all the stuff I need to do. I spent all day yesterday rescheduling STAR tests, 9 weeks tests, and achievement tests. Then the call comes that it snowed  and roads are dangerous so here we are again. I got all frustrated because I spent literally hours working on schedules. Basically wishing my life away. Then it hit me. I was mad at something I can't control. The weather is just that thing. I can't predict it and I can't control it. Why am I getting mad about it? So, now I'm chilling out, getting supper ready, and just enjoying some time with my family. As principal I miss out on some things with my family because I am usually so concerned about someone else's child. But today, today is a day for MY family. So today I made a big breakfast, I made snow cream, and the boys have ridden four wheelers. I have enjoyed every minute of it. My boys are growing fast so this was a great moment to just BE. Tomorrow will be here quick enough. I will go back to school and go back to being a principal. Today though, today I am a mom.

I'm scared you won't love me anymore

The hardest part of my job is and will always be when I have to give consequences to a student who has broken the rules. Don't get me wrong. I know it's necessary, but sometimes it's difficult when you know the background of the child. I have been working closely with a child whose home life isn't like mine. So sometimes it isn't easy to understand what he is going through. However I have tried to spend more time listening.  I wasn't sure I was getting through to him, but I kept trying. I take time every morning to speak to all my students, asking how they are and talking about what they did last night. It was interesting to see him struggling with this. I could tell he wasn't used to talking to adults while not being in trouble. As the year progressed the talking came a little easier and a little longer. His behaviors became a little less in quality and quantity. I could tell we were building a relationship. I started working with the child last year while he was in 5th grade and I saw a lot of improvement. Then summer hit. While most teachers love summer, as admin, I'm not a huge fan of what I know happens in the summer; lack of supervision. Students like this are often left alone most of the summer to do what they want with little or no consequences. So that means come August I have to start over with anything I made progress with last year. Well this August was no different. This student started the year with a bang. Even though I took time every morning to talk to him and let him know I was still interested in his life, I could tell he had changed. And not for the better. He was in trouble constantly and after many talks I finally got to the root of it. I realized the unsupervised summer had made some changes in him that I alone couldn't fix. I contacted the correct people to help but knew this was an uphill battle. We still spend time every week talking, sharing, and I constantly told him "I love you, have a good day."  But I wasn't sure I was making any progress. 

This Thanksgiving the language teacher had the students write papers or letters. This student requested to be able to write his letter to me. She agreed and noticed he was very secretive about it. When finished he gave to her to give to me. I was floored. I knew we had made a connection but I also knew his behaviors this year were not always good. I share his letter for a few reasons. One, you are making a difference in children's lives. Two, even if the "behaviors" seem to still be there do not give up. Three, that child is depending on you, even if he/she doesn't act like it. 

Dear Mrs. Moss,

Mrs. D is making us write letters about what we are thankful for and I chose you! I know I can count on you to help me if I mess up somewhere down the road and if I need anything I know I could go to you. You would be there! I know you think I'm not trying to change , I really am! I have already stoped some things, and you know what I am talking about. I couldn't have done it without you. It's not that I was scared you were going to tell my parents, I was scared I would have disappointed you and you would stop loving me! And I still fill like that sometimes but anyway I still need help to change my ways so don't give up on me!

Happy thanksgiving 

Wow! Talk about powerful. After a lots of tears I came to realize our job is so much more than test scores and data walls. Our job is all about the connections we make with the students, because without that we have nothing. Has he changed for the better? Some. But more importantly, I hope I have changed for the better. Take this letter and replace my student's name with "That Student" in your school right now. What would you do or say to that child if he/she wrote you that letter? 

 I tell you what I did... I told him to never be scared.... I will never stop loving you.