Jarrett Lerner posted this image and text the other day, “Check out this wall at the school I visited yesterday — educators’ promises to their students, handwritten and out in the open for the kids to see every single school day.”
Love. This.
Such a cool idea, I had to share. Got me thinking about other words that could go above a door as message ideas for students. Maybe…
I promise
What I wish for you
Dear students
This year
My favorite quote
Hey, read this book!
At the end of the year
Fun to think about other message starters for a staff to share with kids. And of course, students could do exactly the same thing for their teachers.
Thanks Jarrett, for the great post, inspiration, and ideas!
A couple years ago I wrote a blogpost wondering if the things I did as a teacher in the 80s and 90s would fly today.
The main memory I was thinking about had to do with talking with kids each Monday about how the weekend had gone. This investment in taking the time to get to know my students always paid off in many ways.
The quote above from Dr. Tarte reminded me of this idea again this morning. It ain’t fluff. It’s getting to know your students.
At one point, when I was our junior high principal, we did a typical safety survey of our students. We were shocked and alarmed when something like 76% of the kids reported that they wouldn’t tell an adult if they knew that someone was going to do something illegal or dangerous. Unacceptable. Further examination of the data told us that too many kids did not feel connected to a significant adult at our school.
So, we learned about advisory periods. We found a curriculum called Navigation 101, and we leaned into building stronger relationships with kids, emphasizing getting to know them better. And it worked. Taking the time to talk with kids, building relationships and trust, showing care and concern, resulted in 90% of the students telling us they would tell an adult of they knew that someone was going to do something illegal or dangerous, the next year when we gave the same survey. 90% isn’t 100%, but it was a whole lot better than the first time we asked the kids.
Talking with kids, learning about kids, building relationships, trust, and showing care and concern always return huge dividends for schools, teachers, and kids.
Had a minute today, between meetings, phone calls, and emails, to think about where I wanted to put my brain and thinking. One of the great parts of my job is described by Dave Burgess, “I consider it one of the most important parts of my job to constantly expose myself to the high quality thinking of other people. It challenges me, it keeps me current, and it provides me the raw resources necessary for creative alchemy.” I literally have this quote printed out and posted on the board next to me.
Keith Hannah, in our TLI department, brought PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, by Fisher, Frey, Almarode, Flories, and Nagel to our attention. We all have copies and are in process of reading, reflecting, and learning.
Great thinkers ask great questions that cause learners to pause and reflect. Great questions bring one up short and demand that one pause and reflect.
With this book, I’m pausing and reflecting already.
Check out these questions for teachers. And all educators, including me.
What is the ultimate goal of your classroom teaching?
Why do you show up to school every day?
Why did you become an educator?
What makes you a great teacher?
What is your hope for your students?
What goals do you have for yourself as an educator?
These questions have arrived via the introduction and only the first 14 pages of the book.
Whoa.
The premise of the book, as I understand it so far, is that PLC work has been great. However, the authors contend, and it sure makes sense to me, “We believe that you, the teacher, have been missing from the professional learning community. We don’t mean your attendance, or even your cognitive engagement, but rather the fact that the history of the PLC movement has been almost exclusively focused on students and what they were or were not learning. That’s not to say that teachers failed to learn how to implement PLCs or how to intervene with students. But keeping student learning at the forefront requires that we also recognize the vital role that you play in the equation of teaching and learning. This means that PLCs must take on two additional challenges: maximizing your individual expertise, and harnessing the power of the collaborative expertise you can develop with your peers.”
I probably won’t feel the need to write another blogpost every 14 pages, but that paragraph, the questions for teachers, and this got my whole attention:
“The plus emphasizes not only the learning that we want to occur in students, but also the teaching and learning component for ourselves as educators. This has been missing from past PLC structures. So the plus in the PLC+ is you.
Last night was the high school’s Back to School Night. They do it in a very cool way. It’s called Thursday Night Lights. Parents/Families/Caregivers are invited to the school, food is provided, all the teachers are there, and it’s the opportunity for casual, fun introductions.
I was chatting with one of the high school teachers. She is a straight shooter, by her own admission, and my experience does not dispute this. I think the world of her and she’s amazing with kids.
Two things happened that I want to remember. First, she talked about how FINALLY it feels like school is back. Kids are kids. Kids and teachers are having fun. The lingering effects of the pandemic appear to be very much fading away. I told her that I had spent the previous day at our junior high handing out updated Chromebooks to kids. Literally every single kid in the junior high rolled through, and literally every single kid was awesome. Friendly, polite, enthusiastic. It was great.
Second, one of her previous students walked up. Their clear delight at seeing each other was wonderful to witness. The student said, “I’m going to miss talking with you! I’m doing Running Start.” The teacher said, “Oh sure, go ahead and do wonderful things with your life without me!” The kind of interaction a teacher and kid can have when they trust each other and care for each other. Also wonderful to witness.
And then the kid happily wandered off. She had touched base with a favorite teacher. A person who has helped her build roots to grow and go. The teacher had a wistful smile, but we both know that’s the nature of the job and best indication of success. The kid was ready to go.
We also talked about after all that we have been through over the last 3 years, how gratifying it was to have this kind of interaction. Certainly over the last 3 years these kind of interactions did happen, but something feels different now. It feels like it did ‘before’. The big ‘before’.
We’ve learned a lot over the last 3 years. Some hard lessons. But for one night, one interaction, we felt like we’re back.
It’s the day of the night before the first day of school. All of our schools are filled with educators putting the finishing touches on first day preparations. New students are being enrolled, rosters are being updated, and the buildings are humming with energy and excitement.
Sure as the sun will rise, some, maybe most, educators will have a tough night’s sleep ahead. I know I did as a teacher and principal. 31 years. Less so as a district leader, 9 years.
Why the rough night? For me, always nerves. After the first couple years, I knew that once I hit the classroom on the first day, I would be fine. But man, every year, I had a hard time sleeping before that first day.
A couple of things I wish I had understood during those 31 years. Thing one, the kids are nervous too. Will my teacher(s) like me? Where will I sit at lunch? Will I get my locker open? Do I have any friends in 3rd period?
Be the answer to those and other questions kids have. Like them, help them find friends at lunch, help them with their locker.
Thing two.
We all can do a better job of not judging each other’s stories by the chapters we walk in on. Everybody has a story. Everybody has a night before the first day. Everybody has a first day. Meet each other where we are, be patient, grow relationships, laugh. Relax.
Thing three. Another group of people is nervous too. Families, parent(s), caregiver(s). Pretty much the same questions as the kids. This one lands harder for me now. I’m a grandfather. Our grandson is almost a year old. As the years are flying, he’ll soon be in school. Will he have friends at lunch? Will his teacher(s) like him? Will they love him? Families, parent(s), and caregiver(s) are trusting us with their very most precious human beings. Be they 5 or 18 years old. Their very most precious human beings.
Which leads me to my final reminder. The adults in the building make the climate of the school. When they love each other, laugh with each other, are excited to be where they are, kids feel all that. Feel safer, feel loved, feel welcome.
Make it a good school year educator friends. Your actions and words will ripple for generations. Make them kind and loving actions and words.
Our wonderful HR department is kicking off the morning by welcoming all the new and new to Fife teachers. Very busy day! Superintendent Kevin Alfano welcomed everybody to get the festivities underway!
The new teachers will hear from a whole bunch of people dedicated to supporting them. They’ll wrap up the day with our TLI department and bus tour of the district!
I had the chance to chat with a number of the new teachers during breakfast, including some brand new, right out of college teachers. It might be hard to believe, but I can easily remember the feelings of being a brand new teacher. At the other end of a career now, I am revisiting my Top Ten Tips for New Teachers. I stand by these, to this day.
We’re at our 2nd day of our leadership retreat. We’re at the point in the afternoon where our building teams are hard at working talking, planning, dreaming, and scheming. It’s wonderful to listen in!
I’m in a reflective mood and guess this will be a bit of a state of mind over the 2023-2024 school year. My 40th year in our district. Probably the year I’ll retire. I’m thinking of a quote I just read in a book, “At some point your conversations become more about memories and less about dreams.” I’m not sure if I’m fully there yet, but can sure understand the sentiment.
One of my former students and wrestlers, Chris Feist, made a video last year, based upon an amazing activity he had his athletes do. I think his seniors. They each write a letter to wrestling, talking about the impact the sport has had on them.
Chris did one too. It’s stunning, impactful, and beautiful. I’m so proud of him and all he’s done, is doing, and will do for young people.
I’m thinking about a letter one could write to their workplace. Dear Fife, in my case. I’m not ready to write it yet, but as we inch ever closer to another school year, as I hear the happy laughter and collaborative planning going on around me, I am also thinking about what I would say in a letter to Fife.
I’ll continue to think on this as the year unfolds. I have some ideas and look forward to using the letter to talk about memories and dreams.
Our district recently held its annual Life Skills Kickball game. My friend, Elaine Smith, captured a whole bunch of pictures of kids, grown ups, and joy.
Sometimes, in the day to day business of school, one might forget the opportunities to experience joy. Doesn’t cost anything or much, and can be a choice.
We celebrated our Unified teams, with kickball, and the experience of joy.
Good day at work.
Thanks to Cami for this joyous blast from the past!
Caught this article this morning It talks about student led discussions. It also reminded me of the great quote, “Whoever is doing the talking is doing the learning.”
Hard to hear, but Tip #1 is, “Stop talking so much and make time for inquiry.” This also reminds me of another quote, “Is talking teaching, is listening learning?”
Kind of amazing how many tangents a challenging article will create.
Kids getting ready to do the talking.
Speaking of tangents. I recently did a word cloud of 3 of my favorite blogposts. Ten Tips for New Teachers, Ten Tips for Principals, and Top Ten Learning Quotes. Here are the results. Lots of words about teachers, kids, students, principal, classroom, learning, and for some reason, the word ‘always’. I don’t think of myself as an ‘always’ kind of guy. In fact, I always bristle when I hear someone refer to something has always been a certain way in our district. Our district has been around for over a hundred years. Something has always been? I have the same reaction to the word ‘never’. We’ve never done this? Really?
I digress.
The odd word cloud result of ‘always’, got me thinking about a verbal word cloud over the course of a typical day in the life of an educator.
What would our top ten dominant words be? Would they match up with what we would hope or want them to be?
It would be great if my word cloud was: love, patience, grace, caring, dedication, kids, students, teachers, families, hope, and so on.
I am curious to know what it would actually show. I would be willing to bet I wouldn’t be super proud of what it showed. Need to think about that some more.
Somewhere in a box is a poster my dad gave me when I was in junior high. It was one of those kind of glowy, 70s posters, with sunlight coming through a twisty tree. The message, however, sticks with me to this day. “Be patient with yourself. Grow in your own way, in your own time.”
Caught the message below yesterday. Kind of the same idea. Thanks to Rita Wirtz for sharing.
Sometimes it does seem like we’re in a rush. We have so ‘much to cover’, ‘so much to do’. I like reminders that arrive to remind us to slow down as adults. And to let a kid grow at a personal pace.
I’m a grandfather now. Being a grandfather sure lets one see things through a different lens. A slower, less frantic lens. Time is a gift for a grandparent. I like a reminder that it’s a gift for a kid too.
The Lighting of a Fire 