Word(le)

Fast Llamas,

In my last blog post I stated that I would continue sharing from a "mini PD" I created... well, I didn't post last week since I usually write on Sunday mornings and well, last Sunday I was at brunch with my family. (The Rustic, highly recommend)  Sorry, y'all, the coffee and hash browns were calling.  I also have picked up extra duties at school as well, so in addition to the eating (and, oh yes, the table was full of food)... there were chores to do to get ready for the week.  I am caught up (for the moment) and while I promise to get back to the mini PD's offerings.  I have been burning to write about today's topic.  

WORDLE

Around Christmas, I stumbled upon a post on twitter about a little game called, "Wordle".  It wasn't an app, but an actually website.  Play Wordle here  There are apps that quickly sprung up, but the original is the best in my opinion.  It was quickly snatched up by The New York Times and people swear it has changed... I think it is coincidental... There are also other games, Worldle, a geography game, a math version and immediate implications for use in the classroom.

It took me a bit to figure it out and I have been obsessed with playing ever since.  What's neat about the game is that you can share your results, without revealing the daily answer.  Sharing includes all social media sites and text messaging.  Wordle swept across the planet, people are still actively tweeting and posting about it months later.  

I shared the game with my school buddies (ah, the people who keep me sane) and we began a daily text group, sharing our results.  On the rare occasion we are all in the office together, we will play it and share a laugh with the ridiculousness of it all.  It's fun and a great way to share a connection with others.  Something that since the Pandemic, we crave more than ever.

By the time my friend Ellen shared a post that a WOMAN WAS SAVED FROM BEING KIDNAPPED when she didn't reply to her text message group's daily "Wordle check in".  We were hooked.  

In Quantum Learning we have a saying that, "people show up to a game, like they show up in life."  It hit me, all of the postings I was seeing, articles about strategy and the conversations I was having with the game proved this to be true.  I also started making correlations my philosophy surrounding learning and teaching.  

Here are my observations:

It does not matter how few lines it took to answer the daily wordle.

Celebrate your efforts in:
1. putting in the effort to solve each day
2. solving it, whether it took 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 tries
3. creating a strategy you use to solve it, it didn't take long for people to share their starting word and discuss how they solve it each day
4. not beating yourself up if you took 6 tries and your friend got it in 3
5. celebrate your friends success and ask them what strategies worked for them to solve it quickly
6. that if you didn't solve it today, you will be back tomorrow to try again

When comparing the Wordle experience to teaching we can see these connections:
1. celebrate effort with your students, the "try" is worth it... find small ways to acknowledge kids effort each day
2. learning, it is rarely a one and done. We recap, repeat and review until we master
it. We review every 10 minutes, 24 hours and 7 days. 10-24-7
3. when facing challenging conditions, teachers match the strategy needed with their students. Teachers understand that teaching and learning is iterative.
4. Failure Leads to Success. So what if your students didn't understand a concept the first time, the second time, hey, let's try it again until the "get" gets "get"
5. The power of the collective. In our buildings are vast sources of information of how to be successful. The teacher down the hall is being really successful in various ways with their students? Ask what is working. 

Steer clear of negative, stick with people who are trying all kinds of strategies to: 

1)break habits 

2)get kids actively engaged 

3)increase student discourse 

4)make connections with students 

5)value effort 

6)stay on the side of hope

6. understand that tomorrow is a new day... start each day with gratitude, hope and optimism. Know that your efforts have impact that might not be seen today... the "yet" won't happen if we don't try today. That's not toxic positivity, we know things surrounding education is tough, but we strive each day to make a difference, with our students and with each other.


I think one way Wordle keeps people coming back is the data. Ah yes, you can track your progress. And yes, people post it too!

Do non-educators on twitter even realise they are participating in a data dig? Ah, the bell curve. Don't clear your search history tho! You will lose it all! (yes, this happened to me)

I will leave you this tidbit from my youngest son, Casey. Casey is 21, is highly competitive, and loves to win... this is probably due to his older brother (by 6 years) allowing his 3 or 4 year old (at the time) brother to win at Candyland, Shoots and Ladders and Trouble every time they played.  As cruel as it sounds, I told his older brother to allow him to lose. "Just play the game," I would say. Casey needed to "learn how to lose sometimes"... but, Mitchell, just couldn't bear to see his kid brother lose a game, even though I told him, we were "creating a monster". You cannot grow up thinking you win everytime... that's the point of games, to teach you strategy, competition, thinking skills, socialization skills and of course, grace in losing.
Casey shared this with me and twitter just a couple of days ago.

Some things never change. How do you show up?


Until next time... pray for peace... No War, Know Peace...

Fast Llamas and Effect Size

Hey Fast Llamas, 

This year is a tough year to squeeze in any additional Professional Development.  So, I created a mini-pamphlet and shared it with the science department.  In it, it has mindset ideas and messages to independently reflect on.  Traditionally, February can prove to be a rough month.  Pressure gets higher and everyone seems tired.  Maybe the weather has something to do with it... while it is getting lighter a little each day, February is really when Houston has it winter.  Spring is near my friends!  And as one AP reminded me, "we have 66 more days left this year".  Y'all, ONLY 66 more days to make an impact.

I digress...  I made the pamphlet to provide information I would of normally delivered in a PD session...  This way, however, teachers can peruse at their leisure and pick up pieces as they need. 

In the pamphlet I reminded the dept. of the work of John Hattie, because it really comes down to being efficient with the time we have with students and the time we have to plan for our students.  Hattie's work is grounded in using the most effective strategies intentionally to gain accelerated learning.  That's the heart of what we are doing.  To get students to retain, maintain and apply greater amounts of their learning in short amounts of time.  It's not about doing a 3o minute activity in 15 minutes, but, in that 15 minutes, utilizing amazing strategies that help make memory get encoded into long term memory.  Make learning sticky!

Remember, John Hattie completes a meta-analysis of hundreds of instructional strategies every year and ranks them according to their effectiveness and influence on student growth. One years input yields one years growth. A hinge point of .4 equals one year growth. We should strive to use strategies that are effective in providing at least one years growth or more! 

 For more information, see Hattie

(DO NOT let the second most influential strategy called "Self-Reported Grades" turn you off... most people see that as kids grading themselves... nope...
John Hattie explains that....
"Children are the most accurate when predicting how they will perform, if I could write my book Visible Learning for Teachers again, I would re-name this learning strategy “Student Expectations” to express more clearly that this strategy involves the teacher finding out what are the student’s expectations and pushing the learner to exceed these expectations. Once a student has performed at a level that is beyond their own expectations, he or she gains confidence in his or her learning ability."

Below is a list of 12 influential teacher moves and their effect size.  What is amazing, is the moves are very low gradient.  They can easily be inserted into your pedagogy.  With intentionality, they can be ingrained in your habits quickly.  I saw Wes Kieschnick present this piece and it was amazing.  "Clock Face" is an old Quantum Learning strategy that uses places in the room to become a clock face to hang memory on.  It's very much like a peg system, where you tag a memory in a specific place to help retrieve it.  Add movement and stories to the peg and you just added more memory tags.  It's a great strategy! 

@Wes_Kieschnick

What I really like about this clock-face, is all of the strategies mentioned are influenced by teacher actions and aid in development of teacher to student relationships. Which we all know is the heart of learning.

Next week, I will share another piece of the Pamphlet I created... until next time!

Fast Llama Free Resources

Hello Llama's!




Today is one of those days when I have so much to share that I am having a hard time choosing what to write. So, I am going to share this link, right now! It is a link to an article written in Doug Curry's "Free Resources", website. It's long, and I intend at some point to break it down into sections as I have in the past... but, gosh, what if you wanted to read it right now? True to Doug's writing style, 14 pages goes by in a flash (there's lots of pictures and he uses big font!) since he writes as if he is talking to you in the room...

Here is the conclusion to the article:

Do you want to know what the good ones look like? [he is talking about a good middle school]

• Passing periods are loud. Kids are happy. All teachers are at their doors. All administrators are visible. It’s boisterous, but it seems happy and under control. There are not large mobs of kids. Teachers are right in the middle of any situation. There are lots of positive interactions occurring. You feel safe walking along. Kids are quick to greet you and ask if you need help.

• When classes start, the hallways are clear. If a student appears in the hallway, you can see that the student has a clearly marked pass of some kind. If the student does not have the pass, an adult is quick to ask the student for one.

• Adults appear energetic. You can sense their feeling of efficacy. We are not powerless. We know that our school will be what we want it to be.

• Meaningful and engaging learning is going on in every classroom from bell to bell.

The world’s a little more crazy every day. However, these kids did not choose this world. They deserve the same chance that you and I had in order to live successful lives, and a loving, safe, and engaging school is a right.

Doug Curry gave me the strength to stop "putting my head in the sand" in terms of addressing misbehavior because he empowered me with strategies, skills and confidence. He gave me strength to be myself...

Before I moved away from Cy-Fair back in 2013, my classroom was entrenched with Quantum Learning strategies. But, when I moved to Amarillo, my teaching techniques came under the scrutiny of my colleagues. I kept hearing excuses, "oh, we tried that and it doesn't work, the students won't like that, the students won't respond, that will could never be me..." etc, etc, etc. Teachers would stop by my door and question me all the time... I felt intimidated and finally shamed for doing the things I that were really a part of who I was as a teacher.

QL teachers are different. We approach the Foundation, Atmosphere, Environment and the Design and Delivery of our classroom as a whole system of interchanging parts. We know the impact we have on student learning, both emotionally and cognitively.

I hear that sometimes now, after a presentation, that I will be told, "I could never dance around, stand on a chair or chant, like Tracy. It's just not me", or "I thought QL was all about laughing and dancing, but now I know it impacts relationships, teaches character and builds students capacity to learn and retain information." But, Quantum Learning is a deeper understanding of the brain and how it learns, content AND social skills, it's much much more that dancing, plants and lights. I am a shy extrovert. It takes a lot of courage for me to do the things I do, but, I do those things for the kids I teach.

Here's an example of a shaming moment I experienced:

Background: When I taught Moon Phases, on the very first day I would wear a baseball jersey, baseball pants and ball cap. I would carry a bat and have a baseball on hand. I stood in my threshold greeting kids with this outfit on while John Fogerty's Centerfield was playing. There were pennants decorating the room. For the lesson, students would place the changing phases on a baseball diamond field.

Home Plate is the New Moon

First Base is the First Quarter

Second Base is the Full Moon

Third Base is the Last Quarter

When you are on first base, you are on the right side of the diamond, first quarter moon - light is on the right. You get the gist...

Okay, so this day arrives to teach Moon Phases at my new school and I set up my room as always. Except, this day is also a faculty meeting, the first faculty meeting since I have arrived. (I started my new role in January)

True to form, I do not remember that there is a faculty meeting until late in the day... But, in my mind, it's just a meeting after school. I did not know I would be introduced to the faculty as the new hire, replacing the 8th grade science teacher who had left in December.

Do you know what is coming?

I get introduced in a baseball uniform (worst is I am in Ranger country, and yep, I am wearing an Astros jersey). I'll stop there and let you visualize the stares and weird looks I got.

In that moment, I stopped... QL teaching stopped in my classroom for months. I stayed low, I stayed below the radar. I quit being "weird". I got tired of teachers poking their heads in my rooms and questioning me, I kept having to explain why I did the things I did. There was a lot of eye rolling and retorts - "good luck with that".

I ended the school year miserable. Lost

In AISD, if you fail your core subjects (or STAAR), you had to attend summer school. But, your school hosted your own students. STAAR students retook the test for the third time, I think at the end of June. It was really good pay and was only a half day so I signed up. I taught Science and Social Studies to a handful of students. Two other teachers taught math and reading. It was an easy gig. (my last year to be at this school, I ended up being the 'Principal' for summer school) Great experience in the end.

It was during this time that I attended Doug's "How to Train an Llama" session. (I needed the PD hours) The next day, I came back to my classroom, sat at my desk and just reflected. It was summer and the students hadn't arrived, the school was silent. I remember, looking to the right, looking to the left of my classroom. You know that time, when your classroom is empty and you can feel the potential energy in the room. With astonishment I said out loud, "my classroom will be whatever I want it to be".

And it was...

Your classroom can be whatever you want it to be as well. So, can your school as a whole. It takes effort and confidence. But, you are in control. Never feel ashamed for standing on the side of hope, for never quitting on kids, to keep trying new things, to keep showing up and being yourself. Check out the link above for some ideas of what taking control of your school looks like.

If someone asks why you do what you do? TELL them... you are helping them get faster! The best PD is often the teacher down the hall. The best reason for this conversation is the kids sitting in your class. Share your knowledge and never be ashamed.

I am a Fast Llama and Quantum Learning Teacher...

The Fast and the Curious

Fast Llamas,

Do you ever get on a kick about a certain topic?  You see something that intrigues you and then you spend time learning all you can?  Well, I do!  And lately I have been energized about curiosity and its impact on learning.

Based on the work of Dr. Georgi Lozanov, curiosity plays a key role in learning.  We say in Quantum Learning that our Teaching Cycle was created, based on Lozanov's work and it augments how we learned as children.  So, this past week, I was reading articles about curiosity and its impact and it hit me.  The connection between the two.  That when we were little we learned about the world around us by thinking and asking...

Let's dive deeper into the state of curiosity a how we can use it intentionally in our classrooms.  

If we want to accelerate learning, then we have to start with engagement, capturing our students attention.  This can be accomplished by getting our students ready to learn and using curiosity to do get them there.   Curiosity makes your brain alert to new concepts, when you are curious about something your brain expects and allows for new ideas related to the concept and subjects.  In other words, curiosity primes the brain for new learning.  

Without curiosity, images, thoughts, and ideas might given to you, yet, you miss them because your mind is not prepared to recognize them.  Our job as teachers to to prepare our students for learning.  One of our primary objectives or directives is to create an optimal learning environment.  To lay the groundwork for learning to happen for our students.  We let them know that learning to about to begin, that learning is happening and that the learning is important.  

When curiosity is piqued:

• we are more likely to remember learning
• we are more likely to learn content faster
• our minds are active not passive
• our minds are observant of new ideas
• it opens up new worlds and possibilities
• it brings wonder, joy, awe and excitement to lessons

We all know that we have a very short amount of time for learning to occur. Ask any teacher and they feel, "they teach against the clock" on most days.  Coupled with a lot of students go home to environments where learning is not supported (they babysit, work, cook, clean or don't have a place to do school work) once they leave our campus.  The time we have them in our class makes every minute matter. That was Dr. Lozanov's curious mind too, and he was asking... "how can we accelerate learning, learning more in less time?". 

Don't confuse me, I am not talking about,  "faster" as in physically "faster" such as, making kids do math problems in less time (gosh, no "mad minutes" here).  

But, what I am saying in coupling our huge list of what to teach along with the time we have to teach it, makes teachers question on how and ways to get there.  Using curiosity to prime the brain for new learning is a great answer to this burning question.  

Application:

There are two things to consider when planning the beginning of your lesson.

1. How can I create a desire for learning?

2. How can I make connections with any new learning to students prior knowledge?

Ideas for Preparing the Learning - purposefully planning and adding to plans, making it intentional:

Curious State - 

A hook:

• song
• video
• demo
• joke
• story
• skit
• a question
• picture
• puzzle
• virtual simulation

How great would a math lesson be to start with a puzzle such as..

There are even math wordles around!  

A common experience 

Ideas tend to grander and require student participation:

• Students plant pea seeds and grow them over several weeks, a King or Queen (hello, A.P. or Principal, comes in and takes them all (intro to revolutionary war)
• Students push carts across a field to demonstrate pioneer experiences
• Students are given an oreo cookie to make an analogy to writing
• Students are told parents will now choose their dates to prom as an intro to Romeo and Juliet
• Students eat blue/purple colored foods and drinks and wait to see the results - digestive system
• Students are required to pay to use the restroom with PBIS bucks, rule was created by senior teachers (into to revolutionary war)
• Pacific Northwest Tree octopus - false information on the internet
• Creating a scaled timeline that stretches the area of the classroom
• Having a feast from a different culture

If you are thinking these ideas are fun, then you are correct.  Let's add a bit of wonder, awe, joy, fun to our lessons to pique curiosity and grab our students attention.  What ideas do you have?  Do you have a lesson that could use a small upgrade to get it going and get students participating.  When you begin planning your lesson, begin with this step, plan for priming students brains for what comes next.   

until next time

Tracy

What is your Impact?

Fast Llama's,

Here is a story to reflect on...

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprizing a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes, but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

 "Hello Barry, how are you today?" 

"Hello, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Just admiring them peas. They sure look good."

"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"

"Fine. Gittin' stronger all the time."

"Good. Anything I can help you with?"

"No, Sir. Just admirin' them peas." ''Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.

"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for them with."

"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"

"All I got's my prize marble here."

"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.

"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is, this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.

"Not exactly but almost."

"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way, let me look at that red marble", Mr. Miller told the boy.

"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man.

A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there I learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.

Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer what ever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts... all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles.

With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them."

"Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size... they came to pay their debt."

"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho".

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shiny red marbles.

The Culture of your Classroom...

Remember in the story of Mr. Miller, he changed lives because he was nice…

Nice does not imply soft… nice is loving and relational and nice changes lives

When you have structured, calm classrooms with consistent expectations and systems, you are telling your kids you love them all the while being nice…

The culture of your classroom drives performance,.. it's all about relationships!

Kids will do anything you expect them to do if you love them, treat them with dignity and respect and expect the best of them…


Build relationships of trust by showing interests in students as individuals…


In a survey… teachers replied they knew about their students outside school activities


But, in the same survey given to students, the students replied that the teachers didn’t know about their outside activities... Make it a point to ask...

I wish my teacher knew

Swinging in the New Year

We are back in the swing fast llamas!  

We have our first week back from a long break and it was filled with data!  Someone mentioned that the assessment data we were viewing really didn't surprise her... with that thought comes with what comes next... how can we use the data, whether it was surprising or not to move forward.  How does it change the way we teach or allow us so reflect on the good things we are doing on a daily basis?  That is the key... where do we go from here?

Here are some suggestions, based on the conversations during our data digs... what else can you add?  We are at an advantage that time each week is devoted to "closing the gap", this shut down time can be devoted to repeated review and practice that was  difficult to normalize in a pre-covid year.  


Reflecting on CTG Time

When thinking about the best use of CTG time, there are a few mindsets:

• Do we use the time to review concepts missed from previous units?
• Do we use the time to prepare for new concepts in real time?

Both mindsets are grounded in good pedagogical decisions… teaching is iterative.

1. Going over Unit Tests - do we go over every unit test in depth with students, talking with them about most missed questions and distractors (testing strategies/how to begin/when do I need to use scratch paper, etc)? Metacognitive stuff.

2. Test Corrections - do we ever use CTG to do test corrections?

3. Going over the TEKS test - are there plans to go over the TEKS test in depth? What value does this serve for kids to know the percentage of questions missed and distractors and “where the thinking might have gone wrong”... conversations about this are always eye opening. There is something in celebrating where students were successful… especially if it was a challenging question. This can build rapport…

4. Practicing reading Graphs - where to start when reading a graph, what is important info on a graph?

5. Creating Graphs? Is this a thing that is important?

6. Practicing how to approach a question - How many steps are needed? Can I answer without looking at answer choices?

7. Vocabulary - Direct teaching of vocabulary using strategies like Frayer Model or other activities

8. Word Walls

9. Teaching and using Brick and Mortar Words

10. TELPAS - practicing writing, practicing speaking

11. Anchor charts - that are up during the unit and referred to, reviewed with daily/removed with testing is occurring…

I am a big fan of their use, since it can take up to 3 - 7 sleep cycles for learning to be converted into long term memory. Recapping an anchor chart is a way to review previously learned material each day to help students make memory.


12. Using Retrieval Practice - can students retrieve info from memory? Do they know they really know it?
Can they create their own Anchor Chart without looking at yours? Can they speak and describe the Anchor Chart to you or others? (again, this is helpful for TELPAS)

13.  Games  - let's have some fun

14. Peer teaching

15. Set up classroom jobs and tasks - this is great for building connections and giving students a sense of autonomy.  Use this time to build rapport and strengthen relationships.  Because when the culture is right, achievement can happen.

Until next time...

A Challenge for Christmas

Hey fast llama's,

I was leaving a department Christmas get together on Friday evening and I said something to two teachers while they were leaving and it has stuck with me all weekend.  What terrible thing did I say?  Well, sit tight... 

As I told them "Merry Christmas" and to "drive safely", and they returned the favor,  I yelled to them as they reached the end of the sidewalk, "if only we were done". 

If

Only...

As in done with school... 

This, my friends, bugs the heck out of me... What a missed opportunity... And it shows that changing mindsets of habitualized behavior is really hard and it continues to be a challenge for me and I can assume for everyone else.  

You see, I cannot abide by "counting down".  Counting down the week, (Thursday is Friday Eve, TGIF) and the ubiquitous "counting down to school breaks". 

I actually have several "Counting Down to Christmas" or advent calendars' in my home... this is not what I am talking about... counting down to Christmas is a fun way to get excited for the holiday... let's not confuse the two... 

Today, I am talking about the count down to the end of the term and the message it sends to students and fellow coworkers.

I used to have countdowns all the time... because I am ashamed to admit, there were times where I wasn't happy at all with teaching.  It has taken years of work and training to change my thinking and fall in love with teaching. Beginning with year 17 and a little thing called Quantum Learning, Doug Curry's Llama Training, then year 25 with Building Teachers Capacity for Success and the living Reflective Cycle.  Throw in some Harry Wong, Doug Lemov and you get the picture.  

Look, I completely understand how absolutely tough it is to teach right now, but, I used to count down 30 years ago.  This is not a new construct.  (the worse one I ever saw was one that a teacher put on the board on the first day of school, "180 days to go", at least I was never that bad! )

So, I work hard at living in the moment, the Quantum Learning Key of Excellence of "This is It" , where I make the most of every moment. Gratitude journaling (Dr. Jenny Severson, to thank for that) has taught me that thankfulness and gratitude is life changing. And I live in gratitude and joy, that is my goal.  

But, as I stood on that sidewalk, I could possibly sent a message that:

• there are better places to be
• that school is not a good place
• that I don't like the people at school
• that I basically don't like where I am in life
• that I am not grateful for the opportunities before me

A bit dramatic... but, what if implicitly this message was worming it's way in the unconsciousness of my fellow coworkers.   Work I have done on my own mindset completely abolished by two words...

If

Only

I think what bothers me most is that I didn't 'walk my talk'... And, in the moment, I can say it is a great opportunity to lean into the learning here, and remind myself of what is important to me and the messages I send to others. Perhaps it happened on purpose for me, to reflect on and remind myself to continue to do the work I find so valuable and that I am human.  But, as Pete Hall suggested, that I "wear concrete shoes" and it struck me, the power in doing that.  My friend Ellen and I walked out of Pete's training, after hearing him say that, with a renewed sense of the great that is...   Trust me, Pete, this experience reminds me how I feel when I took them off... and it didn't feel light at all.  

With the above thought, I will use my imperfect moment to remind myself and others, that the break is coming... a well deserved one... but in the meantime, in the next 5 days, make it count for kids  and for your co-workers.  In the short time we have left in the Fall semester, make them feel like you would be not anywhere else but with them.

So to the teachers walking out of the party on Friday, I say to you... there is not place I would rather be than Cypress Lakes High School, today and everyday.  

Merry Christmas

TO

References

Curry, D. (2015). How to train a llama: Exceptional classroom management. TurnAround Schools Publishing.

Hall, P. A., & Simeral, A. (2008). Building teachers' capacity for success a collaborative approach for coaches and school leaders. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Lemov, D. (2015). Teach like a Champion 2.0: 62 techniques that put students on the path to college. Jossey-Bass, a Wiley brand.

Severson, J. (2020). The Educator's 180-Day Gratitude Turnaround: Self Reflection Journal. Ripple Press.

Wong, H. K. (1998). The first days of school. Harry K. Wong Publications.