Author Archives: Kimberly Moritz

Woman to Woman

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My daughter, Bryna, is nineteen years old. I’ve always been conscious of the need for positive role models in her life. I’ve encouraged her to form relationships with her grandmothers, her aunt, my very dear friend Tina, and other strong women in our lives.

The girls I know spend a lot of time imagining who they will become one day. As a teacher for eleven years, and now as a building principal for seven, I’m always aware of my role as a possible example of a healthy, happy, strong adult. Too many of the young women we work with don’t see a happy adult and value themselves too little. Maybe it’s being aware of this lack for other kids that’s caused me to look for role models for my own daughter.

I think the thing I’ve said most often to our young women who are considering dropping out of school is,

“You need to get a diploma so that you can be strong and take care of yourself and your kids. So that you never have to rely upon anyone else. You need to always be able to point to the door when your significant other treats you beyond reason and say ‘there’s the door’. You never want to have to stay in a bad situation because you can’t take care of yourself financially.”

Helping to raise strong young women in our community has been important to me for as long as I can remember. It’s part of what motivated me to enter the teaching profession in the first place.

I’m glad to see my daughter spend this week in Pittsburgh with the best role model I know.  My mom, Donna Lee, has always been my strongest supporter, the person who’s always believed in me and expected the best of me. She raised me to be independent, to make my own decisions, to make the most of every day. I’m happy for her influence and time with my other strong supporter, Bryna.

Whether related or not, we need to support each other. And we need to seek out those young women who are still deciding who they’ll be one day and help them to figure it out.

Agenda Item #4

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At this month’s faculty meeting, I finally explained to my teachers what I’m doing with blogging. I talked about my own professional learning through reading, reflecting, and writing. I did my best to explain succinctly how it’s influencing me professionally and what I think it can do for teachers. I talked briefly about a couple of teachers in our school who’ve been using it. I told my faculty that I believe our best teachers are those who are curious and who never stop wanting to learn.

I offered to hold a session after school for teachers who are interested in learning how to give it a try and asked that anyone who’s interested just email me to let me know. That was Wednesday. Today, I have seven teachers who have volunteered to stay after school to learn more about how to learn more.

Seven plus the three in the building already blogging. I’ll take it.

Back to the Beginning

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I’ve been playing around with the presentation of my blog, but I’m now returning to the original so that my friends on the Macs can read the posts. Hope this works better for everyone.

I usually keep the posts on this blog to G-Town, seldom mixing in much that’s personal and only when it relates to the topic of the post as it relates to school. But today our border collie, Reggie, was hit by a car and he didn’t survive. He was the greatest dog, relentless with playing catch, good natured, and beautiful. I obviously didn’t do a good enough job of taking care of him. Our cairn terrier is going to be so lonely.

The worst part is telling my kids. We talked to our son and are waiting for our daughter to get home from work to tell her.

It makes me think about the times I’ve delivered bad news to students, along with whatever family member has come in to tell the student. It occurs to me that I have no idea what the “right” way is to do this, especially now that it’s my own two kids who I hate to see hurting more than anything. Factor in my own sadness and it just really stinks.

I understand that helping a child with the grief of losing a pet isn’t anything like the grief over losing a loved one, but how do you handle it in any case? Is there anything good that I can read that offers advice?

Rachel’s Challenge at G-Town

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We have only one or two major assemblies per year, because I really try to guard instructional time. I receive requests for assemblies and meetings and pictures–interruptions–weekly. One of our assemblies is the “G-Town Show Down”, an annual program that is the culminating event for our positive schoolwide behavior management program. We feature student and teacher acts and it’s a blast.

For our other assembly this year, I’m pleased to welcome Rachel’s Challenge to our schools on December 1. We will host a middle school assembly in the morning, a meeting for student leaders mid-day, a high school assembly in the afternoon, and a free to the public community presentation at 7:00 that evening.

I have written about Rachel’s Challenge previously, as I attended the assembly at Silver Creek Central to check it out. If you’re an educator please go to the Rachel’s Challenge website and consider it for your school.  If you are a member of our Gowanda community, please join us at 7:00 pm on December 1 in our auditorium. I left this assembly at Silver Creek Central feeling like everything we do makes a difference and I can’t wait for our students to learn that too.

G-Town Salutes the Armed Forces

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Our Fall Band Concert was tonight for grades 5-12. As always, it was wonderful–everything from fifth graders who have been playing for three months to a terrific jazz band that includes three of our teachers. The auditorium was packed and everyone seemed to enjoy the concert. Our music programs have always helped G-Town shine the brightest.

I’ve worked in four districts over my eighteen years in education and we have something that happens at our Fall concert that I think is unique to G-Town. At the beginning of our concerts, our concert choir performs the National Anthem and the members of our local American Legion and VFW participate with a presentation of Colors. The concert concludes with the Armed Forces Salute and as our 9-12 Band plays, each flag is presented. Members of our audience who have served stand as their flag is presented. It is unusual and inspiring.

It’s unusual because it takes our 5-12 concert and turns it into a community event. It’s inspiring because it teaches every child in attendance that our veterans, our country, and our flag are meant to be honored and respected. The presentation and removal of Colors is a formal and serious part of our concert, and it teaches our students something important about service and about patriotism.

It also teaches each of us that we’re part of something much bigger than our school community, and that’s a good place to be.

Students step up

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We have five seniors coming to our BOE (Board of Education) meeting tonight to interview for a student seat on the BOE. I’m not sure what questions our BOE members will ask of them, but I’m pleased and proud to see that each student feels committed enough to G-Town to spend several hours twice a month talking about it. And hopefully, the student member will be listening and learning too.

To be completely honest, at first discussion I couldn’t really see why the BOE was looking for this input. After all, I’m at every meeting and I work hard to represent their needs and interests. I’m looking out for each student here. But hey, I’m an adult with my own slant on things and my own perspective. I talk about listening and learning and I give students a strong voice within the building, why not on the BOE? I’m glad the BOE members pushed on this one and I can’t wait to see what perspective a student member on the BOE brings to the discussions. I wonder what influence they’ll have? I wonder what I’ll learn.

What I’ve Learned On-Line

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What’s the biggest thing I’ve learned from starting my bloglines account, reading others, entering the on-line world of professional discussion on education, and writing here at G-Town talks? It’s all about coming to school, no, to life,  willing to learn.

By participating.  As adults. With a hunger to learn, a curiosity, asking the big questions, acknowledging that I don’t have all of the answers, willing and eager to look for them. This is the future of education.

Knowing how to think, to research, to read and reflect and respond. Knowing how to find the information I need, when I need it, and to evaluate it so that I can use it productively.

For everyone who doesn’t have the time or the inclination to learn, do you really think you already have all of the information you need to: A. be the best educator you can be  and  B. to lead the best life you can lead? Do we really have educators who think they learned everything they need to know to do their job effectively in college? Five, or ten, or twenty, or thirty years ago. That’s mind-boggling to me. I don’t even remember what I learned then. It’s what I’m learning every day, RIGHT NOW, that changes the way I see the world and do business. How can anyone just stay inside their own head, spinning around in what they think is the source of all knowledge? The teacher? Or the textbook?

I simply don’t get that.

Dear Diary: This is not what blogging is about.

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I was reading a post on Theresa’s blog, Grand Rounds, and after reflecting on her topic, I would like to respond in writing here.  I’m detailing the process because I’m reminded in her post that often times teachers, parents, and students don’t understand blogging and we’re not doing a good enough job of explaining it’s uses.

Theresa writes about her experience as a staff development specialist and the reluctance she encounters from her participants about the uses of blogs,

So why aren’t more teachers using them? Why aren’t they a part of each and every classroom across this globe?

Lots of reasons, or at least I am told. Here are some I have heard:
1. They are not safe – don’t you watch Dateline?
2. My school blocks all social networking sites.
3. Real life requires pen and pencil, not just a computer. Sure they can type – but they can’t type their state assessment.
4. I don’t have the time to have kids blog when I have content to cover.
5. I don’t have time to learn how to blog so I can teach my students.
6. I don’t blog because I don’t have anything to say – why should I have my kids blog? (Followed by – It’s just an on-line journal!)
7. Blogging doesn’t create real relationships – I want my students to discuss things in class.
8. Blogs are another fad in education– don’t you remember whole language and the damage THAT did?

So often when someone hears about blogging, they quickly categorize it as an on-line journal, or another MySpace, or a different way to IM. I guess it can be those things, but that’s not at all how I’m using it.  

I continue to spend about 85% of my on-line time READING what others have to say about education. I don’t walk around thinking about what I want to write about. It’s not the same as when I think about something that’s happened in our lives and then want to remember to tell my husband or my mom about it later.

It’s professional reading, reflecting, and responding. It’s thinking about my audience and what I want to say that potentially can influence thinking or serve a purpose to another educator, student, or parent. It’s about learning. My time spent “blogging”, and by “blogging” I mean reading on-line sources including blogs, writing, and reading comments left on my posts, is all about my own learning. It’s free, it’s accessible 24/7, and it’s what I choose.

That’s what we need to plug into with our students. Not the same old assignments posted on a blog.  We can add it to enhance learning or we can just keep doing the same old, same old. The reason I don’t worry about the educators who believe they are the source of all knowledge in the classroom is that our students already have it figured out. Any teacher, or principal for that matter, who thinks she knows everything  students need to know, is kidding herself. And no one else. I’m just hoping a few teachers will help guide our students to meaningful learning. When they leave G-Town, students are going to learn about what they choose, not what NYS tells them they have to learn. I hope we do an adequate job of showing them how to learn whatever it is they need to know, not how to receive information and then spit it back out. Who wants an employee who can only do that?

The Run-On Day

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As the high school principal, I have the luxury of working with Dan Cassidy, our Dean of Students who handles 99% of the disciplinary issues in our building. I’ve worked as an assistant principal responsible for all discipline for 900 students in a middle school and I’ve been the principal responsible solely for a 7-12 building. In G-Town, I can be effective in all of the aspects of the job that I’ve written about here because I have a Dean of Students who takes care of discipline.

Dan wasn’t in school today, he left before lunch yesterday. I’m not at all reluctant to do discipline, but today I remembered why I need someone else doing the job. On a day like today, a day that makes it impossible to plan, to evaluate, to think, to read and reflect, to complete a coherent thought, to problem solve or to analyze, I realize how ineffective a leader I would be if I tried to lead G-Town at the same time that I had to do the triage, crowd control, reactionary, “holy cats, what next?”, kinds of things that discipline can become. It’s exhausting and draining and leaves no time for forward thinking and planning.

The following exerpt of my day is written the same way it happened, in run-on and fragmented sentences– where I can’t even complete a thought before the next thing comes along.

Let’s start at 7:25 with the parents who were in to see me before homeroom because of a complaint about a grade. At 7:45, three girls squaring off in the hallway over a long standing disagreement, ending in a screaming match, an hour conflict resolution and another hour with parents and each girl separately. (Thank goodness for excellent guidance counselors.) Try to catch up with discipline referrals, phone calls to parents of the alternative ed kids who were swearing at the transportation supervisor, see the kids for throwing slushie in the hallway, going late to class, skipping class, coming late to school without a note, going late to class, calling someone a pig, hitting someone with a baseball hat, and going late to class. Meeting with a teacher. Debrief from the conflict resolution. Two bus referrals with alternative education kids that result in suspension and a bus video to watch. (Thank goodness for the middle school principal for going to watch the tape.) A cell phone is stolen, a locker to search, a kid to search, NO, I won’t search the kid again–you don’t know she stole it, I’m not harassing her and you shouldn’t have left it in the locker room, THAT’S WHY WE GIVE YOU A LOCK FOR YOUR LOCKER. It’s 1:50 and time for A send off with the local newspapers for our Sensational Senior who’s off to States for Cross Country where we form a human tunnel with all 494 students through the hallways as the coach and team members walk first, followed by our Super Fast Runner in a wagon while music blares through the PA system and the Press takes pictures as he throws candy to the crowd. BEST part of the day, by far. Must have planned this when I wasn’t inundated with discipline.

Readers are given a look into G-Town as often as I write. This is a part of G-Town and every school in the country. What’s the key to managing it? Dedicate staff to take care of it, support them, and get about the business of leading the school. (Thank goodness for Dan Cassidy, Dean of Students.)

Come Together

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At G-Town, we have a high school Literacy Leadership Team. We’re a group of teachers who meet once per month to LEARN what we can about reading and comprehension. In turn, we hope to help our students to read and understand in the content.

The unique thing about this group of 11 or 12 teachers who stay with me for about an hour after school, once or twice per month,  is that it really is about learning. We formed last year as a result of some item analysis on the Regents exams that led us to really look at literacy issues for our students. Every teacher in G-Town is invited to participate and no one has to come. I admire this group of educators because they’re staying on their own time to advance their own learning.

Hopefully, it will remain a learning group. I don’t want it to ever become a group who feels as if they’re just meeting to follow my agenda. For the next meeting on November 27, each member of the group will return with one source we’ve found that speaks to our topic in a meaningful way. We’ll share what we’ve learned individually, reflect on each other’s input, and determine our next steps together.

This is the shape professional growth and learning should take, one that’s meaningful for the participants because they get to decide everything from the content to the format to the follow through. Teachers are in charge of their own learning rather than having a “canned” program delivered to them in a one size fits all pattern.

I’m energized by this group and think we should consider the format for additional learning groups in G-Town. I wonder what our topics could be?