Head Barely Above Water

Date
Posted by
Comments3

I don’t even have time to write and tell you why I haven’t had time to post. All is well, busy with student issues, strategic planning, emergency preparedness, evaluations, budget planning, bell schedules, and can’t even think of what else. Instead of trying to come up with a post, think I’ll go read a bit and invest in a little much needed input. Too much output lately. It’s either read everything I can find or go on a mad on-line shopping binge. Healthier to read.

HR Manager Lisa emailed me to ask why I hadn’t written. When I replied that I barely had my head above water she said I was lucky because she’s sprouting gills. Truth be told, we’re all in the same boat.

I Said What?

Date
Posted by
Comments4

Have you ever had a moment where someone tells you something and your internal response is “how could they possibly think that?!” It’s one of those times here in G-Town where my perceived attitude is different from what I intend.

I’ve written previously about cell phones, et al. I’ve spoken to the students and to the faculty about our school rules on the issue. Students may carry them, but they are not permitted to use them in school between 7:15-2:15. We also provide locks for their lockers so that they have a secure place to keep valuables. However, I’ve never thought for an instant nor supported allowing students to use cell phones during instructional periods. That’s just absurd.

I know our kids text constantly. I also know that as a classroom teacher, no student would have text messaged or used a cell phone during my class. I wouldn’t have allowed it, would have given consequences if it happened, and would have counted on our mutual respect to prevent it.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when my department leaders indicated that my perceived “laid back” attitude toward  our students having cell phones on them and that I allow them to listen to MP3 players in the hallway, study hall, cafeteria—translates to a similar laid back attitude in the classroom.

We absolutely have to guard our instructional time. We have enough interruptions between snow days, vacations, student absences, and activities. Teacher control or principal’s control? It’s a no-brainer to me that this shouldn’t happen and yet, I haven’t appropriately set this tone.

Thus, my appearance on the announcements this morning reminding students of the “no cell phone use in school” rule. Couple that with the consequence for students that they’ll lose the phone until the next day. Since many think it’s a vital appendage, I’m sure there will be some teeth gnashing and crying as students use the phones during class, breaking the rule, and lose the phone for the night. I’m sure I’ll hear that I have no right. Luckily, we’ve made it clear in the past that students can’t have them AND I’m happy to make it clear to parents that we need their children learning in our school, not texting friends.

Can’t wait until the first student tells me, “I was just checking the time.” Fun times.

G-Town Show Down

Date
Posted by
Comments2

We started our positive school wide behavior management program last Monday. It’s called the “Panther Power Program” and it culminates in a huge school assembly on the last day of school before Spring Break, April 5, 2007.

I started this program while working as an assistant principal at Frontier Middle, continued it as the high school principal at Randolph (where it continues for it’s fifth year), and look forward to it here in G-Town. While completing my admin program, Dr. Larry Maheady at SUNY Fredonia introduced me to it and I’ve been pleased with the results every year since.

Every adult who works in our building receives ten “Panther Power” tickets which they can award to students between now and the G-Town Show Down. The tickets are awarded to students for marked improvement in effort or achievement, continued strong effort and achievement, and excellent attendance. Students who receive a ticket bring the ticket stub down to the main office to turn in to me or to our Dean of Students. It gives us the opportunity for positive interactions with students. The ticket stubs all go into a box until the day of the G-Town Show Down. In total, we probably award about 700 tickets during the seven week period. And the ticket that the student can take home (I always say to put it on the fridge to gain some points with mom and dad) is the main reward.

But let’s be really direct, I choose this time of year for a reason. This is the hardest time for everyone to stay positive. The push through the third quarter until Spring Break. And why do I have the assembly the day before vacation? Precisely to keep kids in school and increase my attendance on a day that typically results in a high absentee rate. And I’m telling you after six years of success, it really works.

Many students would tell you that the day of the G-Town Show Down is the single best day of their school careers. I know, because they’ve told me that very thing. And what is the G-Town Show Down? It’s a 90 minute assembly where our students and staff perform on stage. It’s totally student run, with help from our Building Improvement Team. Students run the try-outs, organize the program, run the sound and lights, and emcee the event. We have acts that range dramatically on the talent scale. Our teachers have a band “The Ratler and the Shakers”, at Randolph they were Staff Infection, One Sick Band 🙂 , and the kids love it. Heck, I love it! Some acts are so bad that they’re good. We had a tech teacher, along with six students, dance the YMCA in a way you’ve not imagined. This year they’re up again, along with an awesome Native American duo on authentic drums and song, a kid comedian who completely came alive on stage last year, and some garage bands. This is a way for kids who can’t otherwise show their stuff to say “look at me, this is who I am.” And everyone is respectful and excited and totally jazzed about the event. It’s the best of who we are.

And the Panther Power ticket stubs? I give prizes between the acts to lucky students with tickets drawn–mostly t-shirts that say G-Town Show Down, and some prizes donated by our extracurricular clubs and classes. But the prizes aren’t what it’s all about. Our celebration of each other–that’s what it’s all about.

Student Apathy=Teacher Apathy

Date
Posted by
Comments4

So my palms are sweating a bit because I just submitted my first post, Student Apathy=Teacher Apathy,  to LeaderTalk, a blog by school leaders for school leaders. As a contributor, I’ll be writing on the third of each month. I’m in some very good company as a blogger and so felt the anxiety of producing a good post, one that would be up to everyone’s expectations. Dr. Scott McLeod over at Dangerously Irrelevant put it all together.  

It was a different experience from writing here on G-Town Talks. This is my own blog and if readers don’t like what they see, they don’t have to return. This was harder because I realize reader expectations may be different from what I have to offer. And I care about the opinions of the other contributors, they are most of the people I read every day.

So please go check it out and especially look at the posts by the other writers–mine is just one of many voices out there and my colleagues offer thoughts that keep me learning every day.

Hurry Up and Slow Down

Date
Posted by
Comments1

Went to read Educational Discourse recently, after a couple of well-written and thoughtful comments on this blog by Principal Kelly. He writes as follows,

Really, we, as educators, live in a world of dichotomy – where one part of our world is moving so quickly it takes our breath away while the other side hardly seems to move at all. There we are, stuck in the middle trying to somehow bring these two together. Some people are doing a fantastic job while others are so overwhelmed that they stick with what they know, which, we are finding, doesn’t fit with our present students which is causing some serious problems.

Just want to mention that I really get that–thank you Kelly for bringing to light something I wasn’t quite grabbing, something which always results in my total lack of patience with progress. (Just ask my boss.) The time spent reading and learning and planning versus the time spent trying to move a system two inches. That’s what makes the problem solving part of our jobs so intriguing–knowing what’s out there and trying to figure out how to bring it in. And what to bring in. And when. And how to pay for it. And convincing those who have decision making ability about the money that our initiative is worthwhile. Intriguing. Challenging. Frustrating. Worth it. 

Teacher’s Rule or Principal’s Rule?

Date
Posted by
Comments13

As the high school principal, I feel personally responsible for everything that happens in our building. Everything. So what to do, and I KNOW every principal will relate to this post, when teachers have complaints about school rules?

Let’s use cell phones and MP3 players for an example. (And readers who spend their days in G-Town with me, I’m calling you out–post a comment, tell me what you think.) What should the school rules be in regard to these devices?

A brief history lesson first. When I arrived at G-Town, they were not allowed in school. If you had one, it was taken away and your parent called to pick it up, including school consequences. If you had one stolen, well, you shouldn’t have had it in school in the first place. ANY adult who thinks kids didn’t still have cell phones/MP3 players on their person is in serious denial. Last year, we purchased locks for every locker, told students we have things stolen way too often, insisted they lock their lockers and keep valuables inside. MANY students refused to use the lock (takes too long), items were stolen, same old story. This year, we say students can have phones on their person but may not use them during the school day. MP3 players may be used in the hallways and in study hall. Also, some teachers allow them as students work on art projects or on the computer.

One important thing to consider. Nothing gets teachers hotter faster than the idea of CONSISTENCY. If we have a school rule, everyone needs to enforce it in the same way for all kids. NEVER HAPPENS in my seventeen years, teachers have different tolerance levels for all kinds of behavior. And I know it’s my responsibility to ensure teacher accountability, as a principal I’ve proven I’m not afraid to address personnel issues. I’m also not going to damage a relationship with one of my teachers by taking a disciplinary approach to lack of enforcement of the “cell phone” rule.

Back to my question. A couple of teachers feel that allowing students to carry cell phones and MP3 players is a distraction. They say it’s a hassle to ask kids to remove them when they enter the room, that they always have to ask students to put them away. These are two teachers who I really respect, I listen to them. They are not chronic complainers.

What possible solution is there? Seriously. What options do we have? (And if you follow the news, little lockers built outside of the building isn’t ever happening while I’m here.)A school wide ban on these items? PLEASE (note: sarcasm). A school wide ban isn’t going to stop any kid from bringing these items to school. What are we looking for here? Should we dump progressive discipline and give our most serious consequences for this “offense”?

Let me pretend I’m still a teacher, as it hasn’t been that long–seven years. If it’s my classroom in our school and the rule is no devices out in class–why will I have any trouble enforcing this rule? It’s a simple, no big deal issue for me–just like tardy to class or late homework.

Here’s MY #1 Teacher Rule—do what I ask you to do when I ask you to do it. Reductive consequences–#1 Verbal warning; #2 Phone Call Home; #3 Let’s do lunch, today, my room; #4 You get to stay after with me :-); #5 Referral to the office and so on. Clearly articulated rules consistently applied, by ME. I didn’t make a big deal about it, I tracked it on my homework sheets, no arguments. Almost never got past rule #3. Simple. I should also throw in there that I genuinely respected and cared about my students, including expecting the best from them every day.

I didn’t need a school rule or procedure to say “it’s not ME, it’s the Principal’s Rule”. PLEASE. As the teacher, keep the authority, it will serve you well.

Teachers Gain by Blogging First

Date
Posted by
Comments2

Here’s another thing that  struck me about Will Richardson’s post the other day. I guess it was Will’s last question that led me again down a road I’ve been traveling for a few weeks. Will was talking about the emotional side of online learning and he says,

And why we need to teach our kids how to build networks of trusted sources they can turn to themselves for intellectual and emotional support in the process. But how can we do that if we ourselves don’t?

I’m more convinced than ever that it’s a mistake when we ask teachers to blog with students when they haven’t blogged professionally themselves. Therein lies the answer–if teachers see how much they gain through the on-line learning available in this community, they’ll want their students to experience the same thing. However, when our teachers employ blogging as another strategy without “owning it”, they end up using it much as pen and paper activities, just on the blog. And who has it figured out that we’re missing the boat?–our high school students. Teachers who jump into using the blog as a place for students to respond only to them miss the depth and social connections available, BEYOND the teacher. Our kids end up seeing blogging as another teacher thing, not even equating it with what they’re currently doing on their own. Teachers need to blog for their own learning first, then they will fully understand the opportunities available to their students. And they won’t miss a great opportunity.

Teenagers Talking

Date
Posted by
Comments0

Go and read The Emotional Side of Self Learning over at Will Richardson’s Weblogg-ed. It’s a great post about how our students cope with the information they gather as self learners online. Will links to Rob Mancabelli at Educational Thinking who says,

At my session on the Changing Role of the Teacher, one of the participants made a remark that I thought a lot about last night. She’s a principal and trained psychologist who has worked with adolescents in private practice for many years. We were chatting about the growing importance of media literacy, i.e. how we can teach our kids to sift through and evaluate the mountain of internet-accessible information. In the middle of this discussion, she wondered aloud about how we can help students deal with the emotional component of having access to all of this information.

But when I asked her to elaborate, her concern was that students were seeking out and locating more and more emotionally packed information on their own time, often by themselves, causing them to come to our schools each day laden with a plethora of undiscussed feelings, questions and ideas.

Well, I’m not a psychologist by any means, but the kids I know aren’t exactly walking around in isolation without anyone to talk to–they have huge support systems among their peers which are often much more important to them than we are. Our kids are also connected to the adults in our building (a benefit of a small school) and in many cases, they’re connected to families at home. So this idea that kids in general have undiscussed feelings about emotionally packed information is escaping me. Our kids talk most things to death, either on-line or in our schools, or when they’re hanging out. They have more of a voice now than ever before.   As a teenager, I certainly read novels that were thought provoking and emotionally charged. Unless a friend had read the same book, the discussion part of it probably didn’t happen. But now, our kids talk to each other, online, constantly. They can send someone to the link of what they’ve read immediately. And they are happy to lead a teacher down a discussion path in the classroom if it’s even remotely connected to the instruction.

If our students are walking around with undiscussed feelings, questions and ideas, I’d guess they weren’t all that ignited by what they saw and read on-line. The point is that with most students little is left undiscussed. However, if students are walking around with feelings, questions and ideas based on what they’re reading and seeing online, I say they call that curiosity and that’s the point. I’m happy when they’re curious about anything and directing their own learning is a dream. The opposite is too often the case where our students don’t want to think, they just want us to tell them what to do. I want thinkers and learners to walk out the door of G-Town. Teachers first.

Are We There Yet?

Date
Posted by
Comments10

Yesterday I posted about invitations that are coming my way based on my work on this blog. Miguel, Brian, Chris and Rick all comment in ways that show they get my question. Miguel and Brian mentioned the possibility that this could lead to something else, something bigger, something beyond principal or superintendent.

I don’t think there is anything bigger. For the 25-30 students who we lose as drop outs every year, there’s no job more important than mine (well, there is, but it’s being a supportive parent to them and so far that’s not a paid gig). For all students who continue to struggle with any number of things and need the best possible teachers in the most productive environment, I’m their girl. It’s my responsibility to make our school the best place it can be and I get a huge kick out of the problem solving part of this job. I LOVE to hit on something that could impact our kids–like the scheduling changes and literacy initiative. I love even more to read in the research about a school who’s turned it around and then realize we’re already on the path to doing everything in the articles. And I’m lucky enough to have a terrific faculty and staff who are game for just about anything, because they want our kids to do better too.

I’m learning patience as it takes too long to make a real impact. And I’m learning to stick around, to NOT look at those other opportunities. And the administrative opportunities are abundant in our area, like the superintendency in the nearby school district where I taught for ten years and still bleed a little purple for–didn’t apply. It was a painful decision personally, but if I go in another direction now (and I really like changing it up) G-Town goes through a couple of years of transition which can delay progress even more. And remember the march of another 25-30 kids walking out our doors without diplomas continues every year.

The only other direction I can imagine traveling is one that can impact even greater numbers of kids. But I don’t know what that would be and maybe that’s back to the readers’ comments on the previous post. Perhaps accepting invitations outside of my normal, comfortable work life leads in those directions. Right now I only want to accept those invitations, like working at High School’s New Face next summer, that help me learn new ways to improve me and to improve G-Town. I’m just not sure I should head elsewhere when we haven’t reached our destination–better achievement through a better experience and graduation for every kid in our district.  It just takes so dang long to get there.

Does Blogging Lead to Other Opportunities?

Date
Posted by
Comments10

February actually concludes eight months of blogging for me. I’m fairly certain that eight months of any practice cements it as a habit. If only I could incorporate exercise and healthy eating so firmly into my routines.

Something interesting is starting to occur and I’m not sure how to handle it. I’m beginning to receive invitations to participate in things outside of my normal realm. For example, I’ve been invited to present at an upcoming technology conference, to participate in teacher candidate development at a local university, to write monthly on another blog, and to participate in a couple of surveys and studies.  These invitations have all come about because someone noticed me through this blog.

My first instinct is to say “no” to all such requests. I don’t know about all of my administrative colleagues, but my life’s a somewhat delicate balance as it is. Between evening activities for school including meetings, athletic events, concerts and dinners and evening activities with my own children, I can barely get it all in. I’m fiercely protective of the one evening per week I get to swim and the only home cooked meal my family enjoys is at their Omi’s house or provided by a dear friend. How do I fit in additional activities or accept invitations to present? To be really frank, I also hear my husband’s voice asking, “and how much are you getting paid to do that?” to which my answer is always, “nothing, it’s just a good thing to do.”

With at least thirteen years left in my administrative career, I also consider if each accepted invitation will be good for my future. Will it make me a better administrator, adding something to my value as a future superintendent? That’s a good three years away, but everything I learn now should ultimately make me a better leader later.

How and when to accept and how and when to say “no, thank you”?