Full Speed Mistake

The problem I've wrestled with the "no zero" policy for most of my educational career. As a teacher, I fought against it, holding fast to an idea that giving zeros for missing work was an effective way to reward students who meet deadlines and influenced change in those that didn't. That zero really could be a wake up call, alerting students and parents to a potential problem. It was  only at the very end, probably my last 3 years, that I realized that what was happening was not exactly what I was hoping for.  Yes, my top end kids really responded to their grade suddenly and dramatically dropping. But for my middle of the road students, that same dramatic drop was a too often a death sentence. Once they fell below a C it was all but over. Sometimes this was not even after the 1st quarter was finished. No matter how well they did the remainder of the way, they simply could not overcome the mathematical consequences of a zero. And for my at risk students, well t

The all-staff welcome back meeting in the Fall is one of my favorite things to do as an administrator. I love breaking break with those that will soon work their magic with our students. Hearing about their summer adventures and plans for their classes is exciting and energizing. In fact, every part of the morning is wonderful...with the exception of going over the required District compliance items. Since we have to do them, we might as well get the most out our time together. This year I plan to present the following point scoring opportunities. As with all gamification efforts, the goal is to increase the overall engagement and enjoyment of the learner. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Something for Instructional Leaders to consider... Learner Led As an administrator, my learners happen to be both teachers and students. In order for the classrooms to be student centered, I need to model by allowing my school to be more teacher led. I'm always on the hunt for resources that will help me better facilitate this. Here are a few of my favorites: Paul Solarz' blog  - A classroom currently using a student centered approach Nureva Article  - Activities you can use to make your classroom more student centered Edutopia Article  - Teacher mindset shifts needed to foster student centered classrooms Try This Emerson said, "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey". His quote emphasizes the importance of trying your best, no matter the endeavor. Combine this with a never-give-up attitude, and there is nothing a student can't accomplish. It all starts with that first step. JUST TRY! Give it your best shot and see what happe

Staff Memos 2.0 Regular staff memos are one of many effective communication strategies school administrators utilize during the course of the year. As tech tools improve, there are more and more options for creating these documents. They are becoming more interactive and collaborative. As a result, the memo of today is more enjoyable and effective in communciating the messages administrators need to get to their staff.  But which creation tool is right for you? I did a little experiment last year that might help you answer that question. While there are many choices, we are a GSuite district, so I devoting a full quater last year to each of their four publishing tools (Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drawings), testing the strengths and weaknesses of each platform. In the meantime, I collected staff feedback on the usability, enjoyability, and effectiveness of each memo format. Before I share what I learned, here is the completely non-scientific, FSM-style key: Familiarity

Twitter and EdChats go together like bacon and eggs.  Here is a rundown of some of my favorites and the heavyweight educators that make them so amazing. Please keep in mind, this is not meant to be a comprehensive list of every EdChat out there, or a ranking of which are the best. It is just a sneak peak into the incredible communities available to you each week. Here's to learning something new! (NOTE: All times are MST) Sunday: Sunday night is one of my busiest. These conversations will get you excited about the week ahead. 5:00pm - #fitnessedu, @MrsVandeborne 6:00pm - #21stEdChat, @dprindle 7:00pm - #iaedchat, @danpbutler, @ColinWikan, @townsleyaj 7:00pm - #oklaed,  @TeachFromHere 7:00pm - #txeduchat 8:00pm - #wyoedchat @jpk38 8:00pm - #SVTChat, @CoriOrlando1 Monday: Mondays are a wonderful mix of admin, edtech, and pirates. 6:00pm -  #admin2b, @MiriamCheuk 6:00pm - #edtechchat 6:00pm - #learnlap, @Ryan7Read 7:00pm - #tlap, @aaron_hogan 7:00pm - #kse

Ever wonder what bullying looks like throught the eyes of a student? Last month my assistant principal asked one of our 8th graders to create a couple of anti-bullying posters. No theme was suggested, or reference images given. He was told simply to create something that might help reduce bullying in our school. I share the results to illustrate what was important to this young man. These stark images were brought forth from a dark place in his mind. The fact that each poster took only a single 46 minute class period speaks to the artist's talent while at the same time indicates that this particular subject is something too easily and vividally recalled. We plan to make several of these posters to hang throughout our school. Despite all our efforts, I'm know many of our students continue to suffer similar things on a daily basis. Perhaps a student's perspective can bring about change.