Stuart Scott, More than Booyah

Last night I found myself sitting down with a few extra moments to end the day. Normally I would use that time to simply flip through my twitter feed, scroll through Facebook postings or even check the channels on the television and find some brainless show to occupy the time. Last night was going to be different.

By now, many of you have heard, or even discussed, the moving speech given by ESPN's Stuart Scott as he accepted the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPY's. This award named after the legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano is given to someone of high character who has been affected by an unimaginable turn of events in their life.  

Here is Mr. Scott's story: 

Many of us have loved ones that are faced with life-altering diseases or a circumstance that changes our normal or a series of events that no longer allows us to live as we once we did. Personally I have lost childhood friends, college classmates and as an adult have tended the bedside of ailing family and friends. Too many times our story ends in tears shed and lives remembered.

You too have been faced with adversity. You too have watched others struggle. We each have our stories with one no worse, or better, than another. 

What moved me to share this event was Mr. Scott's ability to articulate not only his fight, but his unwavering love of life and his desire take on this challenge. He made me feel his commitment to his persevere. He shared the love of his family, especially his daughters, and his need to feel normal when life was anything but. 

As you watch his acceptance speech (see link below) allow his words to be those of others that you know that continue to overcome daily challenges. Yes, he has the degree and the life experiences to be as eloquent as he is, however I would argue that his words are those of so many individuals that are faced with similar challenges each day. He truly defines what perseverance is. Keep up the fight Mr. Scott. You are an inspiration to so many.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:11225895 

The V Foundation

Fuel the Mind. Pick Up a Book

(courtesy mhpbooks.com)

Why is that sometimes what should be the easiest of tasks becomes the most complicated? Or, having that project that sits for weeks on end?

Consider the lose board on the fence. The paver on that sits just crooked enough to be an eye sore or the closet that has engulfed every last shoe and tie and shirt or skirt in a fashion that is anything but that. 

It can be either overwhelming or ignored.

With summer now in full swing, and many having already taken their summer vacation to a destination of their liking, here lies the challenge, something that can not be ignored, it is time to clean out the closet and gear up for what will be an amazing month ahead, August.

There are still many opportunities for some R&R, but at the same time, keeping those minds fresh is essential. Whether you pick up a book, organize your office, or simply keep those brain cells moving as you prepare for colleagues, students and families returning to the school house, I urge you to continue to grow yourself.

Looking for a good read? Check out these suggestions as part of your summer reading list, I did. They each speak to leadership, the art of teaching, innovation and the importance of relationships around us.

Here you go:

Steve Faber and his books Radical Leap, Re-Energized and Greater Than Yourself. 

Chip and Dan Heath as they share Switch. 

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner share Think Like a Freak after their hit, Freakanomics.

More great reads and awesome ideas from:

Scott Anthony has a hit on his hands with The Little Black Book of Innovation.

And if you need a review of some great leadership tips, Daniel Pink offers Drive.

Enjoy your reading, and, get those closets cleaned out too.

Innovation 101

Defining innovation is no small task. For the past few years we as educators have been tossing this word around and observing how it sticks. As a middle school principal with a staff close to 100, I am doing the same. I, along with my teachers, am watching, listening, and learning what it is to be innovative in this era of education.

Being on the cutting edge of best practices, we continue to explore new methods to deliver content and measure student growth. Teachers are allowing students to take more ownership of the lessons themselves and outdated practices are diminishing.

As we talk about the responsibility for the teaching and the learning within the classroom, we are recognizing that it is a shared task by both the student and the teacher. And, more than ever before, we are connected in what we are doing as teachers and how we support each other with our work. Social media is, where access allows it, a part of our daily work and our daily interactions with both students and teachers alike. Embedding today's technology in schools and classrooms is becoming more common and someday, we hope, will be universal for all educators at all levels.

Innovation in your school may or may not look similar to my own. Here are some topics to explore when having conversations with your colleagues about what it might look like as you walk through classrooms in your building:

Bring in Blended Learning—An approach that is taking our academic landscape by storm, Blended Learning combines the formal learning model and the schoolhouse approach and adds an online element to deliver content and instruction. This practice fosters innovation as well, as it allows for an element of student control and speaks to choice and voice in the learning process.

Shift to Project-Based Learning (PBL)—Having focused questions and solid, well-crafted assessments, allowing for multiple solutions, and getting the community of learners involved are all essential elements to a great PBL lesson. For PBL to be most successful, teachers use inquiry combined with accountability.  Schools across the country are working with their teachers to better understand how Project-Based Learning can increase student achievement.

Make Reflection and Feedback a Part of the Lesson—If you are not talking about teaching and learning in the moment, then you are missing the mark. Having students share out what they are learning at the point of delivery and giving feedback speaks volumes  for a teacher’s desire to improve the student learning experience. We need to be giving and receiving as much feedback as possible to support growth. If you haven’t yet done so, it might be time to have this conversation with your colleagues and add this element into your instructional expectations.

Groups & Teams—Sometimes our role as educators is to match our students’ learning styles, abilities, and interests with others—forming the best groups possible to work toward an assignment or academic goal. Being innovative can be as simple as creating groups of learners in a new, timely, and more strategic way. Being innovative can also mean knowing the distinctions that are sometimes drawn between groups and teams, and choosing the right format for the circumstance. Where the term "group" might mean any collection of students—or teachers—with a shared interest or purpose, "team" is more often used when group members not only share a common goal but work together interdependently, and are mutually accountable for that goal.

Make It Personal—I have written about this before and will continue to beat the drum. This is more than just knowing where a student is starting their academic journey at the beginning of each year or each unit of instruction. This is about creating a pathway to success based on their life-experiences, learning goals, and personal abilities. We will continue to be innovative in how we reach today’s students if we are encouraging personalization with our students. In the same regard, we as leaders should implement this same mindset for our teachers through their professional development. Not all teachers need to hear the same message all of the time and we should personalize their learning as much as we do our students.

Lead by Example—Get in the trenches and show what you can do when it comes to being innovative. Whether as a teacher or administrator, if you are not modeling what it is we expect to see from others, then we are no further ahead then where we started. So, get out of your comfort zone and lead, making visible what innovation can look like for all the learners that you work with.

Today, innovation is defining education.  What is included above is nothing more than a partial list of what is taking place in schools everywhere. I would encourage you to grow this list with your own thoughts, ideas, and creativity to best work with teachers and students in your environment.

If we remain focused on developing critical thinkers and problem solvers, being creative and supporting innovation in instruction, then we will have our students (and our teachers) ready for tomorrow.

Written for the National Center for Literacy Education. Find out more by going to their website at www.literacyinlearningexchange.org 

The Spirit of the Tribe - A Call to Leaders

(source)

Since our very first methods courses of our undergraduate studies, educators have been encouraged to spend time reflecting on our instructional lessons. Whether in our first year of teaching or as a seasoned veteran, that charge holds true each day we are in front of our students and our colleagues.

In order to reflect upon our instruction we have to not only find time to do so but we also have to be committed to its value and be critical of our own teaching. Both of which are difficult for any one individual.

With the directions we are pulled each day, and all that needs to be accomplished to be the teacher that embraces teaching to its fullest, it is imperative that we still use reflection to assess our own practices.

This reflection, the kind that is true and at times uncomfortable, will take us from being "good" teachers and leaders, to "great" teachers and leaders. We will have looked into that mirror and had crucial conversations about what worked, and what did not.  And by doing so, others will benefit from time well spent.

For many, blogging has been a great tool for reflection. Recently I was asked to join a colleague, Jennifer Hogan, who I met through Twitter, to take an even deeper look at the craft which I have chosen, school administration, with the hope of improving my own work when supporting my teachers. She, along with a handful of others, intend to commit ourselves to monthly posts on our websites and then comment on each others posts to offer that essential feedback to assist with the growth that we seek. This "Tribe" will be comprised of people like yourself. People that take the time and effort to truly dissect the work they do. We want to move from being good at what we do to being great at what we do. We also know, it can't be done alone.

Check out Jennifer's blog here to read even more: The Compelled Educator

Care to join us on this journey? If so, complete the link below and send us some basic information to get things started!

Join the Tribe!

Blogging. Keep it Simple.

(courtesy of businessclass.inc)

There are 1000 things to write about. Finding the exact words can sometimes escape me. I am OK with that, sort of.

Maybe it's not as much about the topic but more about the uninterrupted time to gather my thoughts and get them onto paper. Something to consider, I guess.

I often find myself sifting through Seth's Blog. And, as maybe you do the same, wonder how easily he gets his ideas from his head, to the keyboard and then to us, his readers.  And on top of that, we eat it up, "worship" it, tweet it and live by it. And, Mr. Godin, we should. It is great stuff that makes us each better at what we do, whatever that might be. He makes us think, ponder, reflect and modify. 

So as I sit here on this beautiful Friday afternoon in Concord, North Carolina, I stumble over what prolific blog I could write about. What could I add to the blogging world in attempt to shape the minds of a few people who happen upon my site, Fueling-Education. Do I have anything to offer? 

Overall, I would like to think I do and therefore I will continue to write, to share, to blog. I will pledge to myself to keep it simple in the hopes that some of the most simplest ideas can spawn some of the most greatest of ideas from others. 

And, the next time you have writers block, take a stroll through the blogs of your colleagues and maybe you will find some motivation, find inspiration and get your mind thinking like Mr. Godin.

Here are some great bloggers that I learn from:

Jennifer Hogan - The Compelled Educator

Ben Gilpin - The Colorful Principal

Reed Gillespie - Mr. Gillespie's Office

Keith Howell - Principal Howell

and of course:

Seth Godin - Seth Godin's Blog

Make it Count

(courtesy eswalls.com)

There is only one today. 

Can't be re-done, no do-overs, no second chances at this one moment in time.

I recently sent out a message to my followers via Twitter: 

My motivation for this message was spawned by the passing of a great man. A man that devoted his life to teaching others. He embraced every quality in the human spirit and took every moment of every day to share with others his passion, his knowledge and his love of life. He was an educator, a veteran, a husband and a provider. He gave of himself and treated each child, each person, each member of society with care and compassion that can not be rivaled. 

In all my years of knowing this man he lived with this very question at the forefront of his morning routine. He knew that he only had one shot at each day. He appreciated life. He valued and respected the moment. Like others that you may know he never took a breath for granted, ever. This passion was at his most inner core.

So as you go through your days, weeks, months and year(s), keep in mind that there is only one chance to make it count. You have today to leave an impression that will last forever.

Will you do just that? I offer you that challenge today.

In memory of Ford Weyrick.
1925-2014 

5 Things Every Father Should Teach Their Son

It goes without saying the role that our parents play in how we grow to become parents ourselves is an influence greater then any other. With that, it is often said that how a father raises his son will have the greatest factor on how that young man will act as an adult, and as a father himself, in the future.

If you have, or had, a father that is (or was) instrumental in your development into the man you are today, you have been blessed. Not all young children, and not all young men, have that reassurance and the lessons to fall back on. Fortunately for me, I did. And, without hesitation or reservation I can say that it is these five "lessons" that I was taught by my father (with help from my mother, of course) that has shaped me into the dad I am to my children.

They are:

Be Fair - life isn't but that is not an excuse. Regardless of the circumstance, play the "game" by the rules and all will work itself out.

Be Patient - we all make mistakes, we are supposed to. Make those mistakes teachable moments and grow from them.

Be Resilient - there will be times when you feel defeated, and at times you will be just that. If you can weather the storm, smooth water will be just the other side.

Be Persistent - many times in our young lives we are told "No" and with good reason. However with each "No" comes new opportunity. Find it.

Be Kind - be so in every sense of the word whether through friendship, in passing or if fortunate enough, love. Be humane and follow the Golden Rule. Always.

This list, your list, will have 100 more lessons learned from a father that impacted your life. These are the five that I am most grateful for on this day, Father's Day.