If you know me, you know I love words and quotes and books and anything that inspires or makes me think. I especially love to listen to coaches of sports teams talk about how they motivate and inspire their players.
A few weeks ago we attended Rocco and Gino’s end of the season football banquet. I loved listening to the coaches talk about the players and witnessing how truly connected they were to the kids they had spent so much time with for the past few years. At the end of the banquet l, the head coach said something that got my attention. Of course, I had to take out my phone and save the quote in my notes. And, if you know me, you know I’ve been thinking about his words and recognizing the message in my daily life ever since. What he said has been playing over and over in my head, “Don’t work to get done, work to get better!” That’s a good one isn’t it? How often do you just work to get done and then move on to the next thing. I’ve noticed myself doing this time and time again over the last few weeks. But, when I’ve given myself a chance to take a breath and ask myself if I’m working to get done or if I’m working to get better, I’ve noticed that the quality of my work and my personal satisfaction with it has greatly improved. I’m trying to incorporate this mantra into all parts of my life. It’s definitely not easy, but I’m astonished by how often I find myself simply “working to get done”. So, as we are all anxious to get started with lie much deserved winter break, I ask is all to think about how we finish these last few days of school for 2022. Are we working to get finished or are we working to get better?
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Today I was brought to tears, not once but twice.
I hope you all know how much I LOVE YOU and THIS PLACE. I know the work you do is the GOOD work, the RIGHT work and the work that EVERY CHILD DESERVES. You also know how strongly I feel about culture and the energy that we bring to this place. This morning we were in an ETR with a family of a student who, about a year ago, quite honestly did not want their child to come to this school. They had "heard" things about this school and they had intentionally moved to an area in our district that has "the best school". So after they learned that he needed to attended JW Reason to get his IEP services they were less than thrilled. Well, I love a challenge, and I knew that with time this family would soon learn that they were very wrong about JW Reason. Today at the end of our ETR the student's mom thanked the team over and over again and then she said, "I just feel like this school is kind of like church!" She went on to say, "you know how you walk into church and everyone is so kind and welcoming? That's what this school is like. And, our daughter is going to kindergarten next year and she really wants to be a 'DOLLY DOLPHIN'!" Well, that did it and I started crying. My tears were those "proud mom" tears. The ones that start flowing when someone else recognizes your child for something and you know fully the hard work and determination it took to get to that place. The tears were also because a 5 year old wants to be a "Dolly Dolphin". I know that may sound silly, but to me, it means that we are a brand, Dolly is special and kids want to be part of the school with Dolly! Later today, I had another meeting. This time, through an interpreter, a parent said "God bless all of you for helping my child." It's been a good day. Maybe I didn't realize how much I needed to hear those words from parents. And, I'm assuming if I needed to hear this, that you all need to. So, take a moment and remember that we are making a difference in the live of kids and families. I also want to remind you that the impact of an educator is measured by generations. It may be years down the road that some families realize how impactful their time here was. Whether it's now or later, it's because of you. I'm always learning. And, one of the best parts of my job as the leader of our school is that I get to see others learn and grow throughout their careers. I pride myself on the fact that I have hired almost every employee in this school. I absolutely love getting to talk to you about those early years when you were a brand new teacher and how much you've grown. One of my greatest accomplishments as an educator is seeing teachers turn in to true masters of their craft, leaders in our school and district and positive forces within education. But, what I hope none of us ever forget is where we came from.
Trust me. I remember where I came from. I was a terrible teacher. I was a terrible teammate. I was a terrible employee. Yep, it's true. I wasn't terrible on purpose. I was a young, 21 year old who had no idea how the world worked. I didn't realize that I actually had to go to staff meetings. Sometimes if I was busy, I just didn't go. I had no idea that 6th graders in the state of Ohio took state tests. So, when it came time for testing, my kids had never even practiced. I had no idea how to communicate with parents. I had no idea what I was supposed to be teaching. But, luckily for me, there were people who believed in me and saw something in me that I didn't even know I needed to have as an educator. There were people who didn't judge me or make me feel bad about myself, but instead mentored me, guided me, gave me lesson plans, helped me talk to parents and very calmly struck up a conversation with me about staff meetings and asked if I knew when they were! Thank goodness I was a fast learner and I soon realized that I had no idea what I was doing. I hated that uncomfortable, anxious feeling of walking into work every day and having no idea what I was really going to do. I cried for 180 days during my first year of teaching. The next year I moved to a new school to teach 2nd grade because I thought little kids would be "easier". And, once again, I learned that I had no idea what I was doing. And, once again, I was mentored, coached, helped, and lifted up by amazing educators who I soon came to realize were once mentored, coached, helped and lifted up by other amazing educators. This experience ignited in me a passion for learning and becoming a leader for others. I wanted to be like those amazing people who were helping me. And, I was blessed that my principal at the time saw leadership in me and selected me to be trained as the literacy coach for my building during my 4th year of teaching. Throughout my training year, I made a promise to myself to share everything I was learning with anyone who needed or wanted to learn it. I did not want any teacher to ever have to feel as lost and anxious as I had felt during my first few years. After my training, I kept learning and growing as a teacher. And, finally, teaching become fun for me. I felt good about my skills and felt confident in the classroom. But, I never forgot where I came from. It can be easy to roll our eyes or get annoyed with new teachers who are struggling or seem to not be understanding what we're telling them or what we mean when we are sharing lessons with them. However, it important for all of us to think back to our first few years. We cannot let ourselves "get too big for our britches" or forget where we came from. We're all on a journey and not long ago we were at the very beginning of ours. As some of you are reading this you might be thinking that you feel just like I did those first few years. And, my hope for you is that you feel mentored, helped, guided and supported by your colleagues here. You should ask them to tell you the story of the beginning of their journey. I know a lot of their stories too and you'd be surprised at how many of us, right here at JW Reason, felt just like you, not so long ago. Always remember where you came from. Darn it COVID.
I let my guard down. I didn't get the booster when Hilliard offered it because I "didn't have time to feel bad for a day or two after the shot". That was such a dumb reason to not get the vaccine. Now, I'm sitting in my house, hacking up a lung with a 103 fever. I always say "pay now or pay later" and I'm the perfect example of "paying later". I wish you all health and more common sense than I have. Thanks for hanging in there without me this week. I'm allowed to come back on Monday with a mask! They say that, "it's all about perspective. Change your view. Change your life."
I know you think I am going to try to inspire you with this post, but, I’m not. [Insert the sound of a record scratching] I sat in pee today. That’s right, I sat in actual adult human pee. How did this happen, you may ask....I’ll tell you. It all started this afternoon as Erynn, Alicia and I were interviewing candidates for our EL tutor position. This sweet old lady came for an interview (she’s a former school librarian---I think this information will help you visualize her). She had a lot of stories to share and she sat happily in one of my colorful chairs for about 20 minutes while she shared her education experiences. She was delightful, not the right person for the job, but delightful nonetheless. After our she left, I got up and walked to my desk. Alicia, Erynn and I were talking as we waited for our next interview to arrive. For some reason, as I walked back to the table, I decided to sit in the chair our candidate had just been sitting in. About 3 seconds later, I realized that I felt a strange wetness on the back of my leg. My brain wasn’t processing what I was feeling so I stayed seated for about 10 more seconds before I jumped up and said “I’m wet, why am I wet?!?!” At which time the three of us realized that there was a giant puddle of pee in the chair. Kim came in to assist. The chair has was thrown away and I wiped myself off with Lysol wipes…then, we welcomed our next EL tutor interview as if nothing happened. As they say, "it's all about perspective. Change you view. Change your life." Right? Wrong….no matter how I look at it, I sat in pee today. No inspiration here but maybe a warning, check your chair before sitting. Whenever I have the opportunity to participate in PD with Hilary Sloat, I take it! I am feeling SO energized after our staff meeting last week. I love it when we are able to work together at a staff and process new learning and it was so much fun to do that on Friday.
The PD prompted me to go back into Zaretta Hammond's book, Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain. I reread many of the parts that I had underlined and written notes about this summer. This quote seemed to resonate with us on Friday and it just so happens I felt the need to underline it as I read this summer too: "Teacher as Ally and Warm Demander In this role, the teacher offers both care and push as needed. The main focus here is cultivating the skills to push students into their zone of proximal development while helping them manage their emotional response..." As we continue to live our motto "Love is an Intervention" this is just the kind of reminder we need. Love doesn't mean that kids get away with things or that we make things easy. Love means that we are their ally and that we learn to be warm demanders who give them just the right amount of both care and push. As we await our books to come in...yes, I ordered 60 of them! Take a look at these pages from Zaretta's book. Take some time to reflect on the kind of teacher you are and the kind of teacher you want to be. In my office, I have had the LEAD NOW framework written on a dry erase board for about 9 years. I just can't bring myself to erase it. When I bought the board, I intended to use it to write reminders, brainstorm plans and keep important dates. But, the first thing I wrote on it 9 years ago still remains there. It's never been erased and I don't think it ever will.
You may be wondering why I'm sharing this with you. Well, I'm going to tell you. Over the last few months, I've experienced the people who lead me in a very different light than I have in the past. I have noticed a lack of clarity and even worse a change in character. Tim Kight defines character as the "cornerstone of trust". He shares that "Talent is a gift. Character is a choice." He goes on to explain that " Character is who you are based on the habits you build into your life. The word 'character' is Greek for 'to stamp or engrave'. Over time, through repeated action, you engrave certain habits into your life." I pride myself on living my personal values (which are also written on my dry erase board). The values are : BE A COACH and be coachable; BE GRATEFUL; RELENTLESSLY PURSUE EXCELLENCE. And, I hope more than anything that the way you experience me is consistent and you see me as SERVANT LEADER. I hope that as a leader you see me as humble. I hope that you see me as a leader who would not ask you to do anything that I wouldn't also do myself. I hope that when my character as a leader is tested you see that I respond with courage. We are all leaders within our own 20 square feet. I ask you, too, to reflect on your own leadership. How do others experience you? Are you consistent in the way you behave? Remember, especially when other leaders let us down, we have a commitment to be an example of what great leadership is. Conference night is always full of surprises and last night was no different. I didn’t have a lot of conferences to attend but I did have the pleasure of walking around the school and checking in on many of you. I could feel the positive energy throughout the building and that was so invigorating! Thank you for your hard work and for going above and beyond for each and every conference.
A few of you had stressful moments and as usual, your colleagues rose to the occasion to support you. I walked out of the building with a full heart after seeing so many of you check on each other and help each other. This is truly a special place and no one works as hard as you. Thank you for being you. Most of you know that I love WORDS! I find myself collecting words and quotes that inspire me and I just had to share this one with you.
"It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." This quote reminded me of our TEAM and our ONE WORD (TEAM)! I have been in several classrooms for OTES this week and many of you have participated in JW Grows this week, too! And, as always, when I give myself time to take a step back and observe all that goes on here, I am amazed at everything you do! JW Grows always reminds me how willing we all are to be vulnerable with one another and share the great things happening in our classrooms. At JW, it's not about being the best individual teacher, it's about working hard and lifting others up! What an amazing place this is. I had a GREAT meeting this morning at CO. We are really being pushed this year to look at our work as leaders and get better. Our Commitment Plans are actually being used to ground this work and are being revisited frequently. I am getting feedback on my work and our work! If you know me, you know I love to grow and be pushed and to feel uncomfortable. In the past few years, COVID has really halted our rigorous work and thrust us into survival mode. With a renewed focus on our real work this year, I am feeling SO energized!
Today, we were asked to think about the quote at the top of this post. I want you to think about it as well. I have typed it below and added some of my thoughts and questions to push your thinking. "Our brains are trained to skip right over what we haven't taught them to look for, what doesn't confirm what we already know, and what we don't want to admit is there...it's remarkably easy to find alternative explanations for outcomes we don't like an to interpret any discrepancies between fact and rationalization in our favor" This makes me wonder what I'm missing in my work each day-what am I NOT recognizing or noticing that is right in front of me? What am I rationalizing away so I don't have to deal with it? I am going to work to be more honest with myself about the reality that is in front of me and let myself take time to "SEE" it instead of rationalizing it away. This is going to be hard, but I'm going to hold myself accountable. I hope you can take some time to think about things you may rationalize to your favor. Why do you do that? Is it easier to pretend that everything is perfect or make excuses for outcomes we don't like? How can you change your behavior and catch yourself the next time you do this? I'm going to keep thinking about this quote and I hope you do to! |
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