Owning The Room

Today we had the privilege of having Iowa Public Television #IPTV come into our two elementary buildings at Griswold Community Schools and watch magic happen. This magic wasn't done by a magician, or someone with a magic cape (although Dan did bring his cape). It was done by a regular, everyday person named Dan Wardell.

Never have I had the privilege of seeing one of Dan's shows but I'm glad the opportunity finally presented itself.  For the kids, they are going to remember his ability to relate to them, his ability to engage them, make them laugh and get up and move. Hopefully they remember his message of turning off our TVs, video games and computers and instead how important it is to get outside and play, eat healthy and finding a way to read 20 minutes a night.

For our teaching staff, I know they all made connections to his time with us in different ways. Some saw how we can "all have fun and learn simultaneously", "positive things bring positive results" and others noted how "it's OK to let lose and enjoy the moment." With that said..... I'm also wondering if they made a connection to my incredibly horrific dance moves (if we can call them that), my lack of singing voice and how that sometimes you never know what you're getting yourself in to.

Most importantly I hope they understand how Dan completely walked into a strange room, with kids he has never met before and owned it. Flat out, completely took over. How did Dan do this? Because he praised them. Every chance he got he thanked a kid for their work, he built them up and made them feel like what they were doing was the right way to do it, the only way to do it. He got a group of 5th graders sitting in the very back of the room trying everything in their power to stay completely undetected to fully buy in, to believe in his message.

He reminded me that when you make the conversation about strengths and positives kids will take risks. Those kids will take those risks so we as educators can correct and teach, which simply put is the reason we show up each and every day.

We Have One Job...... Don't Blow it.

Our job as educators is rather complex. We're asked to fulfill state requirements, meet AYP (adequate yearly progress), handle report cards, find new growth, become data experts, provide interventions, handle parent expectations, help sick kids, encourage students to make connections..... really the list is endless. It's not an easy job, and it's a job that most people who aren't in the education realm would have any real understanding of. That's OK, I'm OK with people not getting "it".

With all of these things though, there is an area that we can't ever lose sight of and it's job  #1.  Our first job always and forever is to build real relationships. To make connections and encourage kids to think, act and behave in a way that their family and community is proud of. It's something I'm so passionate about I often tell our teachers to throw everything else out the proverbial window . That looking at spreadsheets, data and curriculum is second. None of this matters until we've made serious connections. What makes this so hard are the "politics" that get involved with education.  It's big business, with state funding and major corporations placing stake in our students' future. It makes our job even more complicated than it has ever been. It means we as administrators have a job more important than ever.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I have been called on more than one occasion "the data dork" by coworkers. I like data, I think once you consistently and reliably dig into it, our job as educators can be so much easier. I think good reliable data is the difference between finding growth and throwing darts in the dark.

I also believe in coaching, helping teachers do things they weren't comfortable doing a week ago, pushing teachers to dig into and reflect on best practice. Helping their students learn in ways they didn't know possible. I believe in much the same things that most administrators do.

But I also as an administrator feel like I have a duty to "protect my teachers".  And when it comes to all of the politics and expectations; they know my expectation, our buildings expectation is that relationships come first.  It's a fight that I think we as administrators have to be willing to fight. End of story. I hope you'll fight the same fight.

Dear Parents, Teachers, Mentors & Coaches - I Challenge You.

A concert...... Violins and 120 students (plus thousands of others from other schools). What comes to mind?

Yep - Exactly! We had similar thoughts(Will they behave? How many students aren't going to GET IT? Will they understand what we're trying to teach them and most importantly when is lunch?)

Now - Watch the video below.

Take that 15 second video and change your thinking about our day, because it DID not go as I had planned. The learning we encountered that day was unreal. 

Yes I said learning, and this is where my purpose of this letter is real, true and direct. Today I was inspired by the band Black Violin. Not because of the fact they've toured with the likes Alicia Keys, played at the Billboard Awards and countless other tours with recognizable bands (although it is pretty sweet). What I was truly inspired by was their message and what they were trying to teach. 

As an educator, coach and even a new parent I see things and have long wondered, why is it happening, why do they do that, why am I living my life this way? For example, if you know me I'm a huge believer in the fact that we are losing leaders because kids don't have unstructured play time. Instead we rush them from activity to the next by led by coaches, sponsors and directors who are telling kids what to do. We don't let kids think, do and be different. We don't let them get into trouble, argue with friends and disagree about the last 10 seconds of a pickup basketball game and who should have won. 

Sure structured activity has a great place - It's your foundation. At some point though we need balance, the passion to encourage others to do it differently.Today it hit home when in between songs Kev Marcus told the students something so real it gave me chills. He stopped the music and told the students to: "Go against the grain, do it differently, whatever you do don't do it the way it's always been done or the way your friends are doing it".  He looked at his violin and asked the students if the violin when created was intended to be played the way they were - of course the students in a roar of unison said "No!". 

I challenge you as parents to let your kids "Go against the grain, do it differently".  Make them think different, let them invent, break things, destroy things and fix things. Personally, an awesome thing my parents did for me as I look back on my childhood that I feel so blessed is that when I told my parents I wanted something or that something was broke they always asked me to fix or build it. Heck - When I told my dad I wanted a computer he bought me a box of "computer parts for Christmas and told me to get to work building my own. . 

Second Kev Marcus said that famous people are famous because of one thing and that's because they out work EVERYONE. They are doing the things that average people are not willing to do. From a personal perspective, a coach and a teacher I see this happening all the time (or lack of). Kids, adults and even myself say that they want to be great, so with the help of the people around them they join this team, that club, join this band, get this job and they work at doing something they enjoy. 

What I feel like normally happens though is (myself included) all of us do "just enough" to say they were there or involved. They get the ribbon or pat on the back for participating. 

What I don't always see is someone who loves/cares about them instill in them the absolute only way you can be great is to outwork others. The best bosses, performers, leaders, famous people aren't where they are because of talent. They are there because they outworked EVERYONE.   They aren't there because they played this many games in a season, sang in this many performances, passed this many tests. They are famous because they outwork EVERYONE. 

I challenge you as a parent, mentor, coach, teacher or leader to instill in young people the mind-frame of outworking anyone and everyone. That's the only way they'll be great. They won't be great by showing up to 30 games, performing in 15 musicals or acing 10 tests. They can only be great by having an unbelievable work ethic. 

Lastly - I challenge you to watch that music video above a second time and be amazed at how a group of guys got their foundation in classical music and then outworked EVERYONE.  How a group of guys got thousands of elementary aged students to learn differently and think outside the box. 

Where to begin...................

As my Spring is quickly flying by, I've been working on balancing all of the exciting things that are happening in my family's life, my 4th grade classroom, my community and my personal life. While doing this I have started the mental transition and mindset of being a principal for the Griswold Tigers. As my mind has started to do this, I've begun to create checklists, notes, questions and to-do lists to ensure that my transition for the Griswold staff, students and community is as seamless as I can make it. As I've prepared I've asked myself, “What are my core foundational beliefs and what do I need to do so that my new staff and students can find the most success?”

Honestly, this question has more answers then I could ever write in a blog post. There will be things I never saw coming, experiences I can’t prepare for and challenges that nobody could have warned me about.  With that said, at this point in my career I know and believe that if someone asked me to simplify it, I’d do it in 3 ways.

First – My main objective and first mission is to create an environment where staff and students wake up in the morning and can’t wait to be at school. Having the privilege of working at Treynor Elementary has taught me that if a student loves their teachers and loves coming to school the opportunity for a student to grow is endless. At the core of achieving this objective are relationships. It is my job for me personally to create relationships with staff and students that focus on trust and respect. As I’m building these relationships, it’s my belief that a teacher has one of the greatest gifts in the world and this is to create a relationship with a student that he or she may remember for the rest of their lives.  It’s up to the teacher to decide how they want to be remembered and my job to provide the environment for it to be a positive memory. 

My second core objective is to create an environment where the staff is committed to learning and growing. One of my favorite quotes is one I heard recently that went something along the lines of “I’m not saying what you’re doing doesn't work, I’m just asking if you are willing to see if we can find a way to get a better result”. This approach means you have to take risks and be willing to accept change, which are two of the most difficult things we as humans are asked to do. Having people willing to learn, share their thoughts, ideas and new learnings with others is the mark of people who are OK with taking risks and accepting change. Great ways to do this are through Twitter EdChats, blogs and most importantly from collaborating with the people around us. 

My third objective as an educational leader is to work tirelessly to find student growth. Anyone who has spent any time around me knows I am not concerned with where the student was, what the teacher last year has said about a student or how far below proficiency a student is. My objective and driving force, as a classroom teacher has always been to assess students to find out where they are, and continually monitor the student to make certain that growth is occurring.  As an educational leader I will be no different; help staff to assess, determine weaknesses, monitor growth and commit to making the necessary adjustments so all students can find success.

In a perfect world, this happens seamlessly. In the real world, the staff at Griswold Elementary and I will learn, grow and go through hardships and tireless days together. When the day is over though, it is always our job as educators to reflect back and ask if we've helped our students learn, so that they can be the leaders of our communities tomorrow.

Why the change?

As I begin the next chapter in my life, many people both in the education field and my personal life have asked me, "Why would you make the change to become a school principal?" To answer the question simply is impossible. Much like my decision to accept the principal position in an incredible school district in the Griswold Community School District; a couple of words don't do the decision justice but the thing I'm most excited about is the fact our family gets to be a part of two great communities. For those of you who know me closely know how I'm humbled and blessed to share with you a brief glimpse into my decision to making the change.

I think my hope and dream to become a school leader started before I even knew that I wanted to be involved in education. My desire to be a leader started as a junior high student when I had a man who would become my lifelong mentor tell me that I was a leader. He believed in me so much, he got me out of bed some random school morning when I was in 7th grade at 6 a.m. and drove me to Des Moines to a leadership conference for students. I distinctly remember thinking, "Why me? Why does he think I'm different?" To this day, I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know I was inspired to attempt to live a life where I could help lead and influence people. It's incredible to think of the difference those simple words made.

My journey took me to a place where I would eventually get involved in education and I knew from the first time I worked in a school building I eventually wanted to be a principal. My first "boss" was someone whom I've blogged about before and she instilled in me the passion it takes to help every single student in your building succeed. It means you're up late, you wake up early, people talk about you behind your back and sometimes your ideas make zero sense to anyone but yourself. As I began in education I learned through reading that principals, second only to teachers, have the most dramatic impact on student achievement. (You can read more about this here ---> Principal Impact). Some research puts them on equal footing, if a principal can create a culture and environment where kids love coming to school and learning.

The challenge of being a great principal, and doing it differently became something that ate at me daily.

Eventually, the dream became real and my goal had the possibility of becoming reality after a colleague told me about a leadership program based in Omaha through Doane College.  Early on, I thought pursuing my goal meant I needed to have various types of professional experiences and I had to have my life carefully planned out and I was in charge of it all. It wasn't until recently I learned how wrong I was. (More about this later.)

As I began working towards my goal I feel like I got "lucky" in finding and participating in the most incredible experience of my life.  The last 2 years of my life in the Educational Leadership Program through Doane College changed me. I've grown, changed, learned and had more sleepless nights in this program than I'd care to admit. It was intense, life changing, organized, individualized and frustrating all in one. I've many times shared with my wife, I'd pay triple for this experience because of the things it has taught me. I can't say enough great things about Jed Johnston and Doane College for this journey (but DON'T triple tuition :) ). As the end was drawing near on my master program I began to wonder what was next and how should I plan my future?

As a couple of opportunities arose in the winter of 2015, I began to work on "my plan" and decide where it is I should be. During this time I had a conversation with someone who was first my boss, later a mentor and finally a friend and he shared with me that, "There is a plan for you & you're not in control of it and once you can accept this; life will make much more sense". This conversation caused me discomfort for days as I didn't know what it meant. Sure I got the words, but the deep meaning didn't make sense until later. Eventually it did - eventually things fell in place and I know that my plan fits with my ultimate goal...

So in a couple of words? Why the change? 

 "To continue my dream of helping all students find success socially, emotionally and academically"

Don't Close That Shop Door

Don't Close That Shop Door

In my opinion one of the most exciting things as educators we can do to help students find growth is to implement or have an intervention in place to help those students who struggle to find their "light switch". That moment of A'HA! is personally one of the biggest reasons I and many others want to be in education. Recently, if you follow me on Twitter ( NigelJHorton) I had one of these moments after an independent read. It was powerful and filled my tank for my own energy bus for at least the next year.

At times though as educators we find ourselves asking the question of "where to turn next" when what we are doing just isn't working. We as professionals know, hear and agree that we want "all students" to be successful. It's ingrained into us and is why we as teachers come to work everyday with that being our goal. With that said, imagine being a car-mechanic in today's age with all of the computers, gidgets & gadgets and trying to solve every problem by closing your shop door and getting to work. It can't be done; car mechanics have to rely on constant training, peers for help and research from people who are smarter than them.

Teachers are the same - we can't rely on shutting our shop door and getting to work. We have to rely on tons of help to be successful. These include our peers, our social learning network, blogs, tweets & shares, #edchats, conferences and research to help guide us when we need some new ideas or help to back all of these ideas up.

Recently through the help of Tina Wahlert at our Green Hills AEA we were introduced to a very simple, comprehensive website that helps us find research on many of these thoughts and ideas we are introduced to. It's called the "What Works Clearinghouse" (Link below)  and is put out by the Institute of Education Services that uses research to give us educators outcomes and results for how well the different interventions work and then grades and scores them.

For me personally, it was great to find research not being provided to you by a company, or author but instead someone independent. As this compares it to all interventions that have been submitted to them. It also helped guide me in making those hard choices of "what to do next".

As an educator, I challenge you to go out and look at it and reflect back on your teachings, maybe you'll find something you didn't know about. With that challenge, I encourage you to not be afraid of change because that "light switch" moment is right around the corner!

What Works Clearinghouse

#REPresent - It's about something bigger than you

REPresent 

 "It's about something bigger than you"

What in the world do beatboxing, break dancing, an ex-BYU mascot and a harmonica have to do with the education of our youth?  That's what I was wondering when I heard Josh Drean would be coming to Treynor and boy did he answer that question.

Today, after many months of work from our district OLWEUS team and training by the entire district we had a kick off assembly for both the Elementary and Middle/High School students. The premises for our kick-off was to raise awareness, and get kids excited for the implementation of our district-wide OLWEUS anti-bullying program that is being rolled out the second semester of this school year.

With that said, it's more than just an anti-bullying program that we are working on implementing at TCSD. Our true goal is to make all students love coming to school. We know that when a student can trust the people around them to care and respect them` their potential for growth is limitless.

• As @joshdrean says it is about always taking time to REPresent your community, your school, and your family. 
• As a 4th grade so graciously told me after the assembly: "we are learning to remember that it's about something bigger than you".  
• As our district leadership always reminds us, it is about making sure our students feel safe and secure. 

And after today's message from Josh we all believe that when you remember to always REPresent yourself in a way your community, school and family can be proud of you will make a positive impact in your school and community for years to come.

What can you do in your school?

To start with, if you get a chance to have Josh Drean at your school, DO IT. I can't say enough about his level of engagement with the students. Not to mention the entire day the kids talked about his message. One kid even came back into my room and just said, "Wow...... Wow that's all!"  And if you don't get a chance to have him in your school, remember the little acronym he uses for REPresent.

Report
Extend a hand
Play nice
R
E
S
E
N
T

Time With a Great Leader

Over break I had the opportunity to spend time with someone I truly trust, respect and admire. Kim Kazmierczak, as always, opened her doors and her arms to me and allowed me to come in on her day off to simply let me listen and ask. With that said, knowing her passion for students I would bet she would have been there regardless. :)

A little background - Kim hired me for my first job in the education world as a para-educator while she was the principal at Carter Lake Elementary. She allowed me to question, ask, make mistakes and learn in a building that had such an incredible climate. It inspired me daily to keep pushing on to finish my undergrad degree even though at times I thought I'd never get there. Most importantly she believed in me enough that when I made mistakes, she allowed me to learn from them.

Back to my recent learning from Kim and some things I'd like to put into writing for future reflection.

1. Nothing is more important than creating a safe and orderly environment; somewhere students feel safe and expect to be treated consistently and fairly. 
2. Leaders fail when they try to go off on their own. 
3. Leaders should become experts at data - finding what the data tells you and fixing it. 

First: When I think of any building I've been in, any classroom I've had the privilege of leading, no true learning happens until the students feel safe and secure. A perfect example is Treynor Schools providing training too all of their teachers in the Capturing Kids Hearts program that works to "develop safe, trusting, self-managing classrooms". When a student feels a part of something bigger, other than just traditional instruction, that's when true student learning takes place. 

Second: "Leaders fail when they try to go off on their own". When I heard Kim share this with me, I felt so in-line with this statement. For the last two years, we have lived this statement through our Doane EDL learnings. I think if you were to ask our Cadre what one thing they would take away from our time together many of them would say that leaders can not possess all of the skills to do it alone. Doing it alone is certain to lead to failure. Through school improvement plans, professional development plans, leadership teams and so on, it's a principal's job to incorporate everyone into doing what's best for students. It reminds me of this picture we've shared in our Cadre many times.

Lastly: "Data". My biggest nugget of knowledge I gained over break was one of those things that always seem so simple, but yet once I heard it worded this way, my understanding was so much clearer. "Leaders need to find what the data tells you and fix it". Kim shared this belief and it's a simple statement that should be one of the core beliefs of helping students, buildings and districts grow to help students. 

With all of this information, what should we take away? For me, it's about continuing to learn from the people around me so that I can help all students be succesful. 

Continual Growth

As I continue my graduate studies through Doane's EDL program, I find myself reflecting more and more on the use of communication and continued support for staff. I am lucky to work in a great district, with great leadership who help our staff through continued growth. This week I was lucky enough to be able to stumble across a great visual through my tweeter friend @cristama who had a great visual on how to help staff grow and I wanted to share it with you all. I'll also include the resource at the bottom if you'd like to read more about it!

As an educator, it's my belief we as educators should continually be learning and working towards constant reflection and personal growth. As an educator I' also have a strong belief in the fact that great schools don't happen by accident. It takes consistent coaching, admin support and data feedback. 

#BeTheChange #Lead 

http://test.updc.org/assets/files/professional_development/umta/lf/randd-engaged-joyce.pdf

5 Ways to Help a Difficult Child Be Succesful

 Did you just "label" a child!?

We often times as teachers, adults and humans look at a child who is different and immediately classify them in our own brain. Right or wrong, we do it. We decide if we think they are loud, if they are cute, obnoxious, impulsive or challenging. This is a dangerous thing that many of us have done over and over throughout our lives. Why do I say this is dangerous? Because a child who has been classified before they've been given a fair chance to become successful is now playing catch up the rest of their lives. You've classified a kid who is missing something that we could offer.

Kids are ever evolving, absorbing everything that is happening around them to create who they will eventually become. Kids are not yet ANYTHING. They are instead using the world around them to evolve into who they will one day become. Instead of classifying them, think about how you could be the person to help them find the missing piece that would help develop them into someone who is not loud, obnoxious, impulsive or challenging. 

With this in mind, I have posted before about how an individual can help a child be successful. I do not want to debate what needs to be done to parents or adults who may or may not be offering all of the opportunities for kids to develop into a great person. I'm also not interested in petitioning, complaining or debating about our government, because that doesn't help right now. At this point, I'm tired of looking at the other person and giving my opinion on what they could do differently.  What I do want to discuss is what you. what I can do to help a difficult child be successful. I will not point fingers, I instead will work to find the missing piece to help that child be successful.

5 Ways to Help a Difficult Child Be Successful

5) Sensory Integration
Many students, especially younger students have not figured out how to help themselves feel comfortable physically in their environment. A way to help with this is incorporating Sensory Integration. Think about yourself and how you've trained yourself to help you be successful. What do you do when you're in a situation to help you feel comfortable? Personally, I know I have a few things I do. For example; during meetings, sitting at tables, listening to a speaker or in a class I calm myself by putting something in my hand. At dinner in a restaurant I have even been known to destroy a napkin or two while I am sitting there listening and engaging in conversation. I have developed things to help me.  Use this link-----> Sensory Processing Disorder to read about ways to help that child that might need a little help "getting centered".

4) Lagging Skills
I truly believe in the beliefs of Ross Greene who says that "A kid will do well if they can". Often times kids who are struggling haven't been taught necessary skills to handle life's challenges. They don't want to be bad. Instead they have seen things at home, on TV, on the street or at school that have influenced them. Somewhere along the way they've missed key pieces of learning to help them be successful. Help to identify what skills they are missing and then help build those skills up.

Lagging Skill Checklist  

3)Unconventional Thinking
Does the student need a different outlet? Are you having them sit in conformed rows? Forcing them to think very black and white? Instead - Allow them some freedom - Allow them to in fact be a kid while getting the desired end results. If that child can be successful doing his or her work laying on a pillow LET THEM. If that student can get their work done sitting under a table LET THEM. Forget what makes you comfortable, find what helps them.

2) Engage Them
Find something that truly interests a kid. Often times the students that are the most difficult are unengaged, uninterested. You as an educator have to take the time to find out what interests them and allow them the freedom to do that, while working to achieve their academic and social goals.

An example of this is a student that I have worked with who without a doubt was disengaged with everything we were doing at school. Writing, used to be fun. Reading, was sometimes OK. BUT creating his own digital movies = Totally Awesome.

I reached out to a district tech person who guided me towards some digital video creation websites. I then used a rubric that my student had to follow that focused on our goal of establishing a good beginning, middle and end in our writing. We spent time preparing for his animated story by creating a rough draft and creating a story map. We found success! So much success he WANTED to work on it at home. In his mind he HAD to work on it at home. Needless to say, by the end of it he taught me how to use the digital video creator. Here is his work!

 Student Animation

1) Making Connections
Have you connected with the student? I'm not talking about just having that student trust you. I'm talking about, have you gone above and beyond? Have you gone out of your way to be a part of that child's life that no teacher ever has? Have you visited them at home? Have you gone to their sporting event? Have you made that connection with the student that probably no one has ever done before? When you come to a student who you are struggling with, you need to step back and look at what you've done to connect with them. I know of a teacher who comes to their students home and cooks a meal with their family. I know of another who will go running with girls from her class on the weekends. Take these teachers' lead and find your own way to connect.

Making connections is my number 1 because it does not matter if you are an educator, electrician, banker, nurse, farmer, college student or young married couple. You can find a way to make a connection with a child who really truly needs it. The Council Bluffs School District offers a mentoring program; get involved. Almost all cities offer some sort of Big Brother/Big Sister program, get involved. I truly believe it is our responsibility as an adult to find ways to reach out to a child and make a connection with them. Stop talking about it, start making them.

As you close this link, I want you to stop and think about the following:  

I will not point fingers, I instead will work to find the missing piece to help that child be successful.

Forget the Debate

Something in that 20 year olds life was traumatizing. Something traumatized him and because of that, he has now traumatized a country.

Let me begin by stating that I am in no way looking for any sort of debate by writing this article. I am writing it as a way for myself to process what has happened, continue to establish my beliefs in the life that my wife and I are creating and to possibly help people understand my beliefs in why these things are happening. Specifically, the events that recently happened in Connecticut and my belief that mental trauma is the cause of it.  I work with a very distinct population of students who often times suffer some sort of mental trauma. Does this make me an expert? Absolutely not. Does it give me perception? Unmistakeably. Will my beliefs align with yours? Perhaps. Will they enrage you? Perhaps. Will they encourage you to stop and think differently about the world around us? I hope.


I first want to talk about what I believe has created many of the issues we face in our lives today. Mental Trauma.  What is mental trauma? When I personally think of mental trauma I think of an apple.The apple and brain are two things with similar characteristics. How so? An apple by all appearances is a somewhat strong looking object. You could pass it, throw it, you can drop it, you could nick it. An apple looks and appears strong. What may happen though as you look closer at an apple after these things have happened is that you may begin to notice scars, imperfections or "trauma". Now think of our brain. We can do limitless things with it. Some people hold it gently, treat it with a caring respect. Some people essentially throw it, hit it, kick it "traumatize it". Sometimes peoples brains are thrown, hit, kicked, abused, "traumatized" by powers outside of their control.

Mental trauma is as serious an issue as anything going on in our world today. Mental trauma is the problem. Mental trauma is what we can help with.  When and how does mental trauma happen?

• Mental, verbal, physical abuse
• Before, after, or during childhood
• During the teen years
• During adulthood
• Video games (WOW, does it ever)
• Movies 
• Other forms of abuse

Every single second of our lives has the potential to create mental trauma. I firmly believe video games, and lack of quality relationships are the problem. We can sit and argue gun control, we can argue about how to make schools safer, but we need to get to the real issue. The real issue is that our country has a glaring problem of kids growing up with adults who do not protect them, work with them and help develop them to their fullest potential. Instead they are left on their own. They fill gaps of time with video games and video watching.

No matter if you agree or disagree with my statements on mental trauma, I think what is important is that we can all agree that we need to find ways to deal with what is happening in the world around us. How can we make sense of this?

Some people will choose to take the feelings of recent events with hate, anger, disbelief and some might choose to hole it up. Some people will talk about it. Some will write about it. Some people have a belief in a god to help their understanding. Some people may instead choose to have a  belief in "karma", filling our world with a positive energy with the understanding that with enough positive energy, we can help others. Some may believe that our world works in the pendulum effect (all things go far one way, come back to the middle and then far to another). Where do your beliefs fall? What helps you with these events? I can't beg you enough to think about your beliefs, reflect on them and hold strong in them during times like these. You may believe in a god, you may believe in an energy, you may believe in family, you may believe in all. No matter your beliefs, take the time to reflect on them and believe in them. Without your reflection, is when we should become fearful.

Ask yourself:   What are your beliefs
.
..
...
....

Stay strong, believe in them.

Now - take your beliefs and think of the people in your life. Are you nurturing them? Are you helping them to nurture their own selves? I have seen countless examples of helpless children who need caring, loving support. I've seen people who want to give help but aren't sure how. I have also seen people who are giving support, but are having to undo the work of previous damage. I know kids who have gone through trauma and abuse, you couldn't begin to imagine. These kids need help, the talk of gun control may be part of the problem but really these kids are the issue.

We could say we need more funding, more support, more workers for our country but that is a long time off. We could sit and argue security or gun control and the debate could and will rage on for years. I'm saying right now you can help, I hope one thing you consider is reflecting on your beliefs and including in them the fact you can make a difference. Stop rushing from here to there, stop walking by that kid sitting by himself and talk. Don't just talk, listen. Stop your life, stop your routine, and help a child start to find something to believe in. In every single corner, of every single town there is a child who needs your support. There is a student, a neighbor, a child who needs to know that someone cares about them, someone to help point them in the right direction.

In almost every city and every school district their are mentor programs, big brother big sister programs and countless other programs for adults to volunteer at. Volunteer at these. Maybe these programs aren't for you. FINE. Reach out to kids in your community. Perhaps your family has considered adoption. Look into it, go to meetings, decide if it's for you. You personally can do something. Help a neighbor kid, build a relationship, help a child discover his or her beliefs. Don't sit back and let the real issues grow. The real issue is that kids need our guidance.  NOW

Ongoing Conversations

Recently I retweeted a tweet by Jason Markey who said "A culture of ongoing professional conversations is so much more important than PD events.". I instantly retweeted it because I read it and it made sense to me. I know that almost always, instant feedback is one of the most powerful forms of feedback that you can receive and/or give. As teachers, instant feedback to our students is powerful; constant conversations with our peers is also just as powerful. With this said, I truly believe instant, ongoing conversations with the people we work with should be the norm. Professional conversations with people you can trust, all the while receiving a possible solution that you have not yet come to see yourself.  Nothing is more frustrating than working on the same problem over and over, and continuing to come up with similar problems.

      Recently I've been dealing with two major issues in my classroom that I've been trying to understand/solve in a way that would benefit my students, my staff and myself. I've internalized these problems and racked my own brain to work to solve them. As I worked on these issues internally, I wasn't making much progress. In a moment of desperation (which in fact, should instead be a daily moment of conversation), I reached out to a trusted coworker. After I convinced myself to listen instead of tell, Angie Lamb was able to guide me in a direction that made sense. She encouraged me to start over, wipe the slate clean with what I think the students know and instead reform the foundation for what I know they are not doing. Today was better, will tomorrow show more growth? 12 hours from now we will know!

    A second example of these constant conversations of growth was today during our weekly professional development that our district offers (which although isn't daily, it is most beneficial). I've been having a specific problem with a specific student in our classroom and what I've tried in my classroom has not been showing me any results. Again, I was trying things over and over, without perhaps thinking of it in a new perspective. Today I brought the problem forward in our professional development and as a team we were able to come up with a solution that not only makes sense to myself, but also makes sense to the team I work with and one we all felt good about. Will tomorrow show me the results we hope? 12 hours from now we will know! 

    What is a way many of us can do this, without perhaps needing to get a chance to talk with a coworker face to face?  Find something you believe in and grab on to them it in social media. Engulf yourself with professionals who believe in the same things you do. Twitter... Facebook... The blogger world. Looking at something from a different perspective is powerful

    What's worth remembering when you get done with this blog? - If you keep coming up with the same results, you're not finding the right solutions. If your solutions aren't on track - Ask yourself - Have you worked with your team yet to get their thoughts?

Preparing

    It's a Monday night, but really it's a lot like a Sunday today. The most important thing for me to get done is to go back over my "rough lesson outline for the week"  that I made at the end of last week and find out how these plans fit for the first couple of days for the upcoming week. For myself, I try to plan a "rough idea of the week" and as the week goes on I tweak these lessons constantly to fit the needs of the student, to fit the needs of the classroom and try to see where the students take my "plan".

   As I do this tonight, I am reflecting back on the lesson that I had the most success with last week. It was interesting because as I looked at my lesson the night before I thought to myself "those students are going to eat that thing alive, it's not deep enough and doesn't offer the students any opportunity to take on their own learning". In my classroom, what I mean by getting eaten alive is that my class will be in a moment of chaos. These students see through weak lessons and lessons that don't challenge them, and they do it like clockwork. Due to this, I knew I needed to make some changes and I was able to come up with what I thought was a great lesson while still achieving the same goal.

   My goal for the lesson was to introduce habitats and how they fit into a community for a book we were going to read for the day. As this lesson was being introduced it started slow, and I could feel the tension in the room grow. The students didn't want any part of it. I was hoping, hoping I could grab their attention and grab it soon, before I lost the chance for what I thought was a great lesson. As I tried to regain their attention I had to introduce 3 key words (habitat, architect and interior) but I knew I had to do it quickly. Luckily for me I had a little help, and soon the classroom energy reached the level of interest and curiosity, the students were essentially engaged. After introducing the vocabulary, we now went on a quick walk through the school to look at what an architect had done to our habitat (our school) and also what he or she had done to the interior of our habitat.

    We discovered some key characteristics and then took some pictures of the architectural features. We came back and discussed why the architect may have done this and also briefly talked about what we would do if we were the architect of our own habitat. We then looked at some blueprints and got to work on our assignment which was being our own "architect", creating an "interior" blueprint of our "habitat". After this we were able to introduce the book we were working on.

    Why am I sharing this brief story with you? It's important for me to look back because I feel as though out of my 15-20 lessons last week this was by far my strongest. Some of my lessons were complete flops and others were just OK.  Being OK and having flops for the students is not an option. So as I plan my rough draft and then look back nightly, I strive, like most educators to create that strong lesson that each and every student can become immersed in. This week my goal is to try to get 2 or 3 of those deep lessons and keep building on that weekly as I really get to know my students.

Keep Learning, Never Give Up, Be A Kids Role Model

THE BEGINNING

    As I sat down to write this blog this evening I had a friend shoot me a text that said I could borrow a tool that I had asked to borrow. I knew with it getting late and him having a new baby in the house I should head to his house before it gets too late. Once I got there, I was quickly reminded that in fact, life is unpredictable by nature. You see, what went from a small conversation suddenly turned into chasing his dog, trying to stop him from going full nose into the back of a skunk on the run. Inevitably, we were a bit too late. Luckily for us, we got to spend the next 30 minutes in his front yard giving his dog a bath in tomato juice, his wife locking the front door and us soaking in the smell of a horrific skunk.

     As I drove home, it helped remind me that no matter how well you think you have it planned, you don't. And if you expect things to always go how you plan, well at some point you're in for heartbreak and disappointment. Let me explain.

    I recently took a job in a new district (CBCSD) after my first two years as a classroom teacher in Treynor, while previously working in the #CBCSD district as a para professional. Maybe traditionally this wouldn't be a huge jump, but this year I was returning to a program that I had once worked at and in my opinion offers some of the greatest challenges and opportunities a teacher could ever encounter. The program is very unique and offers students from all makes of life the chance to have a high quality education in a unique setting that meets their needs specifically.

    This program is something that weighed heavily on my mind while working in the Treynor District. I wasn't sure what about it intrigued me at the level it did, but something in the back of my mind was always tugging at my thoughts. For those of you who aren't familiar, my previous district Treynor is also a tremendous district with an incredible staff and outstanding facilities and support, really first rate. Almost daily though, I would be asking myself if I was doing what I wanted to, what I needed to be doing with my skills.  Once an opportunity came along to work back in CBCSD, I knew that I had to jump at it and return to the program that I first felt passion for education in.

     Without getting into a ton of detail, the program is a tremendous fit for students that meets and exceeds their needs; in my opinion in ways that some districts aren't able to. With all of this said, it offers challenges that I couldn't have dreamed of at my previous job. In just a few short days, I've been challenged in ways that have left me sleepless and leaving work with my brain going in thirty different ways.

    The challenges are great, and at times can be overwhelming. I want to be able to challenge the students in real life, hands-on educational ways where they are exploring, learning and inquiring in ways that will enhance them as members of society. With that said, it's a gentle tight rope of challenging them and not overwhelming them. Differentiating and adapting my instruction for each individual student in my classroom is a constant challenge. So as I went back to work this morning the nerves and expectations I have set continued to fill my mind.

    Suddenly as I walked into my classroom after a brief before school meeting and I saw a few of my students, it was as though the slate had been wiped clean. The day was new and I had the chance to help them again with brand new opportunities. Suddenly I realized what I would be forced to remind myself hours later this evening; no matter how well you think you have it planned you don't, and if you expect things to always go according to plan, you're in for frustration and disappointment.

    I felt as though my previous day was a tough day and I reminded myself that in education the reason tough days sometimes sting so much, is because you are invested so heavily. However, that is the only way to go about life: invested. Learning to meet these new and unpredictable challenges while being heavily invested is one of the most cherish-able opportunities any teacher could ask for.  All the while being ready for the plan to go out the window and meet the needs of the student as it arises.

  This blog will be about the coming days and years where we as a district and program work to help these students be successful in new ways, while sharing with you the awesome and exciting things that can be done with the right team in place.