Welcome to May, the month when most school administrators begin the process of filling open positions in their schools for the upcoming school year. Maybe my administrative team and I are getting picky as we mature as a team, or…
Teacher to Learner: The Power of Words
by Johnny Bevacqua • • 4 Comments
This post was originally posted on Figuring It Out by Johnny Bevacqua As we march ahead in education, navigating a changing landscape – imposed by a variety of forces (e.g mobile, web based and social technology, economic shifts, globalization, etc)…
“What the He**’s Going On Out Here?!?” ~Vince Lombardi
by Sam LeDeaux • • 0 Comments
This reflection is inspired by a culmination of things, but most recently a conversation with an aspiring teacher, and this recent post by @TonySinanis. The aspiring teacher approached me for some insight on education, stating her enthusiasm is being thwarted by many…
3 End-of-the-School-Year Reminders
by William Parker • • 1 Comment
Last Saturday I drove my daughter to the local lake dam spillway to meet her teammates for a weekend track workout. After twenty minutes of warm-up running on the grassy path to the spillway and back, they lined up for…
What Principals can (and should!) learn from Kliff Kingsbury
by Amber Teamann • • 0 Comments
Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury is a fan favorite, partly because he’s a former-player-turned-coach, but also partly because he bears a striking resemblance to Ryan Gosling. He also holds the distinction of being the first coach in Big 12 history to…
All the Children are Above Average
by John Marschhausen • • 12 Comments
“Where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” Those are the closing words Garrison Keillor spoke each night on his radio show A Prairie Home Companion. He was summarizing the…
Things That Suck!
by Sam LeDeaux • • 5 Comments
We’ve run 2 staff meetings this year using an #edcamp format. They were very well-received, productive, successful, and provided instant feedback for staff and/or immediate classroom learning opportunities for kids. We changed things up a bit for our most recent…
Pointing To Your True North
by Sandra Trach • • 3 Comments
Instructionally savvy educators know that personalized learning is the heart of student success. As schools strive to customize education through instructional design, technology efforts and professional learning, highly successful schools know that these initiatives in isolation are not nearly…
7 Tips For Dealing With Challenging Students
by William Parker • • 2 Comments
A few years ago, I was talking to a teacher about a student she had volunteered to mentor. The young lady had had a difficult past, and the teacher had confided in me that some of their meetings had been…
Don’t drive the barge, steer your sailboat!
by Amber Teamann • • 1 Comment
The large barge of the educational system is viewed as flawed by many. There are theoretical discussions that take place lamenting grades, schedules, and pedagogy. Terminology, vocabulary, & semantic sludge, left and right. These conversations take place in the halls,…
What is our legacy to be: curious or furious?
by Stephen Harris • • 1 Comment
“I am so furious with you” … were the words I heard this afternoon from a mum who was having quick words with her young child near the supermarket. Her child looked about 2 or 3. I don’t know what…
Data: Education’s New “Dirty” Word
by Tom Martellone • • 4 Comments
It seems that in some circles, data has come to be one of education’s “dirty” words. I suspect I know why, and unfortunately, it is difficult to convince those people who think that way otherwise. Many professions, such as medicine,…