Have you ever read one of those emails that just got under your skin? You know that email or post that just elevated your blood pressure to the point where you felt like your head was going to explode? You then frantically type out a response and hit the send button only to think,...
We often look to our past through a lens of ‘that is how things should be done today’. This past week I have read a few articles and posts about how we need to return to the old, better ways of doing things and how ‘kids these days’ are lazy and have such a...
Our school recently underwent our accreditation process and reviewed the foundational documents that direct the vision for our school. As a school, we decided to use the Middle States Association’s, “Excellence by Design” protocol to drive this process and I am happy to report that our school has improved our planning ethic and successfully...
There was a single note on the teacher’s desk. Turning the envelope, she slid her curious finger under the seal, anxious to read what awaited her. Just the crackle and hiss of that seal being broken blocked out the ambient sounds of anything else around. Wrestling the note from the casing, she realized she...
cc flickr photo by TMAB2003 I have been pondering educational matters…specifically, the challenges schools face in addressing the needs of ALL students and how this consideration should impact our efforts at positive school reform. I firmly believe that we need to explore all successful/viable options for improving our schools with the understanding that a...
“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles...
If you are a regular reader of my blog you know I will be leaving the classroom and continuing my career in education as an assistant principal. I am excited about this transition and I look forward to continuing my growth as an Educator. As you might also know, I firmly believe in the practice of...
Cross-posted at the Huffington Post. A few weeks ago I was fortunate to have the NJ School Boards Association (NJSBA) visit to produce a live event called Learn@Lunch: Technology as an Engagement Tool. You can view the archive of the event here. A little over two years ago something like this would have never happened at New...
One of the highlights of my trip to San Diego last week was a day at the San Diego Zoo. The place is amazing, encompassing over 100 acres with over 4,000 rare and endangered animals. However, my post is less about what I saw and more about how I saw it. You...
Some days, this job of being an educator is difficult. For awhile now, I have been watching a student, with whom I have invested a great deal of time, slowly slipping into the educational abyss. Today, he took another slide in that direction. I am not a mountain climber, but I know enough about...
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead “Which part of your school are you most excited about?” This is a question that I get all of the time. The answer is often surprising because it...
There are a lot of people out their suffering, because they are not sharing. If we are not creating, we are consuming. We need to be creating more stuff. ~ Peter Reynolds I blog as a reflective practice. I blog to dialogue with colleagues. I blog to share ideas and I blog because I...
“This world is too big for me to be trapped here” was one of the lines in the Circle Game, a student written play based upon the Joni Mitchell song of the same name. Students at the Performing and Fine Arts High School (PFA), one of six high schools on our campus were the...
I am not a music guy. I appreciate one’s ability to create music, but I can’t read music at all. However, I absolutely love attending quality high school music performances and observing sight-reading events. Have you ever experienced a sight reading at an adjudicated music competition? If you haven’t then you are missing out...
A friend of mine wrote to me last night. He asked, I am teaching a program called COAST – an outdoor education program for grade 10′s. One of the courses that I will be teaching in second semester, is Leadership and I immediately thought of you. I am wondering how you would structure a...
Imagine walking into a shoe store where all shoes were the same. Size, shape, color, and function were the same for all choices. Every customer walks out with the exact same shoe as the customers yesterday as well as shoes that will leave the store again tomorrow. Of course shoe stores do not work...
I had to move to China to see the ‘ladder walk’. A man, standing on an ‘A’ frame ladder, painting a ceiling of an outdoor entrance cover had finished the section he was working on. Instead of stepping down to move the ladder, he stepped up and put one foot over to the other...
It is with great pride and excitement that I share this guest post by a New Milford High School student. I approached senior Filip Piasevoli last week and asked if he would consider taking the theme of my blog and writing his own thoughts on leadership, technology, and student-centered learning. Filip was recently featured...
I’m pleased and honored to be writing my first post as a contributor to Connected Principals. I’ve been blogging about educational issues at KARE Givers since last December, but as a new vice-principal, I thought this forum would be an excellent place to collaborate with fellow school administrators about education leadership issues specifically. I thought...
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