A slightly altered version of this post entitled “The Social Media Time Debate” can be found at the Huffington Post There has been a great deal of discussion lately as to the necessity of Administrators utilizing social media as a part of their professional practice. There was even a comment on the Facebook page...
Talking with Daniel Pink about Motivation, Engagement and Education continued from Part One On one of our snowed in nights this winter I had the opportunity to speak with Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Surprisingly he was snowed in at his location in Washington D.C. as well. ...
Talking with Daniel Pink on motivation, compliance and education. My wife Tricia “failed” her first driver’s test. There, the world knows. Her father had dedicated the previous few months to teach her proper. During the first lesson she, her father and younger brother got into the sky blue ’88 Caprice Classic station wagon that...
It is the “month of AprilMayJune” (so coined because it goes so fast that it seems like three months compressed into one) and like it is for everyone in education, time is just flying. Students have selected their courses, and we are feverishly working on the timetable in order to maximize choices with a...
I am extremely proud of the work that many of my colleagues have done with the Connected Principals website. We have been approached by Classroom 2.0 to do a live presentation on Saturday, at 12 PM EST. It would be great if you could join Patrick Larkin and myself to discuss the evolution and...
This week, I begin a cohort based in Alberta, Canada, working with educational leaders that are both school and division based. A question that I have received from many educators/administrators is what could I possibly share on Twitter. Although this is not the “definitive” guideline below, I would love to share my thoughts on...
One of the key events of the year is when the President of the United States holds the State of the Union Address. Each president has addressed the nation in order to convey a specific message and move the nation to action. One of my mentors named Keith Bell has been a successful and...
A safe environment is necessary for students to succeed academically. A space of both physical and emotional safety is key. Safety is different for boys than for girls. Girls have a higher concern for physical safety. Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a direct instruction lesson to a group of second graders, who...
Sometime in December, 2010 I read a blog post by David Truss, principal of a school in Dalian, China titled, “No Office Day.” The title piqued my interest, but what really got my attention was something he wrote. “If a principal stays in the office all day, he/she might as well stay at home.”...
Patrick Larkin and I had the honour (he had the honor) of leading a conversation at Educon on Sunday and had some fantastic learning experiences ourselves with people from all areas of education. It was great to see so many of our “Connected Principal” colleagues able to attend both virtually and in person as...
I remember reading the Tipping Point a little while ago, when Gladwell discusses the “Law of the Few”. If we are wanting schools to continuously improve, what is the role of the school administrator? Below are the definitions as listed by Wikipedia of the three different roles as discussed by Gladwell: “The Law of...
Growth is the only evidence of life. ~John Henry Newman The key to transforming schools begins with the principal. The principal is the main change agent or blocker in the field of education. Michael Fullan writes that “Leadership for Change” requires a ‘bias for action, a sense of urgency’ and a mix of ‘pressure...
In the span of a day, a principal can see and do many things. Here is an example of one of my Fridays: Teaching a high school class and helping them start their eportfolios. A professional growth plan meeting with one of my staff member. Cleaning up vomit in the front foyer. Sitting in...
Over the past couple of days I have been preparing a presentation for K-12 Principals entitled “Harnessing the Power of Educational Technology”. I must say that I have been quite impressed with myself as I decided to create the entire full day presentation using Google Sites. During what seemed to be countless hours of...
image from psplogo2.png We are excited to announce that our October Elluminate Session this Sunday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. (EST) will focus on the importance of parent engagement in our school improvement efforts. The Connected Principals believe strongly that the only way we can have meaningful change is to have parents engaged in this work....
Most principals became administrators because they are passionate about education and they love to teach. Why, then, does the system make it so difficult for principals to teach? How can we change the current structures in a way that would encourage principals to have the flexibility to do more of what they love? Last...
After hearing about my fellow Connected Principal Bill Brannick heading to the classroom to teach a Web 2.0 class to the students at his high school, I started thinking… Entering my 14th year as an administrator, I feel like I am getting further away each year from the realities that classroom teachers face on...
As a Principal, I know I spend a lot of time thinking about how teachers, parents, and students need to change in order to move our school forward. I guess I am starting to wonder if I spend enough time thinking about ways I need to change my practice? Pernille Ripp’s great post “What...
On July 20, 2010 I was granted an opportunity to deliver a keynote at the NYSCATE Leadership Summit in Troy, NY. The topic of my talk was, “Leadership in the Digital Age.” During my talk I spoke about two paths that a leader could take, telling people what they want to hear, or taking them...
I recently wrote my thoughts on what make a “master teacher”. Little is said though about what makes a “master principal”. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I thought I would share an article that I use to guide my practice as a principal. The qualities listed in this article by Cindi Rigsbee , hang...
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