Now that the dust has settled from distance learning, school leaders are asking: what worked, and what didn’t work? How did you stay connected to people, or what important milestones did you miss? In this week’s podcast episode, Principal Jen Sch…
Read More PMP200: Looking Back at Distance Learning with Jen Schwanke
It’s no secret that I love a good font. When I taught technology classes back in the day I always started with the caveat that secondary people loved my classes for their content, but my elementary people loved me for my fonts and clip art. #both…
One little month away from the blog and literally everything has changed. What are you doing as a principal right now to help your people stay clam in this pandemic, while also taking care of you? I’m about ready for our structured, regularly str…
Read More Strategies to avoid #PrincipalPanic in the pandemic…it’s a thing.
In August of 2016, I wrote the post, “10 Easy Ways To Create an Amazing #ClassroomCulture This Year, to provide some “investment” strategies on making school better for not only our students but ourselves. I remember seeing this tweet by Heather Thompson Day, and it shook me: Many of our students come to school because … [Read more…]
Read More 10 Easy Ways To Create an Amazing #ClassroomCulture #Podcast
A book that shifted my thinking to focus on what people can do versus what they can’t do was Jennifer Fox’s “Your Child’s Strengths.” From the book: Children cannot develop interest in a subject just because adults tell them they should be interested. Children become unmotivated when they don’t understand the importance of what they are required to learn. … [Read more…]
Read More Valuing the Strengths of Learners that Go Beyond Academics
A book that shifted my thinking to focus on what people can do versus what they can’t do was Jennifer Fox’s “Your Child’s Strengths.” From the book: Children cannot develop interest in a subject just because adults tell them they should be interested. Children become unmotivated when they don’t understand the importance of what they are required to learn. … [Read more…]
Read More Valuing the Strengths of Learners that Go Beyond Academics
Here are two things that I have been thinking about a lot lately. 1. Any success I have had in the past and in the future has never ever been done truly on my own. I have been blessed to have so many incredible mentors, colleagues, friends, and family members who have either helped open … [Read more…]
I thoroughly enjoyed this post from Shawn Lovejoy on “The Liabilities of Being a Perfectionist.” This part specifically stood out to me: Leaders execute. They get things done. Quickly, consistently and (hopefully) with little drama. Perfectionist leaders get trapped “waiting” on something to be perfect. Conditions must be ideal and every wrinkle ironed out before a … [Read more…]
I saw this picture on Imgur awhile ago, and I have it saved in my favorite images. This is a good reminder for us as individuals and as schools. For individuals, focusing on goals is essential, but the process and the journey are important and where you are now will only happen once. You might … [Read more…]
This week’s post is an encore episode I shared a couple of years ago. Since I’m enjoying some vacation, I thought I would remind you why your time away from school may help you better serve your school. Regardless of whether someone is an educator or not, or whether your vacation time is long or […]
My mind is going 90 mph these days and in trying to keep up with what I want to do NOW versus what I want to remember to do for back to school & fall…I needed a very specific checklist. So I made one! If you’re like me and straddling your day to day NOW […]
The post Planning template freebie! #leadership appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.
Ah, the glorious calmness of June and July! This is where, hopefully, as leaders, we can pause, reflect, rest and rejuvenate! Here are a few things you can add to your plate for the next couple of months…one to read, one to plan, and one to HELP. If you haven’t read Abby Wambach’s new book, […]
The post Things you need in your leadership life right now! appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.
Read More Things you need in your leadership life right now!
My principal bestie (and future co-author) Melinda Miller always shares that October and February are the two worst months of the school year, in fact…she calls them the armpits of the year! (which is both gross and awkwardly appropriate!) I’ve done these Fab Fridays with her for a NUMBER of years and while the activities […]
The post Fab Fridays in February, 2019 appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.
I’ve been on the road a lot lately. And as I travel, I often think about how to reach my destination while also making the experience a positive one. For me, that means trying to learn while I drive by listening to helpful podcasts, audio-books, or news programs. Or sometimes it means connecting with friends […]
Read More PMP:136 Crucial Conversations for Reaching Targeted Destinations
In the book, “A New Culture of Learning,” by Doug Thomas and John Seely Brown (highly recommend this book), they state the following: For most of the twentieth century our educational system has been built on the assumption that teaching is necessary for learning to occur. Accordingly, education has been seen as a process of transferring … [Read more…]
When I was in high school and college, my brothers and I worked part-time diving for mussel shells in the Kentucky Lake area. We would sell them by the pound at local markets, and those shells would in turn be sold to Japanese markets. Apparently, the pearly-white cuts from those shells are unique implants for […]
I walked into Jasper Place High School in Edmonton, Alberta, as a basketball referee for the game, but as a principal at another school at the time. Every time I walked into that building I was amazed not only by the enthusiasm and pride of the students for their school but how amazing the work … [Read more…]
Read More One Important Question That Leads to Student Empowerment in Schools
I received an email from a teacher the other day that was quite frustrated. They had shared (paraphrasing), that although they were encouraged to be “innovative” in their practice and each had received a copy of my book to promote this from their administrators, they felt that the leadership practice in their organization was more … [Read more…]
Read More 3 Questions to Promote Innovative Leadership in Education
I’ve talked a lot about how I think transparency in this role is crucial. There can be so much pressure to be Pinterest perfect, even as a principal. Now that I am entering year 4, I generally feel as if I have a pretty good grip on what I am doing and in what direction we’re all […]
The post #Principalconfession: Data day stresses me out. appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.
I’ve been on the road (and in planes) a lot the summer, and I have thinking about issues and ideas I’ve been wanting to share with Principal Matters readers and listeners. This week I was on a long road trip when I was pondering some questions a listener had emailed my way. After stopping to […]
Read More PMP: Bonus 03 – Answers to Listener Questions + Thoughts from the Road