Image retrieved from www.startwithwhy.com

Simon Sinek states that people and organizations should start with why they do what they do, and then describe how and what they do. “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”

I am a principal because I believe I can make a positive impact on the future of the students I work with. It is a service to the common good that I provide. It’s not about me.

I do this by being a self-directed learner. I constantly seek out different ways to be a better instructional leader through my personal learning network.

The people I follow, and those that follow me, make me a better educator.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. My school is going to try something new. We will draw students’ names every day this week. When they come down to the office, they will be asked to share what they appreciate about one of their teachers.

Their responses will be shared on our school’s Twitter feed. It is embedded on our school’s homepage for everyone to see. Parents and community members will be encouraged to respond to the students’ comments, as well as share their own positive messages about our teaching staff.

This activity has the potential to be very successful because it is authentic, has a large audience, and the positive affirmations from the students are shared out quickly. The icing on the cake is it involves reading and writing. How are you recognizing teachers this week? Would there be a way to utilize social media to amplify your messages? Please share any ideas you have in the comments.

Top Ten Signs You Might Be an Avid Reader

1. Do you get upset when a teacher or parent tells you to stop reading and go to another activity?
2. Have you ever accidentally walked into something while reading? (Johnston)
3. While reading, did a large amount of time pass without you realizing it? (Allington)
4. Have you purchased both the print and digital version of the same book, just in case you need to reference it at any time?
5. Are you reluctant to mark up the pages, for fear that the person you lend the book to will not appreciate it?
6. Do you sometimes refrain from reading before bed, because you may stay up too late?
7. Do you have at least two books on deck?

Unfortunately, recess is one of those carrots that we sometimes hold over kids when they will not comply with our demands. Does this help, or possibly even hurt the learning process?

One option is to take the kids out at an alternate time during the day. This way, they get their kinesthetic needs met, yet they are held accountable because they missed that social time with their friends. They make up their learning time when it is more convenient for the teacher. Now, I could see this being a problem, such as not having supervision, or missing out on other academic times. Hopefully, this wouldn’t have to be used very often.

What are your thoughts? Is alternative recess a better choice than none at all? What works for you to help keep kids accountable for their learning? Please share in the comments.

I recently shared with a group of parents some of my favorite books for reading aloud to kids. Because it can be hard to decide where to start if you have not read aloud to your child before, I thought I would recommend two types of books, nonsense and nonfiction. Both genres are high interest and fun to read.

Nonsense

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

This picture book is about a boy who gets his kite stuck in a tree. He starts throwing items at the tree to get his kite down, but instead they also get stuck in the tree. The boy continues to find new things to throw, which get larger and more strange with each page. This is an enjoyable book to predict with your child what will happen next.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

The bear has lost his hat. He asks many of his animal friends if they have seen it, but they have not. One animal is not being truthful, though, and soon the bear realizes who the guilty party is. The ending is very funny and allows for the reader to determine what really happened.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

This anthology of poems is a classic. It may have been around when you were in school. Some of the poems use nonsense words even in the title, such as “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too”. Kids (and adults) at any age level love hearing these poems over and over. That makes this book a great choice for families with more than two kids to read to and not a lot of time.

I Must Have Bobo! and I’ll Save You Bobo! by Eileen & Marc Rosenthal

Bobo the monkey is a favorite stuffed animal of the main character. Unfortunately, Earl the cat is also very fond of Bobo. He works hard to steal him away from his owner at any opportunity. The facial expressions of Earl are hilarious. The illustrator also does a nice job of giving you clues about what that cat is up to before it happens.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

Ever wanted to host a dragon party? Then you must have tacos! Just don’t bring any spicy salsa. This everybody book gives the reader step-by-step instructions for feeding and entertaining dragons. Of course, someone didn’t check the label on the salsa, which contains jalapenos. Can you guess what might happen next?

Nonfiction

Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz

The author describes his four dogs and their jobs on his family farm. Rose, Izzie, Freida and Lenore all fulfill different roles, like guard dog. But what does Lenore do? This question is asked throughout the text, as her job is not as clearly defined, but it is just as important as the others.

The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee’s Story by Pegi Deitz Shea

Although this story would be found in the fiction section, it is based on the many stories of the Hmong people’s journey from Southeast Asia to the U.S. It is told in two different settings: The present time as Little Mai patiently waits for an opportunity to leave her refugee camp for America, and the past which details the hardships she encountered up to now.

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

Similar to the last title, this book describes the internment camps the Japanese Americans were sequestered to during World War II. To pass the time, the prisoners create a baseball field and start to play games. Their sense of purpose and community helped keep their hopes up during this dark period in America.

Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. Now retired, his daughter tells the story of her family wanting to ice skate on the frozen pond. The author shows a different and yet familiar side of Jackie, one who is deathly afraid of water, but goes out to test the ice in spite of his fears. This biography is a profile in courage.

Dreams: Listen to Our Voices by Regie Routman and 5th graders from Denver, Colorado

Immigrant students from Mexico share their aspirations, with guidance from Regie Routman, an expert in literacy instruction. Some of their stories are funny, some are sad. What all the students’ stories have in common: they are real, and they are full of hope. It is a very inspiring read.

- To model what it means to be a connected learner in front of 27 fifth graders.
- To guide students on how to read text more critically.
- To show students how to use evidence from a text to support an opinion.
- To celebrate our learning and this excellent book I read aloud.

Modeling Connectedness

“Connectedness” is defined by the Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary as “the state of being closely joined or linked especially in an emotional way”. Wonder conjured up many emotions in us as we read and discussed it. I gave students several opportunities to turn and talk with a neighbor to share their thinking during strategic points in the story. I also asked essential questions related to the book. Students were encouraged to ask questions of their own that took my thinking to a deeper level. We posted our thoughts on the Wonder group we joined on Edmodo. All of these discussions led to my opinion piece I posted on the blog. Because our thinking was available for others to read and respond to, the students had a better understanding of the importance of sharing our feelings about something online in a meaningful and respectful manner.

Critical Reading

The concept of reading critically is explained nicely in Teaching Students to Read Like Detectives by Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp (Solution Tree, 2011). According to the authors, astute readers start asking questions as soon as they pick up a text. In the post, I purposefully took the perspective that the ending was the reason Wonder didn’t win the Newbery. I wanted to create an authentic controversy. As I wrote on the computer and projected it on the Smart Board, I could tell a few student weren’t comfortable with this opinion. Their body language and facial expressions said it all. I encouraged the students to speak freely. One student, who I will call Sara, finally had had enough and blurted, “I just don’t agree with you, Mr. Renwick.” A few of her classmates’ mouths dropped open. He’s the principal! they were probably thinking. But I commended Sara on her willingness to take a risk and share her own thinking, even though it didn’t correspond with my own.

Text-Based Evidence

After expressing her opinion that in fact the ending was really great, I asked Sara to explain her position a bit more. While I cannot recall the exact conversation that took place afterward, I do remember several students joining our discussion. We compared the ending in Wonder to related stories, such as Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper. Some students brought up their own experiences of someone they know receiving a large celebration and why it was important for that person. It was also noted that sometimes the strong need to step up and help those in need, like Auggie’s classmates and the adults in his life did. This robust discussion helped form the ending on my Nerdy Book Club post. Throughout our conversations, we stayed close to the text even as we connected the book’s events with our own lives, experiences and past books we had read.

Celebration and Recognition

Once the draft of my post was complete, I printed off a copy for each student. I asked them to reread it carefully and note anything else they felt needed revision in the margins. A number of students came back the next time with several suggestions. Most of them were grammatical in nature. Feeling confident in our final draft once revised, we shipped it off to Mr. Sharp for publication. Giving several opportunities for input allowed everyone ownership in this shared writing activity.

Now that it is online, we look forward to reading the comments to the post. Maybe we will comment ourselves. Our thoughts and ideas will have a much larger audience and greater purpose with the use of the blog. We plan to celebrate our efforts with a book talk on related stories. As well, everyone can sign a “Be Kind” certificate to remind ourselves to be everyday heroes in someone’s life that we know.

As I learn more about Student Learning Objectives (SLOs), there is much to be impressed with. It uses the SMART framework, which will help us to develop goals that are more specific and attainable. Multiple measures are considered. The Common Core and essential skills are addressed. As a participant said in my session today during Educator Effectiveness training, it forces teachers to dig deeper into their own practices and collaborate with colleagues. All good things.

However, the hangup that I am having is the fact that SLOs are tied to teacher evaluation.

In a paper titled “Choosing the Wrong Drivers for Whole System Reform“, posted by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction on the Educator Effectiveness webpage, Michael Fullan talks about the wrong and right types of drivers when trying to improve schools. One of the wrong drivers is accountability, specifically “using test results, and teacher appraisal, to reward or punish teachers and schools vs capacity building” . Fullan goes on to say that teacher accountability in and of itself is not a bad thing. It just shouldn’t be used to drive school reform.

With this in mind, I have several concerns when I hear that student learning outcomes will directly correlate to teacher evaluation. First, expectations may not be set high enough. If the focus is on attaining the goal instead of setting high expectations for student learning, the bar will most likely be lowered. Wisconsin has already experienced this dilemma. When No Child Left Behind became law, consequences were set in place if a school or district did not see adequate yearly progress in their student’s growth. When schools started missing the mark, the benchmarks for “proficient” and “advanced” (the bar) was brought down so kids would meet the mark. This has most likely resulted in unreliable assessment scores and misinformed professional conversations.

Second, innovation might be discouraged. I’ll use the analogy of swimming. If I am looking to improve my practice as an educator, I have to wade out of shallow water in order to apply new skills and understandings. I need to feel somewhat confident to take these risks, and know that I will be supported if things go less than well. If growth is celebrated in our pursuit of mastery, then professionals are more inclined to pursue these laudable goals. However, if the focus is only on results instead of growth, I might prefer to tread water instead of swimming toward the deeper end of the pool of learning. Innovation is stymied when setbacks during the process of learning are not recognized as points for celebration.

Third, student involvement in developing these learning objectives seems to be absent. If it is their learning that we are truly after, students should be a part of this process. Regie Routman described this well at the Wisconsin State Reading Association convention, when she encouraged educators to help students to understand the learning target instead of just posting it on the board. And how do we understand something? By being immersed in its development, connecting it to prior knowledge, and wrestling with the concept or skill, both with peers and in our own thinking.

All of these areas of concerns ultimately tie into student achievement. If expectations are not high enough, if teachers are not improving their own practices, and if students are not involved in the goal setting, I find it hard to imagine a learning environment that allows students to reach their potential. Educators need to model the same process we want our students to use in pursuit of mastery. As we rethink the purpose of school in the 21st century, I think it is essential that the path we take is one that constantly moves forward. If we don’t, the status quo continues.

What I believe will drive school reform in the right direction is building capacity in educators to be the best we can be now and in the future. Michael Fullan describes this well, when he states that “the mindset that works for whole system reform is the one that inevitably generates individual and collective motivation and corresponding skills to transform the system”. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction posts this important paper side by side with the process for tying Student Learning Objectives to teacher evaluations. I propose we address this possible contradiction by continuing to consider better ways to both improve our school systems and encourage life long learning. In other words, let’s set the bar high and innovate in our practices to ensure students can reach their potential. Learning is about the journey as much as it is about the end result.

A good book encourages thought. A great book will change the way you think.

When Lani Ritter Hall, co-author of The Connected Educator, asked me to review Kathy Cassidy’s new e-Book Connected from the Start, I got a little nervous. Who am I to pass judgment on the work of a highly connected educator like Kathy? Even worse, what if I didn’t like it?

Fortunately, my worries were unfounded. This book is a necessary read for all elementary educators. The only thing she got wrong was which grade levels this book was most appropriate. I can imagine any K-5 teacher could implement the ideas Kathy shares to help their students become more connected online.

Instead of giving you a persuasive essay about why you should buy this book (and you should), I will share two ways Kathy’s work has impacted what I do as an elementary principal and literacy leader.

1. Digital Portfolios

In the beginning of the school year, Dropbox was the tool selected for my teachers to curate student writing. The plan was to share these web-based folders with parents as the year progressed, so everyone could see student growth over time.

One problem was (and still is) that the teachers are doing the work. Although Dropbox is a great tool for online storage of many types of media, we have found it a bit time-consuming for documenting student writing. The teacher has to take a picture, upload it to the student’s file, and organize it chronologically.

After reading Kathy’s book, I realized that a great digital portfolio tool was right in front of me: a blog. She has her students, as young as six years, regularly post online. The students’ content is not only given a broader audience, it solicits comments from other teachers, peers and family members.

This practical application in a primary classroom is powerful. It comes from someone who has been there and done that, and not from an administrator (like myself) or from a technologist that lacks that meaningful and authentic experience.

2. Collaborative Writing

I had been thinking for a while how I might show 4th grade students how to share their writing with an audience beyond our school walls. After reading Kathy’s book, it sparked the idea of using Google apps to make this happen.

We plan to have the students write a narrative based on one of the fourteen scenes from Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Students can use Google Drive to create these stories, and post them on one Google Site. It would be maintained by educators from both schools, even though we are hundreds of miles apart. Teachers would show students how to comment effectively on another student’s writing. The benefits of these practices are a broader audience and a more authentic purpose to their work.

Lani Ritter Hall stated that “there is not another e-book out there like this”. I couldn’t agree more.

My wife and I scheduled a vacation during the break. This was the perfect opportunity to pull the plug. It helped that the vacation site we picked did not allow cell phones in any of the public areas. If I wanted to take full advantage of the amenities, I had no choice but to focus on the face-to-face interactions that maybe I was neglecting beforehand.

Day 1

When we dropped the kids off at my parents, we left without leaving the car seats. Talk about not being present! Fortunately, we were only 30 minutes away from each other. While I waited for my parents, I sneaked a few peeks at my Twitter feed on my smart phone because I wasn’t technically “on vacation”, but quickly caught myself and shut it off. Instead, I listened to an interesting interview on the radio about the paper industry in Wisconsin. It is being directly affected by the digital influx we have all experienced. (“Paper Cuts” is an ongoing investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; I highly recommend you check it out here). Had my eyes been glued to a screen, I probably would have missed this relevant and important conversation with this reporter.

Day 2

I almost felt a sense of freedom. There was more time than I knew what to do with. I had no purpose, other than to have no purpose. The most in-depth conversation my wife and I had was whether an animal we spotted out our window was or was not a muskrat.

The only way we knew how to find the answer was to Google “muskrat” for an image.

Muskrat it was!

Day 3

Although I wasn’t necessarily missing being connected, I was curious about what kind of interactions may be waiting for me online. We checked out and headed for a Starbucks. Once offsite, I felt good about becoming connected again. I discovered several conversations and was tempted to jump in right away. However, I chose to let them sit and not feel rushed to respond immediately. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Besides the brief disconnection, I have made other modifications to be more purposeful in my actions. No longer is an iPhone or iPad also serving as an alarm clock. I went out and bought a real alarm clock. If someone needs to get a hold of me, they can call me on my landline. I am also making a concerted effort to use paper and pencil when taking notes, instead of feeling obligated to tap-tap-tap them into a productivity app. The Moleskine/Evernote Smart Notebook has helped me bridge the print and digital divide.

After the connection hiatus, I have felt more present for my family and for myself. It helped me remember that my purpose for connecting online was to learn and to share, directed by me and not by a notification (I have shut those off, thank you). If you are feeling the same way, I highly recommend taking a break from all things connected and see what you may have been missing.