LEADING THROUGH LISTENING

'Tis the season for jingle bells, cookies, trees, family, giving, music, snow (sometimes), and oh yes... the jolly old man in the big red suit. Do you remember the day when you used to believe? The season seemed to be filled with anticipation, excitement, and pure happiness about everything. A general positive feeling filled the air and nothing seemed as if it were impossible. Everything was a Christmas miracle. Ironically, this feeling is no different than that time when you thought you could actually make a difference in the world . Do you remember when you used to believe that? Unfortunately too many adults (young and old) stop believing in that as well and that is when negativity and apathy begins to consume our lives. The reality is that YOU can make a difference. One person can make a large difference in the world. It's all about perspective though. One person may not be able to be THE difference in the world but they certainly can be A difference. Each day in educati...

Almost on a daily basis I see the immediacy needs of our society enacted in both children and adults feeling the need to play the role of Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Technology and social media are wonderful tools and are debate-ably the worlds most meaningful inventions. However, if not used appropriately, can be the worlds most devastating force. There is a phrase that goes something like this; "It took centuries to build an empire but only days to destroy it." This phrase is indicative of our current society's desire to use social media and the internet to make rash judgments about things without truly knowing what's going on. There's a reason why our English teachers and Social Studies teachers are struggling to teach kids about proper/legal citations for writing papers and the concept of freedom of speech. Our children are growing up to 'think' that everything on the internet is accurate and that freedom of speech means you can write or say whatev...

In an era where most educators and parents want to criticize everything, especially those that are decision makers, I have to say, I think NYSED got this one right!! On a daily basis I am finding adults that lack the essential 21st century skills that our decision makers feel our students must possess in order to be productive citizens in the future. In my opinion however, 21st century skills are "soft" in nature, difficult to measure, and not a traditional part of American high school curriculums. To tell you how many emails I receive a day that make me wonder if the adult on the other end has ever sat through an English class would be embarrassing. Electronic communication is a 21st century skill, but where is the education in regard to how to use it? Just because it's an email doesn't mean we have to forget the basic conventions of standard American English, does it? Can we not combine 2 skills into one here? Typically, all of these "skills" as we are...

What if everyday were similar to a day between Thanksgiving and New Year's? I ask this question because as I walked through the malls and stores this past weekend, it's ironic to me to see how many more kind and giving people you come across during this one month stretch. I find people saying please more frequently, I see people donating to causes, and I certainly hear the words "thank you" more often for simple gestures like letting someone go onto the escalator first. What would our society be like if every day were like this? I ask this question because I wonder, does everyone suddenly change into some bizarro personality because that's what they think they are supposed to be during the holidays or do all of the really polite, well-mannered people suddenly emerge from hiding and spend time in public during this month? We all know manners, how to be respectful, how to treat others... so what is so hard about being that way every day? I am excited for our sch...

This past week I had the privilege and honor of meeting with and fielding questions from a Syracuse University Project Advanced (SUPA) English class. Having the opportunity to meet with kids and answer their questions is always the best part of any day. Our students bring a unique perspective to schools and can really cause us to think about 'WHY' things are the way that they are. After all, isn't public education supposed to be about what kids want and need? For the longest time, since I can remember, the phrase "because I said so" has been a fixture in public schools. Teachers use it frequently when kids question an assignment, topic, or expectation; administrators use it frequently when challenged by teachers or parents; and district leaders and politicians use it as a blanket clause to justify decisions. The reality is, we often use the phrase "because I said so" because we don't know any other way to do what it is that we do, educate. Public...

  Roughly 4 years ago the entire educational community was spun into a tizzy and the alarms were sounding as if our entire universe and all that we stood for was about to explode because of the Common Core Learning Standards  (CCLS). Mass confusion, hatred, fear, assessment, optimism, APPR (New York's teacher evaluation system), money (yes we can't forget to mention Federal/State financial aid), and many other things ensued following the arrival of the CCLS. Back then, it almost felt as if the world of education was being terminated in light of a new effort, an effort that none of us could explain or figure out. Fast forward to today and I ask, what ever happened to the Common Core? All the hysteria, panic, fear.... education was being ruined... where did it go? Schools look very similar today as they did then and one could even argue that schools that implemented the CCLS with fidelity are finding increased academic outcomes. Of course we are still dealing with the stre...

One of the prevailing trends in education is to hear that morale is low in our schools. Teachers' morale is low, students are negative about their school experience, and parents are just frustrated with the whole ball of wax. Walk into almost any school and ask the administration this question,  "what's the must important thing to fix in your school currently?" Almost universally you will get the cliche answer of,  "morale." Is that truly the case though? I will admit that I'm one of those administrators who thought morale was low and that's the solution to all of our problems, but I'm not sure that's true. I have struggled to find a teacher not wanting to teach kids to the best of their ability. If morale was low, wouldn't we expect to see people "mailing it in." Teachers and staff members routinely come to work every day smiling and ready to make a difference. Even in the face of disruptive students and rude mannerisms ...

 One of the most challenging things that all human beings can face is change. By nature we enjoy the comfort of routine and knowing what happens next. In education, most of our whole lives are centered around routine and clearly defined expectations. We have bells that tell us when to leave or arrive at class, due dates for assignments, clear and precise directions for how to complete assignments, and curriculum that tells us what we should be teaching. So what happens when these routines are disrupted? In our classrooms we have mastered the art of improvisation because rarely does a lesson go the way we want in our head. However, many of us still struggle to handle change when we are not in control or don't know what's coming. This week I begin my new journey with my new professional family at Rome Free Academy High School. While I myself am excited, nervous, optimistic, and yes a bit scared; I know that the foundation established at RFA will help this transition. I look f...

One of the hardest things to do in life is to deal with change. There is that old saying, "When one door closes, another door opens." I wonder though, why does a door have to close for another to open. Why can't many doors open when someone decides to go through a new door? I am about to embark on a new professional journey in the coming weeks and I refuse to think that the building that I have helped to lead over the past 3 years is going to be a closed door. Instead, I can think of thousands of opportunities that have been opened because of my decision to walk through a new door. I think of all of the people that have touched my life (students, staff, and parents) and I honestly don't see why a door has to close. Instead of that thinking, I choose to think that thousands of doors are opened now with all of the amazing people that I have had the opportunity to lead. The lessons that have been learned, the friendships that have developed, and the opportunities tha...

1.5 Seconds of Thought This week I have decided to dedicate my blog to the game that I love and hate the most, golf!! Thanks to a recent outing with a colleague, I got my game into the best shape it's been in for years AND got this awesome idea for a blog post. While we spent the afternoon laughing, high fiving for good shots, talking to ourselves after poor shots, there was one constant about the game: Regardless of a good shot or bad shot, the mumbling was always, "Don't overthink it!" Almost everyone knows that sports, especially golf, are mentally grueling and the more you think while playing usually the worse the outcome. So why do we continue to overthink things? Is education any different right now in this time of uncertainty and change? Maybe, just maybe the adults don't always have the perfect answer because we overthink it, but collaboratively with our students, I know the right answers will be found. Famous golfer Ben Hogan once said, "Golf i...

After a week hiatus from blogging to enjoy a school event, I've been challenged to join the growing number of educators out there to blog about the 5 Things We Have To Stop Pretending in education. Thank you to Christina Luce for "nudging" me into the blogging world and for prompting this post. So, without further adieu, here are my top 5 things we need to stop pretending in the world of education: 1. PRETENDING!!! We need to stop pretending period!! 2. FAIR AND EQUAL MEAN THE SAME THING. Over the course of history, we have developed this notion that in order to be fair for everyone, things must be equal. Likewise, being equal means that things are fair. Unfortunately, this is simple not true and WE KNOW IT!! All educators have been through countless professional developments where we have heard this but yet when we return to the recesses of our comfort zones, a large majority of people in schools still practice this archaic philosophy. 3. YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANC...

In today's society of immediacy and electronic devices, the art and power of communication seems to be a disappearing skill. The advent of email and text messaging has quickly made the concept of a phone call almost obsolete. All too often when asking staff members if they've spoken with a parent, they can quickly reply with, "I've sent several emails." While email is great and so is text messaging, there is no substitute for a good old-fashioned phone call. Might they take more time? Yes, most often they do. However, the relationships that can be built through a conversation are much stronger than those built through a letter. There is no substitute for the tone in a person's voice or the sense of urgency that can be displayed. When working with students, it is important for us all to remember the POWER of our communications with them rather than for us to think that we have POWER because we are communicating with them. Unfortunately, adults can have mome...

Have you ever had that experience where you just finished saying something and you immediately wonder, "What did I just say?" Or how about that moment when you're giving an impassioned talk and when you pause for a moment you notice the blank stares on the faces of the people you're talking to and you can hear crickets in the audience. The worst is when we are speaking to students and they completely misinterpret something that we are attempting to communicate to them. We've all been there as leaders, teachers, and speakers. So what do we do about it? Ensuring that our message is communicated correctly is more important than we realize. One of the all-time best courses I have taken in my own education was related to psycho-metrics and how the mind works. What we don't realize is that 85% of what we intend to communicate, get's interpreted differently than we want it to. In our head, we here the beautiful symphonies of Beethoven when we speak. Our liste...

Not only does the month of May signify the home stretch for those of us in education, it signifies the most stress filled time for our high school students. The SAT exam is coming up followed closely by the ever demanding Advanced Placement (AP) exams and final exams. More than ever our high school students are expected to be completing college level and AP courses prior to leaving high school and for some, the burden may become Advanced Pressure more so than Advanced Placement. During this time of testing for our students who we generally may classify as strong, bright, mature, and yes, advanced; we may forget that they are still kids just like everyone else. They may be a tad more intelligent than the average student on a bell curve, but they are only 17 or so and have all of the worries and stresses that come with being a teenager. As educators and leaders, we need to keep this in mind through the coming weeks and help our students not only prepare, but manage the stresses of th...

'Tis the season where students and staff alike enjoy a nice night out, maybe a nice dinner, and an evening of sharing laughs and smiles dancing. This is also the season where our traditional model of schooling has forever promoted the "cool" and "not cool" groups in our schools. Recently, our school had the opportunity to listen to former NFL and Syracuse University quarterback Don McPherson speak of this topic. The concept that our schools have a box of popularity and that if we don't fit into that box, or that perception, then we are an outcast. I would like to take this opportunity to promote the concept of togetherness and support for all members of our communities. Each of us has a story to tell, none of us have anyone that knows 100% of our story. Too often we make judgments of others based on their appearance, maybe past history, or worse yet a rumor. While we have made great strides in public schools to reduce bullying, it still occurs and it sti...

 I often wonder why it is that people are afraid of failure? Beyond that, educators in general seem to be so afraid of failure. Almost every educator recognizes when something doesn't make sense and needs to be changed, but are reluctant to try something different because what if it doesn't work? That would make us failures!! In conjunction with that, every educated and worldly adult knows that we have learned life's lessons through failure. By making mistakes and not giving up. So I ask the question, is failure final? Well, I would argue that clearly in life it is not. We are able to make mistakes and are provided opportunities to correct our mistakes, learn from them, and move on with life. Often times, the feeling of success that accompanies our learning experiences and/or corrected mistakes is a rejuvenation of life in general. In education, failure has long meant that we are not good enough. Most educators never struggled with school and may not realize what it mea...

Welcome to this first blog post as I venture out into a new world of social media! Needless to say, this is somewhat stressful as it is a new experience. Ironically, as I put the page together I found myself asking, "WHY has it taken me so long to make this leap?" Then I thought, WHY are human beings, and more specifically those of us in education, afraid of asking WHY? As teachers, we ask our students WHY all the time. It's second nature to ask a student to explain their thoughts and push their thinking to go deeper. However as colleagues, we often view the word WHY as an attempt to weaken our sense of being. When we question WHY certain practices exist, WHY policies are enacted the way they are enacted, and WHY decisions were made, the word has almost universally a negative connotation. If it is okay for us to question our students in this manner for the pure sake of understanding the students' thought better, why as colleagues can we not do the same. After all,...