LEADING THROUGH LISTENING

Two of education's predominant phrases for why students should be doing what they are doing in schools are: "It worked for me" and "because I said so". Obviously, if you read this regularly, you know that I am not a fan of either phrase as I encourage our staff and students to challenge the status quo every day. More importantly, in the wake of our regions second high school tragedy within the past month; I am really concerned about when we are going to become an institution of acceptance rather than an institution of compliance? A current topic that is all the rage is bullying. Over the past several years, our society as a whole has made an attempt to diminish and rid itself of bullying. 40, 50, 60 years ago; bullying was an accepted part of society and no one questioned it. It was a normal "rite of passage" in most communities throughout the world. The civil rights movement is another example. It should not require the murder of great civic leade...

By now, you may know that the District has recently released some information about an upcoming Capital Project referendum. You may also recall that for the past few years, we have been working on determining the best way to correct some of the structural issues at Rome Free Academy. During the two years of developing some ideas (as well as making sure needed work such as the roof at RFA, flashings that were omitted from the original build, electrical issues in the auditorium, and underutilized spaces due to changes in education over the years gets addressed); we have successfully hired a new architect, hired a construction management firm to help manage the project, and begun to work collaboratively to develop an educational and project plan that is both innovative and cost effective. Staley is our last elementary school to be renovated, and unfortunately, it needs more than a renovation. The building rests in a federal flood plain and as you know from the fall, it is completely s...

This week, I read one of the more inspiring stories involving a child that I have read in recent months. The story involves basketball icon Steph Curry and a 9 year old California girl who used the power of social media in a positive manner. For those that haven't seen/heard of this yet, the story can be found here , but the lowdown is that the young girl wrote a letter to Steph Curry; simply asking why his new shoes weren't available on the Under Armour website for girls. What happened from there, you can most likely figure it out. The amazing thing is that a 9 year old was able to take to Twitter in a positive way to simply advocate for young girls everywhere and make a simple request to a powerful person that she had never met or spoken to. The outcome was positive for everyone, including those just using social media to stay in touch. In a society where most adults use social media to bash others, criticize, and put people down without maybe knowing them or without havi...

Has anyone else out in the cyber universe noticed how increasingly violent and combative 'Black Friday' has become? I generally enjoy visiting various stores following the Thanksgiving holiday in search of various bargains, but each and ever year we are hearing reports of violence in stores as shoppers attempt to race against time to get an item before another. In some cases, the violence has nothing to do with sales or shopping at all. It isn't exactly the perfect picture of the unofficial start of the holiday season. The holiday season is supposed to be about kindness, sharing, giving, family, friends, etc. Certainly shopping for others is a part of giving, but the concept of kindness is lost on Black Friday as people are literally willing to push and shove their way through crowds to get what they want. What at one point in time was a very enjoyable, seasonable thing to do (shop for others for the holidays), is turning into something dangerous and selfish. The commer...

As we enter the beginning of the traditional American holiday season, many people lose sight of the many individuals in our country that do not celebrate our traditional holidays. Along with this, and maybe more concerning, is that many people lose sight of the meaning behind our traditional holidays. There are many negative connotations that are connected with Thanksgiving due to the manner in which early settlers imposed their way of life and ideals on Native Americans; but, what can not be debated is the meaning of the word Thanksgiving. It's one of few words that when broken down into simpler terms completely makes sense. "Thanks" and "Giving". In our society today, our youth are increasingly losing sight of these words. Beyond just our youth, many adults have also become entitled and feel empowered to be disrespectful and selfish. The concept of working hard to earn a living, or to say "thank you" when someone does something nice for you is d...

As we honor our military veterans today, this time of year has become a symbol to our country of the many women and men that we need to remember, recognize, and embody on a daily basis. Each year, the number of Veteran's Day celebrations throughout our country/region grow; as does the length of time that the recognitions occur for. Without a doubt, organizations throughout our nation are recognizing our veterans beyond the designated day; and the reality is that we should all be honoring veterans each and every day. Beyond the sacrifice that they have made to serve our country throughout their lives, our military veterans and members bring with them an approach to society and life that we should try to emulate. Being in the military is not something that is for everyone. That generally is because the military requires sacrifice, discipline, service above self, teamwork, and trust in others. Ironically, these very qualities are many of the same issues we see with society today. ...

The phrase, "choose your worlds wisely," has been around for most likely since the beginning of time. While the phrase has historically been used in situations where someone's words may get them hurt, I am referring to the phrase while we are in the comfort or confines of our own homes and in public places. People may wonder why I care? The answer is simple: on an increasing basis, our youngest children are coming to school using language (in context) that is hurtful and inappropriate. The spike in use of foul language by students as young as 5 needs to be addressed by all of us. As you know, students spend minimal time each week in school, which is why it is important that our homes and community areas are free of language that young children shouldn't be using. Children learn more through the actions and behaviors in their lives than they do at school. While schools work to instruct students on standards and information that is mostly based in academia, many beh...

As the conference season winds down this weekend (for some reason the major organizations in NY like to do their conferences within weeks of each other in September and October every year), I find myself wondering every year why the most used excuse for stalling something new is, "the kids can't do that" or "the kids can't handle that." And it's not teachers that carry the burden of this excuse. It is administrators, parents, vendors, KIDS, and teachers; all together. Through many workshops and discussions at these events, you hear the excuse repeatedly from people questioning presenters on their progressive ideas. But what if we started everything new with "maybe they can." I could argue that most any progressive classroom that I have walked into during my entire educational career, the teacher often says, "I took a chance." I bring this up because how we know education and deliver education is on the cusp of a major overall. Not...