Mother's Day, a day to pause and give thanks to that lady that has meant so much to all of us. This day always makes me think back to my earliest memories, times when I looked to my mom for protection, guidance and security. There is not one great story I can share, rather there are a collection of things I recall that make me smile and make me thankful for having an amazing mom. 1. First one in the kitchen: no matter how early I woke up when I was a kid I was always guaranteed to be met my my mom in the kitchen. I didn't realize how cool this was until I moved out on my own and found breakfast a lonely, boring time. 2. Soup, sandwiches and Fred! It never failed, everyday when I came home from school mom would have lunch all ready to go. The menu usually consisted of soup (tomato was a favorite), sandwiches (I loved grilled cheese day), and Fred. By Fred I mean Fred Flintstone. No matter how many times she had seen each and every episode mom was okay with the family from Bedrock joining us for lunch. 3. Letting me make my own mistakes: my teens were not a happy time, for my parents that is. My life at that time was filled with one mistake after another, but mom was there for me when I was hurt. I remember a lot of advice and encouragement, but not a lot of "...no, there is no way you are doing that...". Except for a couple times when she needed to be ultra strict, in the end she was right on both counts, and to be honest I knew it all along (moms know when a girl is not right for their son). 4. Listening to the teachers: I didn't get in a lot of trouble at school, mostly my issues were just around my laziness when it came to academics. If the teachers ever did have to call home though I guarantee she never looked for a chance to blame the school...and boy did I get it when she hung up. 5. Being there when it mattered most: high school graduation, wedding day, university convocation, the birth of my kids. Mom was there, well, not physically there for the birth of my kids, but she was ready for that phone call. Those are important times and for a guy who never felt very bright or particularly good at anything, having a chance to shine in front of my mom was pretty awesome. 6. Knowing I had enough friends: my mom loves me, I know that, and she also knows I have enough friends. She never tried to be my buddy, to "hang out" with me or anything like that. I appreciated that. 7. Letting me be a parent: my mom loves being a grandma, I mean she loves it! This is another reason my mom is so awesome, she let's me parent my kids. She is willing to share advice when I ask, but I've never heard her say, "whoa, you are doing this or that wrong!" So, a few of the myriad of reasons my mom is awesome. I hope she has a terrific Mother's Day and she knows she's in my thoughts. Love ya' mom. As always comments are welcome.
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Yesterday I was very lucky to be part of a group of 18 people talking about programs we initiated in our schools and lessons we learned from the experience. There was a nice mixture of people in the room, young and old, male and female, aboriginal and non-aboriginal, teachers, administrators and even one community member. Each group that was there shared stories from their school, and each group began the same way, with the administrators giving a snap shot of what had happened at their school in the past year. I noticed something quite amusing as the afternoon wore on, a subtle difference in the room depending on who was speaking. When the principals or vice-principals spoke, everyone listened attentively, nodding along and jotting down notes when something struck a chord with them. The difference came when teachers spoke. It was like the room collectively sat up and leaned in as soon as they began. I do not believe it was because they were better prepared or more well spoken but there was something that filled the room when they had their turn to take the mic. That something was passion. The administrators talked about goals, plans and data while the teachers talked about students, struggles and accomplishments. The afternoon of sharing reminded me of the importance of telling our stories. In each school's presentation I could find pieces I could relate to, things I'd seen in my school. While having those common threads was nice it was their secrets of success that really caught my attention. This would not have been possible had we not taken the time to come together with the intention of sharing. People all around us are doing great things to solve problems we all may be facing. Wouldn't it be nice if you had the time to sit down and listen to their stories? How would you repay them for their wisdom? It would be easy....tell them your stories. As always comments or stories are welcome. Certain profession have their "crunch times"; accountants feel the pressure every spring and they are no strangers to long days. Teachers and school administrators are also professionals that face this "crunch time". As summer holidays approach the to-do list gets a little longer with the deadlines becoming non-negotiable. Things like final assessments, graduation, sorting out credits, staffing, maintenance, year end trips, forward planning, and reporting to various stakeholders are things that must get crossed off the list. With all of these commitments a person can lose focus on the most important things in their life; their mental and physical health and their family relations. As I was organizing my final two months of the school year my wife made sure there was one day that stood out as another non-negotiable. A "must do" that had nothing to do with my school. That day was today. It was my son's class play. The play was a short production called The Little Red Hen and my son did not have a huge role, he was one of the cows in the choir. His mom made sure his mask was just perfect, we made sure he had the clothes he needed for the part and ensured he got a good sleep the night before. While all of that was important, nothing mattered as much as our presence at that play. My wife and I got our seats and waited for the kids to file in, sitting among all the other camera wielding parents and grandparents. As the kids walked in I saw my son, and he walked into the gym just like any other grade 2 boy who had to sing a bunch of farm songs in front of a throng of strangers. His shoulders were slightly slumped and his face wore an expression that said, "I'd rather be riding my bike or playing with my buddies". All of this changed when he spotted his mom and dad. He shot up straight, a smile stretched from ear to ear and he waved as hard as he could. My wife and I could not resist being one of "those parents" waving back like our son just returned from 8 months at sea. The performance was far from Tony worthy, but that was not important. For thirty minutes I sat and watched the kids act out the story of a little red hen who just wanted a little help baking some bread while the steely-eyed fox was looking for the opportunity to swipe the loaf. For those thirty minutes everything on that to-do list disappeared from my mind and my focus was on my boy. These are the important parts, the moments a person can miss, saying, "I'll catch the next one, the timing is just wrong for this one". If you have kids, take the time stay involved. If you are a leader and have people working for you and you know they have young children, encourage them to stay involved. After all, taking time away from that list of demands might just be enough to recharge a person's batteries and help them finish up "crunch-time" on a high. As always, comments are welcome :) Imagine you are in charge of implementing a new initiative at your office, work site, or job. You know what you want to accomplish and you know why it is important. All you need to do now is figure out just exactly how you will accomplish this. Or do you? This year at school we took on two pilot projects in an effort to improve student learning and enhance student engagement. The first project we agreed to was the implementation of a new grading and reporting system. The challenge was to change from a percentage based system (norm-referenced) to a criterion-referenced system. Basically it meant reporting on individual criteria as opposed to reporting on several criteria at once via an averaged mark yielding the traditional bell curve of student marks. I will not go into great detail about the philosophy behind criterion-referenced assessment or how it looks in a school, but if you are interested this article offers a good explanation. The second project was implementing a new music program in our school. The challenge was to teach music in a way that was new to teachers and students. Normally teachers would schedule in music time where all students would learn the same instrument, notes, chords, etc. With this new approach students were allowed to explore music in many different ways using traditional instruments or electronic instruments available to them online or on our iPads. This exploration was to be done in conjunction with other subjects (for example, if you were learning about immigration what do you think the soundtrack of a journey from Germany to Saskatchewan would sound like using only music?). We introduced these two projects to the staff and were met with questions like, "what is the plan?", "what are we supposed to do?", "where are the guides?", "who is going to teach this stuff?". We did not have any plans, guides, or outlines and as the weeks turned to months it became very clear that the plans were going to be drawn up along the way. This was new for me, I always felt the path needed to be clear to everyone prior to setting out on a new task or initiative. What I did learn though, is that if you are very clear on where you need to get and why it is important to get there, the journey can take many routes. As the teachers were finding their way, it was becoming clear that they were curious, innovative, and collaborative. All of this was in an effort to improve student learning, and everyone began to see the power of "building the plane as we were flying it" (to quote a person much smarter than I am). It has been a long journey this year, and it has been a lot of hard work. We are not done yet, but there is a great deal of optimism as the school year winds down and we begin to think of 2014-2015. Change is important. I think we need to constantly be looking for ways to do things more effectively, especially when it comes to improving student learning. The critical thing is we do not let the trap of over-planning stand in the way of action. As always I'd love to hear what you think. I was at an interesting leadership workshop a couple days ago and the conversation came around to our perceived strengths and areas for improvement . The word weakness wasn't used, instead the word deficiencies was substituted. I really liked this because in my mind being deficient simply means you haven't acquired something yet. On the other hand, to me a weakness is something you need to overcome, a type of obstacle. Does that mean we do not have weaknesses? Of course not, I have a weakness for the sweet and salty foods I should be avoiding as the years continue to pass by. This is one of my personal weaknesses. A professional weakness would be the way I obsess over things too often at work. I worry that my decisions will not be embraced by everyone and that there will be people who are unhappy with me. The core of this weakness lies in my emotions, my feelings, my need to have those around me happy. This weakness is something I need to live with. I have identified it and understand why I feel the way I do when making decisions. In reality I need to use this as a compass, to be aware of it and not be afraid or debilitated by it. I pointed out two weaknesses, but what about deficiencies? I will stick to my leadership skills for now, mainly because I would need several blogs to talk about all of my other deficiencies. Case in point, come and look at my garden in August, you will see I have a deficiency in the ability to grow vegetables. As a leader I have identified two deficiencies I want to address as I continue to grow in my field (no gardening pun intended). The first is in the area of budgeting. I have never had to set a school budget, however, when I become a principal (which is my ultimate goal) I will need to do this. I have had the opportunity to work with other principals as they do this, but I have never had to do this on my own. The second is setting a vision for a school, and this is a tougher one. I know what I believe when it comes to education and why I believe it, but getting those around me to "buy in" or believe what I believe scares me a bit. I have shared my vision with others, and many share this vision, however there are those out there that do not. How do I get them "on board" without resorting to a "my way or the highway" mentality? Right now I have a deficiency in setting a school on desired path and developing a budget to support this. Are my deficiencies a result of a lack of experience? Maybe, but this does not mean I can't identify where I need work, find resources, and start addressing my needs. So what about you? What are your deficiencies? Do not confuse them with weaknesses, those can be addressed and if you want, utilized while your deficiencies are simply opportunities waiting to be accomplished. If you have any thoughts or feedback, I'd love to hear it! Have you ever had to make that dreaded phone call home to parents about a student who may have been misbehaving or is struggling with their academics? We've all been there, and it's not a fun call to make. Fun or not these phone calls are necessary, and I say phone calls because it is getting all too easy to just send a quick e-mail, but e-mail can seem distant and emotionless. I think e-mail communication is fine for sharing information, but not the best way to facilitate a discussion with parents. I have made many of these phone calls, and usually they start something like this: Parent: Hello? Me: Hello Mr. or Mrs. So-and-so, this is Mr. Mellesmoen from (insert student name here)'s school, how are you today? Parent (normally in a melancholy voice): Um, fine, why? Me: I am just wanting to touch base with you.... From there I begin the discussion with the parent sharing details and crafting a plan. Normally after a call like that I'm not feeling great, no one wants to be the bearer or bad news, even if a terrific plan has been set in motion. I think over time if a person is making so many of these calls it can wear on your emotions and begin to bring you down. But what if..... For every call you made like that you made one, or even better, several calls to share celebrations. This is something I've always tried to do throughout my career and it really does pay dividends. I have started making this more of a habit and making sure I end every week and every "bad day" with at least two phone calls or two conversations with kids who did something that deserves a pat on the back. The phone calls start the same way as above, but it is so nice to hear the inflection in the parents' voices when I tell them I want to share some great news about their son or daughter. It doesn't take much to make these calls but the dividends are amazing, after all the only thing to need to do is call them as you see them. There was a very interesting article on Edutopia today (if you don't follow Edutopia you better start) about mistakes students make. The article talks about how a history of mistakes leads to students responding emotionally to "red ink" on assessments. I won't reveal too much about the article, but it is a good read. This article led me to think about my role as a leader and whether a history of mistakes may lead me to avoid taking risks. Much of what I have read about effective leadership talks about the need to take risks if change is to be implemented. This change is all around us in education, from planning, to assessing, to supporting students, and we are looking at everything we do with a critical eye. To begin implementing this change, risks need to be taken and therefor mistakes are inevitable. I can do one of two things, avoid the risks or tackle them head on knowing there will be challenges. In order to take these risks I need a network of support to help guide me, either with advice or simply listening to me talk about my challenges. I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by supportive people during my career; from my wife to my colleagues to my supervisors, they have always "had my back". When I have made mistakes they have been there to help me look at them as learning experiences. As I continue to grow as a leader I need to be aware of the emotional response I will have to mistakes I make along the way. I also need to continue to lean on those around me for support so I can take the necessary risks needed to implement change. For the past six weeks 27 students in my grade 11 & 12 Life Transitions class have been taking part in an independent learning project. The initial seeds for this idea came from a discussion with a principal who talked about a similar initiative at her school, inspiration hour. I introduced the learning project to my students, telling them employers want people who can learn and can do so on their own. At the beginning I was very nervous about a project that turned 100% of the learning over to the students, however as the days passed I began to see some positives emerging. Students had to first come to grips with the idea of learning whatever they wanted, this was all very new to them. What I noticed over the course of this project was the pride the students had in what they were learning about. I had students coming to me in the hallway during breaks telling me what they were working on, what they've learned, what they've created, and what they were planning to do next. Recently, Alec Couros, a professor at the U of R, tweeted a link to one of his student's website. I was shocked to see it was the portfolio of this students' learning journey in his class. I saw many parallels between his assignment and mine, I also saw a few things I am going to "borrow" as my students repeat this process in May and June. So, what did my students work on? Here is a sample of some of the projects that happened in my class:
It is important to note that some students really struggled with this process. Some students had trouble with managing their time while others had a hard time settling on a project. For these students I challenged them to think about why they struggled and reflect on how their learning style was at odds with this process. Needless to say, I am very excited about repeating this process. #education #learning The following video examines what it takes for students to be truly successful, grit. Recently I was with my two oldest children, Bobby (7) and Eva (3) at an art gallery in Saskatoon. This is one of our favorite spots because there is a room for the kids to create and display their own art. While on our last visit I was excited to see this painting of Danceland by David Thauberger. I grew up in Watrous, Saskatchewan and this dance hall was located at Manitou Beach, a short car ride, or a little longer bike ride from town. It was neat to see this picture, not because of the wonderful ability of the artist, but because of the memories that it evoked. I loved going to dances at Danceland for many reasons, the music, the atmosphere, the girls, everything seemed just right. But it wasn't just the building that created the memories, rather it was the people I was surrounded by.
When I think of how this building makes me feel I start to think of other places that also "take me back". The house I grew up in, the town skating rink, the ball diamonds, the old theater, my elementary and high schools, the Witch-path (only residents of Watrous over a certain age will get that reference), all of these places bring up feelings. Fast forward to today and think about our children who are currently laying down their "old memories" right before our eyes. What part will you play in those memories. How will your students remember you in 30, 40, or 50 years? What are your "take me back" places? |