Week #9 of SAVMP challenged
me to reflect on the Learning part of Leading.
This past week I took a day
for personal business and then had the opportunity to attend a PD session with
Richard Allington. This is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and I am thankful for
three things I learned while I was away for two days: Connect & Refresh, Grow, and Be Humbled
1. Connect & Refresh:
The session was sponsored by @mbascd and I was able to connect with a
number of my colleagues that I rarely see. I was able to have conversations with other administrators;
a commodity is short supply for many stand-alone school admin. Professional
conversation with people who deal with the same issues and concerns provides
opportunity to gain fresh perspectives, learn new things, and sometimes just
plain vent. I met up with one
friend I hadn’t seen in twenty years and had an opportunity to meet @chrisjstahl “ilr”
in real life.
2. Grow: I was more than ‘nudged’ by Dick Allington
and his deep well of data; his acerbic style was inflammatory for many, but I
relished the bluntness! Teaching
is hard work and we need our best and brightest teachers with our most at risk
students. I was reminded of my
friend @kimcjr who always told me we need to be teaching with a sense of
urgency…when reviewing the studies that Allington spoke of I can see why! As
an educational leader I need to reset my own focus sometimes. Taking a day of PD is a great way to enable
this.
3. Be Humbled: Upon my return to school, I found that the world ran on with out me. I was actually away for two and a half
days due to the alignment of meetings, personal time and PD. @mlhrom is a super designate who steps
into the role easily and is supported by the entire team. During my absence we had
a few new students register, construction begin on a grooming room, a new
classroom teepee erected, and a major community event organized. I am very blessed to work with an
amazing team – they remind me that everyone is replaceable, including me.
I send my thoughts to my PLN
friends on this Thanksgiving weekend.
You have given me an audience for my thoughts and an opportunity to
express them. I often refer to
Twitter and the #SAVMP (School Adminstrator Virtual Mentorship Program) as a
forge that pushes me to clarify my educational philosophy. Expressing beliefs in 140 character
tweets or fewer than 1000 word blog posts is like swaging and edging…responses,
comments and conversations are the hammering and shaping.
Enjoy the weekend!
-RexFB
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