As I have begun my new position, time has really flown by. As we have taken care of the normal summer time activities budget, maintenance, IT and just the way things operate at my new district and putting my stamp on how I wish things to go I was thinking the start of school was some time off. As I was reading twitter and people talking about the start of school for 2012 I wondered what the rush was.
Then as I was scheduling a meeting I looked on my calendar and realized that the first of August is next week and I have my first meeting with our building principals a week from tomorrow. I have met with a group of teachers already on academics for the district and how I see the educational process. I have met with our principals at a summer conference so I have laid the groundwork for the upcoming year. But the formal meeting is next Thursday when the nuts and bolts will happen, I'm sure glad I have been working on my presentation to them as the things occurred during the summer and using past meetings I have had in my previous district. Thank heaven for google docs and Evernote.
I have gotten my presentation ready for my first meeting with the district staff and I'm sure I'll amend it some before the actual meeting occurs. But I can tell you I'm JAZZED about it and can't wait. I know that my philosophies will be a little different from what they are accustomed to and thats fine, the previous leadership at the district level was excellent here which has made the transition easy for me and for that I'm thankful. But as we transition to a google app school, cloud computing as opposed to system operations and the overall use of technology in the classroom I am so excited to get started I can't wait.
Have a great 2012-2013 school year, It's Here.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
We've Never Done it That Way
I have had the privilege to coach at three colleges and it was a wonderful experience for me and I met some lifelong friends during that time. At one of the schools, however we had a secretary that would constantly say "We've never done it like that before" I grew to hate that saying. For me the answer was obvious-We're doing that way now!
Sometimes I feel the same in the world of education, when we challenge the past practices and why we do things the way we do them. Questioning some of our practices in the education world is long overdue. Homework, as a practice to improve learning, textbooks as the holy grail of information, and the reluctance to use modern technology to protect our students.
I started to question some of these practices when my daughters were going through school, granted had it not effected my kids I probably wouldn't have, but the expression "Thats the way its always been done" popped up again which really went up my backside. Our daughters were good students (fortunately they took after their momma), but when they would come home dazed and confused with some of their upper level classes I questioned in my own mind why this practice of homework had never been challenged. I just didn't have the guts to publicly challenge the practice, shame on me. Since I was a building principal, I did question the individual teachers, which I'm sure appeared to be self serving, but I also figured my children weren't the only ones struggling.
I didn't use email until 2002 when our oldest child went away to college, once again shame on me. It sure beat snail mail to stay in contact. Then our school went 1:1 and my transformation was pretty much complete. Surely there is more to instruction than lecture, questions at end of chapter, test. Fortunately our staff really embraced the 1:1 and we made some great things happen in the learning of our entire building, teachers thinking of new ways to deliver content, and students teaching our teachers as well as administrators how to use these nice new machines.
Enter Twitter into my world and what I have learned is some of the things I questioned are and have been questioned for some time now. My regret is that I should have challenged these things before more openly. We are in charge of educating kids so we need to be the frontrunners in new things that are available, instead we let other professions and areas bypass us and students have to learn on the job. We've Never Done it That Way Before-yes we have and we're not doing that again, we're changing!
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one learned in school-Albert Einstein.
Sometimes I feel the same in the world of education, when we challenge the past practices and why we do things the way we do them. Questioning some of our practices in the education world is long overdue. Homework, as a practice to improve learning, textbooks as the holy grail of information, and the reluctance to use modern technology to protect our students.
I started to question some of these practices when my daughters were going through school, granted had it not effected my kids I probably wouldn't have, but the expression "Thats the way its always been done" popped up again which really went up my backside. Our daughters were good students (fortunately they took after their momma), but when they would come home dazed and confused with some of their upper level classes I questioned in my own mind why this practice of homework had never been challenged. I just didn't have the guts to publicly challenge the practice, shame on me. Since I was a building principal, I did question the individual teachers, which I'm sure appeared to be self serving, but I also figured my children weren't the only ones struggling.
I didn't use email until 2002 when our oldest child went away to college, once again shame on me. It sure beat snail mail to stay in contact. Then our school went 1:1 and my transformation was pretty much complete. Surely there is more to instruction than lecture, questions at end of chapter, test. Fortunately our staff really embraced the 1:1 and we made some great things happen in the learning of our entire building, teachers thinking of new ways to deliver content, and students teaching our teachers as well as administrators how to use these nice new machines.
Enter Twitter into my world and what I have learned is some of the things I questioned are and have been questioned for some time now. My regret is that I should have challenged these things before more openly. We are in charge of educating kids so we need to be the frontrunners in new things that are available, instead we let other professions and areas bypass us and students have to learn on the job. We've Never Done it That Way Before-yes we have and we're not doing that again, we're changing!
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one learned in school-Albert Einstein.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Starting Over
I began my new job yesterday, I am still a superintendent just at a different district. Yesterday was busy with the unpacking and getting my office organized, going over what I expect from the ladies in the office that I work with, and taking care of normal day to day operations. Today we do the budget and we will be off and running, now we just have to find a place to live in Arma, and the move will be official.
The only negative I have heard from folks is having to start over at another district. To be honest I have embraced this and not viewed it as a negative at all, it has really energized me. I think the primary reasons for this is starting over does take work and energy, but the move has really energized me. I can't wait to share what I've learned being a superintendent at another district and what I've learned from social media, specifically twitter.
We are just breaking the surface technology wise here at Northeast but I do believe the district is ready to get on board with the tools and teaching aids that technology provides, and I do believe this helped me get the job. Several teachers heard my presentation at a tech conference this summer, and have shared that I should give the presentation the first day our teachers come back, which I am now considering. One even said it inspired her to research on her own about available tools to assist her instruction.
I know there will be some bumps in the road, and some naysayers, but that is not going to deter me from our ultimate goal which is improved student learning. I look forward to the challenges ahead and like I have said before at my age I don't have time for people to come along slowly, lets get on the bus and go.
The only negative I have heard from folks is having to start over at another district. To be honest I have embraced this and not viewed it as a negative at all, it has really energized me. I think the primary reasons for this is starting over does take work and energy, but the move has really energized me. I can't wait to share what I've learned being a superintendent at another district and what I've learned from social media, specifically twitter.
We are just breaking the surface technology wise here at Northeast but I do believe the district is ready to get on board with the tools and teaching aids that technology provides, and I do believe this helped me get the job. Several teachers heard my presentation at a tech conference this summer, and have shared that I should give the presentation the first day our teachers come back, which I am now considering. One even said it inspired her to research on her own about available tools to assist her instruction.
I know there will be some bumps in the road, and some naysayers, but that is not going to deter me from our ultimate goal which is improved student learning. I look forward to the challenges ahead and like I have said before at my age I don't have time for people to come along slowly, lets get on the bus and go.
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