LeaderTalk

End of the Year

I have had an incredibly busy week with our graduation, and I began another University class: Seminar on IT which is proving to be very interesting.  I had class twice this week, Tuesday and Thursday evening, and I have to drive two hours to get to the city for class, which means I don’t get home until almost midnight.  My professor is from India and she is in Canada as a guest for only six weeks to teach a couple of University classes.  She has said that there is a vast difference regarding education for Indian children as compared to Canadian children.  Some village schools may have only one or two computers for an entire school of 500 students.  There are inequities that need to be addressed.  My prof spends much of her work time at the her home University writing educational scripts (storyboards) for CAI – computer assisted instruction.  They have graphic designers to use flash to create the programs she writes.  It sounds like many Indian schools rely on CAI for an important part of their fulfilling their curricular needs.  I would love to do this kind of work.  I took a course through the University of Saskatchewan where I created a program which I have used several times with my ELA classes using Authorware about literary devices.  CAI allows the learner to direct his/her own learning within a set of parameters.  The best types of programs will  allow the learner choices, and allow the student to repeat and/or advance through the activities.  The program should also be able to determine when the learner needs to advance or continue with reinforcement. 

Besides my new University class, I have been preoccupied with thoughts, ideas and some issues which I plan to address within my new position as principal for the fall.  

1 – Bullying – it is constant and it is in every school.  Everyone – staff, student leaders, and parents need to be alert.  We need to be very conscious of bullying.  If we have a little gut feeling that someone is being bullied, then chances are the problem may be large. 

2 – Responsible use of technology - There are several issues which impact on the process of change and the implementation of technology as an educational tool.  One of these issues include teaching students to be responsible citizens when it comes to the use of technology.  Students need to understand courtesy, respect and responsibility.  If a teacher asks a student to close his laptop or turn off his calculator, then he should do so out of courtesy and respect.  There may be several reasons why a teacher asks a student to follow these directions.  The teacher needs to be respectful and firm.  If a teacher asks a student to create a pseudonym for a classroom blog, then a student should do so.  The teacher should explain issues of privacy and respect.  I have started another student blog about Shakespeare with my ELA 9 class, and we have spent some time discussing respect and privacy.  We have created “user names” and we are working on our fist trial posts and comments.   Today I asked my students to comment on the postings of other students.  We discussed what and how.  One of the students asked if they should point out spelling/grammar errors to their fellow classmates.  There were several suggestions, and we have decided that the best way to correct our peers is through modeling.  For example if one student notices that every possessive apostrophe is missing in a post, then he or she should address this. As a class, we have decided that it is best to model the appropriate grammatical/spelling error use through a reflective and corrective comment.  All of the students agreed that this might be the best method.  We are going to experiment with this. 

I am currently teaching one class about the use of wikis.  They have not “joined” my space, but I have provided the website.  Almost immediately we had an issue with names being erased as we tried out the editing.  At first I thought that the names were being erased on purpose, but this was not completely the case.  There was only one name erased on purpose, but the kids were willing to help me try to solve this issue.  I feel less confident with some of the younger students with regards to security with some of the technological applications including blogging.  Securitn needs to be a priority, but not a deterrant.

3 – Attendance – It’s the end of the year and we are all getting tired, including the students and staff.  It is probably likely that other schools find this a bigger concern at this time of the year.  Even though my University class seems to have the requirements of a thesis, I’m doing my best to be the cheery leader that everyone is looking to for modelling.  This isn’t always the easiest thing to accomplish after driving eight hours to classes during one week!  I will continue to support, smile, and of course, continue on with my great wit and charm – haha.  Seriously, I am working on creating a new attendance/late policy for the fall.  I have tried to create something that will solve all the issues, but it’s just not happening as easy as I thought it would. I have decided that I will delve deeper into this after my Univ class is complete.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

4 – Caring and supporting people.  I want to help everyone do everything and this has always been my personal motto.  I think this is because of my own personal experiences (and the natural instinct of a mother) as a student and adolescence.  I always felt like I had little support shown to me during my school years.  There were several years I truly felt like I wasn’t going to survive.  I did, and now I want to help anyone and everyone, but over the past few years as an administrator, how many times should I continue to encourage and support some of the parental behavior which I deem to be less than nurturing?  I don’t ever want to impose my values and morals on others, but sometimes this is hard to do.  One common situation which I encounter is parents who will cover for their “absent” children.  Parents will say, “Oh, yes, um, he had a doctor’s appointment.  I just forgot to send a note.”  I’m a bit confused as to why parents are often unwilling to allow their children to be subjected to minor discipline.  I haven’t fully comprehended this.  Of course, I can come up with a list of possible reasons for this, including: overprotection, or shame.  But,  I will continue to be supportive, encouraging and helpful because those are the people who may often need it the most. 

5 – Staffing – I am hoping that our staffing, both numbers and people, can be determined before the first part of June, but this may prove to be difficult.  Many of the rural schools have declining populations, which may mean staffing cuts and/or transfers.  Our May 31 deadline for teacher resignations is also looming.  Teachers may need to relocate or change their job descriptions.  All of these factors can create some stress.

6- Professional Development – PD for teachers need to be ongoing and self-directed, and I feel that many teachers need a “push”.  My husband works for a Coal company and if there is a new safety issue, everyone is involved.  Everyone receives the necessary training.  He probably spends about twenty full days each year receiving training of various kinds.  If teachers need to learn how to use IT, why do we leave it up to them to see if can do it.  Some can, but many cannot or do not.  I believe this is for various reasons including time, learning styles, relevance, …  Are you more comfortable going to a doctor who has been working for ten years with no professional development or a doctor with thirty years experince and who has continued to learn and keep him/herself up-to-date?  Do you really care how the professional development is done?  Does it matter to you whether it is through various short courses, a second degree, professional reading?  The relevant issue is the fact that the professional continued his or her learning.

7 – Physical Fitness – I would like to get our school to “get in motion”.  I would like to see every student exercising each day by jogging/running/walking at least a mile.  This distance could be reduced or increased depending on the age of the kids.

8 – Nutrition – our nutrition program is fantastic, thanks to the help of the staff, and I would like to see it expanded.  Currently our nutrition program includes a toast and a snack program, and the kids love it.  I think that we're making a real difference in creating healthy eating habits.

9- Literacy – Our kids have to read more.  I would like to see book displays everywhere.

10 – Day Care – We have a very energetic young woman in our community who added preschool into our school, which has worked out very well.  There has been some discussion around trying to have a daycare within the school, which would also be a great asset to our community.  We need to try to structure our day/school for today’s family and today’s family often has two parents who work full time.

11 – Music – I would love to be able to reintroduce the a music program to our school.  I’m not sure exactly what or how, but I’m going to try.  This weekend my family is off to Saskatoon for two main reasons.  My son is golfing in a provincial golf tournament and my daughter is auditioning for a summer musical.  Music has brought such joy to her and our lives.  She sings and plays the piano.  She has learned self-confidence, discipline, creativity and courage.  I want all of my students to have these kinds of opportunities.

I could go on and on, and I know that I can’t possibly do it all.  I’ll try.  I want Coronach School to be the best it can be.   Now, I just have to convince everyone else!

Technology and Change

This is my second post for Leadertalk and I like others, I am so impressed by what I have read, and I hope that some of you will be interested in my post. I have tried not to ramble, and so I ask, “What hear shall miss, my toil shall strive to mend.”  I have been pondering what to write about, and I have decided to write about something that is very important to me: Encouraging professional development and more specifically technological PD for educators.

Today, I read an article, “Technology Canadian Schools” from CBC, and I found this quote to be quite profound:

George Siemens, associate director of the Manitoba Learning Technology Centre in Winnipeg, says these are indicative of a new knowledge explosion that is changing the whole concept of learning. "Students are no longer able to learn in a linear model. They're becoming 'multi-literate' and not thinking in text anymore. They experience their identities and society in a multimedia format." He noted, however, that teachers such as Fisher and Kuropatwa are a rare breed. "What they're doing is still quite cutting edge."

These two educators are using applications such as Googledocs, Thinkfree, Writely, Irows.com, ITunes,… Collaborative learning is being used to foster global perspectives, sharing ideas, stories, pictures and videoconferencing. The article goes on to discuss that at present there are only about 1% of educators who are on this cutting edge. If, or more like when, this number rises to 10-15% then the rest of the educators will follow the lead.

For myself, I have found the Internet and of all of its accessories, empowering. When I was about ten years old, I recall my mother buying a brand new set of World Book encyclopedias. She was so excited, and as a result I was too, along with my seven siblings. We spent hours and hours pouring over these books, and we felt such pride when we perused and used them for our school projects. I think that this is one of the main reason I love learning. When I began Internet chatting (Mirabalis ICQ was my first experience) and googling, my own encyclopedias and reference books became dusty. I preferred to serf and “chat” with my three or four family members simultaneously rather than talk on the phone to only one of them at a time. We have to teach kids to love learning, to love the feeling of empowerment. Our excitement will rub off on them. This is like the difference between a webquest and Tom March’s Class Act Portal . The teacher needs to create the topic of the blog around a common current issue, but it also needs to be a passion for teacher. This passion will rub off on the class; I couldn’t agree more. There is nothing more boring than being bored by a bore. I want to share blogging, newsreaders, podcasting, wikis, flickr and more with kids; I want them to experience the same excitement I have when I learn a new tool and when I make a new connection.

We need to find and make time for teachers who love technology to share their love and their projects with other teachers. This will speed the change process, and begin the journey of really using the Internet – creating connections and building a constructivist learning environment– learning from and with each other. I really don’t know what can be more empowering, and I have a odd feeling that this may be the only way to really reach out to all people. I just can’t imagine that there are any educators in the world who could deny the possibilities of Web2.0 to enhance communication and learning if they really understood it.

George Siemens discusses connectivism and Lifelong Learning 2.0 – this site is great. One of the suggestions is to start writing your own blog. For years, I learned that journaling is one of the best methods for reflection and learning. I spent many days encouraging my middle years’ math students to write in their journals. If they could verbalize and write exactly how to solve a problem, then they really understood it. Now with 2.0 Web tools, the final connection can be made. They can share their learning with others, many others to further extend and internalize.

I wish I had more time to blog and keep up with my Google Reader. If you don’t use RSS feeds and newsreaders, you need to begin today. I currently subscribed to about thirty-five feeds (personal blogs and pages), and I am beginning to feel dependent on their news, reflections and issues. I would rather spend the majority of my time reading educational blogs, than news feeds. I usually peruse the news and read the blogs. Yesterday, I added another feed called Maddi. This is my daughter’s blog which she started about a week ago. I encouraged her to start a blog to talk about all of the issues she faces in Grade Six. I wasn’t sure if she was going to continue with it, but she has started the process. Yesterday, I saw her sharing her blog with one of the girls in her class, and I was very proud of her. I think these social tools can work so well, and not just for learning new things. They can be used to deal with some of the more real issues which all of our kids face every day. There is just so much real learning and growing which can occur by making connections. If you have a minute, drop by and give her some encouragement.

Second Life

I am just beginning my journey into Second Life today and I’m still on Orientation Island. I can walk and fly, but every car I get into seems to stall. Perhaps it is my computer, even though it is only four months old? Anyway, I haven’t fully realized this site, but the possibilities seem endless – from making real money – to creating educational environments. I have found that there are educational groups which I can join, and I have noticed that there are other educational bloggers who started the process. I think that there may be some real possibilities with this; I’m still exploring. I will keep my blog updated with my latest Second Life findings. Maybe this could be a type of a “break-through” to reach and/or nudge more educators into the life of technology? I keep thinking and trying new things: I started a staff wiki, a school blog, a professional blog and an educational blog. I teach computer literacy, and people – students, staff and parents – seem to be impressed with some of the things that we are doing. In addition, I promote (use and talk, talk, talk) educational tools such as Blackboard. I have taken several online courses, and I have guided some students with a few of their online classes. I’m trying… During my last grad course, my prof discussed faculty use technology, and I concur with her statement, “Some just won’t utilize it unless they have to…” I would like to see SK Learning, and our School Divisions mandate professional development. I really believe that this is the only way to keep get all educators involved in change and current with research findings.

New Job!

I have just accepted the position of Principal beginning with the 2007-2008 school year at my school where I presently work as Vice-Principal! I am getting more excited with each passing day. At first I felt a little overwhelmed, but I have had a tremendous amount of support and encouragement. I thank those people for that, and I hope that I can live up to their expectations. I’ll try to do my best.

Live... Trust Yourself

I would like thank Scott McLeod for inviting me to participate in Leader Talk!  After perusing the contributors, I certainly feel like I am among some respectable leaders.  Now, I hope I can do my part, and after this past weekend, I’m not so sure.  I have been fevered with tonsillitis for the past three days, but I think I feel like I’m coming back to the land of the living.

I have been contemplating my first topic for a few days.   Over the past weekend, I had the opportunity to listen to Kevin Burns’s CD: Trust the Process: Instigating Leadership, I thought I would be able to personalize this in my every day life of being an educational administrator.  Kevin Burns is a motivational speaker from Red Deer, Alberta, and he discusses ten ways to become a better leader.  I think that most of us should be able to make some connections to our own work and personal lives.

1. “I’m responsible for my own happiness.”  Last week I had a parent call me to discuss the behavior of my own child, even though this particular incident did not happen at school.  I was furious for about two hours and after I calmed down to think about the situation rationally, I realized that this particular person needed my support, not my anger.  I called the parent and discussed the situation, and even though I know this parent was feeling very nervous, I worked through the situation.  I felt happy at the end of the day.
2. “Somewhere, somebody loves me and what I’m doing.”  When I first heard this, I thought and thought and thought some more.  Finally, it dawned on me – there must be someone, somewhere out there.  I just have to find him – or her.  Last summer, I ran into a former student and he told me that he was just finishing up his accounting degree.  He went on to say that he became an accountant because I taught him Accounting 10, and my love for accounting rubbed off on him.  I was really very surprised.  He was an ESL student, and I know school wasn’t always easy for him.  I always felt that when I was teaching accounting, I was the only one who liked it, but obviously I was wrong.  We just don’t know whose lives we touch, because I certainly wouldn’t have guessed that one.
3. “Logic/conviction”.  Do I do this job for the logical reasons?  Do I do this job to pay the bills, and because I have signed a contract?  Or, do I do this job to feel important, and because I really feel like a make a difference in people’s lives?  I have been offered a few (two or three) other jobs in the past few years, but I could not bring myself to leave this school.  I certainly am not afraid of a different job, and I know that no matter where I go, I will love the people.  I think that there are people, adults and kids, everywhere, who need some support.  More than anything, I want to be a part of that support.  Perhaps this is because when I grew up, I needed support and never really received any.  I’m not saying this for sympathy, but because sometimes I need to rationalize my purpose.
4. “I will be tested.”  I need to pay attention.  This has not always been easy for me, but when someone comes to talk to me, I need to “be all there”.  Sometimes it is easy to allow my mind to drift, especially if there are many other things happening in the school.  There are only so many times I can say, "I'm sorry, but I really wasn't paying attention." before they lose complete faith in all of my abilities.
5. “We’re all here for a purpose.”  We’re not told what it is, and I don’t believe that we are here to be self-indulgent (except for the odd shopping trip).  I have believed this every day of my life. “I’m not finished yet.” – I have to keep going; it always feel like someone is pushing me ever so slightly.  I will be finished my Master’s Degree in June, but I already know that I’m not done.  I can’t completely grasp what it is that I have to do, but there is something more.  I’m quite certain that we all have these thoughts, but more importantly, it’s what we do with them. 
6. “We will never be given more than we can handle.”  This is an interested one.  When I first began teaching, I started with grade four;  I was then transferred to a different school to teach grade six, eight and ten.  I was petrified.  After a few bumps and bruises with the grade ten class, I loved it, and I was quite sad to leave.  Trust other people; much of the time they know more than we give them credit for…
7. “We’re all here for a given amount of time.”  We all know how it ends, so make each day count.   The present is a gift – which is why it is called a gift.  There have been days when I felt like I wanted to quit my job, but I didn’t. Only when we give up, are we beaten.  No one can make me fail; I have to do decide to do that on my own.  When I started my first grad class, I had a very tough prof, and I am quite certain that his goal was to weed out a few of the nervous first years.  I really appreciated him at the end of the course, but that first reading assignment was unbelievable.  I used a dictionary for every third word, and it took hours!
8. “Actions determine outcome.”  If I have nothing today, I did nothing yesterday.  In many respects, I felt like I should have seized a couple of other job opportunities, but they just didn’t feel right.  My job at my present school just didn’t seem like it was done.
9. “You get what you give.”  One day a few weeks ago, I became quite unreasonable with one of the high school boys regarding work ethic.  He became very defensive and angry.  It took me a few minutes to realize that I was getting what I was giving, in terms of communication.  After a lengthy discussion, we both realized what each other’s purpose was, and things have been going quite well since then.
10. “Become unreasonable.”  I love my school and the people in it.  Last week we were having some discussions about “no touching”, and I think that this topic might cause a few sparks…  I love walking down our hallways anytime of the day.  There are so many kids who love to bug – each other and many of the other teachers.  There are even a few boys who like to nudge and push.  We have not had a fist fight, a real fight, in the high school in a few years.  Not all of the students participate in “roughing” behavior, just a few, but this makes some of the staff slightly uncomfortable.  I have been teaching for almost twenty years and I don’t think I have ever seen kids get along better than they do this year.  Our worst discipline problem was someone out behind the school smoking.  In a school of two hundred and fifty kids, I think this is pretty respectable.  I have taken a firm stand in delivering the message that I will not assist in any movement toward a “no touching policy”.  As a staff will address almost every other debatable issue, but I am not open to debate with this issue.  Here I could add my philosophy on cell phones, but that has already been a hot blog topic that will continue to rage on for quite some time.

I encourage each of you to think about these ten guiding principles and apply them to your own life as an educational leader.