Holiday Blues

I want to build on the message I posted last week. This past Sunday I took the message at church to heart and I want to share some of it with you. During this holiday season be sure you remember what the meaning of the season should be and what your memories are from your childhood. Often in our culture we hear people say things like "I can't wait for January" or they are complaining about all the dinner parties they have to attend. They may even be complaining about having to travel to see family or because their family is coming to stay with them.

If you fall into any of these categories think about what the holidays should be about. I can assure you there are people all across the world that would love to have a warm dinner so we should not complain about being invited to dinner. You set your schedule. If you don't want to attend the staff party, or another invitation that is fine, but don't complain about being invited.

As for complaining about having to travel to see your family or them coming to stay with you, be thankful you have the opportunity. There are families all over the country that would love to spend the holidays with their son, daughter, mother or father, but they are overseas fighting to ensure we can enjoy the holidays and our freedom. I know some of you may have a Griswald family like me, but any time with those that love us should be valued time. Once we lose those we love we will never get that time back. Be thankful and enjoy the time.

When I look back at the holiday memories I hold closest it is not about presents I received but about traditions my family formed. I loved playing football in the snow with my brothers on Christmas day. I remember all the decorations and foods my mom always had for us and the music she played. What I am saying to you is simple. It is not about presents you can buy your kids, or maybe you can't buy your kids this year. It is not about what you will receive or not receive, but about the spirit of Christmas. Enjoy the holiday season and the traditions your family has. If you don't have any strong traditions take some time this year and form a new tradition that your family can enjoy this year and the years to come.

Enjoy the well deserved break. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to lead such a great team. Happy Holidays!!!

Holiday Season

I hope that you all take some time over the next few weeks to reflect over your blessings. It is easy to feel sorry for ourselves or to get stuck in a negative mindset when times get crazy. We all know the holidays are going to make times crazy. Take a minute to look at your life and think about how blessed you are. If you are feeling overwhelmed step back and take a breath.

For me this is easy. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife and kids, good friends and great career opportunities. I love my job, the people I work with and the effect I am hopefully having on the students I am blessed to work with. Even with all of these blessings from god, I find myself complaining from time to time. When I step back and think about the wonderful life I have I feel foolish. Having a job that allows me to work with young people is truly a blessing and I hope you all feel the same way. There are people all over the country, across our county, in our neighborhood and in our families that have lost jobs or they are stuck in jobs that they do not love. Think about how lucky we are to be trusted with shaping the minds of the future.

Take time to relax, enjoy time with your loved ones and reflect on the difference you are making in the lives of our students. Remember life is not about material things, but about the difference you make while you are here.

What Message Are You Sending?

A very wise woman shared the following message with me and I want to share it with you.

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home from the post office when the song on the radio was interrupted by a jarring tone. After a long beep, I heard those familiar words: This has been a test of the Emergency Broadcasting System. This is only a test. If this had been an actual emergency. . .

If you live in the United States, you can probably repeat that message verbatim because you've heard it so many times through the years. Yet as I was driving along, I wondered why the message was so disconcerting. I knew it wasn't an "actual emergency" (as opposed to what, a "virtual emergency"?). And then it hit me why those words are more jarring than they need to be. I was hearing the exact same recording I'd first heard when I was a child. The voice was now a little scratchy from so many playings, with lots of white noise in the background. I bet it was recorded in the 1960s or even earlier, and that poor announcer is either in a nursing home or long gone from this world.

That ancient recording gives a strong subliminal message. "If this was an actual emergency, you'd be plunged into the dark ages, or at least back to the time when this was recorded! We'd all be huddled in basements with ham radios, dusting off expired cans of food, wearing bellbottoms with large orange and lime green flowers on them!" (Okay, the kids may be wearing those now, but you get my drift.)

There is something powerfully but subtly disturbing about public messages we see or hear often that are never updated or refreshed. Here's a challenge for you this week - find one small, tired piece of the public face of your school or classroom that you can easily update (or even remove if it has outlived its purpose). That comic sans font on the school website that looked so young and fun when you put it up in 1998? Looks a little sad and cartoony now. The health guidelines for handling blood on the bulletin board in the teacher workroom that are fly-specked and water-stained? Kind of scary for volunteers who see them every time they wash their hands, and know we are in the midst of the worst flu pandemic in decades. Put up a clean copy and send the subliminal message that you're absolutely on top of health issues in your school. The laminated commercial poster of the 7 Comprehension Strategies in your class room that is curling around the edges and torn in one corner? Hey, what has it done for you or your students lately?

We may not see or hear some of the outdated messages we're sending out about our classrooms or schools. As insiders, they aren't in focus for us anymore - we understandably are concentrating on the immediate needs of our colleagues and students, exciting new projects, or even actual emergencies. If the messages aren't obsolete we may keep them up, not noticing the "message beneath the message" the format or age of them is sending to the public about how current we are in our approaches to teaching, learning, and life in a school community. I have no doubt insiders in the government are hard at work using the latest technology to prepare our country for a real emergency. I just wish they'd take ten minutes to record and send out a new message to radio stations using a bit of that whiz-bang technology. It might be more reassuring than they realize.

Pay attention to the little things as they often send big signals.

Reflect and Give Thanks

It is my favorite time of year. I love to eat, we get a long weekend, football is on all day, and I get to spend time with my family. What else could I ask for. With that said I will keep my message short this week in honor of a short work week that is approaching.

With the holidays approaching fast it is important to take a minute to enjoy our loved ones. I would challenge you all to spend as much time relaxing with those you love as you can over the next week couple of weeks. This time of year is also a great time to reflect on our lives and give thanks for all the blessings we have. I will get you started and I hope you will add your comments to the Blog.

I am thankful that I have been blessed with a wonderful, patient and understanding wife, who is an incredible mother. I am thankful for two happy healthy kids that are full of life. I am thankful for the career opportunities that have been provided to me and I am thankful that each day I get up for work I am going to a job that I love. Hopefully you are thankful that you have the opportunity to work with wonderful students each day and you get to shape the person they will become. Take some time and give thanks over the next couple of weeks and find an opportunity to help someone that is not as fortunate as you are.

Small Group Instruction

Each of you has a variety of ability groups and educational levels present in your classrooms. Ask yourself how you are meeting the individual needs of ALL your students. Over the past few weeks we have discussed diversity and the importance in recognizing the differences represented within the school and our classrooms. These differences also include the current instructional levels of our students.

According to Fountas and Pinnell, guided reading is an instructional setting that enables you (the teacher) to work with a small group of students to help them learn effective strategies for processing text with understanding. The purpose of guided reading is to meet the varying instructional needs of all the students in your class, enabling them to greatly expand their reading powers. Utilizing this approach or specific strategy groups is the best way to reach ALL students in a timely manner.

This week we are also sending the 1st grade team to Shiloh to observe their math workshop approach to teaching mathematics. Often this is the time during the day when we appear to struggle the most to reach students that are severely above or below grade level. Although it may require more prep-time it will surely help you to be more effective. Teaching only to the whole group will never help us to reach each and every child. Ask yourself two questions:

1. Am I pulling enough small groups to address the instructional needs in my classroom?

2. Are there things I am doing because I like to do or because I have always done them that could be eliminated to allow more small groups to meet?

Be honest with yourself and remember we are here for each and every child that walks through the door, not just the ones that are easy to teach.

What Matters Most?

Well it has been eleven weeks already and the holiday season is just around the corner. Stress levels are sure to rise over the next few months and I have the perfect strategy for maintaining your sanity. Spend time with those you love doing the things that you love to do. We all need to be sure we are giving our students everything we have while we are here, but we also need to be sure we are taking care of ourselves and our loved ones.

As you can tell from the picture to the right I will be spending the weekend with Ryan at a good friends wedding. I can't wait to see Ryan walking down the isle (I hope he is not running) with the flower girl. I know he will be dancing it up and having a good time and I can't wait to see that. It is little moments like these that you all need to enjoy. Look for opportunities to laugh with friends, hug your kids and put a smile on someone's face.

At the end of the day you will be better at your job if you are happier in life. Take care of your family, help someone in need and take care of yourself. Get some exercise, rest when you can, eat healthy and enjoy life. It is the little things that will help put a smile on your face later in life.

Prepared, Positive and Professional

As we wind down a crazy week at Antioch I think it is fitting to reflect and assess where we are at this point in the year. This week we ended our Invest in a Child fundraiser with great success. This success landed me on the roof and will allow me to provide a ton of technology to you to help prepare our students for the interactive and technology driven world they live in. Today we had our third annual book character dress up and I was truly impressed with the creativity that some of you displayed.

We are now entering November and there are a ton of distractions that could interfere with instruction. What I need from all of you (and I am sure you need the same from me) is your Professional Attitude, Positive Nature and Prepared Work Ethic. As these winter months approach it is easy to lose focus of our goals. Think about the professional goals you set for yourself, the goals your team set and the school goal of becoming an Honor School of Excellence. These goals will not come true by chance. They will all require the professional focus I know you all have. During these months it is also easy to slip into the negativity that often accompanies the cold weather. If you find yourself slipping into this trap I want you to ask yourself the following questions.

- Do I love having a positive effect on the lives of my students?

- Where could I get a more supportive community?

- Where could I have better prepared students?

- Isn't Mr. Hoover's the best? (That is just there to make me feel good)

If you are professional and Positive the rest should take care of itself. If you do these things and you are well prepared for each day you will not lose valuable instructional time. Be prepared with thorough lessons and insightful assessments.

As the quote from my weekly update stated "A weak man believes in luck and a strong man believes in cause and effect" I believe this with all my heart. We will not become an Honor School of Excellence because of luck. You will not just get lucky and reach all of your students. Relationship with our students also do not happen by chance. All of these things are dependent on what we do. Our actions will have everything to do with making these goals become reality. Be sure at the end of the year you do not look back and say "I wish I would have ....". As many great coaches have said "leave everything you have on the field". Your classroom is your field and you only have one chance with this group of students.

Collaboration

We can all learn a thing or two from those around us. This week I watched the PTO organize and execute an incredible learning experience that we will all be able to benefit from for years to come. Watching this amazing group pull together to accomplish a huge task in just a few hours was amazing. We now have an incredible self sustaining pond that you all can use as a teaching tool.

I was also reminded that the key to success is teamwork. Each night the past week I have found myself sitting in front of the TV watching the baseball playoffs (mostly the Yankees). As I watch these high level sporting events I am always reminded that a team is only as strong as its weakest players. It is the job of the coach and teammates to try and make those around them better each day. It is also their job to support those around them when they struggle. During the past few days the Yankees have done a great job of this. When one player has made an error or failed to come through his teammates have continually stepped up to get the job done.

It is my expectation that you all do the same thing. I know we are not paid like these athletes, but I firmly believe that collaboration and a supportive team effort are the keys to success. If you see a teammate struggling provide the needed support. If someone drops the ball, help them out. It is also your job to do whatever you can to perform at a high level for your teammates. Nobody should be OK with being the weak link. Push yourself, support those around you and root for the Yankees tonight.

There is no growth in the comfort zone

This week we began our Cultural Proficiency training. I was extremely impressed with your openness. I know some of you were uncomfortable with the conversations and opening yourself up in this type of setting, but I greatly appreciate your participation. As the title of this post infers, in order to grow we all need to feel a little uncomfortable. I am assuming many of you realized Wednesday that diversity means much more than ethnic background. It is important that we all become aware of the people around us and their backgrounds. Until we do this it will remain impossible to become a culturally proficient person. We need to conduct a true assessment of ourselves and our true beliefs. Until this self-assessment is in place we will never understand those we live with, work with, teach, or interact with each day.

I have already spoken with individual teachers that are wrestling with issues from their pasts. Some had tough upbringings and others had county club lives. Neither where you come from or the beliefs that existed in your home define you as a person. They definitely shape us and influence who we are, but we have the power to open our minds and to expand our horizons. Each day we all make decisions. We are all busy and it is easy to get caught up in "our world" but I would challenge you to learn something new about someone you work with or teach. What makes them tick, what influences in their lives shape their decisions. We are in an ever-changing world and we must learn about those around us.

We are teaching in a very exciting time in education. You are seeing changes in the education system with technology, diversity, and globalization that are forcing a transformation to our schools. Sitting children in rows and using rote memorization is a thing of the past and it took many years to move out of that philosophy. It will be difficult if not impossible to prepare students for the 21st century if we ourselves do not become culturally aware and proficient. Take a minute to observe another culture, ask questions and expand your horizon.

Are You Culturally Proficient?

Over the next few weeks I will be talking with you in great detail about a topic that I have been reflecting over myself. Cultural Proficiency is a mind-set, a worldview, a way a person or organization plans for and deals with diverse environments. I am increasing my awareness of the many different levels of diversity. This week my challenge to you is simple. Think about your knowledge level and experience level in working in diverse groups? Do we have diversity here at Antioch? What types of diversity do we have? Do you have diversity on your grade level or in your departments? Sonia Nieto stated, "Any student who emerges into our culturally diverse society speaking only one language and with a monocultural perspective on the world can legitimately be considered educationally ill-prepared." This is an eye opening statement to me. What are we doing to ensure our students are not only seeing the world from "our" perspective? One battle we face at Antioch is that of entitlement or privilege. Many of our students live in a world of privilege. It is our job to be role models that teach them about unearned, unconscious privilege. Randall Lindsey stated, " Once we acknowledge entitlement, we are better prepared to take a responsible role on the cultural proficiency continuum." It is this type of forward thinking we need to instill in our students. Even among this staff and this student body there is a great deal of diversity. It may not always be visible on the surface, but I will be showing you diversity is everywhere. If our students are going to be successful, they must be able to enter the diverse world with an understanding that we are not all the same. The ability to understand others and to see the world from different points of view is the key to success. This ability is essential for our students and for us. We can not teach something we do not understand and we can not pass something on to the next generation if we don't have it. Look deep into your experiences and ability to work with diversity. We will be focusing on these topics over the next few staff meetings as well as looking at the globalization issues we face as the world continues to flatten.

What Are Your Goals?

I am not a Notre Dame fan at all but Lou Holtz is always good for a quote. He once said "If you are bored with life, if you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don't have enough goals." I would add to that the possibility that you just aren't sure what your goals are.

As we begin to reflect on the year that is upon us I will be leading a team through a process where we will be digging in Antioch's goals to determine why we are here. It is easy for us all to say we are here for the kids, but that is not enough. What specifically do we as a school value? What must our students leave us with?What are the bottom line non-negotiables?

I have talked to you about my love for sports, influential coaches and teachers I have had and my desire for you to have that same impact many times. Grant Wiggins stated, "What distinguishes the teacher as coach from the teacher as teller, and the teacher as activity provider is the overwhelming commitment to assist with and study the students' attempt to learn and perform with understanding." This effort is what will ensure you reach every child and provide them with the ability to perform no matter the situation they are faced with. Over the next few months we will be having discussions focused around our beliefs, our mission, and our vision for Antioch and its 786 students. Be sure what you state you believe matches your actions.

New Day New Plan

As we have our discussions about pushing students to reach their fullest potential we need to remember who these students are. It is our job to teach them, not the students we might have had ten years ago. Remember these students are truly digital natives. We need to use the tools we have and we must remember the world they will be working in when they graduate. It is our job to lay that foundation so the middle and high schools they attend can build on that solid foundation. I have been reading a book about Schooling by design and the author made an analogy that spoke to me. He talked about teaching like athletic and performing arts coaches do. They prepare their students for the demands of the game not isolated drills. How often are our students put into the game? Do you teach all of the required skills in isolation or do you create the game situation for them?

The students we are teaching need all of these puzzle pieces if we are going to prepare them for success. They need to learn to work in groups and to collaborate with their peers. They need to utilize software, hardware and other technologies that we have all over this building. The key piece to this puzzle is you. Each student sitting in this school is counting on you. They need you to push them and to push yourself. I know I am asking a lot of you with Moodle, my blog, Mimios, Prometheam Boards and all the other technologies we have, but that is what our students need. If we use these tools and we teach our students to collaborate, think critically and creatively we will be giving them the skills they need and deserve. This will allow them to take the isolated skills we teach and transfer them into other situations. Until our students can do this the puzzle will not be complete. Do what you need to do, so you can be the puzzle piece that will complete the puzzle so every student we serve will be prepared for success in the 21st century and in the "flat" world they will be living in.

Creativity + Flexibility + problem Solving = Success

For this post scan down. I have no idea why it is posted below last weeks post. Enjoy :)

Are You ready For Some FOOTBALL?

Well the beginning of the NFL season is here. You probably fall into one of three categories... who cares...NFL widow....or bring it on!

I fall into the last category and as a Cincinnati Bengals fan I only have about two weeks of excitement before the realities of my team set in and I have to begin pulling for my other team, the Carolina Panthers. With this said, I want you all to be as excited about the "new season" that is among us here at Antioch. Remember this is just the beginning of the season. As any good team does, we have set goals. As a school we have set our Super Bowl goal of achieving Honor School of Excellence. We have also set grade level goals and benchmark targets that are all aligned with the bigger goal. It is key for any team that all players are working together with the same goal in mind. If the quarterback of the team throws 3 interceptions, or does not make decisions that are aligned with the goal it will be very difficult for the team to reach the desired destination. If a lineman on the team is not blocking it will be impossible for the quarterback to lead the team down the field. Each team is only as strong as its weakest link. It is the teammates' job to help make those around them as strong as possible.

Wednesday we had a wonderful start to our year long staff development program. During the session I pointed out to you how some grade levels had every member list something different as their strength. This is why collaboration is key. Just as in football or any other team game it takes strong communication and teamwork to reach our goal. Use those around you to improve your game. Collaborate, work together, and build that strong team chemistry that will help you through tough times. All teams stumble at some point in the season. The key is not to allow your teammates to get stuck when they are struggling.

It is my job as the "Quarterback" or leader to make decisions that will help us achieve our goal. As you know I called a huge audible with the method in which we will be utilizing our assistants. I know this is pushing many of you out of your comfort zone, but I truly believe this is what is best for the "team". As any leader it is my job to be the key communicator and supporter of the team. Sometimes a leader or coach needs to sacrifice what one team might like in order to do what is best for the "TEAM". If a team has a great defense, a coach might choose to play a slow paced game, which would not be appreciated by the offense. We have great assistants, so I need them working with students in all grades. I hope you all know my decisions are inline with the Super Bowl goal of Honor School of Excellence. I know this team will rise to the challenge and we will reach our goal.

Creativity + Flexibility + problem Solving = Success

Each of you works with children of varied ages, experiences, and abilities, but there is one common threat that we all should see. A child's mind is an amazing thing. Last night, as I was talking with my son Ryan I could not help being amazed at the way in which his mind functions. He is a typical child (way to much like me if you ask his mother) with extraordinary creativity. I was watching him create Lego ships that would be used in a battle before he had to go to bed. Watching his thought process and his problem solving abilities was fun to see in action. When I tell you I was amazed at the strategies he was using I am not exaggerating. When he realized he needed a piece that was 8 sections long and he had none remaining he was quick to say I can just use two that are 4 sections long (thanks Ms. Bush). It is this type of thinking that all our students need and we as educators need to be providing opportunities for them to solve problems, and to think outside the box. Provide your students with authentic learning opportunities that force them to use the material you are teaching. Be careful you are not concerned with students ability to memorize material and you lose focus on the importance of students ability to transfer their learning. Can your students take what you teach them and use it in their lives? This is the real challenge in education. We need to remember we teach students not content.

What do you remember?

When I look back over my K- 12 education experience I am left with a void of good feelings. It is safe to say my experiences would not lead to an afternoon feel good movie. School was not fun and I don't remember many positive experiences. That all changed when I met Mrs. Perkins in 10th grade. This woman single handedly changed the course of my life. She was able to look past the class clown and see potential. She is the reason I became an educator. I want you to think back, what do you remember? If it is a negative experience like mine don't allow that to be the memories your students leave with. If you have wonderful experiences to draw from, use those as motivation to effect your students in the same manner. Look at each student as a work in progress. Some will need a lot of work and some are well on their way to being successful. It is our job to push them all, to mold each one into respectful, intelligent, productive citizens. Be sure you are modeling those same behaviors each and every day. Remember the ones that need our love the most are usually the ones that are the hardest to love. I assure each of you I was not an easy student to love, but one special teacher looked deeper than surface level and she is the reason I am blogging to each of you right now. She is the reason I wanted to have a positive impact on the lives of my students. Be that teacher. Leave your impression on the students you serve and make sure it is a positive one.

Meet the Jetsons

I friend of mine reminded me that the little ones that will be joining us as our newest gators Tuesday of next week will be the class of 2022. Think about that for a minute. Will the world look the same in 2022 as it does today? Will technology be the same? Will we be flying to school and work like the Jetsons? I don't know, but that is what I always envisioned as a child. What I am asking of you is that you do everything you can to prepare each student that walks into this school to succeed in the world they will be living in. This is not possible if we do not expose them to technology. It is our job to prepare critical thinkers and problem solvers that know how to use technology and work in teams. Be sure these are the things you are doing in your classroom. I know when I talk about Animoto, blogging, tweeting with twitter or many of the other technology pushes we have discussed some of you think I am speaking a foreign language, but this is the language of the future. Be sure you can communicate with those around you as well as those around the world because that will be essential for all of us as the world is being flattened at an astonishing rate.

WOW 807 Students

I can't express my gratitude enough. What a great 1st day. In my 12 years in education that is the best first day I have even been a part of and it is because of all the hard work. Karen and I saw many happy faces this morning as the students were eager to get back to school and even more happy faces as the parents were leaving without them. We saw students actively engaged in tours, classroom instruction and all of the beginning of the year "stuff". I appreciate how you all jumped right into the year. It is clear to me that you all are not going to waste any time. With that said I will steal a line from Regie Routman about teaching with urgency "When I suggest that we need to "teach with a sense of urgency" I'm not talking about teaching prompted by anxiety but about making every moment in the classroom count, about ensuring that our instruction engages students and pushes them as far as we can. Complacency will not get our students where they need to be." Ownership for every child and a sense of urgency will help to get us to our goal of "Honor School of Excellence" This is the year!!

What a week!! I am exhausted and the students are not even back yet. This week we as a staff began to form relationships with our new teammates, we began team building and we greeted our new students. The PTO again amazed me with their demonstration of teamwork pulling off an incredible "Meet & Greet". Our students and parents rushed the class lists like they they had discovered a pot of gold under the rainbow that stretched across the sky over Antioch. Assistants and teacher collaborated and pulled classes together while admin and the support staff ironed out final details so all our students will be able to succeed this year. The sense of URGENCY was clearly in the air this week. Even with the feeling of exhaustion I know we will all be energized when we see all the smiling faces Tuesday morning. I can't wait to see the school alive with learning again. This is going to be a great year.

Kindergarten "Meet & Greet"

WOW what a day. It never ceases to amaze me when I see you all in action. Watching you all pull those classes together, greet your students and inform the parents was amazing. The wonderful ladies that run our PTO again raised the bar with the organization and structures they put in place. I can't wait to see all our returning "Gators" tomorrow when they come running in to find their names on the rosters. The teamwork Karen and I are already seeing is encouraging and I hope it will continue. I hope you are ready, because they are coming ready or not....

1st Day Reflection

Welcome Back! It was great to see you all this morning energized and eager to get going. I was happy to see such great teamwork and competitiveness come out during our team building activity. Hopefully it was evident that the leadership team has been listening to your concerns. Many changes were discussed today, but I truly believe these changes will help us to better serve children and that is why we are here. We must all look at how we have done things over the past few years and assess how we can adjust to be more efficient and effective. We will be asked to do more with less in these tough economic times and I know you all will rise to the challenge. I look forward to our grade level discussion where I will be able to address specific questions and we can ensure all expectations are clearly understood. Please remember it is an expectation that all teachers with a Promethean Board or Mimio Board work that into your Open House. Here we go.....

Change Can Be a Wonderful Thing.

As we prepare to begin another successful year at Antioch it is important that we take a minute to reflect over our performances in the past. This week when you return we will be discussing ABC and AYP results as well as other past performance indicators. It is essential that we look with open eyes. We will also be discussing many changes that we will be implementing for the 2009-2010 school year. This year we will be asked to do more with less, and I do not expect excuses. Over the past couple of months Karen, Fran and myself worked very hard to ensure this will be a successful school year. We will be implementing changes to the master schedule, Intervention Team, grade level planning meetings and the methods in which we utilize our teacher assistants. With all these changes I know some of you will be a little nervous but i am confident these changes will have a positive impact on instruction. These tough economic times have forced me to assess how we conducted business and we needed to make some changes. You are an incredible staff and I know you will rise to the occasion. Stay positive as we work through these times and never lose site of the fact that we are here to educate children and we need to be sure decisions are made that will allow us to do that in the most effective way. I look forward to seeing you all shaping the lives of our little ones very soon.