Recently, I couldn’t help but laugh when a group of friends and I were in a non-school discussion and I linked it back to learning, to school, and to leadership. Someone in the conversation remarked that no matter what, I seem to be able to bring most conversations back to education. I have yet to…
Each year, my mom ventures to Ireland, to visit with her cousins. While this has been a lifelong dream, she only started the tradition two years ago. This particular year, she returned from her adventure with a gift that sits on my desk: a paperweight. The cast etched into the paperweight appears to be two…
Several months ago, in an effort to become a more dedicated and more skilled writer, I issued a challenge to several friends. These friends graciously accepted, and in turn, extended the challenge to several of their friends, and so forth. The challenge, in my ambitious mind, was to blog twice a month, sharing posts with…
Jay Posick, Principal of Merton Intermediate School in Wisconsin, and Dennis Schug, Principal of Hampton Bays Middle School in New York are fortunate to receive daily inspiration from our Twitter and Voxer groups. During a recent Voxer conversation among a group of middle school principals, the topic of coaching sports took center-stage. The following post…
My first major decision leading up to each New Year is choosing “One Word” on which to focus over the course of the next 365 days. Over the years of accepting this challenge, the sources of my inspiration tend to vary. Maybe it’s because the month of December historically represents a period that ranges from…
“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Sir Isaac Newton Lately, I’m reflecting on what I’d consider the biggest mistake from my teaching days: the manner in which I chose to perceive feedback. In hindsight, I deeply regret opportunities I’ve missed, to improve and to grow as an educator. And I think about…
Every so often, educators are presented with opportunities to reflect on the intersection between where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going. Three recent experiences have me contemplating this. First, a skilled veteran teacher who I had the privilege of mentoring earned a promotion as a school leader. Second, a team of…
Lately, I find myself reminiscing about my first teaching experience. It was student teaching with a veteran teacher, of 35 years. Heading into the first day, I can still recall being consumed with eager anticipation. The knowledge that would be bestowed upon me from a master teacher and veteran coach that’d forever change me, and…
September seems to provoke lots of open dialogue on the topic of professional development and professional learning. In some circles, “PD” seems to have become a four-letter-word. You don’t have to be in the education field long before you can speak in detail about “the worst PD” you’ve ever experienced. It’s a sad phenomenon that…
