This I believe

Yesterday I attended a session with other administrators and Brian Smith from BOCES on blogging for administrators. HW was given (can you believe the nerve of Brian) to comment on what we believe about education, teaching, learning, and educational leadership. Before I start delving into the topic I wanted to discuss how these views have been shaped. My own school experience certainly plays a part. As an adult, I have spent more time on learning theory related to my own learning which has played a part. Having taught 11 years plays a large role. Being a parent plays a very big role as I have watched my children learn from infancy. Last, Liam has helped me a great deal in shaping my thoughts about learning and leading. Liam is my oldest (just turned 9), on the autism spectrum, and has some learning deficiencies that keep me awake at night. Keep in mind these are thoughts coming immediately to mind. Give me some time and I would certainly expand.

This I believe about work in education. There is no more important work you can do. The ability to impact students is incredible and we need to relish the magnitude. Dwell in possibility!

This I believe on leadership in education. Leaders need to walk the talk. Define what you believe and value. Model this because if you do not, all will be lost. Leaders communicate to others what they believe and value. Leadership is as much about asking questions as it is giving answers. I am learning the best leaders push the learning and rather than give the easy answers or decisions that people want, force people to think and act beyond their comfort zone. In this field, leaders never stop learning. Leaders get other people involved in the conversation. Leaders respond rather than react and can see the forest through the trees. Leaders work on establishing relationships with all stakeholders.

This I believe about learning. There are many different ways to learn and the trick is to find ways people learn best and adapt learning models to these ways. Learning happens in a safe environment with time given to explore. Relationships matter! In school, learning happens when there is a good relationship between teacher and student. Once they know you care, students are open for learning. Learning happens when connections are made to what you already know. Give time to synthesize information and provide opportunity to make connections.

Leaders persevere. They persist based on their values and belief in what they do. In theory, the number of bad days and truly great days cancel each other out. Attitude makes the difference on all the other days. Leaders carry their own weather with them.

Brian Smith bonus article - the 80/10 problem http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/08/we-spend-80-of-our-classroom-time-on-the-skills-needed-for-10-of-our-jobs.html

Follow the comments posted. This is 2.0 and a great conversation between many learners.

Summer learning at leadership institute

Last week Penfield administrators met at St. John Fisher for our annual retreat. Teacher leaders were invited for two of these days so the group reached upwards of 100 people. While objectives were many, primary was to get leaders together to discuss what our mission is here in Penfield, to collaborate with other leaders facilitating new learning, and then to collaboratively develop an action plans for each building going into next year. While the action plan for BT was not completely finished, it did lead to solid discussion and a blueprint was created. Our group was focused and good conversation took place on improvement goals.

What I appreciated most was the modeling of 21st century skills and we collaborated extensively, asked many questions to refine our thinking, used technology as a tool to access documents used during the training, and enjoyed the company of each other in a less stressful environment than we experience for 10 months out of the year. Kudos to Winton Buddington and Gene Mancuso for the role they played in both leading the BT conversation and the district conversation. By leading I mean facilitating rather than directing or telling. By leading I also mean not just giving the answers but encouraging the learners to find their own answers by entering the conversation. We are all leaders in this field and need to all be willing to enter the conversation about student learning and our own professional learning.

Unplugged

While vacationing with the family in Ocean City, I found it very difficult to connect to the wired world outside of my phone due to access. Outside of checking emails infrequently, my attention was turned to the ocean in front of me and my kids playing in it. It proved to be a nice respite from the constant information I seek. My wife was right when she suggested I unplug for a bit. My thoughts turned to reflection on the past school year, how big my kids are getting, my wife and our relationship, goals for the next year in the dimensions of physical, mental, spiritual, and social emotional, and hopes and dreams. My mental map is a lot more clear for the year ahead. With that said, I have enjoyed getting back to check my Google Reader for updates on some of my favorite blogs. Ancora Impario is a new one I have found to be interesting and added to my reader. School work this first week back has focused on looking through applications, sifting through English material needing to be organized, and planning in areas I am responsible for. A

First week of summer

Lots going on this week. While there are no students in the hallways, I managed to put about 30 items on my to do list for this week. Some of these range from writing letters of recommendations to staff to clearing out the piles of paper in various areas of my office. July typically is the month to catch up on all those items that escape my attention during the latter part of the school year but it requires prioritizing of this list. Vacation to DC and Ocean City next week!

Last Day of School

So what is it like on the last day of school for both students and teachers? If you do not work in education, it is a unique feeling given there is a clear cycle to the school year. My best description is the feeling of enormous accomplishment. Each year I run a five mile race around St. Patrick's Day.
I am not an avid runner so go through a cycle of emotions throughout the race. In the beginning, I usually think about how good I feel and smooth the race is going. The middle of the race I start to struggle a bit and feel my legs start to get more tired. Once past the four mile mark, I regain my earlier speed and upon finishing there is a feeling of exhilaration. Working in education provides a great amount of satisfaction in finishing what you set out to do to the best of your ability. I look forward to running many more races and years in education. Wishing students and staff a wonderful summer.

Thoughts on Washington D.C.

It is now a couple weeks after the eighth grade trip and I am finally getting a chance to share out on the experience. The last time I went with Bay Trail students was probably 8 or 9 years ago B.C. (before children). Now as an administrator, the experience is different. Students on my bus and overall were observed to be excellent. I watched closely our students compared to other large groups and BT stood out with their exemplary behavior. Way to go! Bay Trail staff do a wonderful job keeping the students engaged in all the sites Washington has to offer. Being so busy leads to fewer behavior problems. It is a rigorous pace, especially observable at nightly staff meetings in looking at tired faces. I have to admit, I am much more of a morning person so was probably not peaking during these meetings starting after 10. Trip directions do a wonderful job with the preparation that goes into the trip and making sure all runs smoothly while down there. It is a wonderful experience for both students and staff and hopefully one that the kids will remember for a lifetime. If interested, I posted updates on my twitter page if you would like to view at JBurkeBT@twitter.com

Professional Learning Networks (PLN)

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in an online course for administrators using Moodle. Some goals for the course were to gain familiarity with Moodle and to expand my professional learning network. The world of online learning very much suits my learning style as the work day is typically spent running from one place or meeting to another, family once home, and then when the kids go to bed I can continue my learning. I can catch up on some educational blogs that I was exposed to during the course while quickly eating my lunch.

For my final assignment I will talk about what the course meant for me. The best way to describe it is DIRECTION. In reading through many of the articles and blogs aligned with the course, I gained a much greater insight into what my blog should be. There are some really good blogs out there by administrators and with time this can become one of them. I really hope to share out on insights so the Bay Trail community can get a better sense of what I do and what I am thinking. Hopefully I can encourage viewers to comment on some of my postings. I see the blog as evolving and including more personal information. Throughout all of this my PLN will continue to expand. Stay tuned.