Elucidations
Elucidation 13
When you read this quote, what career field comes to mind? Me too: politicians!
In most civilized countries, we elect leaders to serve in positions where decisions are made on our collective behalf. We can all point to specific individuals (men and women) at the federal, state, and local level who have made decisions where the consequences and longitudinal outcomes from some of their decisions… Read entire article.
Elucidation 12
Have you heard some version of this quote before?
I think most of us have heard it multiple times in several variations, certainly while flying, and perhaps as an internet meme. When I am flying, I usually have my noise-cancelling headphones on with music playing during the entire safety briefing so sometimes I hear this part and other times I don’t… Read entire article.
Elucidation 11
Do you have a list of professional non-negotiables — principles that you value without exception? Certainly.
Do you have a list of personal non-negotiables? Sure you do!
In fact, these two lists are probably… Read entire article.
If we are heedful during our professional educator career, we might glean lessons from others — from their successes and failures; from their exuberant highs and moments of frustration; from their wins and, especially, from their losses; and from stories and tales they share in the break room, in the back of a faculty meeting, in the copy room, during a training session, and perhaps online.
We share our stories, our tales, and our lessons to elucidate your work!
Elucidation 10
Managing student behavior and discipline in a K-12 school neither looks nor functions like it did when the adults leading the school were students themselves. That is not to say that weapons, drugs, alcohol, and student mischief were absent from schools 30 years ago…or 50 years ago. However the types of drugs have certainly changed and more students than not, are carrying a powerful piece of technology... Read entire article.
Elucidation 9
Her seat was in the very back corner of my science lab where students along the outer walls had to sit on metal stools at high-top lab tables. At the very start of this particular day, I began passing out the unit tests quickly so students had every moment of class time. This was Honors Physical Science, of course! When I made it back to her desk, she was not in her seat. She was under the desk, whimpering... Read entire article.
Elucidation 8
As a school leader, the success of your ongoing leadership hinges on your most recent family/parent interaction. The reality of school leadership is that the sum total of these interactions are more likely to start negatively than positively because people often reach out and speak out when things are poor/bad more than when things are good/great.
One of these reach out/speak out interactions... Read entire article.
Elucidation 7
“WHAT!?!” is the exact word I shouted…in the general direction of the noise…as the Associate Principal opened my classroom door and quickly stepped in with a purpose.
Let me start from the beginning – it was February (circa 2005) and my first period class was an Advanced Placement Physics course. We were about two days behind my scripted instructional pacing for the course; not ideal... Read entire article.
Elucidation 6
Many public and private school educators will spend time in graduate school during their professional career and that was certainly the case for me as I worked on a 6-year degree (Ed.S.) and then a 7-year degree (Ph.D.) while working in schools. I took a class in gifted education one semester with a teacher from another school in my district who also was a football coach (offensive coordinator). During the semester... Read entire article.
Elucidation 5
“Denied! Rejected! You’re-Not-Good-Enough!”
Each year, high school seniors across America receive letters that say, or make them feel, all of the above, sometimes from the college/university/institute of their dreams and of their family’s legacy. Secondary school leaders (administrators, teachers, counselors) see and share that pain of rejection... Read entire article.
Elucidation 4
As a teacher, I was tapped to lead our school’s new teacher induction program for a few years just as teachers across the country were being issued laptops in place of desktop computers. One year, the collaborating assistant principal and I scripted a sequence of several group activities for our second training day that blended multiple learning outcomes for the 30 new... Read entire article.
Elucidation 3
Infuriation is the precise term; except when you need a stronger emotion like enragement. These feelings will surge through you as a school leader when you realize someone else created a big sticky mess and you are the only one who can lead the clean-up.
The specifics vary (significantly) but these messes occasionally involve something egregious (where an employee... Read entire article.
Elucidation 2
I almost missed a meeting; a big one! It was December of 2013 and I was about three weeks into my first principalship. I was chatting on the phone with another high school principal in my school district and as we were concluding our chat, he casually mentioned “the principal meeting tomorrow morning”. My heart jumped as I checked both calendars (you know, the one on my computer and the real one... Read entire article.
Elucidation 1
My teaching career began in 1994. The dress expectations for male teachers included wearing a shirt and tie each day except Friday when we could wear a school-spirit polo/golf shirt. I settled into a routine of spending quite a few hours each weekend completing three educator-related tasks: (1) grading papers, (2) lesson planning for the next week(s), and (3) washing/drying/ironing my... Read entire article.