The Hungry Educator

I use to dread serious conversations with staff. I always felt like I needed to handle everything right away. I have learnt that time is not always my enemy. I can report an incident to a parent and explain that I will call them back when I have fully investigated; only then will I come to a final decision on the matter at hand. In the same respect I can let a staff member know that I will be addressing the issue at a later time so that they can reflect on what took place. I find that this helps me achieve the best outcome possible. Another misconception I had was that administrators operate in isolation. Brainstorm solutions to tricky/uncomfortable situations with other administrators. Doing the latter has allowed me to tap into   wisdom, knowledge, and experience that have been invaluable. In most circumstances others have faced similar situations or can give a different perspective because they are looking in from the outside. When it finally comes to taking action my two m

Professional development can be a sticky issue at times. Many teachers and administrators want to enhance their best practices, but there a plethora of obstacles that tend to get in the way. Time is a major one that many people concern themselves with. On occasion something special/interesting crosses my path (e.g. I just got back from the Google Summit in Montreal #gafesummit) and all I want to do is continue the Google training... But when? The second major obstacle is the professional development itself. If I manage to obtain a few sacred hours or a day or two(if i am really lucky), my expectations of the training are high. I want to walk away with a new idea/thought that I can use to further my growth and the growth of others around me. With time and relevance setting the mood,  I try to place myself in my teachers shoes. I wonder, 'Why would/should teachers journey with me down the professional development path?' Today I am trying to enhance myself as a digital citize

Where did the time go? Is that a question that you ask yourself as well? Three are 24 hours in a day which should be plenty, but sometimes it seems like the day has simply escaped me. Let me give you an example of what I experience from time to time. I wake up early and get a head start on my day. A list of to-dos is neatly placed on my desk. I start chipping away at the list and get into a rhythm. The list is diminishing. Then, a visitor appears at my door. We chat momentarily, and that becomes the beginning of the steady flow of traffic to my office. The day is filled with classroom visits, hallway discussions, emails, visits to the office and so much more. Before I know it, the last bell indicating the end of the day is ringing. A plethora of extracurricular activities begins, students linger, parents call and my list is long forgotten, until my 2 hour commute home. How can I get everything done? Here are a few of my tricks. 1) Dealing with the urgent efficiently. I try to

I think that we can all agree that TRUST is something that is valued within our school walls.   How can a new administrator work towards building trust with a staff?  I wanted to think of a great response to blog about, but I simply can't. I am that new administrator (new to the school and new to the profession), so I am trying to slowly earn my staff's trust. Instead of fumbling through this I decided to ask some staff members what they thought. This blog entry is their answers to the question. Michèle "Being open minded, non judgemental, being a good listener, appreciative and above all, accept them the way they are and work on making the best out of them.  Make them feel that you are all part of the same team." Amanda "I base my trust on actions and consistency. In terms of how to work towards building trust, I guess it means making yourself vulnerable at times, and allowing yourself to put people in situations where you see how the deal with said s

I use to wonder if people cared about having a vision. Do people really think about it? Or, was it that thing that we (our committee) spent hours thinking up, but could never remember or refer to? There are all kinds of quotes that support having a vision, like: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."  Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, there is no hope.  -  George Washington Carver "It’s not what the vision is, it’s what the vision does." -   Senge "A true leader is one who designs the cathedral and then shares the vision that inspires others to build it." -  Jan Carlzon  As a new administrator I have to confess that having a vision was not at the top of my list. Being in a new school and  a rookie to the job, I thought that I could simply work on the short term goals that had been set out for me. Looking back I can see that achievements and strides were made, but I had no real foresight. To be honest, I was constantly in survival mode