The Hungry Educator

Why should I give you a chance? Can I rely on you? Why should I trust you? Have you ever felt like those questions were/are the unsaid or unheard 'elephant in the room'? Over the past 3 and a half years I have been on a journey to build credibility with my staff and colleagues. I entered the school not only as a new addition to the staff, but new to the position. It seemed like I would never get to a place where people could trust me or feel like I was able to help support the staff effectively. I have to say that this has been a difficult blog for me to write. I am not sure if I have figured out the formula for credibility. At this stage in my career I find myself reflecting on my practices weekly and wondering what areas need to change. With all the recent changes,  my credibility is definitely on my mind. The more articles I read and the more people I spoke to, made me realize that I need to hone in on specific areas if I want to grow in terms of my leadership. I

This year I want to focus on enhancing my pedagogical development and learning how to encourage positive change within my school. Just like my first teaching post, I entered administration excited and feeling like I could help everyone all the time. Then, reality set in and I realized that I could only affect change with the students, teachers, and parents who wanted to accept my help. My second realization is that positive change (in terms of school climate) does not necessarily mean big impressive projects or initiatives. So I asked myself, what is the backbone of change? There are so many components that make effect change effective within a school. I narrowed down three that I thought that I could work on this year. 1. Consistency. This means no surprises. Staff, students, and parents should have a general idea of what decisions will be made based on their rights, responsibilities, and agreed on school guidelines. The  school community should expect me to be equitable. 

Since my friends became acquainted with Google Apps For Education, I couldn't help but become enchanted with the idea of exploring Google and taking my digital education to new heights. I was encouraged to attend a Google Summit and that was it. I contracted the Google bug. From there things seemed to go Google crazy. My school jumped on the 1:1 bandwagon and Chromebooks became part of the classroom. Although I had a learnt a little over the years, it became apparent that it was not enough. I need to learn more if I am going to continually challenge students and staff to venture out and do the same. Happily for me several members of the staff at my school have graciously agreed to come on a Google journey with me. Our first step is to take the 'Learn the Basics' lessons and tests. Step two, become 'Google Educators' and perhaps move on to step 3, which is becoming 'Google Certified Trainers'. Fasten your seat belts because we are about to go for a ride.

I  have been extremely fortunate this year. My work has provided me with opportunity to learn abroad on two occasions. I went to an IB Conference in New Orleans and got to network with incredible people. I was also afforded the opportunity to tour a bit of New Orleans, what an experience. My second opportunity to learn abroad just came to an end. I was asked to chaperone a student exchange to China. I just got back from a 16 day adventure. You can check out my travel blog (you can't use Blogger in China). Browse the text and check out the neat pictures and videos and let me know what you think. http://blog.travelpod.com/members/tashatales

It’s that time of year and once again I simply didn't know what to do… How can we (the admin team at our school) show the teachers we appreciate them? I scoured the internet for ideas. Many were too expensive, too time consuming, or simply not possible with the manpower available. In the end ideas were obtained with the help  of Pintrest  and a some incredible office staff members input.  Below is the result of our efforts. Day 1: A few sweets, for our sweet staff! Day 2: Our staff are always "bringing the kids to the water"... so we thought we would help quench their thirst as well. And our students couldn't resist showering them with flowers. Day 3: They are always encouraging the students and are continually promoting school spirit. A little something to tell everyone how wonderful they are! Day 4: Who says that food is not the way to the heart? Any suggestions for the year to com

I have to confess, upon receiving this blog challenge I resorted to research. There was a lot of literature about why parents should get involved. There were also suggestions given as to how you can get parents from middle-upper  class communities involved. Gaining parent involvement in a low socioeconomic community has always been a challenge for me (and my research did not result successfully in this area). I have been very fortunate to work with an incredible staff. Our staff continually forges relationships with the students and their parents. Keeping the lines of communication open through positive feedback and social media seems to have increased parental awareness of school information and activities. It is great to have parents commenting on facebook posts of activities in the school or even ask questions about school life. This has proven to be an open door to communication. In order to further forge relationships with parents we had to get creative. We invite them ou