The Hungry Educator

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 co...

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 invit...

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 t...

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 ...

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 urgen...

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...