I’m going for it…

How my week felt in a nutshell…or in the back of a pickup.

20+ scheduled meetings in one week seems like a lot of meetings. After living through a week of 20+ meetings, I can confirm with you that it is.

This week felt like I was doing a lot of things all at once. I saw the truck packed with furniture in the picture above on my way back to school from, you guessed it, a meeting. I laughed because of how incredibly unsafe it looked. I guess it’s not actually funny, I just couldn’t believe what I saw. You know someone at some point said that they shouldn’t move furniture like this. The driver obviously had enough bungee cords to prove otherwise.

Strangely enough, after a full week, I felt great on Friday evening. I still had enough energy to spend time with the family and stay up late after everyone went to bed.

There’s a reason I still felt great at the end of the week that I’ll get to in a minute.

Fast forward to Sunday to me waking up at 4:45am to get myself ready for a 10 mile race later that morning. On Friday, we race participants had received an email from the race organizers warning of the dangers of running in heat that was in the forecast for the race. They reminded us that “no records are going to be made” in this kind of heat, so take it easy and be safe.

While I was driving to the race that morning, I had already started telling myself not to run hard and to play it safe. Despite the forecast and the warnings, the morning still felt pretty cool while I was standing at the starting line. We would be running on a trail that was fairly wooded too, which would keep the air cool.

3 miles into the race, I was feeling pretty good. I didn’t feel as hot as I thought I was going to feel. I was passing some of the other runners I had started the race with and I told myself, “just go for it”. I ended up having a pretty good run and it became a confidence booster for me as I head into the last few weeks before the half marathon I get to run.

I bring up the packed week and my race this weekend because everything that happened this week reminded me how important my self-talk is.

I felt great on Friday not because the week was over with, but because those 20+ meetings led to better things for the kids we serve. I said yes to all of those meetings after all because I said to myself that I can do it. I also reminded myself to have gratitude for a great team of teacher to work with and I celebrated the work that was accomplished.

I felt like I ran a good race because I decided to stay tuned into how was feeling during the run. I’ve run enough to know when I’m dragging and when I feel like I could run all day. I pushed out the pessimism of the race organizers and went for it.

I know that every week won’t go this way for me. But when you feel like you can take on a challenge, what are you giving up by not going for it?

Have a GREAT week!

– Herb

Upcoming Dates —

September

25 – Pastries with Parents, 8am
27 – Herb at mtg off campus, AM; ADE Staff Meeting, 3:45pm; Mumkin Delivery, 1pm; Mumkin pickup 4-7pm
29 – ADDC Culture Celebration, 1-3pm

October

2-6 Conference Week
5- School Community Meeting, 9:25am; Fall Conference Late Night 4-8pm
7 – Cardboard Challenge
9 – PTO Meeting, 7pm
10 – School Improvement Team Meeting, 8:15am
11 – ADE Staff Meeting, 8:30am
17 – District Leadership Institute – Herb out
18 – District Leadership Institute – Herb out
19 – ADE Fall Tailgate, 6:30-8:00pm
20 – COI Day, No School
23 – Yearbook Cover Contest (through November 3)
26 – State of the Schools, 6pm Makoy Center
31 – Halloween

 

Is it about the tech or the learning?

Thanks to Angie, one of our 2nd grade teachers for sharing this article from The Guardian called “Tablets out, imagination in: the schools that shun technology.” I love thinking and discussing the role technology plays in learning and this article caused me to refine my thinking and philosophy of tech in the classroom.

The question of the use of technology in schools seems as though it’s been asked for years. I can remember when we got our Apple IIe installed in my 1st Grade classroom and my teacher explaining to us that we were going to have to take turns using it but we weren’t going to spend all of our time playing games on it.

I guess playing Number Munchers and Oregon Trail wasn’t playing games in my teacher’s eyes, but that was the extent of our use of technology in my classroom 30 years ago (it hurt to type that).

Fast forward to today when we have ubiquitous access to technology and one can see the reason why we continue to ask the question of how much is too much.

Just like with most things in life, Mother knows best: Moderation is the key. Balancing the use of technology so that its use is most effective for students. At the center of this balance is the classroom teacher. Just as we facilitate a discussion through a line of questioning that deepens understanding, we also need to consider how we facilitate the use of technology by our students. How are we presenting the use of iPads can be the key to unlocking the potential of creativity and ownership of learning that our students can leverage to demonstrate their understanding of complex concepts and new skills. George Couros, author of The Innovator’s Mindset, argues that students should be learning with technology instead of simply learning technology.

Some powerful learning moments come when teachers present a new app to students, allow for some exploration of the app, and then ask students “What are some ways we might use this app to show our learning”. Furthermore, this kind of ongoing discussion around the theme of “how might this help you learn” emphasizes the key idea that technology is a tool for learning just as is a pencil, calculator, or textbook. If we make technology the end-all-be-all for learning, then it will be.

If we reinforce the idea that technology is a tool for learning, then it will be. Take a look at these guiding questions, also from Couros:

From https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/3702

What really excites me about tech in the classroom is the unforeseen outcomes that will come from the imaginiations and creativity of our students.

Thanks to Angie for sharing this article!

Have a GREAT week!

Herb

Worth Checking Out

T.G.I.F.: Feedback Fridays — http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/sept17/vol59/num09/T.G.I.-£Feedback£-Friday.aspx

Impossible, unlikely or difficult? —  tinyurl.com/yd8o7n4x

‪How the Google Suite Can Enhance Open-Ended Math Exploration — https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2017/09/04/how-the-google-suite-can-enhance-open-ended-math-exploration/‬

Upcoming Events

September

21 – Student Picture Day
25 – Pastries with Parents, 8am
27 – Herb at mtg off campus, AM; ADE Staff Meeting, 3:45pm; Mumkin Delivery, 1pm
29 – ADDC Culture Celebration, 1-3pm

October

2-6 Conference Week
2 – School Community Meeting, 10:45am
5 – Fall Conference Late Night 4-8pm
7 – Cardboard Challenge
9 – PTO Meeting, 7pm
10 – School Improvement Team Meeting, 8:15am
11 – ADE Staff Meeting, 8:30am
17 – District Leadership Institute – Herb out
18 – District Leadership Institute – Herb out
19 – ADE Fall Tailgate, 6:30-8:00pm
20 – COI Day, No School
23 – Yearbook Cover Contest (through November 3)
26 – State of the Schools, 6pm Makoy Center
31 – Halloween

Let’s Get More Googleyness in Schools!

I read an interesting blog post on Google’s blog this weekend about interns who were sharing about their internship experience at Google this summer.

Each of the three interns who were interviewed worked on different projects for Google, and one question that was asked of all three interns was the most interesting one to me:

“After spending a summer at Google, what does “Googleyness” mean to you?”

First, I had never heard of “Googleyness” before, so I, ahem, Googled it.

Googleyness is a word that describes a desired characteristic or traits within people that Google considers desirable in their employees. Here’s a rundown of traits from someone else who has interned for Google:

“To me, Googleyness encompasses a couple of key things:

Working well with others

Caring about a cause bigger than yourself [1]

Curiosity (and “comfort with ambiguity”)

Approaching problems from different, interesting angles and thinking “outside” of the box

Having that signature, unique quirky thing that sets you apart (because everyone’s different!)

Passion. Period.

Desire to improve and learn from mistakes

And, above all, don’t be evil.”

I don’t believe there is a company in America who wouldn’t want their employees to have most if not all of these traits. What I think sets Google apart from other companies in hiring is the priority they place on hiring talent with Googleyness and how Googleyness is a way to describe the culture of Google that their employees experience.

When I take another look at that list of traits and the way the interns describe what Googleyness means to them, I see words like collaboration, curiosity, problem-solving, and passion.

These are all traits and skills I hope we can instill in our kids through the work we do with them. Helping our students build a future for themselves starts with us in elementary. I believe these are foundational traits and skills that will help them have more control over their future and I hope you will join me in working to build more Googleyness into ADE!

Have a GREAT week!

Herb

 

Worth Checking Out

“Resilience isn’t just being tough; it’s a skill you can develop. Here’s how I did it.” http://wapo.st/2go7pee?tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.88af9b641252

Be More Like Mattress Mack!

Upcoming Dates

September

 

5 – Mumkin Orders due

6 – Curriculum Night, 5:30-6:30pm

7 – Herb at Admin mtg, AM

11 – PTO Meeting, 6-7pm (Exec mtg); 7pm (General mtg)

12 – School Improvement Team meeting, 8:15am

13 – ADE Staff Meeting, 8:15am

15 – Building Advisory Committee meeting, 8:30am

16 – AD/DC Warrior Dash, 1-6pm

21 – Student Picture Day

25 – Pastries with Parents, 8am

27 – Herb at mtg off campus, AM; ADE Staff Meeting, 3:45pm; Mumkin Delivery, 1pm

29 – ADDC Culture Celebration, 1-3pm

 

October

2-6 Conference Week

2 – School Community Meeting, 10:45am

5 – Fall Conference Late Night 4-8pm

7 – Cardboard Challenge