Things I’m Loving Friday, Volume 9

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

I haven’t done an updated Things I’m Loving Friday edition in awhile. Truthfully, I haven’t loved a lot lately, since I’ve been drowning in work, school, and general life stress. However, I am coming out the other side and want to celebrate some fun things.

  • Co-teaching at the University: I had an amazing opportunity to co-teach an admin credential class with Dr. Doug Fisher and a fellow doctoral student this semester. This was my first experience teaching at the university level and I loved everything about it! I enjoyed the interactions with the students, who are all aspiring leaders. I enjoyed the collaboration with a professor and educator who is ridiculously intelligent and hard-working. I look forward to more opportunities to learn and grow in this new way.

SDSU_3Color

  • Connected Educator: October is Connected Educator’s month. I am a connected educator in more ways than one. This past week I enjoyed providing time within a monthly coach collaborative for all of our district coaches to get connected and to share their learning. When I look through their posts on Twitter and Edmodo, I am so proud of their hard work. I have grown in many ways as a learner and a leader since becoming more connected. If you are a newly connected educator, check out the hashtag #ce14 on twitter for more resources and inspirations!
  • Swimming: This has nothing to do with me as a leader, and yet everything to do with it. I have recently taken up swimming as one of my weekly workouts. Not only was this important for my knee and back issues, but it has become an incredible stress reliever. Swimming at the end of a long work day is relaxing, rejuvenating, and supportive to my physical and emotional well-being.

 

What are you loving lately?  

Previous Things I’m Loving posts:

Volume 8, #TCRWP, Professional Reading

Volume 7, America the Beautiful

Volume 6, Infographics, Google Drive, Quick Learning

Volume 5, Firefighters, Twitter & Feedly

Volume 4, Connections & PLN (Stand up desk fun!)

Volume 3, Math, ASCD, Anticipation

Volume 2, Protocols, colleagues, reading to students, Slice of Life blogs

Volume 1, Elena Aguilar, PD, Outlook calendars, blogs

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Most Used Emoticons

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

Anyone who has an iPhone (or other i-device) and who sends text messages with emoticons is probably familiar with the “most used” feature. When adding an emoticon to a text message, I can scroll through many pages of options, or I can revert to my “most used” page. Have you ever taken a look at your most used emoticons? What would that list say about you? I’m going to be brave and show a picture of my most used emoticons from my personal cell phone (where I conduct NO work business!).

Most used emoticons

As I was laughing about this list of graphics and what others might think about me, I reflected on equivalent measures at work.

  • What daily habits do we have that others see or hear?
  • What communication style do we use and how do others perceive our messages?
  • Do other people notice the “um” and “uh” and “like” fillers that others use as much as I notice them?
  • How do our daily habits reflect our visions?
  • What would the “most used” list look like in your work life?

Leaders need to be very aware of their actions and how they are perceived by others. I strive to have my daily habits reflect the passion I have for my work.

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Ambivert

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

Hi. My name is Amy. I am an ambivert.

I first heard the term ambivert last March as the ASCD annual conference. Daniel Pink shared his research about people who have traits of both introverts and extroverts. I was immediately struck by the possibility.

Often, people who know me professionally are shocked when I describe myself as an introvert. They see me as strong, as a leader, as someone who enjoys facilitating professional development, and as coach who isn’t shy or afraid to speak. They also know how fast I can talk and that I can talk a lot! This doesn’t compute with the typical definition of an introvert.

But there is another side to me. When I am in unfamiliar situations (personally or professionally), when I am surrounded by strangers, or when I step outside of my comfort zone, I am a very different person. I am shy. I am often quiet. I do not want to be the center of attention, or to have any attention drawn to me at all if I can avoid it. Being in loud, uncomfortable, social situations drains my energy.

I am an ambivert. There are elements of each personality/ state of being that I can relate to.

  • I am more comfortable in small groups of people I know and trust than I am in unfamiliar crowds.
  • Large crowds suck the energy from me; they are stressful and uncomfortable.
  • I enjoy speaking in front of crowds when I am addressing topics that I know well, that I am passionate about, and that feel confident I can share relevant information with others.
  • I enjoy being alone at times.

The more I recognize these characteristics in myself, the more I see how others do not understand these characteristics. Lately I hear people throw around the phrase “building relationships” a lot. People use this as an evaluation tool, a trait they look for in new leaders, a reason to hire or not hire a candidate, and to label a variety of situations.

If you are quiet, and prefer 1:1 private conversations, or if you don’t shout from the rooftops, does than mean you can’t/don’t/ aren’t good at building quality relationships? I don’t think so. I think that we all, whether intro-, extro-, or ambiverts, build relationships in our own way. I know that I build relationships differently, depending on the situation, the individuals, our commonalities, and our differences. I cannot judge the relationships of others. All I can do is commit to ensuring that each relationship I have is as genuine as it can be, as real as I can make it, within my control.

I’ve recently been re-exploring the world of introverts via the resources below.

Quiet– by Susan Cain- You can read a wikipedia summary of her work here.

Confessions of a Passionate Introvert – TED talk

  • Are you an ambivert? An introvert? An extrovert? A situational ambivert?!
  • How does knowing this about yourself and your colleagues strengthen your work?
  • How can this information help enhance your work with students?

 

 

 

 

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The Joys of Teaching & Learning

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

I had an amazing week at work last week! I feel the need to capture this happiness (for my happy file!) before the next round of stress begins.

happy writer

I spent two days with some stellar Studio Classroom teachers, examining our instructional practices while designing an Inquiry Unit for students. I spent the following two days on four different site visits with instructional coaches. During my site visits I have the opportunity to visit classrooms, discuss instructional strengths and coaching messages, and site-based professional development.

I celebrate all of the hard-working teachers in our system, who are in year two of our ELA CCSS implementation while beginning our year one Math CCSS implementation. Teachers across our system are developing a growth mindset about their own practice and in the minds of their students. They are grappling with an insane amount of new learning, while persevering through a variety of challenges. And our instructional coaches are supporting them through all of these new learning opportunities.

Friday was a day focused on professional development planning in collaborative teams, which is always some of my favorite work. What a great week of instructionally-focused work!

 

What did you add to your happy file this week?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lists, Lists, Everywhere are Lists

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

I am a list person. I think in lists. I stay organized with bulleted lists. Lists, lists, lists…

CCC licensed flickr work

CCC licensed flickr work

To do this month:

  • Get back into blogging mode!
  • Read Organizational Culture and Leadership chapters before class at the end of the month
  • Reread data chapters before co-teaching weekly admin credential classes
  • Maintain websites (work, personal, etc.)
  • Heal my back… rest, meditation, yoga, etc.
  • Walk 10,000 every day
  • Go to the beach!
  • Stay on the healthy bandwagon
  • Clean! There is always something to clean (laundry, house, office, car)
  • Catch up with old friends
  • Celebrate my birthday!
  • Chill out once in awhile!

 

Do you think in lists?

What are you most looking forward to this month?

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August Break Picture Update

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

For the month of August I am participating in the #AugustBreak2014, started by Susannah Conway, like I did last year, in August 2013.  I have truly enjoyed taking a break from a weekly blog writing schedule to focus on finding pictures throughout my day.  The prompts, that were accompanied by daily emails, forced me to look at my surroundings with a new set of eyes, a new focus.

  image-5 image-1 image-3 image image-2Looking for words like “soft”,  “blue” and “shadow” were fun challenges.  Planning out how I would capture “jump” was so much fun, especially when it was at the end of a long work day and it led to so.much.laughter with colleagues!

image-4I have truly enjoyed a focused effort to notice more of my life- to literally stop and smell the flowers (or the sea air).  It is my hope to continue to find inspiring photo challenges that will push me outside of my comfort zone as I explore the world through the lens of my iphone (or maybe even my regular old point and shoot camera!).

Reflective questions to consider:

  • What have you stopped and noticed recently?
  • What do you enjoy photographing?

 

 

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Educational Hot Topics

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

During one of my recent classes we had an opportunity to hear from a lawyer who specializes in educational law, representing many California school districts. He shared his thoughts on some of educational hot topics related to the law and his perspective on these issues. These were the hot topics he identified:

  • Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF and the accompanying LCAP)
  • The Vergara case ruling and future implications
  • Public Records Act requests (and conflicts of interest)
  • Common Core State Standards (CCSS and the connections to negotiations with unions)
  • Technology (influx into education, demand for use and improvement, relation to facilities)
CCC licensed work by pixabay.com

CCC licensed work by pixabay.com

This list was interesting and definitely topics that are of great importance to or impact on our work. It is making me reflect on what other hot topics I would add to the list, from a curriculum and instruction or leadership perspective. Here are some ideas that have come to mind:

  • Trusting, genuine, professional relationships
  • True Professional Learning Communities, PLN’s, and collaboration
  • Creative, sound pedagogy in every classroom that leads to high levels of student learning and efficacy
  • Social justice leadership at all levels

What are the hot topics that come to mind based on your work? What should we be talking about? What do you wish leaders were discussing?

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Picture Round Up

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

For the month of August I am participating in the #AugustBreak2014, started by Susannah Conway, like I did last year, in August 2013. I love the random word prompts that spark such creativity in photography. This year Susannah added an additional feature, where she sends out a daily email that reminds you of the prompt, has some sample pictures, and often some hints for ways to take a more meaningful picture based on the theme of the day. While I am nothing more than an amateur photographer, and I am using my iphone for all these pictures, I am having fun playing around with setting up the “scene” for some pictures and using different angles and perspectives.

Day 9’s prompt was “In my bag”. This day happened to be the last class of my summer semester so I happily emptied my school bag to take an overhead view of the stuff inside.

In my bag...

In my bag…

Day 10’s prompt was “Drink”. I took a number of picture of drinks throughout the day but I liked seeing the sun shine on this drink, out on my peaceful balcony, with some other characters and items that make me smile.

Day 10 Drink

Day 10 Drink

Day 2 called for Pattern. I was surprised to find patterns of all shapes and sizes in different areas of my life.

Patterns all around

Patterns all around

Day 5 asked us to look for “3”, but not just the number. Three objects or items we put together or find together. I did stage a picture of three books together, which was fine. Then I walked around the building at lunch for a quick stretch and I looked up and saw this:

Three

Three

Day 4 was “orange”. I was panicked all morning, wondering where and how I would find something orange to photograph. As I left to go to work, I hadn’t walked 20 steps out of my front door before I noticed this:

Orange

Orange

Right in front of my eyes!

One thing this photo challenge has taught me is to truly notice my surroundings. It is important to stop and look up once awhile, to smell the roses, notice the beauty of nature. This is great advice for leaders as well, as time for reflection is so important to build into your regular habits.

Here are the rest of the prompts for the month. What would you photograph? Where are interesting pictures hiding in your everyday life?

August Break 2014 List

August Break 2014 List

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August Break 2014

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

Last year I stumbled upon the August Break 2013 accidentally (mere hours before the month began!). This year I was anxiously awaiting the announcement. I enjoyed participating in the #30SummerDays photo challenge in June, and I have been looking for another photo challenge ever since. When Susannah Conway announced this year’s list of words (i.e. daily photo challenges), I was hooked and ready!

The daily photo prompts are below. I hope to share some of my #AugustBreak2014 pictures here in a few blogs throughout August. Feel free to follow along on Instagram, twitter, or via comments here. Happy picture-taking!

 

August Break 2014 List

August Break 2014 List

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Are you strong enough?

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Amy's Reflections

Recently I had an amazing opportunity to hear Dr. Terrence Roberts speak. Dr. Roberts was one of the original Little Rock Nine- the 9 Black students who entered Central HS in Little Rock with National Guard escorts for protection during the mandatory desegregation.

Little Rock Nine

Little Rock Nine

His life experiences and the way in which he shared them were rich and vivid and inspirational. His message is so important, as much today in 2014 as it was 60 years ago after the Brown v. Board of Education verdict.

Dr. Terrence Roberts

Dr. Terrence Roberts

Some of the sound bites that struck me (or my colleagues who were tweeting live during his presentation!) included:

Every human being is charged with the responsibility to repair the world.

Kids need to feel loved and respected by their teachers.

Be the CEO of your own learning.

You find a way to do that which you want to do, that for which you have a passion.

Levels of commitment:

  1. High level self-awareness
  2. I’ll try
  3. I’ll do what I can
  4. I’ll do what’s expected
  5. I’ll do whatever it takes!

Level 5 commitment

Are you strong enough to confront the issues?

“What issues?,” you may ask. Dr. Roberts asked us to picture “the south” and to visualize the geographic areas of America where we imagine there are still issues of racial bias, inequality, and a lack of social justice. Then he asked us to re-imagine that map because, “The south is everywhere south of Canada- there are issues everywhere in America.” Are you strong enough to confront the issues that stand before you?

This was such a powerful statement that really resonated with me. The more we consider the achievement gap across school systems, the more we see the inequality that still exists. Social justice is about providing EVERY CHILD with the opportunity for an equitable education. In order to do so, we need leaders who are strong enough to confront the issues. Are you? If not, what can you do to get stronger? Our students need your strength!

 

 

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