1 Minute Can Be Of Impact

Johnny was a tough kid. His parents said they didn’t know what to do with him. He was 13 and failing his classes, didn’t do any extracurricular activities, and simply didn’t give a crap about anything. Nothing motivated him, and he connected with no one. He didn’t really have friends, just acquaintances. His teachers said he was respectful, but unmotivated, and was on a fast track to dropping out. His parents had tried the tough approach, then the motivation approach, and finally had basically decided they were going to let him figure it out.

Johnny sat around drumming with his fingers a lot, but didn’t often have in earbuds or appear to be singing to himself. One day, Mr. Smith the music teacher, walked by Johnny during lunch. He didn’t know Johnny, as never had him in a class before, but noticed Johnny drumming on his leg with his fingers. Mr. Smith paused, stopped, and came back to Johnny and introduced himself. He engaged Johnny in a conversation about drumming and percussion and asked Johnny if he wanted to join the band. Johnny was reluctant but said he would think about it.

A week went by, and typical Johnny, just sat around at brunch and lunch. Mr. Smith walked by again and this time stopped and asked Johnny to come to his classroom to check out the drums. Johnny begrudgingly followed Mr. Smith. Once in the room, Mr. Smith took Johnny to the drums and percussion section and handed him a couple sticks. He said, “go for it man, check out the drums and do those beats you do with your fingers on your legs”. Johnny timidly began to mess around. Mr. Smith went off to his office. 10 minutes later, Johnny was still playing away when the bell rang. A few weeks went by, and Johnny became a regular at lunchtime in Mr. Smith’s room. As semester 1 came to a close, Mr. Smith told Johnny he should come to band starting second semester and just check it out at least. Johnny was slated for Art as his elective, but didn’t like Art. He agreed and started in January in the band.

Fast forward two years: Johnny was now in high school, in band, and had passing grades. He came early to the band room, and often stayed late. His chin was up, his shoulders were up, and he was a school musician. Mr. Smith in that one moment made a huge different in Johnny’s life. He made a conscious decision to stop and talk to a kid who clearly needed someone to pay them some attention. Mr. Smith gave up 3 minutes of his lunch, but the impact was tremendous. We each have minutes of every day where we can have a huge impact on kids. We have to be intentional, and we have to sometimes go out of our way. In the moment, we may not see or feel any impact in small actions we do, but the possibilities are endless, and the opportunities for impact are there often. Be the one who commits to making a daily difference in those precious minutes in the day. Look for the student (or staff member) who is flying under the radar and who is not necessarily someone you know. You can, will, and must be impactful.

Beat this Crazy Time of Year

This time of the year gets crazy. Students have spring fever, get squirrely, and test the adults’ patience. Adults are worn down and often ready to be done for the year. The overarching theme is counting days until summer. It is so tempting and easy for us all to fall into the trap of unintentionally demonstrating our frustrations and impatience as we just try to finish another school year. The challenge before us is how do we avoid the negative tendencies and finish strong with a positive attitude?

Step one: it ALL starts with you. Each of us contributes to the culture of our classroom, school, and the district at large. Every one of us through modeling our attitudes demonstrate where our heads are at. YOU have to be intentional about staying positive, celebrating students and colleagues, and finishing strong.

Step two: don’t settle or float. It is easy to start floating the last few days of the year and just want to take easy street into the summer. Keep pushing and stay strong to the last day!

Step three: reflect on how your students and staff will remember the end of the year. Will students and staff leave in June thinking “thank goodness I’m out of that class/school” OR will they leave saying, “I’m going to miss that class and school”? You have to be the one decides to go into the summer on a high note.

As your last few days of the year wind down, be intentional in being a positive beacon to your students and colleagues and have everyone around you say, “Mr. or Mrs. _______ was so awesome to the last day”. It is hard to do as the crazy train does come through town, but our students deserve it and you will feel better when you begin your summer and reflect on how the year ended. I’ve got faith in you, and I’m cheering for you, and in your corner. Beat this crazy time of year with positivity and patience! 

Keep Learning!

What do you do on a regular basis to keep pushing yourself to do better? Do you read? Attend Conferences? Back in school? As educators we ask our students to learn on a daily basis and grow their minds—what do you do to model it and grow yourself?

I started my EdD program this year and in the first couple of quarters have already been pushed harder than ever before in my educational career. I have learned a lot already and see by the end I will truly have learned a lot about educational leadership, educational technology, and myself as a leader. I regularly attend conferences, and recently spent a Saturday morning with 400 other educators at the MDUSD STEM Symposium held @valleyviewjags There was great learning and a keynote by CUE interim Executive Director @jcorippo By lunch, I hopped on a plane to Chicago with my buddy @awelcome to attend #ICE18 and present on Monday a session for admin.

I push myself to stay current, learn from others, and keep learning any chance I can. I never want to fall in a rut and plateau. Two ways I daily learn are via @twitter and @voxer. Being connected and learning daily from educators around the country is powerful and can be done in a short amount of time. In the end, I have chosen ways to be a life-long learner and push myself. Take a moment, look in that reflective mirror: do you push yourself to learn? Do you share what you learn with others?

As a role model to students, find a way, and articulate to others how you are learning and pushing yourself to be relevant, current, and learn regularly. There are numerous ways to do learn and it does not have to eat up time and take you away from the necessary balance needed in life. Here are some simple suggestions that don’t require going to back to school:

1)    Read, read, read. It can be just a few minutes a day. Tell your kids and colleagues what you are reading!

2)    Twitter—one of the most powerful PDs that in a just a few minutes you can gain new learning. If you haven’t done a Twitter chat, choose a short one and try it out. #BeTheOne is a quick 15 minute chat on Wednesdays at 5:45 pm PST. #kidsdeserveit is on Wednesday at 6:00 pm PST and 30 minutes.

3)    Voxer—there are a plethora of Voxer groups focused on certain topics. It is great to hear other educators from around the country weighing in and dropping in resources into a chat.

4)    Attend an Edcamp or mini-conference—you don’t have to stay all day—often I now only go for a few hours in the morning, especially when on a weekend and head back to family the rest of the day.

5)    Read blogs and listen to podcasts—there are amazing short blog posts on almost any topic and short podcasts that you can listen to when driving. Blog yourself and share with others and it will be reciprocated.

Whatever you choose, what is important, is be a continuous learner and share what you are learning. Make the few minutes a day just like exercise and family time. Commit and make it happen!