The Importance of Reflection and Perspective in the Process of Growth By: Katie Ahmadzai Education is rich with rhythms: the first day of school, homecoming week, Christmas and Spring break, finals, and graduation. For school leaders, one essential part of this yearly routine is using the summer to plan for the coming year. But without a pause to reflect and reorient ourselves, we can easily fall into the trap of discouragement or distraction. It can […]
Tag: teachers
Welcome to Wonderland: The Power of Holy Nonsense
By Kevin M. Taylor, PhD Yes, we have a pet rubber chicken! His name? JumbleRumbleKins! Reader of this article, my hope is that someday you may share in one of life’s most meaningful relationships. For to know JumbleRumbleKins (Jumble, for short) is to love him—and to love him is to belong to a family who shares in the utter hilarity of his squeaks and squawks. Ha! Seriously (or maybe not), to be present with young […]
Maximizing Commitment in a Season of Change
By Anna H. Bryan Over the summer, we have been reposting articles from Anna Bryan on her experiences with Adaptive Change in schools. This blog, “Maximizing Commitment in a Season of Change,” is particularly timely as we prepare for the return of teachers to our buildings for the start of the 2024-25 school year. The article is especially helpful in thinking about how to create genuine engagement for change rather than simply convincing skeptics to […]
Mayday! or May Day? Finding Purpose and Beauty in the Final Weeks of the School Year
by Mark Hobbs As April turns into May, educators often find themselves contemplating how to navigate the remaining weeks of the school year with a sense of optimism and energy. The term “Mayday,” as defined by Merriam-Webster, serves as an internationally recognized radio word to signal distress, mostly by aircraft and boats. While most of us are happily only familiar with it through TV and fiction, stepping into a 7th grade classroom in May might […]
Inspire Lifelong Learners: Modeling the Novice Mindset
By Sierra Downs The First Year “Genghis Khan was a pretty good guy, actually.” This concluding remark to a student essay written during my first year of teaching has haunted me for years. I had just begun teaching history at the middle school level and had high expectations for my classroom–I wanted to encourage my students to ask big questions, consider lofty ideas, and allow the subject to shape the way that they saw themselves […]