Teach & Serve V, No. 13 You Know What’s Really Scary? October 30, 2019 I am frightened that we in education are all too often tied up in how difficult or work is or by the hurdles we face or with the challenges ahead that we forget what we can do and what we can…
Tag: Leadership
Teach & Serve V, No. 12 | The Highest Duty
Teach & Serve V, No. 12 The Highest Duty October 23, 2019 … to lead is to serve. To serve is to support. Anything else distracts from our central call as leaders. I firmly believe that the best leaders serve those they lead just as the best teachers understand they work in service of their…
Teach & Serve V, No. 11 | When We Are “On”
Teach & Serve V, No. 11 When We Are “On” October 16, 2019 Being “on” is a professional hazard for those of us who work at schools. Whether it is in the parking lots of our buildings or at Target or at a concert, as soon as we run into members of our community –…
Teach & Serve V, No. 10 | It’s Not What They Think, It’s How They Think
Teach & Serve V, No. 10 It’s Not What They Think, It’s How They Think October 9, 2019 “Lead them to knowledge, yes. Hone their skills for sure. But, please, please, please, teach them what to do with what they learn. Teach them how to think.” I had a revelation one afternoon when I was talking with a new…
Teach & Serve V, No. 9 | Everybody Knows This Is a Bad Idea
Teach & Serve V, No. 9 Everybody Knows This Is a Bad Idea October 2, 2019 … challenging non-specific language – asking for that language to be clarified – is a necessary step in good communication. Walk into the faculty room in your school. Try to be unobtrusive. Find a seat in the corner and…
Teach & Serve V, No. 8 | The Brave and the Bold
Teach & Serve V, No. 8 The Brave and the Bold September 25, 2019 I believe we are better when we are not surrounded only by those who agree with us and those with whom we are safe. I believe we do some of our best thinking and our best work outside our comfort zones….
Teach & Serve V, No. 7 | Accountability
Teach & Serve V, No. 7 Accountability September 18, 2019 There is a reason the connotation of accountability trends towards the negative. People like me are doing it wrong. I am ever fascinated by denotation and connotation. I suppose that predilection comes from the fact that I am an English teacher and I am taken…
Teach & Serve V, No. 6 | Engage the Real World
Teach & Serve V, No. 6 Engage the Real World September 11, 2019 To do less than engage with the world around our students is to shirk our roles as educators. It is to do them a massive disservice. I was on my way to school 18 years ago this morning, listening to local Denver…
Teach & Serve V, No. 5 | The Right Question
Teach & Serve V, No. 5 The Right Question September 4, 2019 Therefore the question is not why are people not doing the things we ask, the question is, when they do the things we desire, why are they doing so? The year is young. Most of us are well under a month into the…
Teach & Serve V, No. 4 | We All Thought It Was Going to be Flying Cars
Teach & Serve V, No. 4 We All Thought It Was Going to be Flying Cars August 28, 2019 What does this have to do with us as educators? Only everything. My wife is a high school teacher with almost two decades of experience in the classroom, in departmental leadership and in teaching adults about…