Newsletter

I was recently reading Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss and there was a section with Olympian Gabrielle Reece in which she talked about the value of going first. This book is FULL of things to make you think and reflect, but this is the one that has stuck with me for over two weeks now. So, I thought I would use my newsletter this week to share the simple idea and what it has meant to me since then.… Read More »Go First

It is that time of year again . . . my annual musings on the year that was. I sit down to write this about a week before my birthday and I really enjoy taking a trip down memory lane and forcing reflection on the good and bad parts of the last year.  RULES:  Each blurb is limited to at most a general topic and no more than three sentences or three bullet points to support my thought.  Some thoughts… Read More »Happy Birthday to Me!

I was recently asked to write a one-a-month editorial for our local newspaper. It is an opportunity I deeply value and highly recommend you try to secure for yourself. In my October contribution to the paper, I addressed a topic that I believe is applicable across the board and would be meaningful on this platform as well, so I decided to use that editorial as a starting point in writing this week’s newsletter entry.  It never ceases to amaze me… Read More »More Unites Us Than Divides Us

‘Self-care’ has become quite a buzzword in education, and, as such, has put leaders in a bit of a quandry. You cannot go to a single keynote without hearing about it, scroll through Twitter without it being a common theme, or sit through (what seems like) a single faculty meeting without it being brought up.  This is good, right?   Yes, but . . .  Let me explain. It is wonderful that more credence is being given to our health, both… Read More »Self-Care Dilemma

February is often considered the most pronounced ‘rough patch’ of the school year. Well, I would argue that the time between mid-October and mid-November is right up there with it. More importantly, we are seeing the most stressed teachers and school leaders in history as navigating the second year of the Pandemic has proven equally (and in many cases more) difficult than navigating the first year.  Thus, I think it is important to recalibrate where we are. While I have… Read More »20 Must Consider Questions

Here is a simple test I wish every teacher and administrator would mentally work through. For each class or section I would like the teacher to create a list of students from first to last based on their overall mastery of the essential concepts and skills covered in the course. I would then like them to make a second list which is just the rank order of students based on their percentage grade.  If the two lines are not exactly… Read More »Grading is an Archaic Practice

Anyone that knows me will understand how painful typing the title to this newsletter was for me. But I mean it. Sort of.  Data collection at its absolute essence should not be about graphs and fun charts. Data collection in schools should be about gaining information to direct how we can best change adult behavior to get the results we desire. Or, if we are fortunate enough to be already achieving the desired results, we should use the data collection… Read More »QUIT COLLECTING DATA

The last ten weeks or so have been the hardest in my professional career, with the only exception of those involving the tragic loss of a student. Sleep has been hard to come by. Or . . . more accurately – falling asleep on the couch when I should be acting as a dad has been easy; staying asleep at night – not so much. In fact, I am writing this at an ungodly hour.   Now, there are few things… Read More »We are Not at Our Best Right Now

Why do we call them “Difficult” Conversations? This practice makes no sense to me. I believe in the power of language. As a result, when we proactively label something as hard or undesirable and then wonder why people do not engage in the activity more often it seems foolhardy. We have already declared the task as, in this case, difficult. STEP ONE. Quit calling them difficult conversations and start calling them meaningful conversations. The next thing we need to do… Read More »Making Difficult Conversations More Meaningful

Are you ready for something completely different? I think this may be fun. I normally write about leadership and education, but since I was on vacation last week, I thought I may as well write about that. Now, before I start I will admit that I am not a travel expert, so this is nothing more than a collection of my meandering experiences and thoughts about one of my favorite places on Earth – Las Vegas.  I am sure some… Read More »Vegas, baby!