#shadowastudent ... #shadowateacher

Last year, I participated in the #shadowastudent challenge. It was a great experience (if you want to read my reflections from my experience check-out my blog, 4th Grade Reflections #shadowastudent, linked). This year, as a result of how Nick Proud and Garner Elementary took part in the challenge, I offered to cover the class for any teacher that wanted to shadow a student.

Enter Lisa Hildebrand, our amazing PE teacher at Van Allen. Lisa wanted to shadow a student (thanks, Lisa, for your willingness to do this), which meant I was going to teach PE for a day so that we could make this happen. Essentially, I was completing the "#shadowateacher" challenge. As the day played-out, I caught myself doing a lot of reflecting.

Here are my 10 takeaways from that day:

1. We were playing putt putt golf. There were 10 holes set-up. They were spread-out throughout the gym. The teacher in me knows that circulation throughout the room is a key to good classroom management. They gym is a big room. I got A LOT of steps. From the time that I got to work until the time I left work, my Apple watch registered 15,755 (7.74 miles). Now I consider myself to be a #principalsinaction so I'm always out of my office, up and down hallways, in and out of classrooms, but this is A LOT more steps than what I typically register. I also consider myself to be pretty active and fit; nonetheless, I was exhausted at the end of this particular day.
   
2. Most of the PE teachers that I know utilize technology to amplify their voice in their classroom, the gym. Lisa does this. We have this technology at Van Allen. The old basketball coach in me opted to bypass this tool. Lesson learned. At the end of the day, my voice was non-existent. This worked-out okay for me, for one day; however, this would not be an ideal long-term plan.
   
3. Reading and replying to any emails, texts, and any other source of communication is on hold. Seriously. Instead, there is a huge opportunity for face-to-face communication all-day long with your students. It's how you build lasting, meaningful relationships. This was my favorite part of my day.
   
4. Energy/enthusiasm. You better be prepared to bring large amounts of this into your classroom. It's going to be a long day without it. If necessary - fake it, 'til you make it.
   
5. I wake-up drinking water, I exercise, and then I'm back to drinking water. I follow this up with large amounts of coffee to further kick-start my day. As a building principal, this is no problem; I have the autonomy to go to the bathroom whenever I please. As a teacher, not so great. There were a couple of times...I'll leave it at that.
   
6. PE isn't what it used to be when I was a kid. I wasn't rolling out a bag of balls, and yelling go. On this particular day, students were designing their own putt putt golf course holes. They were collaborating and communicating with a small group of peers that they were working with; they were critically thinking how to design their holes, and then they created them. The Four Cs in action (in PE!).
   
   
   BONUS: Special shout-out to the four amazing PE teachers that I've had the pleasure of working with: Clay Eaton, Jordan Jaspering, Jason Haag, and Lisa Hildebrand - you, all, set the bar high!
   
7. 27 minutes is the length of time, on paper, that students have PE (and Music, Library, and Guidance classes, too). I say on paper because when you factor-in transitioning in and out of the class that time is reduced. Additional time is spent for announcements and directions to start the class so time to actually participate is between 20 and 25 minutes (if you're lucky). The time goes fast.
   
8. I should have been a PE teacher for no other reason than the wardrobe that they get to choose from when coming to work, each and every day. So comfortable.
   
9. There are pros and cons to teaching the same thing, multiple times, all-day long. I remember this from my time as a sixth grade English Language Arts teacher. The first couple of sections are spent kind of feeling things out, seeing what works and what doesn't. The next couple of sections are in the zone, cruise control. And then the final couple of sections, you've got to shake it up a little bit to keep things fresh (for yourself).
   
10. I don't consider myself a great teacher, but I had a pretty great day. This is possible because at Van Allen Elementary, we have great kids. Our kids are respectful. Our kids are fun. I realize how lucky I am, and I do not take this for granted, for the opportunity to work with 573 of the best kids that I know.

At then end-of-the-day, I'm usually exhausted. At the end-of-this-day, I felt more like a zombie. But it was worth it. 100%. From my perspective, there are two intended outcomes of the #shadowastudent challenge: 1) increase your empathy towards who you are shadowing and 2) improve your relationships with everyone involved in the experience. I felt like I'd done both of those things at the end of my day.

Stay-tuned, Lisa's reflections regarding her day completing the #shadowastudent challenge are coming...I'm fully confident that there will be some great takeaways from her experience. I encourage you to check it out when we share it.

Thanks, Adam

I vividly remember sitting on my living room couch one summer evening while having a back and forth Twitter conversation with Adam Welcome.

This was several years ago. I've since moved homes, once, and jobs, twice. It feels like a lifetime ago.

Adam took time. He took time away from his life, his family, his job to make time for me. Adam didn't know me. He didn't have to connect with me. He didn't have to personally invest his time in me. But he did. That makes a person feel good. It does a lot for a person's self-confidence.

When Adam reached-out to me, it expedited my journey as a connected educator. And while I don't have any quantifiable evidence, I am certain that my contentedness has enhanced who I've become as an educator. I will be forever grateful for him.

I'm not alone. Adam didn't just do this for/with me. This is what he does. It's who he is. It's a Fish Philosophy principle to Make Their Day, Adam knows how to Make Their Day.It's the norm  for him to reach-out and connect with many of his virtual friends.

So many of us, principals, leave the classroom because we think that our influence on kids will increase with our reach as school administrators. You want to talk about influence and reach. Adam  was a classroom teacher, he was a school principal, he currently works at the district level, he writes, he speaks. His reach, his impact is about as far and wide as it gets.

This past weekend, I finally had the opportunity to meet and hang-out with someone (Adam; I was also fortunate enough to meet and hang-out with his friend, Jonathan Eagan (not pictured)) who has shaped so much of who I've become as an educator.

We live in an ultra connected world where anything is possible. How are you leveraging that to your advantage? What are you modeling for your students, for your children? Are you connecting with others in-order to enhance your work as an educator? Or are you going beyond a professional relationship, are you connecting to form relationships that resemble true friendships? It's pretty amazing. Thanks, Adam.

Behavior. Part II

Last week I posted a blog that dealt with relationships, conversations, and consequences (I even used the word punishments in my post). You can read it here, Behavior. Part I. There was a lot that I wanted to say in my initial post. I saved a little bit for this follow-up.

Start with watching this Michael Jordan Nike commercial from 2008, "Maybe It's My Fault." This has been stuck in my head for over a week, now. Maybe because I'm a 34 year-old-man who is still in love with his boyhood idol, but maybe because I can't stop thinking about how it relates to building relationships.

Maybe it's my fault?

Maybe be I led you to believe that building relationships was easy when it wasn't. Relationships are established over time; they are established through our daily interactions that we have with others. They have to happen authentically, naturally. You can't manufacture them.

My advice - Be You. We are all different so what works for one won't necessarily work for the other. There's no cookie cutter approach to behavior. It's never as simple as black and white; there is always gray, a lot of gray.

I should note, however, that earlier this morning I was turned-on to an idea that I agree with wholeheartedly. In-order to build the relationship, there is a pre-requisite. You must have the right mindset. You have to want to build the relationship. You have to believe in the relationship. Jennifer Hogan wrote about this in her recent blog, The #1 key for being a good teacher. 

So it's been a week since my original post on this topic. Student behavior didn't change? It was only one week. Your first have to change adult behavior before you change student behavior. And then...