Principles of Principals

Schooling is dead, long live Schooling. My child is doing school online...what are my rights, roles and responsibilities? Private, Independent, Charter, or District, so much has stayed the same with schooling, while so much continues to change. Here are some things on which to reflect, ponder and pray... Parental rights ; Your rights have not changed as a parent. You are entitled to access premium curriculum that is focused on promoting the American culture. You have the right to know your child's teacher and administrator. You have a right to observe and listen to the lesson. You have a right to access the very best resources for your child. Parental   roles ; Parent - setting and keeping loving, healthy boundaries for and with your child. Care-giver - reasonable financial support, food, shelter, clothing. Professional - modeling and facilitating meaningful conversations, and critical thinking skills. Listener - asking questions like, "What are you hoping to accomplish?...

See the news lately? Sorry to hear that. I get caught up in the promulgation of enmity, just like you. I hear people say "Down with the evils of capitalism." whilst swilling Starbucks. I hear people say, "The news these days.", while quoting some talking head. Put down the cup - buy local. Put down your phone - look at me. Why do we prop up, and tear down, these false idols? With discernible patterns of lust and hate we vilify and praise our own personal heroes and sheroes. Then when they stop thinking like us, we cancel them, tear them down, or abandon them. I burned a poster of Lance Armstrong once. I still own all of his books. I'm just like you, maybe. Except maybe not. I do not watch the news.  I do not have social media accounts that are active (with the current  exception of LinkedIn). I loathe the need to be first, and politically correct  culture. It's global house gossip, like family members trying to be the first one to call everyone a...

(image courtesy of fineartamerica.com) Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) comes in waves that distract and confuse me. I don't think much of myself, but when I do, I think that I should not be so afraid based on my life's experiences, my education, and my beliefs. But, I am, afraid. Sometimes. A lot. In the epic sci-fi novel, Dune, by Frank Herbert, we witness Paul Atreides enduring a mental test at the hands of a Bene-Gesserit as he chants to himself, "Fear is the mind-killer, I shall not fear." He passes, shattering the expectations of his teachers. I believe that we all share varying levels of VUCA in our daily lives. I was talking with my daughter yesterday, and in the past 72 hours her start date for school has been moved twice. Moreover, her district has cancelled Band and Football, and may cancel her Badminton season (no joke, they have Badminton and are a state-wide competitive team). She's frustrated and afraid. Online lear...

Big picture to small, here are 5 key questions that can guide nearly every single leadership scenario a school administrator will encounter. Every. Single. One. Seriously? Seriously. What is it that I want my (district, charter, staff, parents, students, child) to be able to know and do? How will I know that my (district, charter, staff, parents, students, child) is able to do it? What's one thing that I can do, or have done, that contributes to the success of the (project, lesson, assessment, evaluation)? When I reflect on that one thing I did, how can I improve? What happens when my (district, charter, staff, parents, students, child) doesn't perform? Let's scaffold shall we? Question one is pretty simple, straight forward. It emphasizes doing.  Taking the proper tools and acting. Question two demands some form of accountability . For the classroom, this might look like an artifact or assessment. At the 30,000 foot view, we could be talking about a...

While serving in the military, I was introduced to the terms force multiplier and force mitigation. Permit me, dear reader, an explanation. I served as a Forward Observer, 13Foxtrot, or FISTr. FO's are fire support specialists who have the ability to arrange for extra artillery, close air, mortar or naval gun ship ordinance when things get really dicey. We do this job with one tool, a radio. That radio has two critical  parts necessary to it's function, without which nothing will happen. Antennae and batteries. With those two accessories, the radio is a force multiplier .  In other words, when compared to a weapon (pistol, rifle, tank), it has nearly limitless capacity to incapacitate the enemy. A weapon is limited by the number of bullets in a magazine (clip) and the number of bullets one soldier can carry. It's not an efficient nor is it, in my opinion, a very effective tool of war. Even more effective than a radio in war is an outward mindset - or that ...