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?...

Today, I'm having a conversation with Mr. Jon Gentile of Educational Wingman . Jon is a gifted school leader with an uncanny sense of how to build trust. Many of us have similar stories of being thrust into roles for which we are wholly untrained, sometimes unprepared. It forces us to call upon a well spring of raw talent, to sink or to swim. Jon pulled several Michael Phelps-esque performances that still impact school communities by virtue of the the cultures he built. Unconventional. Brash. Sometimes a lot like a bucket of ice cold water in the face, albeit on a hot summer day, Jon brings love to the equation. Love for potential, for people. Jon : Dr. J, you asked me for possibly three scenarios, so lets see if I can separate.  But I’m going to start with what I call my Big Picture : First, let me talk about my  fundamental key points on relationships ;  Be genuine. I know who I am, I am loyal to my sense of self.  I am aware of gaps in my a...

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 ...

For-profit schools vs. For-learning schools I hear a lot of banter about how profits are bad , people who earn them are bad . Wait what?! Bill Gates...one of the world's most prolific philanthropists, has made A LOT of profit by creating something that a lot of people needed/could use and presenting it in an arguable user-friendly way. He made profit, which allowed him to grow, make more profit, retire, and give it all away. Profits allow us, the public, to play a role in the firing of people/services that we don't like, or to vote with our feet. Don't like those shoes, don't go back to that store. Disappointed with the Windows OS, buy an Apple. So what about government services? What's their incentive to provide excellent service? Profits? No. Back to the question...what incentive do government agencies have to give a superior product. They can't fired. They have no competition. So your telling me that they do it out of the goodness of their hearts? W...