Mid-Year Check-In

We are officially in the middle of the school year.  (Actually, Friday was the 91st day of school with the beginning of the Third Marking Period.)  A lot happened at our staff meeting on August 31.  New staff, new room assignments, new district offices and people, new programs (Journeys) and applications (MyLearningPlan and Genesis), and new requirements.  Lots of "new" things for a new school year.

Aside from our regular review of staff expectations and schedules, we gathered into team/grade level groups and created positive messages for our school.

Our school continues to have "new" faces and things like students, maternity leave replacement teachers, professional and lunch assistants, and Smart Boards!

Because a lot has happened since August 31, questions come to mind as a "mid-year check-in" compels me to share. Feel free to answer back or simply let them stir inside you a desire to reflect and think deeper about your work in our school community. 

How do you feel? How do you view your work? Do you believe you are making a difference? Do you feel encouraged? Supported? Do you believe you have a voice? 

How do you see your students? Do you view them the same way as you did in September? Or do you see them different today? Do you remember the demonstration of the two cans of sodas?  If not, ask Ms. Restituyo in Room 322.  

How do you view your colleagues? Do you collaborate with them often? Or just when need be? What are you collaborating about? Are you just being compliant or working on things that you are really passionate about? 

How do you view your administrators? Do you believe that they care about you? Your work? Your teaching and learning? Your professional and personal growth?  Your daily work with children and parents?

How do you view your parents?  Do you see them as one of the key ingredients to student success? How are you engaging them?

At the end of the meeting, I shared a video titled "Every Life Has a Story."  Here it is again for you to watch. No matter how many new people or things come our way, or how many challenges we are faced with, let's remember to put people first before process or paperwork.  Everyone has a story.

Finally, how is it going with your idea? 

At our meeting, I read Kobi Yamada's "What Do You Do With an Idea?" and asked you to write down an idea you would act upon this school year. I have your ideas in an envelope. 

How is it going? How have you progressed? Have you started or is it still in progress?

If you haven't started on your idea, you still have time. It's never to late to make a difference. All you need is an idea. 

I can't wait to see what you come up with. 

How I Get and Stay Organized

Let me begin by saying that I am very organized at work.  As a Vice Principal, I must be organized and on time for my students, teachers, parents and for myself.  Organization also helps me plan and execute the daily operations of teaching and learning in my school.

Here are ways that I get and stay organized.

1. Go to sleep early.  The early bird gets the worm saying is so true.  If you want to reach your goals, get to bed early so you can wake up early. As a parent of three boys, my best time to be productive is early in the morning BEFORE my family wakes up.  You will be surprised how much you can accomplish.

2. Exercise.  Run, bike, dance, yoga, weights, or whatever it is.  Just do it.  It helps release endorphins and keeps one healthy.  Exercise is a key ingredient for healthy living and being organized.

3. Post it notes. They have to be my favorite invention.  These colorful squares help me post notes, phone numbers and important reminders anywhere I see fit.

4. Chart paper.  When I have lots to do, more than usual, I use large pieces of white chart paper.  The beginning of the school year in September and towards the end are two of my most busiest times. Chart papers help keep what is important a priority and "in my face" so I won't avoid or forget.

5. Routine, routine, routine.  I am a creature of habit and one thing I know is that I like habits.  I walk my school building at the same time everyday, except when there are special meetings or assemblies.

6. Phone reminders.  I love this feature because it gives me multiple reminders and I can set them based on days, hours or minutes.

7. Lots of alarms.  If I want to go to the gym in the morning, I set my phone and the alarm goes off multiple times.  I almost never wake up and get outta bed the first time the alarm goes off. I love this bedtime feature on my phone. It has helped me get and remain organized.

8. A watch that is one hour ahead.  If I have 60 minutes of lead time, I know I will never be late.  This can backfire but I know that I procrastinate a lot and try to fit in one more thing to do when I am busy. Yet, intentionally setting the time one hour ahead has helped me get things done and be organized.

9. Remembering a bad experience.  I had a memorable (bad) experience in college being tardy.  I always remember this because it taught me how to prioritize.  It also taught me that if I wanted to take on more responsibility, I had to act responsible.  This event marked me and I go back every so often as a humble reminder of how much I have grown.

10. Listen to others. I don't know if this is part of being organized or not but when you are on the move, you must listen to those you serve. This has helped me to stop and notice if I am being effective or not. It also reminds me never to put paper or procedures before people.

That's how I get and stay organized. How do you organize yourself?

Captain John Gray

My first year at Rutgers University I tried many courses and things. One experience I will never forget was a no credit course I took with the Army ROTC.  I cut my hair, wore fatigues, learned about military science and organization and participated in a field training exercise located at Ft. Dix, NJ.  Here is where I had my first lesson on leadership thanks to Captain John Gray, the ROTC instructor.

After a long day of rope bridges, shooting the M16, hiking with 40 pounds of gear, eating MREs, our group of 50 students was very tired and wet.  As we entered the mess hall, I saw Captain Gray standing at the front of the line.  He greeted us with a warm smile and a plate. Captain Gray stood there patiently and waited for all of us to grab our food before he got served.

I was hungry and was one of the first ones to eat.  I wasn't waiting for anyone.  As I went for seconds, Captain Gray was still standing in the same place handing out plates.  How could he wait so long? Wasn't he hungry?  I had to find out so I sat next to him.

I thanked Captain Gray for allowing me to come to Ft. Dix.  Then, I asked him why did he wait to eat.  Captain Gray responded that his soldiers always eat before he does.  Silence overwhelmed me. Then, I felt bad for being impulsive and selfish.  Captain Gray's words struck my mind and heart at the same time. My belly was full that day but I had an empty sense of service and leadership.

I just Googled the word leadership and 556,000,000 million results appeared.  When #EdublogsClub asked us to share about leadership, the first result that came to my mind was Captain John Gray.  His priority to put people first, model through example, and serve others will always remain with me.

I aspire everyday to serve my students, teachers and parents in a similar way that Captain Gray served us that day.

Thank you Captain Gray for giving me my first lesson on leadership.

Do you have a person in your life like Captain John Gray?  If so, I'd like to know about him or her.  Feel free to share.

My Inspirational List of Songs for Educators

Back in November, David Guerin wrote in his blog a list of 80's songs that serve as an inspirational list for educators.  He came up with ten.  I came up with five that have inspired me as a person and educator for years.  The first one is a late 70's song, three from the 80's and the last one from the 90's.  

I want to thank David Guerin for helping me to reflect and enjoy writing this blog post. 

1. Three Little Birds (1977) by Bob Marley.  A mistake. A misunderstanding. A miscommunication. A difficult situation. A difficult conversation. Errors are part of life and schools are full of mistakes. Students are not the only ones who learn in a school. Adults can learn too, especially from a mistake  I love this song because the reminder is real simple: "Don't worry about a thing/cause every little thing is gonna be alright."

2. Pressure (1982) by Billy Joel. Teachers and educators can all relate to pressure. Lesson plans, grades, parent conferences, formal observations, testing ... I can go on. Pressure comes with the profession. Pressure helps build character. Pressure is also a good teacher. 

3. Sign of the Times (1987) by Prince. Here is an artist keeping it funky and real. The late 80's saw a lot of social and political issues like AIDS, the anti-nukes movement among others. We are still dealing with many issues today and connected educators keep students engaged in currents events. 

4. Rebel Without A Pause (1988) by Public Enemy. Sometimes educators have to buck the system and rebel. Sometimes they take risks and look at things in a new and different way. In the spirit of Public Enemy, being a rebel in the classroom can help stimulate thought and inquiry in students. Being a rebel helps students develop their own voice and power to think, question, collaborate, and create. 

5. Optimistic (1991) by Sounds of Blackness. No matter what adversity comes our way, our job is to be optimistic and believe that ALL children can and will learn. Yes, THEY CAN LEARN in our classroom, under our watch. This also serves to help uplift one when we have had a bad day, week or month.  One of my favorite verses from this song is "If things around you crumble/No, you don't have to stumble and fall/Keep pushing on and don't you look back."

What songs inspire you as an educator?

When it gets challenging, what songs do you listen to?

I would like to know your video list.

Feel free to share!

Biking and Blogging

I love to bike.

Living in NYC I know of great parks, bridges, restaurants, and other sites to see and experience. I visit a lot of these places while I bike because I can move alone, fast and spend as much or as little time as I wish at anyone place. My experience of biking is similar to blogging. 

At first, I would travel downtown via Riverside Drive, and up and down the West Side. 

Later, I challenged myself to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge and into parts of Brooklyn and Queens I never knew. 

On any Spring weekend, these spots can be daunting and rather hectic. On weekends, Central Park can be quite tricky maneuvering through the runners, bikers and tourists.

Blogging can be daunting and intimidating too. At first I thought, who is going to read what I have to say? Who cares enough to read my words and thoughts?  With all the news and websites and blogs out there, why would anyone stop by my page and take notice?  And if readers do happen to take notice, would my words be good enough? Do I have the skills to keep a reader's attention? to inspire? 

You can see how doubt and fear of the unknown can build and give you many reasons not to blog. In addition, I knew  nothing about creating a blog, title, images and settings. Then, something happened that happens to bikers and bloggers alike: growth. 

I learned that the more I bike (or blog), the stronger (wiser) I get. My leg muscles got used to climbing hills and pedaling non-stop for miles. Just the same, the more I wrote, the better the words and my posts. I realized that there was strength in brevity, in using a picture or image I created or took on my travels. 

Here's another thing I learned about biking and blogging: I am not in competition with anyone.  I do not wish to enter a race.  Some bikers pull up next to you and seek attention.  I ignore them and just keep pedaling.  There are many professional writers and bloggers out there.  I am not in competition with them. My aim is to reflect upon a personal experience.  When I publish, which is about once a month, I seek to share what I learned from an experience.  

When I bike, there are certain places that I frequent because they are my favorite locations to experience. 

Mamoun's in The Village is a great place to eat falafels. 103rd Street and Riverside Park has the "empanada lady" who makes one of the most delicious empanadas (cheese or meat) in the area. 

One of my favorite bridges to cross is the Triboro from the Queens side onto Randall's Island.  Sure there are some steps and the climb is a bit steep at first but the last stretch is all downhill.  It looks like the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.  

There are thousands of blogs out there.  One that stands out for me has to be by George Couros.  Not only are his posts filled with ideas, videos, or pictures like many others. Couros shares his thinking and learning on his posts with everyone. He also invites you to constantly share and help him learn.

Biking is a lot like blogging. If you are not comfortable on the bike, you will not travel far and will not enjoy the ride. If blogging seems like work or obligatory, then it will simply be words for naught. 

I bike because I love to bike. Its my time to reflect, pray, and get some exercise too. I blog because it helps me write, share and connect with others. 

Maybe biking is not your thing.  Whatever it is that you do, you probably do it with passion and love.  Let that passion and love spill over to blogging and you may surprise yourself.  

I Learned THAT in 2016

2016

Every New Year people look back to reflect on what they have learned. Others see how much they have grown or need to grow. 

Many people look forward to see what they can change or pledge to themselves to do different. Here is my attempt to look back and then look and move forward. 

I want to thank my wife Barbara and my sons for always helping me be a better person. 

I also want to thank Claudio Burgaleta, SJ for accompanying me as my spiritual director. His wisdom and generosity made a real difference in 2016. 

Finally, I want to thank all those hundreds and hundreds of educators who helped shape my mindset via Twitter. I met so many people, professionals and leaders on this social platform. Muchas, muchas pero mil gracias for your energy, creativity, and passion. You made a difference in my life.  Connecting, learning, sharing and collaborating with you was a big change for me.

After looking back at 2016, here is my list of things I have learned and look forward to using in this new year:

1. I realized I do not need a title to make a difference. 

2. Be patient with myself and I will be patient with others. 

3. Trust others more. 

4. Listen to others. They matter and make me better if I listen more. 

5. I can do anything. If I practice. 

6. I have a voice. When I reflect and share, I let the world know that I have a voice. 

7. If I fail, I learn. 

8. God is simple. He is not complicated. I am the complicated one who resists, doubts and refuses to change. 

9. I remembered that if I forget about God, God will never forget about me. 

10. There is a gift in tears. 

11. If I look up I see more. And, when I do, I am with God. When I am with God, I am more. 

This is not a list of New Year resolutions or one words that will serve as a statement or reminder.  These are ingredients to something larger, bigger than me that is connected to people, places and moments in my life that I can point to and say, "I learned that in 2016."

Wishing you a happy, healthy and holy 2017.