What Works For Me, Might Not Work For You

This is the current construction across from KAS. They are doing the massive project of putting the train tracks underground so this space above ground can become a park with biking trails.

How could a vision like this have come about? I would like to have heard the other opinions in the room during that meeting -- both for and against.

It took a strong leader committed to this vision to see a project like this through (and I can't wait until it's finished).

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I have always been a seeker of ideas and advice. When I first started teaching I was surrounded by over 60 years of experience ... and those were just the three people I worked closest with.

I would often go seeking advice and sometimes it would find me. In the beginning, I took everything I could and tried it all. After a while, I started to see that advice I took was working less and less.

I think I could have corrected that trend if I had tried working more with the person giving advice -- a conversation would have gone a long way to building understanding on both sides. Then the two parties could have worked together to come up with a solution that fits the problem.

What works for me, might not work for you.

I started thinking about this after listening to Simon Sinek. He talked about finding your own vision, and using it as a filter for when receiving advice.

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Going back to the bicycle track -- that must have taken a strong vision to filter out the dissenting voices.

Giving Recgonition

In this clip, Billy Corgan is playing with Pink Floyd in their inaguration into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I really like this clip because, although all accounts of his personality is that he is an egomaniac, he takes a back seat.

He didn't even do a solo.

He sat in the back.

He was a silent partner.

He also gave recognition.

Here's another one. Dave Grohl is the bigger name, you might not have even heard of Bob Mould, but here Dave takes a back seat.

I want to be more of a person who gives recognition to others. I won't call it a resolution but rather a call to action.

International School Coaching Chat

I was lucky to meet Diana Beabout in person when she took a trip to Taiwan and made a stop in our school. She took an hour out of her afternoon one day to meet with myself and Victor to discuss coaching and what it could look like at KAS.

It was an amazing hour of information that left my head spinning.

What struck me to the most was when she said there had been a coaching conference before the iPad Summit in Malaysia and how that was interesting because there are not any conferences for coaches. My mind started to wander towards finding a way to get a conference at KAS.

That is something over which I have very little control however, and I thought a Twitter hashtag would be more manageable to start.

random end of the year picture

Using Twitter allowed international educators, coaches, and administrators to come together to share ideas. Fortunately, the hashtag caught on and there have been some great sharing and slow chats.

Today I realized that this hashtag has been like a continuing education course for me. Thank you to all who have participated, and I invite anyone who wants to participate. Here's to more conversations about coaching in 2016.

What Makes a Good Boss?

I've had several jobs in my life. By my rough count, I'm at around 20. That is 20+ people who have been in charge of looking out to make sure that I succeed.

A few years ago I would have phrased that last sentence differently, but I have come to realize that those in positions of authority are also in positions where they are responsible for their subordinates (for lack of a better word) success.

So, what makes a good boss in my opinion?

A good boss ...


Listens
This is especially improtant for me since I need, thrive, on talking out my ideas. This isn't only for my benefit, good bosses know that listening leads to understanding.

Listening blurs into being generous with time. Those in leadership positions have to deal with a lot of stuff. I respect those leaders who recognize that it is as important to take time for those they serve, as their other tasks.


Asks for others' opinions
When leaders ask for, and act upon the opinions of others, it builds self efficacy. When I was first asked my opinion on an imporant topic, I was taken aback. It was a welcome change from the past, and it probably increases motivation and loyalty.

If leaders ask and ignore opinions too often however, it can leave people confused and angry.


Delegates tasks meaningfully
Good bosses don't give busy work. They look to increase peoples' capacity to perform better by delegating challenging tasks.


Looks to help instead of criticize
Criticism does not solve problems. It only makes people angry and hurt.


Has a clear vision
This was something that drew me to my current school. A strong and bold vision helps motivate and drive me forward.

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Citations

(This list was built on their ideas, tailored for me.)
Other blogs also do leadership posts, and I have read too many to pinpoint exactly where some of these ideas first came from.

• Harvard Business Review has a list of what good bosses do differently.
• Leadership Freak
• George Courous
• Cameron Morrissey

Some Ways to Share Links With Students

A while back I got a question about how to share a list/group of links with students. Here are some ideas to share links with students in no particular order.

A New Page on the Class Website

I would create a new page in our class blog for links to research projects. I think this is a good way to do it because it forces students to visit the class blog which they might not otherwise do. A new page can be created for each project, and saved as a reminder for the future.

Shared Memit/Diigo/Flipboard 

Diigo has a feature that allows you to create groups to which students can subscribe. I have been gradually moving away from Diigo, however, in favor of Memit which is more visual. I have been using it as a way to collect resources for teachers. Flipboard is another option that is becoming increasingly more popular. 

Read: How Flipboard Can Help Your Students.

Shared Google Doc

Another option is to simply create a Google Doc/Sheet/Slide and share it with students. Since it is a Google product, updates will be automatic. Make the Doc View Only so students don't accidently erase content.

Symbaloo

Symbaloo is a visual linking app. The buttons are big icons of the websites to which they point. The downside of this is that you need to keep track of another URL to share with students. That could be overcome with a custom bit.ly URL like bit.ly/ResearchResources.

Google Classroom

Create an announcement and share your Google Doc with your students this way. 

QR Codes

QR Codes might be a good way you would want to share links with your class. The QR Code could link directly to your links list. Just make sure your students have access to devices with QR Code readers.

There are many ways to make them, but here is one that I have used: QR Code Generator.

Google Tone

If your students are using Chrome, they will be able to use the extension Tone. Tone is a way for teachers to share a link with students in their classrooms through a noise. It's really only good for sharing one URL at a time, so probably not that practical for this list, but I wanted to include it anyway. Maybe you could share the list as the URL you send out.

Word For the Year

Kath Murdoch wrote a post called IF YOU COULD TAKE JUST ONE WORD INTO THE NEW YEAR….WHAT WOULD IT BE? Based on a previous post of hers I carried the word resilience with me into the last school year. As she suggested, I had a sticky note next to my desk where I could see the word every day.

My word for 2016 is connection.

Connection is one of the most important parts of my job.

First and foremost I make connections between the curriculum and technology.
I am helping make connections between teachers.
I am helping teachers make connections to other classrooms.

For me, I want to make more connections between what is happening and good coaching practice and continue to connect with awesome teachers. And most of all, make connections with what is working to why it is working.