Giving up on Hopes and Dreams brings New Possibilities

I recently had the realization that the hopes and dreams I had held onto for many years were not going to come true. This realization hurt but it also helped me to recognize that hopes and dreams are relevant to circumstances and sometimes circumstances are deceiving.  If circumstances, or their clarity, change then hopes and dreams will need to change as well.  Sure, the goals I had formulated and held close to my heart about my professional and personal future may not have been realistic, but that doesn’t mean that dreams are silly and hopeless.  In fact, the realization that these dreams are no longer, and may never have been a possibility, is freeing.  The release of one future has opened the door for me to formulate a new plan and a fresh map of my currently unknown journey. I am excited to venture down a path that will most likely lead to a more productive and satisfying future. 

Having dreams, working for a purpose and setting goals are all great motivators.  However sometimes within the pursuit of these dreams we limit ourselves and our thinking.  Dreams can become hindrances, even blockages, that we pour too much energy into, give things up for, or neglect other responsibilities to achieve.  When we recognized that the dreams we have can actually be holding us back from our true potential it’s only natural to feel disappointment. However, we have to remember that the time spent pursuing an impossible dream was not wasted. Time spent in pursuit of a dream is well spent growing.  We learn lessons through failure, we gain knowledge through planning, and we become stronger through the difficult process of deciding that the dream is no longer healthy or good.  The realization that we must give up on a dream is a tough one. It’s a loss that we may even need to mourn.  It hurts, but through that hurt we change and in the midst of change we often see things more clearly.  In these moments of clarity, we are able to recognize what’s important and that our dream has actually been holding us back.

I am challenging myself to embrace this new freedom, determine a new direction, and develop a new dream with greater hopes. I look forward to walking down a path towards a future filled with endless possibilities.  I don’t know what my new dream is yet, but what I do know is that I am filled with hope because it will be mine and it will be great!

Transformed

First...

We fall apart and our pieces scatter.  

We feel like we have just been shattered.  

We grunt and moan when we clean them up.

We step on the shards get angry and curse

We painstakingly grasp at them and our fingers bleed.

We panic that we are exposed and flaws hidden are now seen.

Then...

We remember this has happened before and it will happen again.  

We say a prayer collect the scattered pieces and begin.

We match one fractured piece to another.  

We there are visible gaps left on the edges.

We expend much energy and much time trying to recreate the past.

We finally realize the microscopic pieces bring pain.

We make the choice to let them go and move on.

We sweep them into dust and toss them aside.

Finally...

We obtain FAITH which manifests into action.

We gain emotional muscles lifting foundational pieces back into place.  

We find FAITH in ourselves,

We gain FAITH in others,

We realize or remember a FAITH in something greater.

We smooth His strength into the gaps left behind. 

We allow it to cure.

We heal through His grace and become pure. 

Remember...

We will lose many pieces that we thought we couldn’t live without.

We will gain more strength that we can possibly imagine.  

We will be “hard pressed on every side, but...

We will not be crushed,

We will not abandoned;

We will be struck down, but...

We will not be destroyed.”  

We will be shifted and become crooked at times,

We may even shatter, but...

WE WILL always have the option to THRIVE through His power.  

An Authenticated Learning Championship!

If...

to Authenticate is to prove or show to be real, true, genuine, and to validate, substantiate, corroborate, confirm, or to claim proof of identity. 

and

Learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught. 

Then... 

Authenticating Learning is an ongoing action focused on the acquisition of knowledge or skills with the confirmation of knowledge to be genuine through a tangible application where the individual can claim ownership of said knowledge. 

We need to train the"stabilizing muscles" to achieve applicable knowledge!

Click on the Link above to hear an analogy
perfectly describing Authenticating Learning! 

Levels and Layers of...

Authenticating the learning process not only for students but for educators has become my focus throughout this year. I am discovering layering of learning theory, practices, and most importantly the application of this knowledge is a powerful catalyst for growth.  As I reflect on my week I recognize that everyone learns best through application, reflection, and revision.  I am lucky enough to be a facilitator of learning for students, teachers, directors, and leaders. I am able to experience the similarities and differences between adolescent and adult learning sometimes within a single day. This provides me with a perspective on learning that topples a desk (student), bursts out of the classroom (teacher), shatters the exterior walls of a building (principal), expands into the local community (directors), reaches out to a region (leader) and goes light speed into the virtual realm (professional).  My self proclaimed assignment has thus become to authenticate learning by facilitating creation, reflection, and application of vision and practices between the multiple levels and layers. 

Learning Lead to a...

To learn and grow, an individual or group must display vulnerability. A person, especially an adult, must allow themselves to be vulnerable to change and grow. This is not a comfortable state for those of us who feel strong in our practices or desire to sustain a certain sense of control and authority.  We fear that if we are vulnerable it will be perceived as a weakness. However, in my line of work vulnerability displays strength.  The more vulnerable one is to open up, reflect, revise, redesign, and redefine their practices the stronger they become not only as a facilitator of learning, but as a learner themselves. 

The leaders must permit the educators to take risks and try new things, even encourage this. The instructional coaches and directors must be willing to show vulnerability and trust the that the teachers are capable, willing, and experts in their content.  The teachers must trust the coaches and directors enough that they are willing to share their knowledge as well as their lack of knowledge in order to grow together as an equal team. The teachers must also relinquish some control to trust and allow the students to take risks and learn through failure with support and guidance, even encourage this. When these layers of willingness and vulnerability are functioning well, the students will accept the challenge to learn and they will set higher expectations of themselves.  

Championship Moment!

Click on the link above to see just a snap shot
 video of one of the 13 student proposals! 

I witnessed this difficult alignment occur yesterday! I watched the layers and the levels fit and flow seamlessly together as an outside entity. I witnessed motivated students shine, dedicated teachers glow, and visionary leaders in awe! As the crowd dispersed after the proposals ended, the door closed, and the team celebrated with high fives, hugs, "oh my"'s, "did we just do that?"'s, and smiles! As an athlete, I have won state championships, placed in national championships, and have more than my share of wins.  As an instructional coach, this was my teams first championship moment and it felt just as good if not better as those I experienced on the court! To feel the rush of adrenaline similar to winning a big game within the classroom and with a team of educators is how learning should always be. 

Then, I thought to myself as I walked out of our arena(classroom).... this is not what learning should be, 

THIS IS LEARNING! 




Thank you to Mr. Smith and Mr. Schmdit for allowing me to join you on your journey in Authenticating Learning! These teachers and students will be blogging their progress and as they publish I will link in their perspectives on this championship so you can see the whole amazing journey! 

My One Word: Can You Make the Connection?

I have worked my way through several words that I have even announced as my official “One Word” to focus on for the new year.  However as a change agent I reserve the right to change my word. This week was an enlightening week for me professionally where many connections fell into place.

I was awarded the unique opportunity to work with three different High School Algebra 1 teams from two different districts and three different building throughout the course of this week.  The interesting thing is that there was a connection between all three of the teams. They all utilize the same book and same online resources as the foundation of their instructional practices. This placed me in an interesting position to make some connections.  I facilitated learning for teacher teams to determine what works in two very different districts with the same resources three times! What I found was that shifting instructional practices towards a more personalized approach gets easier the more you allow the teachers to take the lead and the more they take the lead the more personalized the learning plan becomes and the more connections I could see in their practices.  

The three models we have developed are very similar. Each time I lead a team of teachers to design their personalized pathway towards the creation of a deeper learning model for their students the easier it gets for me to connect to the best approach.  I believe that this realization of a working model at the secondary level for blended learning is due to the connections that are being made. Not only the connections between teams, but the connections between the ideas, strategies, data, and resources.  I am connecting with teachers who are experts in their content. The teachers are the ones who need to be connected to the precision design process of the model of blended learning implementation that best suits the content that they teach. They are the expert, the implementor, and they must have a strong connection to the design of the delivery model.  

This week I made the connection that to achieve a next generation learning experience at the secondary level educators need to make connections between a few essentials when choosing an instructional delivery method within relation to the 7Cs of College and Career Competency.

When making these connections, teachers need to consider...

• the students prior knowledge of the content,
• the Common Core State Standards that the students are expected to achieve at the end of the task,
• the ability level of their students to independently discover the content,
• the common sense approach to content delivery to ensure a realistic pace and path are achieved, and
• that the content and assessed student need must be the main factors that drive the blended approach.

The connections that I make when speaking with administrators and teachers in various districts helps me to better adjust my approach to instructional coaching and continue to grow.  The connections that I make between the content, the prior knowledge, student need and ability, and the resources help me to facilitate the development of precision based curriculum delivery methods. The connections that I see not only in Math but cross curricular help me to facilitate the design of problem based learning experiences where teachers are co-teaching sections of their courses with each other at the high school level. The connection of a teacher and their students to their passions embedded in a learning experience is the most effective and rewarding connection I will always witness. The connections that I have made personally, professionally, content wise, strategically, vertically, horizontally, and intellectually are what ignite my passion to learn and continually encourages me to seek for more connections.  

Can you see the connections that this post has to my “One Word”? 

IGNITING PASSION: Providing Time, Support, and Questioning

This was an amazing week for me as a professional development specialist.  I had the wonderful opportunity to experience all aspects of my new position: 

• from organizing, implementing and reflecting on an eight hour preK-12 Project Based Learning (PBL) session,
• facilitating a one-on-four small group restructuring session to create a hybrid approach for a College Prep English 12 section with high school teachers, 
• a questioning session with my current leader about my own skill-set and how I am utilizing it, 
• to a comprehensive introduction of a new organizational leader to the vertically aligned 6-12 work I have been involved in at the district that I am embedded. 

For me this provided a perfect opportunity to reflect on exactly what it is that I do, and how I could improve on my approach. Upon reflection, I found that this weeks work fell into three categories that led to the driving force for those I serve, as well as for myself, to achieve growth. 

The three categories are TIME, SUPPORT, and QUESTIONING: 

TIME

As I review the results that were submitted from the PBL session I recognize that the teachers greatly appreciated the TIME to sit with their teams and plan a project.  They appreciated the SUPPORT of the professional development specialist who were available as well as that of their principals who also participated in the project planning process. The products that they created were then recognized by providing TIME for them to present to their peers, TIME for feedback, and then TIME for revision.  Each groups project was different and interestingly enough focused not only on the standards, topics of interest for students, but more telling, on the PASSION of the teachers involved.  Providing the teachers focused TIME with each other to reach a goal, with SUPPORT, and with their administrators proved to be something that produced projects rooted in PASSION.  

SUPPORT 

Once they have TIME, they need SUPPORT.  They need to know that the product that they created was recognized and will be valued.  Even if the product needs to be adjusted to meet standards or to adjust the QUESTIONS, the teachers need to know that their PASSION and their TIME involved in the collaboration process did not go unnoticed.  They need feedback.  Not only is this the case for the PD session, but for the small group restructuring that I facilitated as well.  It is essential for me to return to the people and products that were created in this session: the VISION, the curriculum map, and the visuals are products rooted in PASSION.  I must review them, pay value to them and encourage the PASSION that was palpable within that conference room to continue to grow in my absence.  The development, revision and continuation of this momentum is contained in the power of QUESTIONING.

QUESTIONING

There is a fine art to determining the correct QUESTION to ask at the optimal TIME.  To achieve the best possible outcomes for a team or individual, asking the correct QUESTIONS at the perfect TIME is essential.  I greatly appreciated the TIME my new leader took to observe and reflect on my work. The amount of SUPPORT I felt while educating her on my work made me feel valued. During her TIME with me, I closely observed her QUESTIONING the teachers and the administrators who I serve.  This is a role that I would normally be engaged in and not have the opportunity to see from an outside perspective.  This unique opportunity allowed me to reevaluate the power in asking the right QUESTIONS at the right TIME.  Just like the creation of a driving QUESTION for a PBL, when working with teachers and administration I must be cognizant of my own QUESTIONS.  I realized listing to her QUESTIONS, that I must be specific enough to help the teachers reach the answers they already know and drive them in the direction that is best for them to go.  However, QUESTIONS must also be open ended enough to allow for creativity, PASSION, and personal redirection to manifest.  Observing this leader allowed me to listen more intently and hear things more clearly.  This new clarity gave me an understanding of the things that I may have been missing. We spent TIME reflecting at the end of the day on my approach to my current PASSION project. Through this TIME, SUPPORT, and QUESTIONS, I gained much clarity on my thinking and a renewed respect for the power of providing and giving up my TIME to display SUPPORT for personal growth through proper QUESTIONING of those I serve. 

PASSION

As I work through all of the differentiated work I was involved in this week, there was one driving force around growth. That driving force is positive PASSION! During the PBL planning session it was clear that the teachers and the administrators were PASSIONATE about the driving questions that they chose to focus their projects on.  During the restructuring of the curriculum delivery it was clear that the teachers were PASSIONATE about making this change so that they could better serve their students needs.  During my session speaking on my own skill-set, it was obvious that my leader is PASSIONATE about what he does and that he was also keen on the things that I am PASSIONATE about in my work.  During the tours, listening to the QUESTIONS that drove to more QUESTIONS, I recognized that my teachers are also driven by PASSION. 

My week was filled with PASSIONATE educators taking the TIME to QUESTION what they are doing and it is my job to ensure that SUPPORT is provided and through proper QUESTIONING teachers and administrators will continue to be PASSIONATE about their work and QUESTION their approach to continue on the path towards growth that we journey TOGETHER. 

The Potential Energy of Educational Change

As educational leaders during our training and onward we read books on how to drive change, how to manage people, how to have those crucial conversations, how to collect, analyze and utilize data to determine needs, choose strategies and measure our progress.  However as a consultant, I have a new perspective.  As I move through roles of advisor, supporter, and driver of improving practices at various levels in various districts there is a clear dynamic that I am witnessing.  I believe this perspective needs to be highlighted for educational leaders and change agents alike. The knowledge this exists is needed to understand how to obtain sustainable positive momentum towards change. The dynamic I speak of is illustrated above in the poem by Marianne Williamson. It’s the idea that as human beings we often have a fear of inadequacy, but there is also a reciprocal fear that often goes unnoticed. As we begin to succeed and feel good about our actions and practices, especially in organizations that are as organic as a school, a fear of shinning "too" bright, hurting feelings, and performing "too" well manifests. The fears that I witness in those I serve are not rooted in the question, “What if it doesn’t work?”, the fear I recognize most is rooted in the question, “What if it does work?”.

In the midst of change everyone moves at a different pace and even possibly through different paths to achieve the desired outcome. It is my responsibility to guide and support those I serve through their pathways and ensure that the pace is occurring with optimum velocity for that individual or team.  However, once momentum takes hold the ability to provide the correct push and pull becomes more complicated. The extraneous forces in organic organization such as a school then become either the unpredictable lubricant or friction that either cause an initiative to thrive or encourage it to take a dive.  Relationships, emotions, unspoken norms, fears (real and/or perceived), historical practices, and levels of support of peers and administrators all harness the potential energy to positively effect the culture of change. There must be intentional refueling stops feeding the momentum along the path to sustain the movement.  

What is the fuel?

The fuel is providing balance between encouragement, empathy, and positive facilitation. I find that providing a safe place for educators to reflect (to gain control and understanding) of their own personal thoughts and feelings is a powerful positive catalyst.  It's important not to entertain negative thoughts and encourage the good in those that shine to ignite the fire in others which helps them understand that the collective light does not diminish, it enhances their glow.  Know that when kindling a fire there is a delicate balance between it manifesting warmth and light vs. destruction. We must protect the flame from a slight negative wind blowing it out, as well as understanding the importance of controlling the edges so that they do not spread energy too fast or furious which can easily destroy a culture. Leaders, teachers, and supporters, learn to positively kindle your fire with the knowledge that it brings life and ensure that the elements are positively balanced to maximize your energy yet not allow it to become a destructive force, nor to fizzle out.  Foster the flame so that it resides in the sweet spot where it provides warmth and light to the organization. 

Ignite momentum and kindle the light!