:::Me whispering to him:::  “You’re hired!”

​He joined a panel of students from grades 6 to 12 to deepen this discussion, and boy did they.  Here are a few more nuggets of knowledge from students in our schools:

• Relationships matter
• We need choice, we are not “cookie cutter” kids
• We need agency, but REAL agency to govern our own learning with teachers as facilitators
• We need the opportunity to question each other and share ideas
• We want respect for our individuality
• Stop telling us “you just need a 65 to pass” - raise your expectations, we can do more than you think
• Reduce the testing and see us as equals and partners
• Find a balance with us and take away the fear of making mistakes

Today was the first day of school, and I couldn’t stop thinking about my Summer student ReDesign Team members and their message - We Can Lead Our Learning.  

This profession gives all participants - teachers, students, school leaders, para-educators, parents - a chance for a fresh start every year.  I miss that newness, that energized (and sometimes anxious) feeling that comes with new students and a new school year. I visited many of the schools in my district today.  I needed to get some of that Day 1 hype, even if it was only from the sidelines.  
​
In my visits today, I saw students excited and scared for their first day - some couldn’t wait to leave Mom and run to greet their friends while others cried and wouldn’t let go.  I saw older students with bright smiles having brighter discussions sharing their vision for what school could be. And our students have grand visions. Are we listening to what they have to say?

About two weeks ago, I met with a work group from my community to talk about hiring and developing the best people to work in a learning environment where the learners have significant agency.  

I got a chance to describe, for the first time publicly, my ideal school schedule and my vision for a "learning studio".  We used these ideas as a frame for the conversation about hiring to support agency.  It was really scary opening my ideas up to this level of scrutiny.  I had no way of knowing how it would be received and whether this would push our thinking forward on hiring and development practices.

The conversation generated so many great ideas and important questions to consider.  The first big takeaway is that TRUST must be granted to everyone in the community for the vision to be realized.  Young people can, and should, be trusted with guiding their own learning, knowing what tools they want to use to demonstrate their learning, determining when they want to go to gym, or to read, what they want to read, who they want to work with, how they share their learning with others... The list can go on and on.

But that same TRUST must be extended to adults in the building who deserve the same opportunity to determine their won path for learning and growth, what tools they will use to demonstrate learning, when they need a break or a prep period, what they want to read, who they work with, how they share their learning...

Many years ago, I was given a chance to teach a mixed-age group of high school students in an after-school program. My official title was Lead S.T.E.M. Instructor. With my strong background in Biological Sciences coupled with my desire to build real relationships with the young people I serve, I knew this after-school gig was gonna be a breeze. I just needed to do what I do, and I would be fine.
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I made some great relationships with those young people. One is still my buddy, an aspiring baker who is returning to school again to learn about accounting. What I didn't really expect was to be the Coach of a High School Robotics Team. I knew bacteria, DNA, genetics, not 'bots, coding, and circuits.

Being the kinda learner that I am, I got online and started my research. I found out about Arduino boards and coding, which became the foundation of my day-to-day learning experiences with them to prep for the Robotics Competition. But the more I dug into the work, the more I began to read about the Maker movement, which was still very new at the time. As I dove into the Maker life, I began to learn more about the ideals behind this movement, central being access to tools and experts with agency to determine your learning and design path.

Whoa. This shit was deep. And it changed me. It changed how I thought about my students. It changed how I thought about my role as an educator. I began learning with and from the young people I served rather than trying to always teach to and at them. I believe young people can lead their learning path. I believe I can learn from and with them.

​One of the authors that helped me remodel myself, helped me to rethink my practice and embrace iteration and change and risk-taking was Gary Stager. His book, Invent to Learn, with Sylvia Libow Martinez, came to my attention as I researched and learned about Seymour Papert, the father of Constructionism. This book was a turning point for me. It grounded me and helped me think through my changing perceptions and perspectives.

When I saw that he was leading a workshop in Boston titled, "Lessons for the Maker Movement from Reggio Emilia", I jumped at the chance to learn from and with him. I was happy to find like-minded colleagues with whom I had connected online around our shared belief in learner agency and changing school - from online video chats and written discussions to face-to-face connecting.

We all started the morning learning about Reggio Emilia. It doesn't take too much imagination to realize that the approach of Reggio Emilia, meant for 0-6 year olds, can be applied to much older children. Perhaps adults, too? Reggio Emilia believes that children are competent. Teachers should be researchers, trying to learn about each child's learning progress, and thinking about how new ways approaching the world might help a child learn something new. The environment is filled with authentic and deliberate materials. Children explore authentic problems. And there is documentation of their learning, lots of it, and it tells a story about the learner.

Gary also connected the Reggio Emilia approach to the Maker movement and computing. I spent the day learning with a teacher team from an independent school in Connecticut. My friends from Mass were at neighboring tables. We explored a variety of materials and resources for making any number of things we could imagine. I made a pig mask, originally meant to be a dog, but the pig came to life as I built it, so that's what it was. The materials made my decision for me.

A good prompt is worth a 1000 words. And we got one of the best prompts I've heard, "Make a bird. Singing and dancing is appreciated." I want to be clear about this folx, we had explored materials for 45 minutes. We were given Hummingbird Duo kits to build our bird 'bots - none of us had used these kits before. We were given 2 hours to build and a small set of instructions for the 'Bot kits. And we were given feathers. Lots of feathers. Each team of 4-5 educators made some pretty spectacular birds. Not all birds worked, but all had a plan to share and next steps to make it even better. We helped each other, we laughed with each other, and we were inspired by each other. This is what learning can look like.  I believe all students should have opportunities to learn and make and explore their inherent curiosity.
(Check out the slideshow at the end of this post to see our bird creations)

When I first started teaching, I was given advice like, "Don't smile before November," and "Don't let them into your personal life," and other lines that are essentially shared to ensure that you keep your emotional distance from the young people we serve.  Sad thing is, I followed this advice for a few years before I figured out that for best learning conditions you need bring your authentic self to the work.

I saw this Tweet today...

I have learned not to turn myself down.  And, friends, I'm pretty effing loud.  So is my music.  I have been able to make some real, genuine connections with young people.  It changed me as a teacher, helped me grow as leader, and made me a better person.  

I miss working directly with young people.  My new role in my district has me most often working with school staff and district instructional leads.  On some occasions, I am blessed with moments to work directly with students.  

One little guy in particular used to light up my darkest weeks.  I first met Doc when I served as a substitute Principal for a week last year.  He was in 3rd grade, and he was quite the handful.  Doc had difficulty working through angry emotions, and he often reacted loudly and quickly when he could not maintain his calm.  The first day I met him, Doc had lost his temper and run out of class.  When I found him, he was 10 feet up a chain link fence in the back of the school yard.  He came down, calmed down, and we worked through what he needed that day.  And I met him every day after with a smile, a willingness to listen, and bit of my humor.  

We became closely connected over the week I spent at his building, and I continued to check in on him throughout the rest of the year.  We became pen pals, delivering short letters through his school's mailboxes.  When I went to visit, I was greeted with a huge smile (most of the time), and it always replenished my spirit.

Wednesday this week was the First Day of School for students in New York City.  I was bouncing on the way to work so excited to see my pen pal after a long Summer, kinda hoping that he would have already written me a letter.  I reached out to his Principal to advise that I was coming by for general check-in on Day 1 and to say hello to Doc.  "I'm sorry, Bryan.  I just got notice yesterday that he is transferring to a school in the Bronx."

Devastated.

I knew it might be the best thing for him as he was having trouble adjusting to life in the school in my district.  But it didn't stop me from feeling a seriously depressed moment.  That really caught me by surprise.  

The downside to authentic connections with young people we serve is a profound sense of loss when they are no longer connected to us.  It hurts.  This also means it was a strong connection and a relationship that mattered.  I wouldn't give that up for anything.

Relationships do matter folx.  They matter from Day 1.  Doc and I learned a lot from each other.  It is important to remember how much we can matter to someone.  Doc was growing, changing, and improving over the last year as I mentored him.  I am proud of the progress he made and sad that I won't be directly working with him anymore.  I am confident, though, that he will take some of that connection and learning with him to his new home and school and keep growing.

In my search for a silver lining, I also realized that I have time for a new mentee.  I'm pretty excited to see who might need a smile, an adult willing to listen, and a little bit of humor.  

Do you bring your authentic self to classroom? 

I was inspired by a colleague in Illinois, Mark Heintz, who spent a year writing about his learning and teaching process for an entire year.  I'm going to try and do this myself.  I hope those that join me on this journey will learn something from this journey.  

This week, I spent the entire week in professional learning.  New York City has given education leaders an amazing opportunity to learn together this summer about Equity.  I have already taken part in Mentoring for Equity, Beyond Diversity, and in many equity-based conversations with my critical conversational friend, toni.  I knew I had more to learn, and I was excited to take part in the learning this week.  

Day 1 - Solving Disproportionality

My expectations were being fully met on Day 1 as I learned from Dr. Ivory Toldson about disproportionality.  I already had seen important data about disproportionality in New York City schools when I dug into the Calculus of Race article.  I learned a lot by examining schools' data in the Civil Rights Data Collection about Schools and Districts.  I had never seen this data source before, and excitedly examined a variety of schools from across New York City and in my District.  There are definitely stories being told in this data, and some of these stories are not pretty.

I am pretty intentional about defining words in education that we often take for granted.  When Dr. Toldson asked us, "What is the achievement gap," we had time to talk through what we thought was a best answer.  When he then asked, "Shouldn't we first ask ourselves, 'What is achievement?'," I was really happy.  I love to tackle ideas like this with colleagues.  You learn so much about your own beliefs and the beliefs of others when you start to challenge yourself to really define what you think you know and often take for granted.  

I spent a little time thinking about my "Why" in this work.  Why am I working to dismantle inequity and oppression?  What drives me to get out of bed, even in the deepest of Winter, on the most unfortunate mornings, to push through these days and still come in to work and do my best to lead education and schools to provide the best learning conditions for all students?  What gets you to work every day when it's -2 Celsius, sidewalks packed with dirty snow and unseeable ice, and you spill your coffee down your shirt before you have even left the house?  What drives you to want to do the work?

I was worried on Day 2 that I might not be that into Python coding.  I just wasn't able to engage myself in the work of practicing the code.  My frown has been turned upside down.  All that I was missing was my Raspberry Pi!

After a few missed days of learning, I reinvested in the process and decided to spend some extended time on the project to see if I could get into the learning flow.  I spent almost 2 hours hooking back into my Pi, reading through some of my older screenshots, and then continuing the Instructables Class on Raspberry Pi (see my previous post for the link).

I learned a lot of new code.  I learned about connecting the Python Shell to the Linux Shell in the Raspberry Pi so that I can code in Python and affect the overall system.  I pushed the "Conversation" code to interact in Linux, and I launched a video stored on the Pi from the Python Shell.  I was feeling excited again.

Now I'm pumped!  I was feeling energized and wanted to do more.  I was asking myself questions to learn more about the code structures, and I used my resources to find the answers to most of my questions.  I still don't know what stopped me from accessing the pygame.mixer to play sounds, but that is a task for another day.  I was able to access the Pi Camera through the Python Shell and take a few pictures.  I even coded for increased brightness.  It wasn't always a perfect code, but I learned a lot from practicing.

I'm already thinking of ways to use this setup once it is done.  Of course I will create a photo booth as the class shows, but I also am thinking about a portable document scanner to document learning from around my district.  

I also learned about dealing with my frustration and boredom.  Finding new ways to engage int he work helped me.  I think I might have also been helped if I were learning this with someone.  (If anyone want to join me on this journey, feel free to reach out.)  

I have also been very aware of mental downtime (AKA Distraction/Off-task) and how it helps processing of new information, as well as providing some needed breathing room to alleviate frustration.  Do we do this enough for students?  Is there something that can change about a classroom's culture to account for the need for mental downtime and percolation time? 

I have been trying a lot lately to put myself into a place of learning something new outside of what we would consider a traditional learning environment.  I have been pushing my learning and reflection on a professional goal of improving my questioning.  I am a solution guy.  I like digging through my brain, finding answers and things to try out to see if they can be answers.  But that is not the best way to coach.  Coaching through questioning is a goal and one I continue to work on.

I also tried to learn something completely new - American Sign Language.  I wanted to see how far I could get in 30 days, and I think I did pretty well.  I tried to share my learning in a new way using videos to try and engage people in either learning with me, correcting my sign skills, or both.  I did get a friend into the conversation, but I have let ASL fall to the side as I began digging more deeply into my work of transforming school.  Check out one of my video blog posts HERE.  

My full-ish journey is documented in #30DaysofLearning blog posts that only made it to day 24.  Yeah, yeah, I know, "Boo!  Boo!  You couldn't make it 30 days?!?"  I'll try again soon.  I just started a new position, and I'm a bit taxed on time lately.  Yeah, yeah, I know, "Boo - No Excuses!"  Anyhoo...

Last night during a coaching session in Change.School, I was speaking with leaders from the US, Canada, and New Zealand while being mentally prodded by the hosts, Bruce Dixon and Will Richardson.  I have been engaging with national and international school leaders for more than 10 months now.  We talk about ideas for rethinking public education so that we are engaging students in our respective districts in a learning environment that is relevant to our modern world and preparing them for our uncertain future.  (A special thanks to Robert Schuetz for prompting this post.)

All of our conversations are pretty thought-provoking, but last night I began to talk about my own Learning Story a bit more.  Will has been adding an interesting hashtag to some news articles that are shared online - #newcurriculum - and I can't stop thinking about some of these ideas.

One new topics that has me perplexed and constantly reading is Cryptocurrency.  What a freaking tough concept for me to grasp.  I like to think myself a pretty smart guy, but the establishment of a completely virtual currency that has seen unprecedented growth in value while using a style of programming called blockchain to ensure it is secure is pressing the limits of my brain power.  I'm trying to get it.  Apparently you can mine coins.  Apparently people can steal your computer's processor  to mine for them.  I read articles about it often on Medium for whom I can thank for nearly all my knowledge about cryptocurrency.  I can't thank their writers enough for the knowledge I have gained, and it still isn't enough for me to feel comfortable talking about it, but I am learning.  Still very, VERY confused, but learning.

And this is the learning story I am using today to make a few points:

1. I didn't use a pre-designed cryptocurrency curriculum to learn about Bitcoin and its brethren.  I used the writers of Medium to learn from.  I may be hitting up some videos soon, because I need to learn in a different way to figure this stuff out.  BTW - if you get IT, please share IT with me.  
2. Our current curricular resources are not giving students the opportunity to explore knowledge relevant to them or their lives.  Cryptocurrency, big data and analytics, internet security, modern agriculture, urban agriculture, green technologies, and hundreds of other relevant-to-our-modern-existence topics are mostly ignored by curriculum writers.  As a hypothetical example Will and I discussed last night, we give 100% of students in a class a course in Geometry, of which maybe 2-3% might use in their lives, and the remaining 97% will likely forget.  I mean, seriously, it's not even connected to something relevant like 3D Printing.  When's the last time most of us used Geometry you learned in High School without just using a computer to compute answers for you?

We need to be talking about this stuff, friends.  We need to be talking about this stuff with our students, helping them to lead their own learning in a meaningful way.  There are still big questions to be asked about how to make this a reality in our current system, but if we never start talking about it and asking questions, things are not going to change.  

The world, however, will continue to change without us taking part in it.  I'm not interested in becoming obsolete.  I don't want that for the young people I serve.  I'm ready to talk about it.  The work of change continues...

All the data in the world can support your reasons why, but it is up to you to give it context and a story.  It is up to you to make connections with people so they are not spectators of your work, but they instead want to be involved in the process with you.

I joined a Facebook Live conversation this week with two of my leadership coaches, and a viewer asked a question of me:  

At first I began to stumble over the question, but then I stopped, slowed my always hyper-active brain, and I shared that complex work often requires simple steps to get things going and to make meaning and messaging clear.  

This moment resonated with me as I worked with district leaders around modern learning practices and common language.  Luckily, I can rely on my colleagues to challenge ideas when the reasons why are unclear.  I listened to the concern about lack of clarity, and then I reset and started again.  Simple, direct, jargon-free messages are easier to get behind.  There is typically no different understanding of meaning when you follow the K.I.S.S. Rule.

​Our conversation continued to build.  We all shared a common vision about the importance of the learning being directed and riven by the learner, whether that learner is a student, a teacher, or a leader.  We also know that these moments are happening in some innovative classrooms around our district.  I hope to bring these pockets of innovation into the light so we can see and learn from them, and build toward a district of innovative practices, not just single classrooms or school buildings.

More collaborative work is planned for the weeks ahead as we develop our district's Vision for Learning.  Good work is happening, and I'm happy to share our learning process as we work to create our vision.  

Playing catch up again.  I'd like to blame the business of life on my lack of writing, but I was just not making time.  So I'm dong a double post catch up series again.  I think once I reach the end of 30 days, I will continue the writing and reflection process, but I don't think it will b daily.  Such is life.  Now, onto days 23 and 24...

Thursday and Friday were driven by thoughts and questions around beliefs and values that I and my district colleagues hold to be true.  We had conference on Thursday and shared our focus areas for the remainder of the school year.  One area of focus in our district is to ensure that all of our school communities represent the diversity of our neighborhood communities.  

To support us in this work, my district is partnering with Paul Forbes and the Expanded Success Initiative.  Paul gave a stirring presentation during our conference that still resonates with me.  It helped us start some difficult conversations among leaders in our district.  It reminded me of the importance of the support I still give to #MyCrew in East Harlem.  

"The system, as it is, is giving us exactly what it was designed to give us.  We don't need to fix the system.  We need to rebuild it from the ground up."

Now I am asking myself important questions about my work to change school:

• What pivotal moments in my life have driven me to do this work? 
• What am I doing to promote equity for all students?  Can I do more?
• What biases are still present within me that affect the work I am doing?  Can I name them so I can fight them?

​I'm thinking about all of these questions.  I know the more I reflect and dig into myself and the work I do, the more intentional I am about equity for all students, the better the outcomes will be for the young people, the families, and the community I serve.

Day 22 was a day that started and ended with big smiles.  In the morning, I made my way back to the school building where I had served as acting Principal for a week.  I wasn't there for a meeting.  I wasn't going to observe teachers.  I only wanted to see the young people that took up so much of my time.  

I have a special place in my heart for the tough cookies.  Yes, they take a large portion of a day, but they are still developing their brains and learning to cope with the curve balls life throws their way.  Inside of them are human beings that want a connection as much as anyone else.  As regular readers know, I am still connected with many former students that were the toughest of the bunch.

On this day, one young man completed my day.  I found out his teacher was absent.  To avoid any incidents int he classroom, Doc was placed in a Kindergarten classroom.  As I stood on the side of the room sharing with his teachers why I was visiting, I watched Doc walking from K-kid to K-kid pointing to their art, asking them how they created such great pictures, complimenting their work, and pushing them to make it better.  He did this with calm kindness, and the younger students were eating it up.  I was so proud. 

As he recognized me, his face lit up, he ran across the room with a big smile to shake my hand and say hello.  I told him how proud and happy he made me that day.  I explained how important it was for him to be serving as a mentor for younger students.  And then I told him what an amazing person he was and that the K-kids needed his help, so get back in work with them and make their day better.

I called his father to share the story.  I introduced myself, "Hi, Mr. Doc.  My name is Bryan Glover, and I am part of the Superintendent's Team in District 1.  I was working at our son's school today, and I need to share a story with you."  When I finished telling the story, dad let out a sigh of relief.  He said he didn't get phone calls like this about his son.  I asked dad to please give his son a hug and huge pat on the back for being an amazing human being.  I could hear the smile and feel the warmth of his pride through the phone.  

Our brains are tuned into the negative, the bad, the things that bring us down.  It's a survival mechanism to recognize and remember things that stress us so we can avoid that stress in the future.  I am always asking myself to find the happy moments to focus my attention and memory.  Those moments matter, and they are so often overwritten by the bad.  Sometimes, other people need you to help them find their happy moments.  Every time, it is great to share a moment of pride and joy, especially with a parent of a child who typically puts our brains memory systems into survival mode.

How can we try to be more mindful of these moments so they embed as memories over the tough moments that stress our days?

How can we see students that struggle to cope with life as students with value and skills to share?  As learners and contributors to our classrooms and lives?

How can we be sure to take more time to talk to parents about the moments when their child showed kindness, a proud moment, resilience in the face of a challenge?

Doc and his dad have brightened my week.  I have memories that give me a smile upon reflection that I am using during tougher moments in the day.  I like this feeling.  I want more of these lightening, brightening moments.

I talk a lot about reflection and the importance of looking inward at your learning and your journey through life.  Take time to take stock of where you've been, where you are, and where you're going.

That being said, I realized that I have a need for some deep reflection about my path.  I realized this because I have been stricken lately with something that affects many teachers and leaders.  It affected me when I was a waiter and bartender.  

I have been having nightmares that wake me up in the middle of the night where I am struggling to teach well in an over-sized classroom.  But my nightmares have evolved as my own knowledge about my practice has evolved.  In my nightmare, I am struggling with how I am teaching.  I was asking myself, "Why did you plan a lesson that has you talking by lecture for 15 minutes?!?  How are you going to fix this, on the fly, with 34 kids in your room, to be more student-centered?"  And then struggling because I couldn't come up with any ideas.

I thought I was done with work-related nightmares.  I guess I was wrong.

They have me thinking about my learning path and asking questions of myself.  My district is about to embark on a change journey to incorporate Modern Learning in our community, from the District Team down to every classroom.  My role is evolving.  Things are changing.  I embrace change.  But it is obviously creating some anxiety in me.

Change brings with it fear.  So what am I afraid of that is the catalyst for the anxiety that creates the work-related nightmares?  I feel like once I can name it, it will not be as scary, and I can hopefully rest easier.

• Am I afraid of not doing a good job with launching our Modern Learning change process?
• Am I afraid of running out of time to do it well?
• Will I have enough time for my other responsibilities?
• What if no one buys into the reasons why?
• Who are my allies/my tribe?  Do I have allies?

I am betting a lot of myself on this work.  Change isn't easy.  I'm okay with that.  I have been wanting this for a long time.  Who would have thought that the guy who has been preaching change for so long would have to confront fears about the change process?  I didn't.  But I know they are there.  I am naming the fears.  I am working to confront the fears.  I am reminding myself of how exciting this process is (there's that crazy inner-dialog issue with me again) and how important it is that the work continues...

Do you have fears you are fighting?  How are you pushing through?  

Monday was a busy day.  I was reminded of varied learning styles as I interacted with very different people throughout a series of meetings with topics ranging from strategic planning, checking in, modern learning, and social-emotional learning.

With all of these interactions, I could hear my internal conversation reminding me, "Listen more.  Talk less.  Ask better questions.  Wait time is okay."  It's becoming internalized.  Hopefully, soon, it will reach automaticity so I'm not noticing me talking to myself in my head.  That's a little crazy, right?  

My district is about to launch into our change process in a move to Modern Learning practices in our schools.  We are starting with deep conversations about learning and success in our district, defining what that looks like and sounds like for our community.  

I am finding myself energized by the change work we are engaging in as a team.  And I am reminding myself that, while I am prepared for and am embracing the change process, this often brings up feelings of fear and loss for all those involved - teachers, students, families, leaders, staff, community members.  

I need my inner dialog (yeah, I guess I am sounding a bit cray-cray) to remind me of this aspect of change, and that using questioning moves to get to the root of our fears together will be a needed skill in the months and years to come.  

I'm behind in my postings, so I'm going to post twice today.  This post will catch up on Thursday and Friday.  The following post will be my weekend update.  I think I have a good song to sign, so be sure to check out the next post once you've finished this one!

Day 17 was a Snow Day and a slow day.  I spent the day cold, fighting the desire to ignore the things that needed to be done while constantly staring out windows to see how much snow is falling and how the wind is whipping up the trees.  Schools were closed, so the day was spent mostly playing catch up on work that was backed up.

Friday was a much more active day.  It was COLD, but we were energized.  My team is reading Creating Cultures of Thinking by Ron Ritchhart together.  I am really enjoying sharing ideas about what we are reading.  We had a really intense conversation, and we were only talking about the first 2 chapters!

My biggest question that I want to share came out of our conversation about common language.  As a team, we are talking through what we mean when we use specific terms.  Our first piece of language that we tackled was the word "Learning".  On Friday, we turned our attention to the word "Success".  What does that mean to us?  How are we defining success in District 1?  And my question that will start to frame my conversations a bit moving forward was:

This is going to be an important conversation for our school leaders and teachers to have with their community.  And I believe that students and their families should be included in this conversation.  When families share their expectations that students should be, I imagine their answers will not include things like:

• "They should sound like an A/B/C."
• "They should look like a 95%."
• "They should be able to raise their hand to speak."
• "They should be able to sit in rows and take a 3 day examination that is the entire basis for their progress to the next level."

​
I would expect what most parents will likely expect:

• They should be appropriately literate and numerate.
• They should be problem solvers working to improve the lives of themselves, their families, and their community.
• They should be curious and creative.
• They should know when to ask for help, and when to offer it.
• They should be comfortable taking the lead and following a strong leader.
• They should be able to work with others in meaningful ways.
• They should be citizens (talk about a word that could use some common language!).

What do you think a graduate should look like?  

When I started this 30 day writing journey, it was meant to focus in on 2 specific areas:

1. Give fewer answers.  Ask more and better questions.
2. Practice American Sign Language and find new ways to share that learning.

I have been trying, and will continue to try my ASL Name That Tune Game.  Next round this weekend!

I seemed to have lost touch a bit with asking questions.  That became apparent yesterday during a meeting with a school leaders.  We were discussing how to build capacity in teachers to begin managing their own inquiry team.  It was mentioned by one leader that she did not want to add more paperwork to the already heavy load of work teachers do on a daily basis.

I launched into problem solving mode.  I knew that school had used Google Forms for other meetings.  I thought, with a little time and a personal refresher in Google Drive Apps, I could design a Form that took meeting minutes, which would upload to a Sheet, then specific parts of the Sheet data - Next Steps - Pluses/Deltas - could then be dropped into a Doc Template to serve as the next meeting agenda which would then be auto emailed to all participants.

Yeah, Son!  

"But, Bryan, then we're doing the work we are asking the team to take control of and manage for themselves."

Right.  This is what I have been fighting in myself for so long.  I don't need to have the answer to a question or task that wasn't asked of me.  Instead, I need to learn how the teachers will best manage the meeting.  I may even disagree with their ideas, but it is their meeting, and as long I there is accountability for minutes and managing their time, who am I to say my idea is the best?  Maybe theirs will work better?  Maybe mine would have?  We won't know until they have a chance to own their processes and make their own sense and solutions.

How quickly I forgot to ask questions.  One break for Winter Recess, and I'm back into the habit of answer quickly and efficiently.  This has been a part of my modus operandi for so long.  It is going to be a real challenge for me to overcome this aspect within my mental processes.  I am up for the challenge.  Dare I say at this time of year, I am resolved to change this?

Reflection is helping me to grow, and writing here is becoming a useful tool as a part of my reflections.  Now it's time to review the previous 15 days, read all about how I was learning to ask more questions, and then try harder tomorrow.

Best wishes to all who are putting in that work to better themselves.  Keep pushing, even if you slip.  Reflect, learn, move forward.

Back to the grind today.  After a week of sleeping in, it was rough trying to drag @55 out of bed.  There really was not enough coffee to get me going.  

Through all of the mental haze, I managed to get a pretty productive day accomplished.  I spent some time with a school leader whose company I really enjoy.  The more we talk, the more alike in mindset I think we are.  Perhaps to be one of the first in my tribe of school leaders that embrace Modern Learning because she truly believes it is the right thing to do.

That is my big take-away today.  People make this work worthwhile.  Having a network of like-minded folks that believe in the best in all young people is very energizing.  Once I made it to the office, one my international buddies invited my District team to her District to observe Modern Learning practices in various states of implementation.  

I'm so happy working in an environment that is embracing change as part of growth.  My new Superintendent and our District Team live in this excited state most days with me.  Thankful to be back in the game today.  The work continues...

Some days you just need to play catch up - whether that's for work, for personal projects, or just for rest.  We all need to take "Ketchup Days" every once in a while.  And that was my day.

I happily spent the day lazing around the couch, watching Netflix/Prime/Hulu/Crackle, cooking, resting, healing this nagging cough, and catching up on some reading.  A story I read in Team-Ups of the Brave and the Bold has me thinking.

There is a story in this volume about a homeless guy, very down on his luck, who is about to take up with the Clown Prince of Crime and begin his life of dastardly deeds.  Upon breaking into a house, he finds a magic token that was being used by a kid that turns the user into a superhero.  He steals the token and uses it to become a super-powered hero called The Star.  He was even lucky enough to team up with the Bat and foil the Joker's deadly plans for chaos in Gotham.  Batman lived; the Star died in a moment of glory.

There were a few lessons form this story.  The kid who had used the token before was a hero that could see the future, and he knew that the next person to use the token would die.  The young man knew it would get stolen, and he knew the next user was doomed.  He felt terribly guilty.  Batman assured him that there is never a good reason for a young person to have to die.  

Lesson 1:  Young people should not suffer or die for the right thing to be done.

The man that stole the token was given a chance, perhaps his only chance, to do something good in his life.  It was better to die a hero saving others than on the streets as a drug user or criminal.  He redeemed his life.

Lesson 2:  We can be redeemed if given an opportunity to be a hero for someone.

This story also has me thinking about another statement I have heard over and over again in my time as a teacher and education leader:

Doesn't that sound like a statement made by a supervillain who is making a hero choose between the death of a friend and the death of a group of strangers on a train? 

We educators are not superheroes.  But we are heroes to some.  Being unable to save every child from the unfairness of the world we are a part of doesn't make me want to stop trying to bring a little light and understanding to their lives. 

We don't need to be saviors and superheroes to give people understanding, kindness, and forgiveness.  

​I think this is all the catching up I needed for one day.  I'm feeling stronger already.  Time to get back to the work.

Today, I made a special point to bring my smile to my game.  You can feel energy in a school, and it can tell you a lot about what to expect from a day.  I wanted my energy to help anyone who wasn't in that centered place to try and find their way into a smile.

When your days are/have been tough, I know how important it is for a leader to help staff and students know they are able to trust that you are there for learning and for them.  After a week of getting to know a staff and group of students at a school, I think some amazing trust was developed.

Students learned I am a man of my word, even when that means that they must take responsibility and face some consequences.  They also learned that it can be a good thing, like calling home when I promise to call to let Mom know they had a good day.  Students shared stories with me about their favorite Super Heroes, and then relied on my presence to help them through a moment of crisis.  Students reminded me that there are multiple ways of learning, and that even when they aren't learning content, they are learning something, and that "something" is up to us.  Will they learn safety and trust and taking responsibility, or will they learn snark and sarcasm?  Will they learn the importance of leaning on adults, or are they learning that they have to try and fix all their problems alone?

These questions can be framed for the staff, as well.  Staff asked for help, and I, or a member of the team, were there.  Staff shared a lot of "the way it used to be", and I met them where they were right now, and talked about moving forward into change together.  Staff that at first seemed disengaged met me with a compliment at the end of the week, "Your presence with the class has made some real improvements for them.  Thank you."  And a even bigger compliment was not made about me, but my being told by staff that they are going to find time to meet and think about how they can help facilitate change on their own.  I reminded them that as a team, we are in this together, so please share and invite me to your meetings to learn about your ideas.

​I brought my authentic self to this work.  It helped me to connect with people and start new relationships with students and staff.  It helped me to build trust in a way I did not expect to happen as quickly, and seamlessly, as it did.  Now during the our Winter Recess, I will spend the time reflecting on my experience, and then bringing more questions back with me in the New Year so I can partner with their leadership team, staff, and students to help their community grow into a more vibrant place of learning.

Thinking about these moments as I write is surely bringing a smile to my game again today.  Thank you for the experience and opportunity to learn at your site, I look forward to more learning next year.