Preparing for Tomorrow

You know that feeling; 5 years old the night before Christmas, and you can't sleep!  The "giddy" feeling of excitement and anticipation of the morning.  The excitement of walking down the stairs, seeing the glowing lights of the tree and glistening of the wrapping paper.  Finding your name on the tag and then guessing, what is inside?  Who is it from?  The unknown doesn't seem so scary at that moment.

Fast forward 35 years, a few degrees later, kids, and the same "giddy" feeling.  This time it's not Christmas in July, it's day 1 of a new contract.  The phone rang this morning at 3:30 (the joys of living with another service leader on call during the weekend) and I have been up ever since.  I can't get this excitement of tomorrow out of my head.  I wanted to go back to sleep but instead started working.  For many days, I tried very hard to disconnect.  Now, I cannot be connected enough!

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Finding the balance is a key topic I think and speak about often.  Physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional balance is a necessity in any profession.  Over the past several weeks, I have been mom.  I have turned off notifications and did not allow the "ding" to drive my day. I started walking and sitting quietly instead of constantly working. I continued reading professional books but because I wanted to, not because I had to write a paper for a class.  I needed to step away after surviving year 1 as a principal. I use the word survive because no matter how much I prepared and planned, a new learning opportunity would present itself.  Breathe....just reading that takes me back to the struggle.

Now, I am preparing for tomorrow.  The beginning of a new school year.  The opportunities are endless, and I have the privilege to lead my staff in continued professional and personal growth.  Tomorrow is about the team.  It's about those closest to me and working alongside them to prepare the best year for our teachers.  This is the most exciting time before the kiddos arrive. Ensuring all things are in place so when teachers arrive, they have everything they need.  Scheduling time to hold each other accountable, for continued growth, in our own leadership capacity. Hearing the different directions buildings are moving and reflecting on what my staff needs.  It's our own PLN in one room!  Giddy!

Tomorrow is not promised and we constantly talk about living in each moment.  My hope is that my teachers and colleagues have had time to work on their total well-being.  I would like to say that I made huge gains in the balancing act but it's a continued work in progress.  The critical thought moving forward is how do I maintain?

So tomorrow the future of limitless possibilities becomes a reality once again.  As I prepare for tomorrow the bigger question of how do I prepare my teachers sets in.  We have no clue what the future holds for our students but we do know what skills they need to be ready.  The "giddy" feelings keep flowing and the passion comes back to life.  Where are you in your professional career?  Do  you still get "giddy?"  Our kids deserve leaders and teachers who have that Christmas morning feeling, everyday when they walk in the door.


I have many different hashtags I am currently following to keep the passion flow moving forward.  Join me in these conversations as we begin another year of influencing tomorrow's leaders.

#tlap-Teach Like a Pirate-bringing creativity back into the classroom
#EdTech-current trends in blended learning and tech tools
#KidsDeserveIt-challenging conventional thinking and pushing boundaries.
#GoOpen- movement of open educational resources from around the world
#ObserveMe-teachers inviting colleagues in for authentic feedback-trust building

Don't forget that giddy feeling as you prepare for another year!
 
Just Love,
Kirsten

Longest Days

Update:  Post from April that I kept in draft...good reflection as I write today's post, preparing for tomorrow.

No one tells you the mental exhaustion that comes with leadership.  Literal exhaustion.  That is why it is extremely important to maintain balance. It's a daily struggle for many of us in our busy lives.  Family, faith, work, physical, emotional....all the balances that come with the day.  Then there are the little reminders that bring us perspective.

Troubles of the mind can play tricks on your physical being.  Then, the physical stresses you feel when putting in your 100% eventually catch up to you, no matter what your profession.  So where do you turn when you reach your point?  In education, we are all there right now.  Less than 40 days of school left, standardized testing, observations, end of year assessments, crisis behaviors, family gatherings; the list goes on and on.  So how are you keeping your balance?

I turn to music, daily devotionals, blogging, and most importantly quiet time with my family.  This weekend, I was sent several reminders to turn on the rational button and examine what's important.  The first, a conversation with a close friend.  No matter what ailments stress brings us, we must always remember someone else has a more troubling situation.  Even on your darkest day there is a praise.  Then, a song.  While spending time with the family we were enjoying the good tunes of John Mellencamp and Darius Ruker.  Then this song played and reminded me of the struggles dad endured with no complaining.

Longest Days Live at CMT Crossroads


For many of you, that will be a flashback from the 80s.  This was my first time hearing this song and it undoubtedly reminded me of many friends and family.  The fight is real when it comes to life.  Every day is a fresh start with new opportunities.  What  we make of it depends on our attitude.  Do we allow faith to guide us or do we fight peace and try to make the way our way?

This week, go out and be a change agent.  Many people around you are struggling with more than you will ever know.  Take time to listen.  Be a friend, a support, a ray of light for those that are in the dark.  Holy week provides many opportunities for self reflection and perspective.

How do you do that in leadership?

Model the change you wish to see in your team.  There are always excuses to turn to: put those aside.  Look at the heart of the problem and tackle it with a group of strong players.  Continue to empower those that are making the shift and trust their professionalism.  Allow them to lead others and give them the praise they deserve.  Reflect together and really listen.

Their longest days are sitting at the table.

We must treat each other with the tenderness and love that we deeply desire to feel.  We must turn that over to our students.  Every student is a different story with circumstances we may or may not know.  We must be the ray of light while they are with us.  It sounds good in writing but what does it look like?  What are you doing to be a difference in our world?  Simply saying I teach doesn't describe the impact and importance you are to a child.

I've had several long days this year.  You have had several long days....let's get the balance back and keep focus on His plan.

Just Love....

Who's Coming With Me?

I woke up today with a reflective "Jerry McGuire Moment.".  You know the movie; the mission statement, the new company, the love story, and "Show Me the Money."  My moment came earlier this week when I had a conversation with a good friend and colleague.  See, I've been trying to find the reason God led me to where I am currently.  What qualities did He see that my school needed?  Everything lines up for a reason, it's just the timing it takes to see and feel the reason.


"The things we think and do not say, the future of our business." Jerry McGuire

I know my mission and it's one that has many challenges ahead.  A true advocate for our students of poverty in an affluent school. Everyone has felt the shift in our tilted world. Every one of us has our own set of morals, beliefs, and opinions.  In this world, there are many social media tools to get those thoughts out there.  Jerry chose a memo; I chose an email.

Last week I studied Dr. Linda Karges-Bone's Rich Brain, Poor Brain.  I listened to the power our teachers have in changing our schools to be Rich Schools in thought. The power they have to be the brain surgeons from the inside out, by themselves.  The fact that they and their engaged classrooms have a higher success rate than medicine.  That statement is what stuck with me.

Fast forward a few days later and my conversation with my colleague. She informed me that CVS no longer takes Medicaid for some of the prescriptions our families will need, including medicine our students need.  As she is talking I begin to think about our simulation we did as a staff.  We were involved in a poverty simulation and had a great reflective discussion the following week.  This is our reality.  We will have families that this CVS bump will effect, and we will have to have empathy.  I made a connection and just like that kindergarten kid,  sitting on the rug waving his hand in the air so hard until his teacher calls on him,  I wanted to share.  I stopped getting ready and sat down to compose an email.  My connection to why I need to continuously advocate for my students and my teachers.  How I could continue to keep that poverty simulation in the forefront of their minds as they service their students.

Then this happened....




Ok, not to that extent but it's a great scene in the movie.

After having many great conversations that morning about the connections, and how we can be proactive for our families, I became informed that my email did not go over so well.  See, as a leader, communication is key.  Finding the right choice of words is crucial. I have gained more insight that will help guide me on this path of my mission.  I will continue to challenge my teacher's thoughts and perceptions.  The words on the page may bring meaning to heart.  If my own learning creates opportunities for others to learn, then it is my responsibility to continue to share.  I will continue to move on and challenge because our kids deserve it.

God gave me time this week to think about many things.  We laid my grandmother to rest this week and the one thing she taught me was to bring people together.  No matter where the conversation was going, she always wanted to bring everyone together.  I continue to lead through belief in my teachers.  I will provide more time for us to come together, but I will also begin to seek restorative justice resources. The next 3-5 years will tell how I am as a leader.  I choose to stay the course and know that some will quit, some will complain, but most will innovate and lead!

So, who's with me?

"It may be exhausting, but that is beside the point. The goal...is to be the kind of person who has ideas and sees them through."
Esme Raji Codell

Just Love,
Kirsten

The Opportunities Ahead

You always have the choice of how to view things.  2016 gave our family many opportunities to grow and face challenges; dad's journey, another degree, new positions for both Scott and I, the failure of a home sale, and the constant adaptation of living with an empty feeling.  We really try to stay in each moment, it's the only way we survive.  So what now?

A new year gives us a reflective moment to analyze our desires and determine what direction we move.  Professionally, I have many opportunities and am eager to begin.  After 5 months leading a building and experiencing more challenges than I thought possible, brings me to the next chapter.  The moment when you begin to feel the shift of trust, the opportunity to capitalize on this feeling and keep the momentum....but will they follow?  We are in a new day.  The beauty of what the day can bring falls on our choices.  Will we choose to embrace the struggle of education and grow or will we continue in our old ways.  Ways that have produced results and are comfortable.  Ways that limit our students because they are our ways, not theirs.  Will we push ourselves to learn a little more about new opportunities in education and how it can prepare our students?  What about time?

Photo credit: https://kevintiller.com/2011/08/14/86400-seconds-in-a-day/

Time

The one word I hear more than any other when we talk about initiatives or change.  I don't have any more time than God has given me, but look at what He has given me: the path to leadership.  This constant nudge to do more, to learn more, to be better than yesterday in all areas of my life, and to live each moment.  It is a choice to hear His plan or to make your own.  The only way I can balance is when I put my focus on Him.  I lose sight of the gifts of miracles when I get caught up in schedules and deadlines.  It's been awhile since I've put my eyes to the sky and to look for direction.  I was making my own path and not listening.  Time away from the daily grind and a chance to gain perspective has opened my heart once again.  Time wastes away when all you do is what you have to do or what you are comfortable doing.  Sometimes, it takes a spark...

"Papaw Ted," Stone says as he hands me the crucifix that is by my bedside.  "Yes, Stone, Papaw Ted is with Jesus."  "Awe, Papaw Ted, I love you."  How can a 2 year old find the peace and love that He desires us to live by?  No schedules, no obstacles pulling at him, he lives for every 86,400 seconds he is given, because he knows no different.

I want to know no different!  I want those around me to feel the gift of time and the choice on how to use it.  Do our kids need another worksheet that will need graded, returned, and recorded or do they need the conversation?  Do they need the chance to work together to solve problems that begin to develop their critical thinking skills, or do they  need to complete another assessment?  What are we doing in the 25,200 seconds that we have our kids?  Are we preparing them for their future or are we living in our comfort zone.

I fully believe in modeling anything I would ever ask my teachers to do.  I am aware of all the mandates we put on teachers but  I also question what mandates teachers put on themselves.

Take time to breathe friends.  Take time to reflect on your story and how it impacts the classroom. Look for your students' stories.  How do they impact the classroom? Then, how do you put it all together, like one big family?  I am still learning with my staff.  I want to say we are coming together, slowly, but it takes time.  I assure you, I value every 25, 200 seconds I have with my staff and students.  Every chance I get, I learn more, listen more closely, and make deeper connections to build the culture of love.

A year ago life changed.  Everyone has a story where time is precious and loved ones have been lost.  What do you do with it?  I have chosen servant leadership.  I should say, He has shown me servant leadership, how to breathe, how to be a mom and wife that is in each moment, and above all: love.  Love is what can change every situation.

I hope you all have a great 2017.  I look forward to coming back to my reflective practice of blogging and begin to dig deeper into blended learning, mindfulness, growth mindsets, PLCs, and empowering teachers. Thank you for taking the time to read my reflections as I journey on this path.  It's all about networking and I  appreciate all of your thoughts and resources!

JUST LOVE,

Kirsten

@kear734
@weRCharles
#weRCharles