My friend, Tom Whitby, an educator and blogger has put out a call for blog posts centered around positivity in education to counter all of the negativity going on.  I recently wrote a post on the Cooperative Catalyst blog called "What (Really) Works," trying to focus on what works in education rather than what doesn't. 

I refuse to get caught up in the "what's broken" conversations. It's the same reason I rarely sat in the lunchroom at my former schools. Sure, we all need some group therapy every once in a while, but when we focus too much on the negative, we start to lose sight of why we do what we do.

So I invite you, whether teacher or parent or community member, to be an 'Edupunk.'  Don't get sucked into negative conversations. If the people around you are talking about how schools are failing kids, how we are behind other countries in test scores, how we should fire bad teachers and expand charters, I challenge you to bring up the fact that there are lots of successful schools doing amazing things with students and teachers who are dedicated to doing whatever it takes not to raise student test scores but to raise students' consciousness and give them meaningful educational experiences that will prepare them not for a test or a job but for life.

If you need examples of some of these schools, districts and teachers, here are a few examples:

• Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia

• Shelley Blake-Plock - take a look at his classroom!

• Van Meter School District, Iowa--check out what Shannon Miller is doing in her library!

• Look at these administrators who blog about their schools as well as teaching, leading and learning: Patrick Larkin and Eric Sheninger
• Check out some of the posts at the Cooperative Catalyst blog
• Read all of the teachers who have signed onto Joe Bower's call for a grading moratorium
• Read how Hadley Ferguson wants her students to care more about the learning process than the grade they get

There are so many others I could name who work hard every day and take risks in the classroom in the name of innovation and authentic learning experiences.

So rather than focus on the media, let's be Edupunks who go against the negativity and do what's best for kids. If we talk enough about what works and what's working, we might actually get somewhere.

Last year I participated in Scott Mcleod's Leadership Day project with an overview of the NETS for Administrators that I felt were most important and a video of some of my campers talking about technology in their inner city schools.

A year later I have grown exponentially as a teacher and as a person as a result of being connected with educators and Administrators all over the world. I call some of these Administrators colleagues. This has greatly changed my perspective on what an Administrator's role is as well as what the challenges are of being an Administrator. I have also come to realize that Leader and Administrator do not always mean the same thing. I have met many Leaders who do not run schools or districts (and I have met Administrators that were not necessarily Leaders).

I thought about this while reading Jon Becker's Leadership Day post.  In his post he lists award winners in various education organizations. These are highly regarded thinkers in education who have a lot of influence on policy and practice. Powerful thinkers that I had never heard of.
He called on these organizations and individuals to step up their game by becoming more transparent about what they do and say through social media like blogs. I would say that we who consider ourselves leaders or aspire to be education leaders who are 'in the trenches' need to do the same. How many of the people on that list know the people I consider leaders? 

Social media has connected me with educators all over the globe as well as thinkers and doers like Alfie Kohn, Howard Rheingold and Diane Ravitch. Granted, there are those that would argue that these are famous names, but not great thinkers in education.  However, they are famous and respected by many.  So it seems the logical next step is for these award winning thinkers to join the online community. We want our president to be transparent. We rally for more a more open government. Why are we not rallying for a more open conversation between the educational thinkers, the doers, the leaders, the people in the trenches, the parents, the students, the teachers?

The challenge may fall back to  the old 'us vs. them' situation. But isn't that why we love social media so much? It tends to tear down those titles and walls, allowing for a free flow of ideas. I can tweet Barack Obama (though Lord knows who's reading it!) Earlier in the year my friends were debating back and forth with Governor Chris Christie on Twitter about the education reforms he was pushing in New Jersey (again, who knows who they were really tweeting with!).  Let's bring more people into the conversation.

As Jon suggests, look up some of the thinkers on that list. Start blogging about what you find or read. Start talking about their ideas in the context of what you do on a daily basis. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" as they say. People are always interested when they are being talked about!

"But who cares what I have to say? I'm not a true Leader in education," you say?

If you are a teacher who finds that others tend to listen to you when you speak, you are a Leader. If you are an administrator who works alongside his or her staff and has a true vision for your school, you are a Leader.  Bring attention to what you are doing in your school, your classroom or your district through blogs, videos, press and even direct contact. Make it so that the people on Jon's lists know who you are just like you know who they are.  As Leaders in your respective worlds, you are doing a disservice to your individual causes by not connecting your two worlds.

image courtesy of dunechaser on flickr

Thanks to Scott McLeod for continuing the series!

10)  Read Curriculum 21, edited by Heidi Jacobs with your staff, discussing it using the ASCD Study Guide and familiarize yourself with the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators

9)  Try to visit every classroom in your school at least once a week, even if only for a few minutes. Talk to students and teachers about what they are doing.

8)  Offer differentiated professional development. Do this by asking your teachers what THEY want to learn or what they are struggling with. Don't offer the same training to everyone, rather base it around their needs.

7)  Use your teachers as your best resource. Allow your staff members to run professional development based on their own expertise in the classroom. Hold an all-day or half-day 'unconference' in your building where teachers decide the content and teach it. Don't bring in expensive experts to train your teachers unless you have to. 

6)  Choose one digital tool to try out that will make your job easier. Maybe email your daily announcements or complete your observations on a laptop or iPad. Create a Google Form to collect information from your staff or students.  Start a blog to announce school events and initiatives and celebrate student achievement. For examples of administrators who blog, click here.

5)  Reflect on your school's Vision and Mission. What do you want your school to be known for? How will your school's mission ensure that you are preparing students for the future? What should teaching look like in your school?

4)  Don't just buy flashy technology because the district next door did it. They may be kicking themselves in a few years. Think about your Vision and Mission. How will technology fit into the picture? Do your research and take your time when making decisions on large purchases.

3)  Make tough decisions. As principal Eric Scheninger says, there will always be naysayers.  Do what you know is right for your students and your staff.

2)   Support your teachers who are using technology in innovative ways and use them as resources to support their colleagues with technology integration. For those staff members who are reluctant, pair them with a technology-using teacher as a mentor and model how you use technology in your every day life. If these teachers don't see how technology fits into their personal life they will not see a purpose for using it in their classrooms.

1)  Be vocal. Connect with other administrators whether it be through Twitter or a network your district already has in place. Share ideas, share successes, share failures. Be a voice for your students, your faculty, your parents and your community. Contact the local press when you are having an event or see an especially innovative project going on in your school. Make sure your school's website is up to date, accurate and engaging. Start a Facebook page for your school and a Twitter account. Be out there.

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Just recently one of my valued PLN members, Tony Baldasaro, asked me to do a guest blog post on his blog, TransLeadership on the topic of Leadership in Education.

I was honored by the invitation and excited by the topic.

You can read my post, Teachers as Leaders, here.

Please stop by and leave a comment.

There are some amazing guest bloggers coming this month, so check out the other posts as well!

Today, one of my 2nd graders clicked on an ad at the bottom of my PortaPortal page and discovered a PBS Frontline video called "How Google Saved a School." He watched the whole thing through, commenting at the end, "That was decent!"  I immediately found the video (using my PortaPortal page ad), Diigo bookmarked it and sent it out on Twitter.

Now, I could write a whole post about the unbelievable things going on in that school, but my mind turned to how Google might save MY school.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that my school is, well, how should I put it. Failing.  Our school culture leaves much to be desired, with students running through the halls, fights in the cafeteria and, unfortunately, much of the administration's attention being focused on the 'do-badders' rather than the 'do-gooders.'

We have been, since September, talking about starting an incentive program with 'Bluford Bucks' that students could earn for exhibiting positive behaviors at school.  They could then 'buy' prizes with the Bluford Bucks they had earned.  We talked, and speculated and talked.  Finally, in November, we received a sheet of 3 Bluford Bucks to photocopy with a short explanation of the concept in our boxes.  At the bottom of the explanation was a description of 2 ideas that our Climate Manager had in mind with a request for more ideas.  All I could think was "This is never going to work like this."  Not because it wasn't a good idea or wasn't trying to be successful. It was just impossible that, by putting a sheet of Bluford Bucks in teachers' boxes and saying, "Here's this program, we're not really sure how it's going to work, but let's do it!" that any program would work.

But I really want it to work.

We NEED an incentive program.  We need one with teacher buy-in. We need one that is well-thought out, well-planned and well-orchestrated.  That is something that one person cannot do alone.

In steps Google.

I decided, "Hey it's my school, and if I want this to work, I've got to do something about it."  I spread the word that I was starting a Bluford Bucks Committee and I set up our first meeting to be on a day when we had report conferences at night so I knew people would be in the building.

15 teachers showed up.  I was giddy.

The night before I had put together a Google Group for the committee, hoping that the committee would buy into it.  Anyone who works in a large school knows how hard it is to find time for people to meet, especially across disciplines and grade levels.  I figured a Google Group would solve that problem by allowing people to be part of the planning without having to find a common meeting time.

I collected email addresses at the meeting and made everyone a member.

At first, it was just me posting up discussions and sharing information.  A few people responded, and I knew that people were reading the posts because they would talk to me about them in school.  Then we went on Winter Break.

The group was quiet for a week over break.  This week, it has blossomed and bloomed.  People are responding to posts, responding to each other, taking on responsibilities and sharing them.

Tomorrow, thanks to the power of Google, we have a mobile school store on a cart decorated by one of our committee members, a pile of donated school supplies for the store, newly designed Bluford Bucks (in Photoshop by one of our committee members), volunteers ready to bring the cart around to show the students and explain the program, a script for the pitch and criteria for getting "Bluford Bucks," administration support, and a team of teachers dedicated to making this program work.

Google might save my school.

I sent a message out to our committee members, quoting Angela Maiers: "Together we are smarter." Were it not for the way that Google Groups allows members to share resources and communicate asynchronously (with a very user-friendly interface), none of this would have been accomplished.

It has been an amazing experience watching my colleagues step up and take the reigns.  It's as if they've been itching for the opportunity.  What's even more amazing is that all of this has been accomplished without the intervention (aside from offers of monetary support) from any administrators (they were made members of the group, so they've been able to follow what's been going on).

Even if everything doesn't pan out exactly how we planned it at first, the way we pulled together as a staff will have lasting effects in how we work together as a staff.

You can view our group here:

As many of you are aware, this past weekend dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on the city of Philadelphia (23.4" was the final tally, I believe).  The city barely plowed any of the streets aside from the main arteries.  This left my tiny, dead end street blanketed and all of the cars on the block completely unmovable.

Fortunately, today was a snow day, so I had time to work on getting the car out.  Around 1:30pm, my friend and Twitter colleague, Mike Ritzius brought me a shovel to borrow.  I immediately started digging,  A few feet down the street my neighbor was shoveling her sidewalk. I started working on shoveling the street.  I was set on shoveling a path for my car, even if it took me all day.  I gazed down the block, with its piles and piles of snow and while the task looked daunting, I had no choice. I HAD to get my car out!

A few minutes later my neighbor came closer and asked, "So, what's your shoveling goal, here?"  I told her that I was just trying to clear enough to get my car down the street. She offered to help.

Within minutes, another neighbor came out with his shovel, saying "I just came to join the shoveling party."  I responded, "And what a party it is!"  The three of us got to work.  About half an hour later, another neighbor came out to clear off her car and a few minutes after that, two more neighbors came out.  While the one neighbor just lent us her shovel and some conversation, the other two started clearing toward the end of the block toward where we were.  Before we knew it, the street was clear enough for me to start pulling my car out.

As I neared the end of the block, feeling celebratory and proud, one of my neighbors signaled for me to open my window.  "You're tire's flat," she told me.  I got out to look. Sure enough, my tire was nearly flat.  I couldn't believe it.  We started unhooking my spare and searching for the jack.  As we were searching, another neighbor pulled a tube through his basement window toward my car. It was an air compressor for car tires!  He quickly filled my tire up and far as I know, it's fixed.

A few moments earlier, another neighbor began backing his car into his usual spot at the end of the block, right by where I had stopped my car to check out the flat. We explained what had happened, and he waited while my tire was filled.  Then, he pulled his car out of the way and let me take a spot on the adjoining street while he stopped traffic.  I returned the favor as he backed into in the original spot.

As I walked back toward my house, all I could think was, "wow, I live on the best block!" We've only lived here a little over 2 months.  When I returned back to the block, I kept digging out the street with the newest shift of neighbors who had been inspired by our handiwork and were now digging out the unshoveled parts of the block and digging out their cars.  "See what it takes to meet your neighbors?!" I joked.  I finished the end of the block with two new members of our shoveling crew.  At one point, one of the women on our block stuck her head out of her door with a bottle of white wine in her hand saying "thanks, guys, please take this!"  We stuck the bottle in the snow to keep it cold while shoveling.

At the end of the afternoon, I looked down the block, amazed at the hard work and teamwork that enabled us, as neighbors but complete strangers, to come together to accomplish a mutual goal.

Of course, I always apply all of my life experiences to teaching and my job.  My correlation was this:

My neighbors and I pulled together in a time of need to help each other out when there was no one else to help us.  We took charge and accomplished our goal while making new friends and getting to know each other better, building a closer community.

Right now, the teachers in my school are in need of help and support, and it's not coming from above.  Seems like we need to pick up our proverbial shovels and get down to the business of achieving our goals without waiting for help from the outside.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that it's not just the teachers in my school.  Teachers everywhere are struggling with the effects of high stakes testing, more demands without more time to fill them, the prospects of having their pay directly tied to how their students perform on state tests, and budget cuts creating shortages in materials, staff and basic needs.

If you find yourself in such a seemingly no-win situation, I implore you to pick up your shovel.  Chances are, there are others willing to help!







photo of woman shoveling courtesy of bighappyfunhouse.com