Morning, all. Excited to share that I have been asked by the Association of Washington School Leaders (AWSL) and the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) to present at Future School Leaders Day next Wednesday, February 26 in Seattle. I will have the chance to share an experience with area student leaders who are interested in pursuing careers in education. I am grateful for this opportunity to connect and share some of my work. Thank you, James Layman, Greg Barker, and Joe Fenbert for trusting me at this stage of our young leaders’ journeys. Can’t wait. Thank you.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…”listening for tone” as readers, listeners, and viewers.

…considering how our own emotions, biases, and assumptions impact our ability to “hear” others, especially those with whom we disagree.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Friday, all. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Busy morning for me. Have a meeting during my planning period, so I am off to school early to get my day set up. Funny how finite our time becomes, and though I advocated for slowing down with the kids yesterday, I often disregard my own advice and run into and through my days. So, I am off and running. Sorry, I couldn’t pause here a little a longer this morning.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience.

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…”tweeting” an endorsement of a personal value (not actually on Twitter, just using the 280 character limit).

…”listening for tone” as readers.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

I don’t know if slow and steady wins the race, but I let my learners set the pace. And that pace varies considerably, at all stages of the experience. Adverse to prescribed pacing guides, which are often sold as part of the “follow-with-fidelity” package or imagined as sacred sacrifices to the coverage deities, I look to my learners to set the speed at which we make our way through our learning. And while that may seem a sensible–maybe even noble–approach, If I am honest, it’s both a blessing and a curse as I try to reconcile the pace race that hovers and taunts from the outside with the “human happenings” on the inside.

And the outside pressure is prevalent. There are things that will be on “the test” that we will never get to. Never. And though that may impact some of my kids’ scores, I have resigned myself to this reality. Malpractice? Maybe. I suppose I have a duty to cover content. But, in truth, I have never once made it to the prescribed finish line in my twenty-four years of racing. I have never won that race, and now I have accepted that I never will, for I have given into the pressure within.

Inside the classroom, is the realest of realities. For inside the classroom is where the learners reside, and they provide the guide for the pace necessary for our work. So I keep up with them. Some days they speed up, even sprint. Some days they slow down, even crawl. Some days we make great strides forward. Some days we take giant steps back. And as we make our way through our some days, we take each in stride, for no two are the same. But each day, we experience learning, “humans happening” side-by-side, letting that be our guide.

I don’t know if that makes me a tortoise–maybe it makes me an ass, a stubborn one–but I can’t get into the pace race. Never have. Never will.

Today’s (slow) Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…cultivating culture with Kindness Cards.

…publishing our personal values.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Better. Better’s been my word. Whether it’s guiding me as a teacher, a husband, a father, a friend, or a “self,” it’s become my guide as I make my way through the trials and triumphs of my personal and professional life. For much of my life, I thought good or great (sometimes perfect) were the way, but those were not always realistic or healthy pursuits, as I created–and let others create–impossible standards, creating an endless cycle of either feeling a failure when I didn’t or fearing a fraud if I did. So, I discovered better. And it’s made me…better.

I try to pass this on to my kids in the classroom, telling them that the worst they can do is a chance at better. And that assurance has become the hallmark in the 180 classroom for both academics and behavior. A believer in possibility, I choose to make my room a realm of possibility. I can’t promise my kids chances at better if I don’t provide possibility. So, I do. For I believe, as long as they are pursuing better, they are learning. I believe as long as any of us are chasing better, we are learning. I believe in better.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…reconnecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…placing value on values (societal and personal).

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Head on a swivel. Eyes searching. I’m on a mission. This is my hallway routine. I am looking for something. I know they are there. They are always there, so I look. I have to catch them. It’s my job. And when I do, I call them out. Well, I call them in.

“Hey, (any name you can imagine). How ya doing, kiddo?”

Got ’em! Hard to get by me. I am a seasoned searcher, and as I said, I’m on a mission, a self-assigned hallway monitor. I seek out my kiddos past and present, and I call to them. Sometimes, it’s across the hall. Sometimes, it’s a surprise as I fall in beside them and bump them on the shoulder. Sometimes, I see a few. Sometimes, I see so many I can barley shout them out as we zoom past each other, but I do shout them out. Sometimes, they act as if they are surprised that I can still “see them” outside my room. Most times, they cast me a warm smile and a “Hey, Sy.”

Yesterday, crowded and crunched, I spied a kiddo I haven’t seen much since last year, and I hurried a “Hey, kiddo,” as we passed, both being carried along by the traffic on our respective sides of the hall. Saw her again as we were leaving our diversity assembly.

“Hey, Sy. You made my day.”

“Oh, how did I do that, kiddo?”

“You said ‘hey, kiddo’ earlier. I miss that.”

Hey, kiddo. Sometimes, that’s all our kids need. A simple “I see you.”

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…considering and ranking “American Values.”

…selecting and sorting personal values.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all. No school for us tomorrow (we have a professional learning day). So, no post. Back here on Tuesday. Have a great weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Ugh. Still struggling. Sorry to keep whining. Makes one appreciate his health even more. Limped through the day yesterday. Was not myself, and I hate that feeling with the kids. Even my son, who is in my class, commented, “Yeah, Dad, I could tell you weren’t yourself today.”

Well, won’t fully be myself today either. But I’ll give it my all, even if my all is less than I’d like. Of course, the kids have been very empathetic and supportive, and I appreciate that. Glad I have them to carry me when I can’t keep up.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…cultivating community with Kindness Cards.

…growing with grammar.

…considering societal and personal values.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all. Sorry for the lame posts this week.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Still under the weather today, but I am gonna brave it and head to school. Too much to do, and the days are passing too quickly. I did get a lot of rest yesterday, and I do feel less bad. So, off to work I go. Heigh-Ho!

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…presenting CRE analyses of a Gen Z in the workforce article.

…reflecting on last week’s question, “How does the world view you?”

…continuing our viewing of a documentary on the American Dream.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Some days it’s more pronounced than others. Some days it’s more than I believe I can handle. Some days it strikes me as almost comedic–too crazy to be real, too real to be crazy. And on those days, I just lean into my students and embrace the crazy that is teaching.

If it were a lunar mission, Houston would be on high alert, scrambling to coordinate all the variables for a successful landing. It would take a control room full of the best and brightest to pull off such a feat. But there is no comm link to any such lifeline. There’s just me, my kids, and a veritable shot at the moon. Our own lunacy landing.

Of course, I offer “lunacy” more whimsically than disparagingly. For while there are days when it really is too much, for the most part, I love our crazy, complicated mission to the moon.

But also, of course, though I play with words here, there is a serious side to the mission with problems arising that are bigger than I can handle as each kid brings their own struggles along on the trip, and it feels as if we’re spinning through space, precariously patched together with little more than tape and staples. No Houston to call. No control room full of the best and brightest to help us adjust our course. No. Just us. And that is what we rely on: us. And though our landings are sometimes clunky, awkward, and even hard, we touch down each day, already planning our next mission, hoping to get it better tomorrow.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…accessing and sharing information with a jigsaw activity.

…analyzing arguments for claims, reasons, and evidence.

…reflecting on our Question of the Week (QoW: How does the world see you?)

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Friday, all. Have a wonderful weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

“There are too many strangers in the room.”

They didn’t really believe me. I could see it in their eyes. And why would they? After all, with the exception of a friend or two and a few familiar faces, they were among strangers, even I was a stranger, who was standing in front of them telling them we would become–claiming that we were–a community as I shared their second most important role (see below) a the outset of our journey.

Role #2: Valued Community Member. This is your second most important role. At present, many of us are not well-acquainted, but we are in this together either way. And as we will spend a lot of time together both struggling and celebrating over the days to come, my hope is that we establish a community that is rich in relationships and in excess of empathy. We are a community.

That was over ninety days ago. Things have changed at semester with the shuffling of schedules, and change is hard. Change is strange. The kids told me so. “I miss our old class.” “There are too many strangers in the room.” “I am nervous again about sharing during Smiles and Frowns; I don’t know these people.”

“But you will,” I tell them, reminding them that they had the same worries all those days ago when we first started our time together. “You–we–will build new bonds and create new connections. We will become a community again. We are a community.“

And they believe me. I can see it in their eyes. And why wouldn’t they? I delivered on my promise then, and I believe they trust that I will deliver on my promise now. Of course, I couldn’t do it without Smiles and Frowns. So, maybe, then, it’s not so much they trust me as much as they trust Smiles and Frowns, as much as they trust themselves, for it is they not I who’ve really created the connections. I am just along for the ride. And what a ride it’s been.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…seeking to understand others’ views with SOAPSTone.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.