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I meant to pass this event along earlier, but I did want to let you know about Scott McLeod’s upcoming “Leadership Day 2008″ blogging event.  Instructions are fairly simple:

On July 4, 2008, blog about whatever you like related to effective school technology leadership: successes, challenges, reflections, needs. Write a letter to the administrators in your area. Post a top ten list. Make a podcast or a video. Highlight a local success or challenge. Recommend some readings. Do an interview of a successful technology leader. Respond to some of the questions below or make up your own. Whatever strikes you. Please tag your post with these Technorati tags:

leadershipday2008, schooltechleadership

and/or link back to this post. If you don’t have a blog, comment on someone else’s post and/or send your thoughts to me and I will post them for you.

Scott’s premise is that advancements in school technology won’t happen without school leadership.  It’s up to us to keep our administrators and other school officials informed and enlightened in the areas of school technology. 

I will be participating myself.  Look for some integration with my Evernote series. 

Our school district has invested in training for 40 Developmental Assets from Search Institute.  These answer the question, “What do our kids have in their lives that help them grow to be healthy?”  Rather than just being a new program that we have to squeeze in between 2nd Step and recess, this is just a way of looking at what we do  at school to help kids grow to their potential.  External assets are the things that kids have around them.  Internal assets are based inside the students themselves.  Some of the external assets we directly have here at school, others are based in the home and the community.  External assets are:

• Support
• Empowerment
• Boundaries and Expectations
• Constructive Use of time

Internal boundaries include:

• Commitment to Learning
• Positive Values
• Social Competencies
• Positive Identity

Each of the 40 Developmental Assets falls under one of those categories.  At Sunset Elementary, one activity we are focusing on is catching kids doing the right thing, which falls under the heading of “Caring school climate” in Support.

What are you doing at your school or in your personal life to promote kids growing up healthy?

Cross-posted at LeaderTalk.org

Our kids love to play soccer.  Rain, heat, wind, you name it, nothing keeps those kids off of the soccer field every time they go outside.  I’ve even seen them try to get a game going on top of four inches of snow.  One of the great things about being a counselor at an elementary school is that I get to go hang out with these kids for a good portion of their recess times.  I have my own recess duty that I cover every day, but I also make it a point to catch up with the other grades throughout the week as well. 

This being my sixth year at my school, I’ve been able to follow our new fifth graders since they were in kindergarten.  When they were a lot younger, they played soccer like most little kids do.  They bunched up in a big group and chased the ball around the field the entire time.  Every once in a while, the group would get close to the goal and somebody would get lucky and knock the ball in.  Some time around their third grade year, they figured out that if they spread out, they could pass the ball to each other a little more efficiently and have a better chance of scoring a goal.  Now that they’re in the fifth grade, I see them actually trying some more advanced team concepts.  Passing the ball in a triangle, kicking to a strategic spot in a corner kick, things like that.  They’re doing what they see their dads doing and what they’ve been taught by their league coaches.  And with that many recess games under their belt, it’s paying off. 

I think education in general is like that.  We get what we need at school, but we pick up so much of our learning from elsewhere, too.  We don’t just learn reading at school, we see our parents and siblings reading, we get things from television and the computer, then take those concepts and put them to work again the next day at school.  It’s a learning cycle, and one that happens best with good teachers, consistent practice, and supportive parents and mentors around us. 

I know that several of you are finishing up your school year in the next week or two.  From a professional standpoint, I’ve always looked at summer as a great time for renewal and focus.  Oh, there are the usual classes, seminars, and conferences to attend, but my opinion is that there are many ways the professional educator can reconnect with their profession even away from these organized events. 

For me, the first reconnection that needs to be made is the one with my “kid” side.  A trip of some kind is usually in order, and this summer is no exception.  Unfortunately, with three-and-a-half dollar gas (or more) looming on the horizon, my time very far away from home will be limited to one trip out of state.  There are, however, plenty of things to do locally that don’t require a full tank of gas to get to.  A new digital camera will provide some great memories and a record of my family’s trip away together. 

The second reconnection is with my educator’s/professional side.  Stephanie Sandifer offers up a really good professional learning plan in her LeaderTalk blog post, “A Personal Learning Plan for Summer 2007“.  She emphasizes the SMART goal for professional improvement:

• Strategic/Simple
• Measureable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time-specific

I’m beginning to think about what that looks like for me.  Certainly, I plan on gaining some insight at the counselor’s sessions of the InterMountain Educators’ Forum.  And, I have two classes left in my school administration program before I begin my internship next fall.  I plan on my own professional development occuring even after these organized sessions are finished, though.  I’ll keep you posted as that begins to take shape. 

Have a great summer, it’s just around the corner.

What are you doing June 11-13 of this year?  If you’re in Umatilla or Morrow counties, be sure and check out the InterMountain Educators’ Forum.  Held at Hermiston High School, this will be a consortium of educators and specialists from our area.   It is run by and for educators, and is designed to address specific professional development needs of the various content areas.  I am putting together the counseling cohort, and I will post those specifics in the next few days.  For now, here is the promotional video from our ESD:

Check out this powerful anti-bullying video on YouTube. Hat tip to Stephen Rahn for bringing it to my attention.

Link to YouTube - Hero in the Hallway!

Here’s another Dan Meyer math lesson that I can well imagine hits home with his students.  In this case, he shows a graphing lesson that actually mirrors the event that it attempts to portray.  I’m not a math teacher–I don’t even work with that age kids–but I’m always impressed with his innovative ways of taking an abstract principle and creating a concrete example out of it.  Way to go, Dan!

Link to dy/dan » Blog Archive » Graphing Stories