To help encourage conversations and dialogue about fostering a meaningful culture of learning at Blake, this week's topic/question for the dinner table is: If you found yourself with 30 minutes of unexpected free time, what would you do with it? Please see link to Google Form to share your responses: A Culture of Learning (4/10/16) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Time is flying by - it's hard to believe we only have one week before the start of April vacation! Our weekend was a busy one, but as we like to say - 'it was all good' - Beauty and the Beast Friday evening as a family, sports and family time on Saturday, and a get together with friends on Saturday night. I want to thank and share my sincere appreciation for all of our students for their performances, as well as thank Kathleen Caprio, Tracy Allen, Nancy McLaughlin, Nancy Deveno, Barbara Oxholm, and Jean Plonski for the work and care with our students to bring the wonderful performance to fruition! Additional thanks also go to Matt Frazier and our fantastic custodial crew, parent volunteers, and Stage Hands - a true collective effort. On Sunday night we treated ourselves by seeing Brandi Carlile and the Avett Brothers in concert - two of our favorite artists! (I have to admit that going out on a 'school night' definitely pushed me out of my 'comfort zone'!)
This past Thursday evening after the kids had gone to bed, I had some 'found time' as Katie was getting together with some friends. I had a few things on my mind - making sure we were set for #EdcampBlake during our professional afternoon, catching up on a few e-mails, and reading a few items that had been bookmarked or put on the 'back burner' from earlier in the week. Although it certainly is an ongoing challenge, I am always trying to strike or find the right balance between work and home - and, naming/finding what that means. I am sharing three posts/items below that really helped to center me with some ideas that I hope to hold on to - approaching and viewing our school and community as an ecosystem, learning as an ever-evolving process, and the notion of challenging the 'culture of busyness' (fair warning - I often find myself posing more questions and ideas as I reflect)...
What Kind of Ecosystem Is Your School?
by Maurice Elias in Edutopia
One of my challenges, and I think many of us share this challenge, is keeping all of the proverbial 'balls in the air' without getting overwhelmed. I love the approach of viewing Blake as an ecosystem - finding, identifying and naming our goals and initiatives as 'parts that affect one another'. Our #EdcampBlake professional afternoon exhibited this culture - so many important topics and areas of focus that impact and drive our work, and they all connect. The key is in maintaining that thread-line that ties them together - and, that is our mission.
If we believe that a school is an ecosystem, and act that way, then we shift our perspective. We realize that every element of a school affects other parts...If we believe that a school is an ecosystem, then we become more sensitive to the nuances of policies that we set into schools. We look at their effects in proximal, not only distal, ways...If we believe that a school is an ecosystem, then we realize we must care about every aspect of the school. The school itself is the product of all of the interactions and interdependencies of all of its components, regardless of visibility.
You Don't Have to Have It All Figured Out Ahead of Time
by John Spencer (@spencerideas)
This post speaks to the process of learning - trying to accept where we are currently, both students and adults, with our understanding and embracing the 'process'. I appreciate the open spirit of inquiry from Friday's work together, posing areas of interest and growth and collaborating with one another as a collective 'think tank'. I would like us to continue to think about ways this 'spirit of inquiry' can continue to be fostered on a frequent basis with our students, parents, and one another.
What if we told kids that they don't have to have it all figured out ahead of time? What if they knew that doors might be shut but they aren't locked for good?
Quit Wearing Busy Like a Badge of Honor
Created by John Spencer (@spencerideas)
It is this last post that resonates with me most right now - thinking about balance, ideas, etc. I have watched it a few times and have shared it with friends. To be honest I was humbled hearing this line as it is one that I know I have felt - '...wearing busy like a badge of honor like I was winning some kind of imaginary competition'.
Our escosystem is rooted in our mission and we are a community of learners. Equally as important to our efforts is the need to remember that we must be willing to take a step back. I ask this often, but please continue to bring your ideas forward for how we can grow and improve our ecosystem while also combating the 'busy badge' - challenging our status quo, try some new ideas, and lean towards yes. Our students are worth it.
I look forward to the work that lies ahead.
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Take care.
Nat Vaughn