We believe schools are responsible for ensuring that all children are prepared to attend college. This blog is for courageous teachers and tenacious principals who embrace that moral imperative, and who seek strategies to make that daring dream a reality.
ROAR!!!!! Who’s ready to wrestle a grizzly bear after watching this video clip? Perhaps not coincidentally, the high school football team that listened to this pre-game speech won their game. That’s right, they won a high school football game. Is it surprising to learn that such an impassioned speech was presented before a game between some high school students? Not really. We are accustomed to the stories about legendary motivators and coaches like Bo Schembechler, Vince Lombardi, John Wooden, the list goes on and on.
Change the scene and now picture a classroom full of Kindergarten students. They are about to learn about the value of a nickel. Arguably, what these Kindergarten students will learn in their lesson about nickels will become part of their fundamental knowledge base. A critical skill set that the students will likely access on a daily basis for the rest of their lives. Sound important?
You bet it is. Do you think anyone bothered to fire up the students for this learning experience? Do you think anyone bothered to fire up the teacher who is about to teach this important lesson? Can you picture the teacher in front of his or her class making a speech like the football coach in the video? Can you picture the School Leader in front of his or her staff making such a speech? Not really. In fact, some might think it would be ridiculous for an educator to “rally their troops” in this manner. Why?
We, as educators, have an important job. Personally, I think it’s the most important job there is. We teach. Our students have an important responsibility as well. They learn. Let’s get excited about that. Let’s GETFIREDUP about these amazing opportunities we have everyday to make a positive impact on the lives of our students. Let’s take the initiative to get our students excited about the incredible concepts they have an opportunity to learn about every day in our schools. We are building foundations for happy and successful lives. Amazing achievements happen everyday in our schools. Let your passion rise to the surface and show your students how much their development means to you.
Doug Lemov tells us to Teach Like a Champion! Let’s do it! Let’s teach our students how to learn like Champions! School Leaders…How do you motivate your staff? Who are you? Are you a Champion for the community that you serve? Share your success and give other School Leaders ideas to build on. Teachers…how do you motivate your students? Who are you? Are you a Champion for your children? Share your ideas with your colleagues and be each other’s best resource. Who are you? You are a Champion! You make a difference in the lives of children every day.
We are the champions — my friends — And we’ll keep on fighting — till the end -
We are the champions — We are the champions
No time for losers — ‘Cause we are the champions — of the world! – Queen
Amarillo is proving to be the epicenter of NEU by the creation of three No Excuses/No Limits Neighborhoods that will support students from Pre-School through College under the NEU Umbrella. Check out the story below.
As you reflect on this video, compare what you viewed to how we as educators normally do business in our schools. Do you see the brilliance of what the engineers in the video accomplished? They built the airplane and THEN they flew it. What do we tend to do in our schools? Do we typically design our systems, construct them carefully, and test their ability to function as we expect thoroughly before we call our systems into action? Do we tend to be proactive in our approach or reactive? The reality is that many of us, including me, tend to build the airplane as we fly it.
Now let’s just take a moment to think about the logic of that maneuver. We can rationalize our ability to improvise and prioritize in the heat of the moment. We are busy! We have a lot on our plate! We are under a lot of pressure! We are so experienced with working things out as we go that some of us are quite good at it. We get the job done!
All that being said, let your common sense prevail and consider the benefits of building your airplanes at your school before you schedule them for frequent flier service. Collaborate with your team. Establish your goals based on your needs and assemble a specific action plan that will fly you toward success. Anticipate the outcomes you may encounter and plan the adjustments you will make for each possible result. Imagine the quality of the systems you will empower your team to build if they have the luxury of focusing on the development of these systems without simultaneously managing the responsibility of implementing the untested and often incomplete plans. Build a plane at your school before you fly it and enjoy your flight!
It used to be that when a school wanted to win the coveted Blue Ribbon Award, they needed to apply. Today, you can only win the award when you are asked to apply. Such was the case with our flagship NEU Los Penasquitos Elementary School. I could not be more proud of the fact that this, one time “thorn among roses”, school is one of only 21 schools in California to win the award. Their efforts continue to help lead our college readiness charge. Well done Los Pen!
Check out this free resource to keep students academically active during the summer. It’s called Head of the Class and it contains over 10,000 activities to keep students engaged. The best part, it’s completely free. Follow this link to see it in action.
