Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts

I failed today.
It hurt.
It sucked, actually.
It knocked me down, left me spinning a bit, raised questions...
even worst, raised doubts.

I've come to find out over the past few years that failure is a part of the process. The process of making. The process of living. The process of teaching and learning.

I had written a proposal for a large grant that would greatly aid the efforts of my project. I spent days pouring over the application process and making sure the dozen page report I was submitting met all the criteria. Writing is a difficult task for a math teacher who is typically not so inclined grammatically  perhaps you've noticed by reading this.

I thought for sure the organization would see this proposal as a way to impact educational environments on a global scale. I thought for sure they would see how this money and their name could go towards opening up high quality educational resources for teachers around the world. After all, that is the way I was seeing this project. But instead this is the response I got from my work.

I am writing to inform you of the grant evaluation committee's decision to not fund your project at this time for reasons such as,

The proposal did not clearly identify specific ways in which the project would be an innovation in the use of the technology in education, or have a specific measurable impact on a target population.

After Failing.

I got it wrong.
My art was not valued in the eyes of others.

I could chose to be defeated. I could chose to walk the other way and hold on to my failures. I can keep looking for people who see things the way I see them. Those who will agree with me and see my creations as I see them.

Or.

I can chose to iterate. I can listen to my audience. The judge of my work. The beholder of my art. I can tune in to what they see as beautiful, acceptable, and honorable. I can wipe the canvas clean, if needed, or just had the missing strokes, colors, textures that are needed to make this work beautiful in the eyes of the beholder.

The doubt raised by this failure can not get the best of us. Doubt must lead us to seek. Seeking must lead us to a deeper understanding. This understanding must lead us to iteration and transformation.

This is what it means to live fully, exposing your work, risking your heart by creating your art. To keep that art locked up where no one can criticize it, admire it, or display it would be selfish of us and robbing ourselves and the world of something beautiful.

Keep seeking. Keep making. Keep transforming. You and the world will benefit.
 

Daily I'm reminded of both the thrills and fears of going first. Mainly I see these extremes through the eyes of my children when they are either screaming "Me first!" or "Not me!" For example, when it's time to serve birthday cake and ice cream they're all too ready to receive the first piece ahead of their cousin whose birthday we're celebrating. However, when it comes to getting their haircut, fingernails clipped, or bath drawn they're all too willing to let their siblings go first. Funny how that works, but not unpredictable.

When reward or treat is bring offered we are all about it. At the same time when an event occurs that we don't see the immediate benefit in we are not so quick to sign up and will gladly let others go first to see what's in it for them, then make our decision to jump in. Likewise, when an opportunity presents itself that raises a bit of fear in us we're not creatures that readily select ourselves to go first, exposing our vulnerability and drawing upon our courage.

There is too much safety and comfort built in to remaining where we are. However, this may be the most dangerous of all places- to simply remain where you are. What if no one ever took that risk? What if no one ever led? What if no one ever chose to be vulnerable, courageous, the first?

Lead well today. Take risks today. Be first for selfless reasons today.



 photo via morguefile.com PD 

Hello Michigan Secondary School Principals,

Many of us had the chance to chat at the iPad Summit held in East Lansing a few weeks ago. But for those of us who didn't I wanted to take a moment and inform/remind you about the iBooks Author Collaborative project going on this summer. If you're currently, or will be soon, educating in a 1 to 1 iPad environment at any grade level this project is a worthy investment of your money and your staff's time.

We all reach a point in our iPad initiatives when we must evaluate the technology, address how it is transforming our teaching and learning practice, and answer the question 'how will we sustain the program?' I deeply believe this project can help us address all of these concerns.

Collaborate - Create- Share

The iBooks Author collaborative is a project that will bring teachers together to create and share high quality, digital 'textbook' content. Teachers participating in this event will also have access to the content created by other teachers so that they can adopt their work and personalize it for their own students.

We know, and research shows, a personalized learning experience is a contributing factor to an engaging and successful learning experience. Teachers will have the ability to update and personalize these interactive ebooks which is unlike any other hard bound textbook.

The vast amount of digital content readily available online along with access to high end authoring tools like iBooks Author makes a great case for this project. However, to the average teacher, the task to create this digital content can seem daunting unless we work together. I have no doubt that by participating in a hackathon event this summer your staff will be well on its way to authoring authentic content, increasing their expertise in their field, stimulating their creativity, and leading your school into a deeper and more meaningful level of tech integration.

I want to ask you to encourage your creative and motivated staff members to get involved. The cost of the two day event is minimal ($30). I want to ask you to support their efforts, possibly offer participants $200 for creating shareable content. What could possibly cost the district $2000 this summer (sending 10 hackers) could possibly lead to saving tens of thousands of dollars in the coming years by not having to purchase textbooks.

In conclusion, we truly believe the better reason for getting involved is the benefit to student learning that will occur as a result of your teachers getting highly active in collaborating, creating, and sharing these resources.

Please feel free to ask further questions or direct teachers to our website and Google Community.

Launching Kids

By NASA/Jeffrey Marino [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Accomplishments are rarely the effort of a sole individual. Even in individual olympic events such as running, swimming, or diving a successful athlete is typically surrounded and supported by a team, well positioned in life to take advantage of their circumstances, and equipped with certain traits to more easily accomplish the goals. This is no different for many of the non-sporting types who find success' in daily wins and accomplishments. We too are typically surrounded and supported by a cast of players; we find ourselves in an advantageous position and possessing the skills that make us right for the task.

A couple of weeks ago some real cool stuff started taking shape in my life.  Some really cool success, similar to winning a medal in the olympics- at least for me. I referred to these things in a previous post, so I will not mention them here but rather I want to take this space to acknowledge those who helped make this happen and say 'Thank You'

First of all, when anyone is dedicated to accomplishing a task there is usually a huge sacrifice that is paid by their immediate family.  No doubt this was the case for me. My wife and kids probably wondered why I was working extra hours sometimes, but never made me feel guilty for doing so. They backed my efforts and saw that I loved doing the things that I was doing and at the same time reminded me about balance and making time for them and myself. Thank you.

The second group of individuals is our IT department. If you've never gone into your IT department's office before make it a goal to do so, and use that time to say thank you. The one thing that we take for granted on a daily basis is the technology of our classrooms. When I arrived at school in the morning I expected everything to just work and 99.5% of the time it did. Not having the proper infrastructure and resources in place to accomplish daily work would have caused me to abandon my missions. Those guys behind the internet, switches, cables, etc. made it possible to achieve these goals. Thank you.

The third group is my administration. Administration is so crucial to having the feeling of being empowered to go for it. Building principals who release their staff to be creative and explore new and innovative ways to reach various learners are setting their teachers and students up for success. Thank you.

The last group is the community. This might sound cheesy in a way but without the community voting to increase the technology resources in our school district none of this personal growth would have occurred. Thank you.

I feel it is important to reflect and remember those who have helped put you where you are today. These are the same group of supporters who most likely will be there when things aren't going your way. In times of failure they will still be there cheering you on, supplying you with the tools you needs, the space of creativity to explore, and the resources to make it happen.

So keep tinkering. Keep tweaking. Keep thanking those around you.

The last two weeks of my life have been so surreal I have no choice but to get it out... here...and now.  Here is the short of it.

1. I was acknowledged as an Apple Distinguished Educator.
2. My iTunesU course got listed in the Outstanding High School section of iTunesU.
3. My project seems to be gaining support and interest from teachers, administrators, and colleges. 

First of all being accepted as an ADE is truly an honor and I am absolutely humbled to be acknowledged amongst this class of educators. However...

I struggle with how to handle all this- honestly. I am glad I have this blog to write on because I feel like it is between me and the page. Yet, I want to tell others. If I am truly honest with myself, I fight the tension between being humble and being recognized. If I am honest, the selfish person within me wants to be recognized by everyone, I want glory, yet I want to be the same. I know this changes nothing. I don't want to come across as having it all together, cause the truth is none of us do. And adding a label to my resume doesn't make me a different person today then I was yesterday. However, the question I must answer everyday, is how do I lead with me, who I am, what I believe in, how I care about kids, colleagues, and education; and not from the title Apple Distinguished Educator?

The simple truth is, that a label is just that, few words to categorize an object. Is it fair to say that labels  will create change? Bring leadership? Ignite creativity and innovation? I don't think so. Rather it is the heart of the individual connecting with heart of others that will bring about change, leadership, and innovation.

Wearing this label I must be intentional about leading from the standpoint of a servant. I can't afford to pull out my iPad, hide behind my MacBook, and say do as I do, and look what I know. Rather, I must strive to connect with the passions of others, seek their needs, and put relationships first. I must coach the heart and not the technology. I must see past the devices into the eyes of my students, colleagues, and others around me...I think this is true for all of us, despite the labels attached or positions we hold. However, the label ADE brings one under a finer microscope therefore:

• I promise never to use this label as way of ranking myself or thinking that I am right because I'm a...
• I promise to keep learning from anyone; kids, colleagues, ADE's, whoever it is. I must model the behavior of life long learning for others around me. 
• I promise to use this label for the betterment of education, teaching, learning, and relationships with students, and not for the sole betterment of ME.
• I promise to be me. I promise to keep sharing my failures. Keep taking risks. Keep seeking what is best for you, your class, and your students. 
• I promise to be a servant leader. To seek first your passions, needs, & desires. And let you be you.