This past spring, I was invited to be
a part of the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute (IPLI). There used to be a group called the Indiana
Principal Leadership Academy. A few
years ago the DOE got rid of this group, but recently, a group of state education
leaders and legislators brought it back, with some key changes, and titled it
the IPLI. Anyway, I am in a cohort of 57
principals from around the state who are taking part in this two year
institute.
Last
week, we got started with our first two days down at Indiana State
University. I’ll be very honest with
you, when I first headed down to the institute; I wasn’t in the best frame of
mind. I was unsure of what this institute would be, I was concerned about how
much work it would add to my plate, and I just wasn’t ready to admit that my
summer was winding down. Two days later,
I came away feeling energized, encouraged, excited, and pumped up about IPLI! It was an incredible two days.
On
day two of the conference, we were able to listen to a lady named Annette
Breaux speak. Annette is an educational
leader who speaks all over the country.
She is an expert in many areas, but she was speaking specifically to us
about how good teachers, highly effective teachers, impact their students. She specifically focused on the positive
attitude that teachers must have.
Annette is a great follow on twitter (@AnnetteBreaux). I wanted to share a few quotes/takeaways
from her presentation:
§
If students are unclear about what to do, it’s
because directions were probably not given clearly enough. We need to TELL students what to do, SHOW
students what to do, ask students to tell us what they need to do, and then
have them show us what to do, before we turn them loose on an activity.
§
Bottom line, you don’t see many worksheets or
lectures in effective teachers’ classrooms.
§
Students respond to happy sounding teaching.
§
Why does a teacher have a desk in his/her
room? Because a teacher’s classroom is
also their office. However, that desk
should only be used when doing office work, NOT when a teacher is instructing
students. Remember, a physical barrier
creates a mental barrier, so if a teacher is teaching from his/her desk, chances
are kids aren’t learning because there is a physical barrier between he/she and
the students. Typically, effective teachers are only at
their desks when kids aren’t in the room.
§
Effective teachers highly utilize student
directed, hands on activities.
§
Effective teachers are enthusiastic, tell
stories, laugh, teach in short (10 minutes) segments all alighted to one
objective.
§
When you scream at your students, you publically
admit that you can’t control your emotions.
§ It’s
not okay to bring your personal lives into your professional lives. We wouldn’t want our airline pilot, or
surgeon’s performance to suffer because of a tough personal situation, and the
same is true for our students. When it’s
tough, JUST SMILE!
§ Always
assume the best from your students.
I
know you all know and practice many of the things she said, but they were good
reminders for me. The bottom line is we need to be happy and positive for our
students regardless of how we feel about things. We need to make learning fun for our
students.
Anyway,
she gave some great ideas for illustrating these principles that I’ll use
throughout the year. In the meantime, if
you have thoughts are reactions to the takeaways; I’d love to discuss them with
you. The great news is we have a staff
that exemplifies good teaching and is always looking to get better. I look forward to growing with you this
year. Enjoy your week!
Dave
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