Consider These Two Different Stories about Lampposts: Story 1: There was a man walking down the street in the dim light of dusk. He saw a man on his hands and knees crawling around. He asked “Are you okay?” The other man’s response was “I am looking for my wallet.. I’ve lost it.” The man…
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As we begin the close on the year that has been, many of us may be looking to the beginning of next year. Inevitably, this brings with it new staff, onboarding and dedicated professional learning. We need to get this right. We need our new faculty to feel welcome, situated within the culture and confidence…
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This week has been a short week with the long weekend, and it was a week that saw Ontario easing some of its restrictions again. This has schools thinking more and more about what it might look like to return to campus and what it means for planning: logistics & regulations, wellbeing of faculty and…
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This week has been one full of “Congratitude” – the combination of congratulations and gratitude. There is not formal definition, and though I am pretty sure that I made the word up, I am sure that I am not the only one to use it… This week I have had the opportunity…
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This past week, for me, was about honouring the work of teachers. It was, after all, Teacher Appreciation Week! I made sure to reach out individually whenever I could to say thanks, to offer support, and jump in to provide solutions where I thought I might be able to. Our faculty are working above and…
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Published in 2013, I was surprised when my principal recommended this book to me – but I shouldn’t have been. His understandings of the world still apply, and though there is nascent progress in many areas, we are still in the early adoption of many of his findings. This book is about how taking an…
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This is Week 5. I was warned that Week 5 was when the fatigue sets in, when the energy dips and when finding sources of positive energy requires a little bit more effort. So, I’ve bought glasses that block the light from the computer – blue light. We will see if this helps. Also, this…
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This week has been an interesting one – with the long weekend it’s the back half of two short weeks in a row. What impact has this had on you? For me, it has pressurized my wellbeing, in that work continues to expand throughout the day. I count myself very fortunate in that my work,…
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In his latest book, Nuance, Michael Fullan refines his previous research and writings on what it takes to be an effective leader of educational organizations. We can all agree that this has never been more important. We can also agree that concepts of leadership, and practices successful leadership have never before been so disrupted. Gone…
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It is a happy coincidence that I read this book Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett as I was also researching student agency. Emotions and agency are inextricably link through the cognitive processes, such that: “The three most important aspects of learning – attention, focus, and memory – are all controlled by our emotions, not…
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