Top LYS Tweets from the Week of October 23, 2011

As many of you know, I spend well more than half my work time on campuses, watching, training and talking to educators at all levels of competency, capacity and success. One thing that I am observing all to often is innovative, energetic and engaging teachers having to hide their new practices and tools. Most likely, there are teachers on your campus right now that are attempting to integrate bootleg technology into their class. They don’t do it often because they are afraid of getting caught by administration and being reprimanded. What is interesting is when these teachers are caught, most principals are proud of them.

So quit making innovation a deviant practice. Let your staff know that if they have an idea for using a new tool in the classroom they should tell you. That, if necessary, you will grant a short-term waiver to antiquated policy in order for someone to pilot something new. Now instead of making your most forward thinking staff outlaws, you can turn them into trailblazers. Your worst-case scenario is that the pilot doesn’t work. But how is that different than the current nothing that is the status quo? As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using your own bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of October 23, 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Every announcement interruption during class sandbags instructional momentum. So unless the building is on fire, what is so important?

2. Listening to Pre-K, K and Fine Arts teachers discuss lesson framing may be the best practical discussions on pedagogy you will ever hear.

3. Often the best coaching on campus occurs in the band hall. One band director getting 60 kids to work and march as one. Without the support of a staff of position coaches.

4. The Algebra I class doesn't have tryouts and every student is expected to pass. Why do the athletic have try-outs & get to cut players?

5. @LYSNation, I have argued for years that athletics deals in false positives by weeding out those unlikely to succeed in the first place. (by @seaboltm)

6. (As a school success factor) Parent involvement is a measure of correlation not causation.

7. Rating schools based on the level of parent involvement is yet another way that accountability is biased against the less affluent.

8. The constant search for the magic intervention program is a symptom of leaders giving up on teachers, teachers giving up on kids, or both.

9. You can wring your hands over campus climate and culture or you can do what is right for students. Every day by every adult.

10. Just saw a student get in trouble for pulling out his cell phone after completing his work. So doing nothing is better than doing something?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASSP Conference; NASB Conference