Teacher Appreciation - Fundamental 5 Dedications

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Dr. Mike Laird and I would like to share the dedications from our soon to be released (within the next three weeks) book, “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction”.

Laird’s Dedication:

I dedicate this book to the most important people in education today, classroom teachers. When all is said and done, it is the teachers who do the heavy lifting in education. What and how well they teach our children is critical to our future success as a society, and they deserve the best leadership and support that we can provide them.

Cain’s Dedication:

I dedicate this book to the five educators who made the biggest impact on my education, career, and life: Ronald Maas (Aldine ISD), Betsy Shipper (Aldine ISD), Tommy Wallace (Aldine ISD), Roy Smith (Aldine ISD), and Richard Hooker (University of Houston). I stand on their shoulders.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Coming Soon! "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Upcoming Presentation Schedule

June 11 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

June 15 (TASSP) - Improve Now!

June 16 (TASSP) - Conference Breakfast, hosted by E. Don Brown (LYS travel tumblers for the first 1000 attendees, last year we ran out); Fundamental Five; Tech Tools for the 2.0 Principal

June 17 (TASSP) - PowerWalks

June 18 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

A Reader Writes... (Texas School FInance Situation - Part 1)

In response to the 3/24/2011 post, “Texas School Finance Situation,” a LYS Principal writes:

Sean,

Thanks for putting your thoughts down on paper for us. I've been wondering what would be your read on the finance mess. Thanks for recognizing what Cypress-Fairbanks has done. By the way, I saw your tweet about Lee and Hairgrove. Duryea was also recognized as a National Distinguished Title I school today. I don't know if you consider us an LYS school or not, but I know I learned a lot from you and Dr. Jim Davis in your work with us last year.

SC Response

There is no question that Duryea is a LYS School. I hope you saw that I corrected the announcement oversight later on. That’s the liability of Twitter (and social media in general), though you are getting breaking news, you aren’t getting all the news and all the facts aren’t 100% accurate. However, we were able to share the success of Duryea (by name) and all the LYS schools, as a group, with the U.S. Department of Education. Their primary interest - why did the LYS schools have an increase in commended performance levels when the state, as a whole, experienced a decline.

As for the finance issue, what we are witnessing is the intersection of political ambition, an anti-public school agenda, bad policy and voter apathy. This train wreck has been a long time coming. The only reason why we didn’t feel this pain two years ago is that the governor and the legislature were able to hide the severity of their screw-up by using federal stimulus dollars. Interestingly, these are the same stimulus dollars that they claim to be the source of our nation’s ills. The hypocrisy of it all turns my stomach. And for the life of me, I can’t understand how anyone can reconcile protecting the unborn while at the same time systematically dismantling the protections provided for their born siblings? At what point does the future of a child no longer remain important? I know – it must be age 4. That’s when children should be ready to go to work and quit being a burden to society instead of perpetuating the welfare state by attending Pre-K. But I digress.

Keep pushing the envelope and as always, if you need us we are just a phone call away.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Coming Soon! "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Upcoming Presentation Schedule

June 11 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

June 15 (TASSP) - Improve Now!

June 16 (TASSP) - Conference Breakfast, hosted by E. Don Brown (LYS travel tumblers for the first 1000 attendees, last year we ran out); Fundamental Five; Tech Tools for the 2.0 Principal

June 17 (TASSP) - PowerWalks

June 18 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

A Reader Writes... (We are Our Own Worst Enemy - Part 1)

In response to the 3/9/2011 post, “We are Our Own Worst Enemy,” a reader writes:

Coaching, support and monitoring are the key points to helping teachers improve and build capacity. I agree that limiting the amount of time for observations only perpetuates the status quo.

SC Response

I just read an article that pointed out the correlation between the classroom observations and student performance. It continues to surprise people that as walk-thru’s increase, student performance increases. Unfortunately, most walk-thru systems are set up to mimic the “cop in the rearview mirror” effect or the collected information becomes a stick in which to beat teachers. This means that at most schools there is an artificial terminal limit to the performance increase. Now this artificial limit can be obliterated with the right walk-thru tool and the correct walk-thru program protocols. Unfortunately, 95% of the non-LYS campuses that I initially work with, that are doing walk-thru’s not only have the wrong tool but they are also implementing it incorrectly. These mistakes are compounded when the district is trying to implement a bootleg version of a research-based, field-tested system. Just like “Slony” isn’t “Sony”, the same can be said of most homemade versions of walk-thru systems. The point being that frequent classroom observations are a powerful tool, when implemented correctly. But (and this is huge) when this is not the case, it is HR equivalent of giving a monkey a machine gun. Even if your intentions are sound, someone is going to get hurt.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Coming Soon! "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Upcoming Presentation Schedule

June 11 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

June 15 (TASSP) - Improve Now!

June 16 (TASSP) - Conference Breakfast, hosted by E. Don Brown (LYS travel tumblers for the first 1000 attendees, last year we ran out); Fundamental Five; Tech Tools for the 2.0 Principal

June 17 (TASSP) - PowerWalks

June 18 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

Remember the Main Objective is to Drain the Swamp

My grandfather (a very successful military and business leader), kept a plaque on his wall that read, “When you are up to your rear in alligators, it is hard to remember that the main objective is to drain the swamp.”

After my Dr. Seuss books, that plaque is the first thing I remember reading. As I have matured, that message has gone from funny to cliché, to sublime. As educators we spend a lot of time wrestling with the alligators (both real and imagined) when if we would just drain the swamp, the alligators will just go away.

Case in point. As I have experienced and reported, and as numerous LYSers can attest, when we improve the quality of instructional leadership and classroom instruction, student discipline rapidly improves. However, I was recently on a campus where the “answer” to all of the problems that the campus faces is to send teachers to “Capturing Kids Hearts,” training over the course of the next year. Now I have been CHK trained and I am a fan, but this is a classic “wrestle the alligator” reaction. The answers to the problems on this campus revolve around proactive, supportive campus leadership and better implementation of effective instructional practices. The “drain the swamp” solution is the Foundation Trinity and the Fundamental Five.

If you never address the underlying problem, the symptoms never improve.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Coming Soon! "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Upcoming Presentation Schedule

June 11 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

June 15 (TASSP) - Improve Now!

June 16 (TASSP) - Conference Breakfast, hosted by E. Don Brown (LYS travel tumblers for the first 1000 attendees, last year we ran out); Fundamental Five; Tech Tools for the 2.0 Principal

June 17 (TASSP) - PowerWalks

June 18 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

Top LYS Tweets from the Week of April 24, 2011

First, every American owes a debt of gratitude to everyone who ever put on a uniform.

Second, the world is a better place this morning, than it was yesterday morning.

Third, with every major breaking news story over the past year, I either found out about it or got the early details on my I-phone or I-Pad.

Fourth, Middle East Revolutions, Tsunami, Nuclear Catastrophe, Tornadoes, Libya, War on Terror Update – If only there was a tool to bring the changing world into the classroom in real time. Embrace bootleg technology.

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using 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 April 24^th 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. (Combined – LYSers doing great things)

A. Austin Statesman reports Luling High School is the second most improved high school in central Texas.

B. LYS Superintendent, Andy Peters, is the lone finalist for the Poth ISD job!

C. LYS Principal, Dr. Chane Rascoe, is the lone finalist for the Moody ISD superintendent position!

D. Son of a LYSer, Baron Batch, just got drafted by the Steelers!!!!!

2. Why do you have to consider "turn-around"? If things aren't working fix it, now. To wait is to short change students. Why are we OK with that?

3. Here's the problem with most merit pay plans. It's a zero sum game played on an uneven playing field. I win, you lose. My kids are poorer than your kids, I lose.

4. Parent involvement follows successful students. And the good news is that we are the critical variable.

5. I have never been an advocate for exclusionary practice, policy or programs.

6. Anyone who tells you that vouchers are not additional tax subsidies for the rich is either confused or lying. Neither inspires confidence.

7. Tonite's run thought: The most overlooked component of excellence. The amount of pain you can endure before you quit.

8. New study says kids spend 25% of waking hours with a tech device. How much time do you take to leverage that interest? Embrace bootleg technology!

9. Tonite's run thought: The Hard-Working, Proactive and Prepared seek out and relish the opportunity to measure themselves.

10. Tonite's run thought: If you run with your mouth open you will eat a bug and I hate snakes.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Coming Soon! "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" www.TheFundamentalFive.com

Follow Sean Cain on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Upcoming Presentation Schedule

June 11 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!

June 15 (TASSP) - Improve Now!

June 16 (TASSP) - Conference Breakfast, hosted by E. Don Brown (LYS travel tumblers for the first 1000 attendees, last year we ran out); Fundamental Five; Tech Tools for the 2.0 Principal

June 17 (TASSP) - PowerWalks

June 18 (TASB) - The Fundamental Five; Improve Now!