LYS Webinar Feedback and Follow-up

This past Wednesday (12/11/2013), over 170 educators from across the country registered to hear my webinar, “Improving Instruction Through Fundamental Change.” I want to thank NASSP for making that possible and I want to thank everyone who took time out of his or her busy day to listen to my monologue on the power of fundamental practice in the classroom.  Here is a sample of the comments that came in after the presentation.

“Great Job!  Anyone who missed this needs to go look for it at NASSP.  Tomorrow, I’m going to listen to it again with my Department Chairs.”

“I watched the webinar today! Great stuff! Is there an archived version for the parts I need to hear a 2^nd time?”

“Bravo! Well worth the time!”

“Awesome! This definitely helped me see the forest from the trees.”

“The most relevant discussion on instruction I have ever heard.”

And then we got a lot of messages like these:

My entire staff was planning to sit in on your NASSP webinar today at 3:30… guess what?  That was Eastern Standard Time! Do you have a recording? 

Your webinar for Dec. 11, 2013 was posted for 3:30, but I incorrectly assumed it was Central Time, so I missed it. What can I do?

We missed it! Will there be a recording?

I logged in late. What I heard at the end, made me want to hear the beginning.  Is that possible?

We have answers to those questions.

1. Contact LYS and I can come speak to your school / district directly.  I would love the opportunity to meet and work with your team.

2. If you are a PC user, go to www.NASSP.org/webinarvideos

3. If you are a Mac user, click on the link below:

http://www.nasspblogs.org/Improving_Instruction_Fundamental_x264.mp4

With options 2 and 3, you can listen to the webinar in its entirety. If you have any downloading difficulties, just let us know. Again, thanks to everyone who listened or is going listen.

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21^st Century High School Conference  
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Asks... What Do You Really Think - Part 3

In response to the August 1, 2013 post, “What Do You Really Think – Part 2,” a reader asks:

SC,

Who qualifies as a "curriculum expert" to pick and choose educational materials for a particular subject? What qualities would you expect those people to have?

SC Response

Those are some good questions.  From a practitioner’s standpoint, a minimum requirement would be to possess current content knowledge. That knocks out 99% of laypeople and probably 50% of administrators.  And I am a perfect example of the administrator group.  I taught a variety of secondary math subjects in the early 90’s.  Then I moved into campus / district leadership.  As good (or bad) as I was in the early 90’s, my content knowledge is no longer current.  I just have enough self-confidence to admit it.

Next, you would need complete familiarity with current standards.  The standards are evolving constantly. Just being AWARE of the standards three iterations ago, from a decision-making standpoint, makes you a liability.

Then, you would need a working understanding of valid assessment.

I would top that off with an above average capacity for understanding logistics in dynamic environments.  Because this is the person who is creating an instructional sequence and delivery plan in an environment of unreasonable mandates, inflexible agendas, competing ideologies and emotions driven opinions.

Finally, this person would need to work daily to get better at all of the above.  That is my working definition of the "curriculum expert." This is the person(s) I rely on to develop the playbook for my instructional team.  Then my job is to ensure that my teachers run the play and support them (the teachers) in getting ever better at delivery and execution. 

One final note:  I constantly see these very people (the curriculum experts) hard at work at the Education Service Centers and in school districts.  In our profession, we all think that we have it tough, but right now our curriculum developers are the real unsung heroes in education. They have always been universally underappreciated, because when all else fails blame the curriculum.  But as of recently, they are being publically lambasted and accused of literally being un-American.  This is a shameful and unwarranted situation. And when we don't stand up for our support staff, we can't complain when they quit supporting us.    

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21^st Century High School Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Writes... A Cult or a Club - Part 2

In response to the 8/14/2013 post, "LYS – A Cult or a Club,” a LYS District Leader writes:

To Those Who Question the LYS Nation:

I have been reading LYS posts/comments for some time now. And it’s always-consistent, value-added content compels me to make a brief comment. 

For anyone serious about doing their best to be the best in the craft of education, the LYS Nation offers a gold mine of concise, distilled, proven strategies, principles and ideas in a simple but powerful model.  

And... Not once have I failed to see the powerful thinking that goes way beyond the watered down, politically correct speak that so typifies many education forums.  

Reading the posts and discussions are not only time well spent, but they also serve as a force-multiplier in seeking to focus and hone my knowledge and skills.  It's a lot of bang for the buck!!

In a World where there are tons of information to sift through just to find one teeny-weenie nugget of useable truth, I say thank you LYS Nation for making a real difference.

SC Response

Here is what I think those on the outside (non-LYSers) have trouble seeing. The LYS Nation isn’t one person.  It is now an international network of educators focused on making their districts, schools and classrooms better.  Not because they have to, but because they are driven and they measure their success by their students’ success.

For those not motivated in this manner, they can’t believe that it is real. So they keep looking for an angle that isn’t there and attributing their own motivations to the actions of those of us who make up the LYS Nation.

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21^st Century High School Conference  
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Reader's Write... A Cult or a Club - Part 1

In response to the 8/14/2013 post, "LYS – A Cult or a Club,” some LYS Principals write:

Hey Negative Nellies,

Funny, if LYS is just telling you stuff you already know, how come your performance isn’t the same as ours?  I guess knowing isn’t the same as doing. 

Heck, my doctor tells me I’m too big and I KNOW how to lose weight, yet he and I have the same conversation almost every year.  Sign me up for the membership card!!!!

And...

To the Naysayers,

Who cares what LYS is? My students are performing better than they ever have before. I’m proud to be a LYSer. Where is my a membership card?

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21^st Century High School Conference  
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top Tweets From the Week of December 1, 2013

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now Twitter users.  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 December 1, 2013.

1. Collaboration doesn't require technology, Socrates taught with the most powerful teaching tool of all time - the purposeful conversation. (By @sjunkins)

2. Data use lives and dies in the principal's office. (By @brandyjbaker)

3. Isolation is the enemy to progress. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

4. Consequences and discipline should be mutually exclusive terms. (By @TinneyTroy)

5. We have to reclaim the moral imperative for education, especially for those most in need. (By @NASSP)

6. Fifth grader told me his iPhone was dead. I charged it, gave it back, no questions asked. 3 years ago that's a detention. (By @McLane_Ryan)

7. The biggest crisis facing public education is the relentless message that public education is in crisis. (By @MrDavidJohns)

8. So maybe, when it comes to education, we should listen to educators much like we listen to doctors about medicine? (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

9. Convincing students to stay motivated until Christmas Break was going great until "The Polar Express" started blaring from the class next door. (By @BluntEducator)

10. Save the date 12/11/14, NASSP webinar w/ Sean Cain at 2:30 pm (Central). Click on the link to register. Open to all! https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/274089360

(By @ LYS Nation)

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21^st Century High School Conference  
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

NASSP / LYS Webinar on Wednesday, December 11, 2013

OPEN TO ALL EDUCATORS, PK-12

Open to all! Either click on the link below or copy and paste it in your browser to register.

www1.gotomeeting.com/register/274089360

Think. Work. Achieve.