How Many Children Must Die?

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. – U.S. Constitution, Amendment 2.

Rock

Effective Range: As far as a man can accurately throw (approximately 90 feet).

Rate of Attack: Based on how long one can throw (stamina); how quickly one can throw; how many rocks one can carry.

Knife

Effective Range: 4 feet

Rate of Attack: Based on number of targets in proximity; how long one can stab (stamina); how quickly one can stab.

Club

Effective Range: 6 feet

Rate of Attack: Based on the number of targets in proximity; how long one can swing (stamina); how quickly one can swing.

Ax

Effective Range: 6 feet.

Rate of Attack: Based on the number of targets in proximity; how long one can swing (stamina); how quickly one can swing.

Bayonet

Effective Range: 6 feet.

Rate of Attack: Based on the number of targets in proximity; how long one can stab (stamina); how quickly one can stab.

Saber

Effective Range: 6 feet.

Rate of Attack: Based on the number of targets in proximity; how long one can swing and stab (stamina); how quickly one can swing and stab.

Flintlock Pistol

Effective Range: Less than 60 feet

Rate of Attack: One shot every 1 to 2 minutes.

Matchlock Musket

Effective Range: Less than 300 feet

Rate of Attack: One shot every 2 minutes, half of all shots result in a misfire.

Flintlock Musket

Effective Range: 300 feet

Rate of Attack: One shot every 30 seconds.

Kentucky Long Rifle

Effective Range: 360 feet

Rate of Attack: One shot every 60 seconds.

I am a patriotic American. I am a gun owner.  I am a hunter. I am an educator. I am an independent, split-ticket voter. I share this to add context to my argument.

I would like to remind the reader that the right to bear arms was not in the original Constitution. It was added later.  I point this out for those who like to argue “Founders Infallibility.”  The Founders recognized that the document they created, as a product of Man, was imperfect. As such, it could and should be amended.  Which means as times and technology change, that this is a patriotic discussion in the furtherance “of a more perfect union.”

In context, the second amendment was written at a time when free adults males were expected to be members of local militias to protect their community from external dangers.  It was written at a time when a firearm was incredibly expensive and rare.  It was written at a time when population density was much lower than today. It was written at a time when the sum total of all the forces at the battle of Yorktown would be the similar to the number of total fans that can be found at a decent high school football game today.  The simple truth is that the AMENDMENT ratified in 1791 was written for a radically different environment than the one we live in today. Realizing that they were fallible, the Founders expected that the Constitution to be examined and, as needed, amended. I would suggest that in regards to inexpensive instruments of rapid, high volume, extended distance killing, a rational examination of existing laws and policies is warranted.

I, for one, am tired of knowing that the regular killing and wounding of children by guns is considered an acceptable trade off so that anyone one can get any kind of gun they want, at any time they want, no questions asked.   

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
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Campus Security Checklist (REVISED)

The following is a post that I wrote in 2012, hoping that I would only have to publish it once.   This is now the fourth time I have shared it.  Hopefully, this time will be the last.

Over the upcoming days, weeks and months there will be considerable hand wringing, finger pointing and second guessing when it comes to analyzing the tragedy of last week. There is little positive to come from this.  An irrational actor, with a mission and no exit strategy, attacked the school.  A perfect storm of unmitigated evil.

In my education leadership career, I do have some unique experience and expertise in school security.  Here are some things that I recommend you should do to review your campus security procedures and practices, today.  This checklist is quick, practical, reasonable and actionable.

1. Keep your exterior doors and windows secured at all times. This may mean that locks need to be replaced and keys need to be inventoried and redistributed.  This should have been done before, do it now.  Stop the practice of people propping doors open when they go outside.  Constantly remind staff and students the seriousness of exterior door safety. Be diligent in modeling and monitoring this practice and dealing with those that forget and break protocol. 

2. Review and practice alert, evacuation, and shelter-in-place procedures. Regularly, not just on the last day of the month. Immediately stop the practice of warning staff when there is going to be a drill.  It defeats the purpose of the drill and creates the learned behavior of, “Checking to see if it is a real emergency.” Also, there should be drills conducted on days when campus leadership is not available.  Emergencies can occur at any time.  Practice accordingly.

3. Keep your head on a swivel.  Stay alert.  When it comes to their surroundings, most adults operate in a fog throughout the day. This is where you can actually use students to help with security.  They are much more alert than we give them credit for.  Teach them to monitor our shared surroundings (visitor badges, unlocked doors, open windows, damaged equipment, unsafe conditions, etc.) and quietly report to their teacher. Make it a game.

4. (NEW) Allow any adult or student on the campus to initiate a lockdown.  This bears repeating, allow any person on the campus (adult or student) to initiate a lockdown.  Most campuses require a previously identified administrator or team to authorize a lockdown of a campus.  That person or persons may not be readily available when an imminent danger is identified.  So for a lockdown, eliminate the middleman and secure the school first. Then only lift the lockdown at the direction of a key administrator or a public safety officer. 

5. When something seems off, listen to your gut.  If you gut is wrong, all you did was take an extra precaution.  If your gut is right, you prevented or reduced the severity of a difficult situation.

6. (NEW) Provide students and teachers with a phone script.  Pre-write a basic, fill-in-the-blank, “Here’s what happened, now we’re safe, how to get me,” script for students and teachers.  As soon as the situation is stable, hand out the scripts and have the students and staff call their loved ones on their cell phones and follow the script.  They are going to call anyway. So manage the situation and reduce the amount incorrect information and panic that is generated from any school safety incident.

7. Plan for the worst. Pray for the best. We should not turn our campuses into armed camps and we cannot live in fear.  But we should be prudent and take reasonable precautions. 

This is a tough time to be an educator.  But this is also a proud time.  We have peers who have paid the ultimate price to protect our children. We will not forget that. And still we man our posts because the job is important and it is what we do.  We Are Teachers.    

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Buy In?

It is regularly reported that some initiative on a campus failed because there was no “Buy-in.”  I’ve been doing this a while, and I believe this concept of "buy-in" is overrated. As a school leader, here is what I believe in:

1. I believe in communication. 

2. I believe in clear purpose and intent.

3. I believe in training. 

4. I believe in support.

5. I believe in monitoring. 

6. I believe in, “Do or Don’t Do.”

7. And I believe that sometimes, in spite of everything we do, things don’t go according to plan.

But, the lack of “buy-in” is the cop out excuse of the manager who was negligent somewhere in items 1 thru 5 and doesn’t want to be held accountable.

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Student With a Baby

I recently had the following correspondence with the Superintendent of a small, rural district.

SC,

Considering my district and the community we serve, what would you do for the student who is a junior and now has a baby with no day care options, no family support and no job for a baby sitter?

SC Response

I could make a snarky comment about the lack of a safety net for unprepared mothers and their children, but that is another post.  As is the case for almost every social issue, as school leaders we leave the rhetoric to those who would rather talk about social problems, instead of actually dealing with them.

I know creating a day care at your high school is not feasible, so let’s go straight to Plan B.

1. Get the student access to some on-line course work, immediately.  A+ or Khan Academy courses would be the first place I would look, though they are not the only options.  At this time, this student doesn't need great instruction, this student now needs exposure to content.  If the student doesn’t have a computer and/or connectivity at home, take care of both issues.  Then as the student progresses thru the lessons at home have her come to the school at regular interval to take the content tests that will allow her to earn the credit in the course(s).

2. Get the student back on campus and in class as soon as baby-sitting is available. If quarter or half day attendance is the only option, then exercise it.

3. From an education standpoint, there are now only 3 priorities for this student: 

A – Earn a required credit. 

B – Earn a HS diploma.  

C - Start earning some college credits towards a certificate or a degree as soon as possible.

In our state, it only takes 22 credits to graduate from high school, if they are the right credits.  As a junior, the student most likely has 16 credits earned and 4 credits currently in progress.  Which means that there is no reason why this student couldn’t graduate by July 2015 and be enrolled in a course at the local Junior College in the Fall of 2015.

Going forward, your job is to increase the opportunity set of your student and her child.  Each additional credit earned does that, a High School diploma does that, and enrolling in a college course does that.

As you know, the decisions you make in this matter will change lives.  Change them for the better.

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of October 19, 2014

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 October 19, 2014.

1. Redundancy is critical in training a school response plan. What happens when the "safety guy" happens to be gone for the day? (By @TinneyTroy)

2. Laugh if you want, but a simple kitchen timer is the post powerful piece of technology a teacher can use in the classroom. (By @LYSNation)

3. I think it is funny how many politicians brag about having mothers who were teachers while simultaneously gutting public education. (By @plugusin)

4. The structures in education placed by people who don't understand education are hurting teachers and students. (By @BeckyFredickso)

5. If you can change a child's writing, you can eventually change their thinking. (By @MsCalcoteZPB)

6. Research says students must talk to each other about 7 times in a given class period to comprehend topic at hand. (By @justintarte)

7. Writing is hard work, because thinking is hard work. Writing is thinking on paper. (By @MecrumpMyra)

8. If you tell yourself that winning isn't important then your chances of winning go way, way down. (By @LeadToday)

9. Remember, if you want a different result, do something different. (By @Crysrommuel)

10. Big Spring HS Hammer Time Policy: No announcements during the last 5 minutes of class. Reserved for Lesson Closure. The Close hammers home the learning. (By @LYSNation)

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 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook