You Get to Choose Your Attitude

Last week I had two vastly different conversations with two teachers from two different schools.

The first conversation was with a teacher from a Title I school on the Texas/Mexico boarder.  This veteran teacher could not wait for school to start and to meet her new students. Her excitement and enthusiasm was contagious.  And I couldn’t help but smile as she walked away.  Every one of us would want our own children in that teacher’s classroom.  And her principal later confirmed that she is a campus superstar.

The second conversation was with a teacher from a very affluent school in a suburban setting.  This teacher was complaining about how tough this year is going to be.  You see, this year, she is going to have to teach a section of “on level” students.  It seems that at this school “on-level” is code for poor and/or minority students. This teacher personified everything wrong with our profession and I was mentally and emotionally drained as she walked away.  I would not want to assign the children of my worst enemy to this teacher’s classroom.  And her principal later confirmed that she is a campus cancer.

My point is that with the new school year, you get to choose your attitude.  For the sake of your students, especially the one’s that need you the most... CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE.

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); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations); American Association of School Administrators 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 August 16, 2015

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of August 16, 2015 when they were first posted.  And if you are on Twitter, you might want to check out the Tweeters who made this week’s list.

1. The time is always right to do what is right. (By @CoachKWisdom)

2. "Upper levels of cognition have almost nothing to do with us [teachers] and almost everything to do with them [students.]" (By @SISDSocStu_CI)

3. People always move towards someone who increases them and away from anyone who decreases them. (By @blitzkrieg607)

4. If you don't expect yourself to accomplish great things then it's likely you won't. (By @LeadToday)

5. If you won't make enemies with adults because you're fighting for kids to have access to a great education, you have no real fight in you. Go away. (By @DrStevePerry)

6. Love kids first. Hassling over a pencil is not worth destroying relationships. Just give them one. (By @alicekeeler)

7. Teacher practice is the leading indicator, student performance is the lagging indicator.  Improve teacher craft, increase student success. (By @DrMetz_MJH)

8. Beginning to realize a profound vision can't be communicated. It must be modeled and walked before it can be learned. (By @txschoolsiupe)

9. Today we are awash in pessimism. But history suggests that it’s the optimists who have tended to be right. (By @FareedZakaria)

10. If you ever reach a point where you don't think it's awesome that you get to go to school and teach kids, call a sub immediately. For real. (By @BluntEducator)

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); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations); American Association of School Administrators Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Long Summer Road Trip

If we missed you this Summer, we'll see you in the Fall!

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); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Maximize Your Instructional Time

A significant hidden inhibitor of student performance in today’s schools is idle time in the classroom. By October, the norm in far too many classrooms is, “late to start / early to finish.”  This may seem insignificant to some, but consider the math, as highlighted in this example.

Take a typical secondary campus with an 8-period day.  This campus probably has 48-minute class periods.

If the teacher waits 4 minutes after the bell to begin instruction and stops instruction 4 minutes prior to the bell so students can prepare to leave then there is a minimum of 8 minutes of idle time, per class period.

So what do these 8 minutes represent?

8 minutes are a lost 17% of the class time.

8 minutes are 64 minutes of lost instruction per day.

8 minutes are 320 minutes of lost instruction per week.

8 minutes are 11,520 minutes of lost instruction per year. Which equates to 30 instructional days.

So the question really becomes, “What could you and your students accomplish with an extra 30 days of instruction?” 

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); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Five Fundamentals of Classroom Environment

School is starting in the next couple of weeks, so now is a good time to review the Fundamental 5 for cultivating classroom environments that enhance student performance.

1. When it comes to classroom displays and decor, LESS is more. For most teachers, a good rule of thumb is in comparison to what was in the room last year... reduce it by ½.

2. Reduce the amount of clutter in the room.  This means that any non-instructional decor or accents, leave them at home.

3. Get you room organized and keep it organized. This also includes the teacher’s workspace.

4. Keep the room clean.  The good news is with the reduced clutter and improved organization, this will be easier than ever before.

5. Keep the lights on, and if available, keep the window blinds open.  Long story, short: More light engages the brain, less light slows the brain down.

Embrace these 5 environment fundamentals and you will quickly notice improved student focus, engagement, and performance.

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); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Pass / Fail

Too many of our school policies de-motivate more students than they motivate, and grading is right up at the top of the list.  At the high school level, we be begin grading 9^th graders on Day One, when most of them are still trying to learn where their classes are, how to the navigate the building and which restrooms to avoid at what times.  Why?

What if we did this instead? What if we made the freshman classes “Pass / Fail.”  Either the student meets the learning standard by the end of the semester, or he/she doesn’t.  Then the Freshman Year becomes about learning the school, learning the culture, and learning the content, without worrying about digging a hole so deep in the first semester of high school, that it is impossible to recover.

And before I hear about how this is watering down expectations (which it isn’t) and students won’t try (they will), consider this... Harvard, MIT and many of the other schools in the Ivy League grade freshman courses as pass / fail.  And no matter how high the standards are at your high school, Ivy League standards are higher.

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); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference, The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook