Leadership, new and improved

Last year I was an epic failure in the way I tried to lead the science department.  Sure there were somethings I did right but for the most part... Epic failure.  When I took my new job I was under the impression that I would be just a member of the team not the leader.  I was thrilled!  No responsibility beyond myself.  Failures and successes would be of my own.  Wrong.  I found out on move in day that I had been chosen to lead my new teammates into the battlefield of education and win victory over standardized testing.

I was asked to join a PLC leadership training.  Two days to figure out why I sucked as a leader previously and become a new and emproved version.  I immediately felt like the speaker was talking specifically and almost exclusively to me.  Here are a few of my take aways from those two days.

1. Don't try and perfect a plan.  The Wright brothers made a plan and almost immediately executed the plan with the full expectation the plane might not fly YET.  All members of the team were expected to arrive to work with five replacement parts for the aircraft and ready to crash planes.  I loved perfecting a good plan but rarely felt prepared for the aftermath of the crash because I was confident in "the plan". This year I will work with my battle buddies (my teammates) to put plans into actions and crash planes with replacement parts at the ready, even prepared to fly an incomplete plane and assemble mid air.

2. Don't try to move someone who has made up their mind.  It is the quiet thinkers that need the most encouragement.  They are sitting on the fence deciding on the right course of action.  They are ready to make a change and just need to see enough of a benefit to make the move to join you in your desire to make a plan, crash some planes, and prepare to fix them.  I wasted countless hours hating and complaining about the steadfast rocks within my habitat that I never noticed the sweet birds on the fence waiting to make up their minds.  I will look to the fence first from now on.  The rocks decide to be birds once they realize they are alone and if they don't... Well heck you are a bird and have flown away from the rock anyways.

3. Expectations must be outlined and norms set.  I have rules that I enforce in my classroom with ease but have never thought once to have norms in a meeting.  Stupid!  Teachers make the worst students. For real, stick me next to my bestie in a staff development and good luck getting anything productive out of either one of us.  Setting norms as a group creates comfortable perimeters for all and allows for the most productivity.  I will be setting norms in my classroom this year with my kids and with my teammates so we have the most time to crash planes.

4. I might have the title but we are equally yoked in the team and all have responsibilities to one another.  In the past I have felt that if one of the teachers I was leading didn't have the scores they had hoped for then it was my fault, I had not lead them or our students to success.  We kept our scores a top government secret and often times wore them as scarlett letters of shame.  In the words of my mother-in-law, "it is, what it is".  We will own it ALL as a unit.  No Teacher Left Behind.  We are a team and we will succeed and fail as such.  One of my teammates said that we should get Phoenix tattoos if our kids score 95% or better.  Being a team player I agreed and added to that I would also get my teammates names on the Phoenix.  I agree to the goal but mildly regret adding my aggreance to the tattoo.  My teammates get me so fired up about the work we will be doing together that I get carried away.  I fear I will end up getting coaxed into other outlandish things throughout this year.

All in all I am so blessed to be given another chance at leadership.  We have several more leadership training sessions and I am so excited to hear more ways to get my battle buddies and I closer to our Phoenix tattoo. To my previous teammates... I am sorry I failed you and I am grateful for the lessons I learned in that journey the hard way.  Best wishes my fellow educators to a week filled with meeting and chaos.  Hug your battle buddies this week and get prepared to crash planes.  The children with be here ready for a first class seat in one week!

My New Habitat... before pics

Desk Area

cabinet area

white board

This year I will be starting my 10th year of teaching.  I have taught in 4 districts, and 5 schools.  That is a lot of mobility.  I know that.  Every move I have made has been to put my family in a better position financially, geographically, and/or logistically.  This year I asked God specifically to use my family.  So that when we pass on we are used up and He was able to use our gifts to His glory.  My church family has so many amazing things going on in my hometown.  I know that my spiritual gifts can be put to use in those movements.  My children have never attended their home campus because logistically it was a nightmare for Stud Muffin and I to get them to and fro.  So in May I applied for a science position at my local intermediate school.  Ironically, I attended this intermediate school as a student.  When I interviewed for the position I was not completely convinced that I was able to convince these administrators to hire me.  I felt like the interview went well but I was sweating through my floral dress the whole time.  My car refused to start in the parking lot and carpool commenced upon trying to depart from my interview.  I just wanted to get home and get out of my sweaty dress.  I felt like that was God's way of saying "Not this time kid." Truly, I was fine with that.  I LOVED my old school.  The principal, hands down was the best administrator I had ever worked for.  I was part of the family in that school in a way I had never felt at any other school I had been in.  I was comfortable and doing good work there.

teacher work area

I had not even pulled back into my neighborhood which is within a few miles of the school when I was called and offered the job.  I asked the principal if I could have the weekend to discuss the opportunity with Stud Muffin before I made my decision.  As my honey cooked out hamburgers I watched my boys play in the back yard as we discussed the possible job change and how that could effect our family.  A group of boys rode by our house on bikes.  The look in Beans' eyes was of utter longing.  Longing to have friends in our neighborhood, bike rides, sleep overs, and trips to the pool with friends from school.  The decision was made.  I called Monday to accept the position.

NOT my new class pet!!

I was surprised by the timeless appearance of my new campus upon moving in.  The school, for the most part, had not changed much from when I had attended  the school almost two decades ago. With the exception of my very first job, I have been blessed to be in a brand new school.  Seriously, every classroom I have ever taught in has been no more than 5 years old at most.  Pristine walls, new desks, matching chairs, and stain free carpet were the makings of my domains.  I spent hours looking for the best way to attach anything to painted cinder block.

glass cabinets

Because of my love for labels and organization I immediately went through the room and supply closet with a fine toothed comb and another teacher who has quickly become one of my favorite co-workers for his wit and sarcasm.  I have met my two other teammates and have fallen into budding friendships with them as well.  I am feeling more at home in my new habitat.

I miss the pristine quarters of my old school.  The feelings of comfort I found with in the campus.  The deep friendships I had developed with my peers.  The familiar sounds of the building and the children with in it.  I miss the steadfastness of my old principal.

other half of glass cabinet area, the two most friendly janitors ever

Despite my ability to make decisions easily and carry out a plan quickly, this change has surprised me.  I will continue to teach science and be in a leadership role.  The job for me has not changed much over the past 6 years.  But something about this place feels different.  I am intrigued by the possibilities and the newness of this old school.  I learned how to play the clarinet and tuba in this building.  I got in my first fight in this building.  I played basketball in this building.  I ran laps in the bus loop of this building.  I completed my dyslexia classes in this building.  I served my one and only Saturday school punishment in this building.  A school that once felt so small to me now feels gigantic.

Stay tuned as I navigate the waters in this new adventure and prepare for the school year ahead.  I am where God wants my family and I to be and the anticipation of what this year holds is exciting!