Monday Moanin Thoughts #143 Improve Building Climate, Know Who Does What

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Happy Final January 2015 Monday Moanin to all of you. Over the past few weeks I have met with several school leaders. Among the topics that are most common is building climate and culture. In the latest book, School Culture Rewired authors  Todd Whitaker and Stave Gruenert write; “If culture is a school’s personality, climate is its attitude. The biggest difference between the two is that attitude is far easier to change than a personality.”  Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #142 Dr. King On Education, How Are We Doing?

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Welcome to another January 2015 Monday Moanin. Today we celebrate the American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Let’s honor Dr. King’s memory as we begin our work this week. The following Dr. King quote can help us reflect on the work we are doing in our schools.

” The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of education.” Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #141 Be More Productive This Week

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Welcome to the second Monday Moanin of 2015. This week I want share with you a few strategies to help enhance your practice. The challenges of your job is great and working in a school lends itself to being more reactive than proactive. Try using some of the following. Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #140 Use These To Guide Your Week

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Happy 2015  and welcome to this blustery, frigid Monday Moanin in Michigan. I hope you had a great Holiday break. Two weeks ago I encouraged you to begin reflecting on what you wanted to start doing in 2015. I listed many prompts for you to consider as you began your reflection. They ranged from having courageous conversations, to conducting listening walks, to always having an instructional component at every staff meeting. Hopefully, you have determined your area of focus for the new year.  As I reflected over break, I leaned on my PLN for new information and timely reminders. As a result, I am including a few posts that will guide my work this week. I believe that these affirmations could also support your area of focus for 2015. Give them a look and consider using them as you begin your work . They are: Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #139 What Are You Going To Start Doing In 2015?

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Monday Moanin Thoughts #139 What Are You Going To Start Doing In 2015?It is hard to believe that for many of you this will be your last Monday Moanin before a long Holiday break.  This will also be my last blog of 2014. During the past few weeks I have met with many administrators. Among the many topics we discussed  included a question from Ken Blanchard, what do you want to start doing?  So, what do you want to begin doing in 2015. Listed below are some suggestions for you to consider as you prepare for 2015. Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #137 Just Asking, Three Questions For The Week

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Welcome to the first December 2014 Monday Moanin.  For  most educators in Michigan this is the first day back from a much needed Thanksgiving break. This is a perfect time to just ask some questions regarding education. Please consider reflecting on  them and consider using one of them as an opener for an upcoming staff meeting. Here  they are: Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #138 Focus On Being Effective

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Being a leader in todays schools is a difficult challenge. There are mandates, shrinking resources, learning gaps, new supervisors,  and state legislatures to deal with. These challenges can cause you to lose confidence and momentum. Listed below are ten strategies that may be helpful in keeping you on track and improving your effectiveness as a leader. Consider using as many of these as you can and see if they help enhance your performance. In no particular order, here they are : Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #136 Have You Written Your Thanksgiving Message Yet? Try Some Of These Themes

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What a great  Monday Moanin morning to wake up to. This week many of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving 2014. In a few days we will be having a wonderful meal with our loved ones and enjoying a well deserved break from the daily challenges we face. Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts # 135 What Is Most Important To Workers- Workplace Survey 2014

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Welcome to the Monday Moanin thoughts  two weeks before Thanksgiving 2014. Thanksgiving is a great time to be full of gratitude and thankfulness. It is also a great time to reflect on your effectiveness as a leader. To assist in your reflection, I will share some information from the  recently published 2014 Detroit Free Press Workplace Survey. Read more

Monday Moanin Thoughts #134 Thank You Building Admin Teams- You Rock!

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Welcome to this beautiful November 2014 Monday Moanin.  This week I want to continue with the November theme of practicing gratitude.  The individuals that I want to recognize this week are building administrators.  It is truly a challenging and thankless job and many times their efforts are under appreciated. It is also a position that lends itself to only hearing the challenges and issues that are within the school community.  Rarely do teams hear about the good things  that are going on. Listed below are the 1o things I appreciate about building Administrative teams and what they do for our schools. What am I missing? Read more