Monday Moanin Thoughts #314 Great Week To Practice And Improve

Happy Monday Moanin to all of you. Wow, it is hard to believe that we are a few weeks away from Thanksgiving 2018. The school year is moving fast and it is a challenge to find the time to reflect on how things are going. Over the past several weeks I have met with many administrators discussing their effectiveness as a team and their individual challenges. During this time I have encouraged them to focus on practice and what does it mean and how do we address it?  When discussing instruction and assessment the term best practice is  often used. But do we really practice strategies in those areas or do we just discuss it and rarely take action? My understanding of practice is to work on something to improve a specific skill. To get better,  we need to intentionally use the skill. This week, consider choosing one of these suggestions and try to practice it.

• Be more positive and accept what can’t be changed. David Holmes writes; ” You need to do this in order to deter a pattern of complaining that is so easy to begin, the discipline of dealing with ‘what is,’ not what you wish things to be, is an important principle.”  Work on your attitude.
• Lead in your classroom or building more side by side in a supportive, helping manner. It is easy to tell others what to do. It is a challenge to really understand why others are behaving a certain way. This week, get closer to others and see if it makes a difference in their performance. Work on helping others with their readiness.
• Fight isolation and be more available to others. For example, try not eating alone, invite others into you classroom or building, and look for opportunities outside of your building to connect and network with others. You don’t have to be alone, reach out. Work on your professional collaboration skills.

There is an older traditional thought that says practice makes perfect. Let’s forget about being perfect and just begin practicing.

Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff.