Monday Moanin Thoughts # 88, Your Next Focus May Be On Your Bookcase

What a great  Monday Moanin morning to wake up to. This week many of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving 2013. For the past several weeks I have conducted many coaching sessions with several building administrators.  Several of my meetings take place in their offices and  one common thing they share is they have bookcases that are jammed with hundreds of  books and journals. They are  filled with critical information on pertinent topics that may serve as a valuable resource.  As I reflect  back on my office as a principal and my den today, I realize that I have the same overfilled bookcases. I realized that it was rare that I read or even looked through these books. What a missed opportunity to grow, learn, and apply some new ideas.  So as I glanced at the titles and began looking and reading certain sections from Danielson, Marzano, Covey,  Schmoker, Stiggins, Glickman, Wagner, Kouzes,and Posner, I thought of a challenge. For  the next two weeks check your bookcase and use what you have available.  Find topics , sections, quotes and other information that will enhance your  practice and use them. One of these  books I read years ago was Leadership for Learning, by Carl Glickman. From this book I  am reflecting on this quote:

“Successful schools understand that the direct improvement of teaching and learning in every classroom comes via a constellation of individuals and groups who undertake a myriad of activities and initiatives. These activities and initiatives provide continual reflection and changing of classroom practices guided by the educational aspirations of the school.”

Another quote is from a book off my shelf , Leadership the Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner:

” Leadership is not at all about personality; it’s about practice.”

Have a great week and find the good stuff, some will be right in your office. Have a great Thanksgiving break.