If you're just joining in on this series, here's what's going on:
I'm using the quotes as a basis for reflection on a shift in my professional journey. You see, for 12 years I was an elementary music teacher and now I've found myself to be an assistant principal. In a time that I anticipate to be filled with much personal and professional growth, I'd like to be sure and carve out some purposeful reflection time. As an educator, I've personally benefited from purposeful reflection through blogging and I can only imagine that I'll still benefit from reflective blogging as a leader in education.
My goal is to spend some time in each post writing about the quote, about the author of the quote (when possible), and about how I see the quote and/or the background image of the quote applying to my day-to-day world.
As a gal who always credits a source, I'd like to give a shout out to a dear friend, Kara Lowery, for coming up with the name of the series. Kara is a fabulous special education teacher who specializes in working with children who have autism. Not only is is a gifted teacher; she's also terrifically punny.
Read on; enjoy!
He's more than a fable, he's a legend.
Also: my blog quote source needs no introduction, so let's cut straight to the reflection today:
Last week was a really tough week in my Rookie AP career. I had two students whom I did not successfully reach, and some phone conversations/visitors in my office who really stretched my mediation skill set. I appreciate a solid staff-development-via-experience session, but last week sure was a doozy! We're all blaming it on the super blue moon that was also a blood moon (or something like that). I think the grown ups and the tiny humans were all feeling the effects of some kind of gravitational pull and phasing.
Let me say again: last week sure was a doozy!
I returned to school today excited to see what the week would bring and also a bit nervous to see if this week would be any different than last week. I certainly did my fair share of praying for peace and resting over the weekend (I think I slept for a solid 10 hours on Friday night...haven't done that in a long time without being super duper sick), and today wasn't perfect but it was certainly better than last week.
To me, this quote means that we can't just say the words that sound like leaders; we must live by our words. Last week, I told a parent on the phone that I believed that practicing interactions while a child is calm allows them to hold on to those skills in a stronger way when their emotions are heightened. I thought of that today while I was working with a tiny human who was having a difficult time expressing his inner most feelings; his feelings were coming out as a wrinkled face, a rigid body, and a crumpled classroom paper thrown out into the hallway.
It's so hard being a tiny human.
As I was working with him, I couldn't just point to the title "Assistant Principal" on my badge. "Assistant Principal" doesn't matter half a penny to the tiny human who was so upset at everything in his world today. What mattered were all of the interactions we've had leading up to today. All the hugs, the high fives, the times when I've been able to get him out of his feelings and talking. Those are the feathers I leaned on today.
Real feathers are what gets results; not fine ones.
Clarification: The fine feathers sure do make the staff yearbook photo turn out better. Maybe one day a year for three minutes, I can have out the fine feathers. All the other minutes of the year, it's all real, all the time.