‘SO, DID THEY HAPPEN TO MENTION…?’ - A Poem about ‘Underperforming’ Schools, about Turning Around & Turning Out- They say that the tests scores are too low, Did they mention my students are hungry? that the school is underperforming and must be Did they say many have no fathers at home. “turned around,” that all the teachers must be that few parents will attend turned out, fired, or reapply, though Open School Night because of that only some will be rehired. Administrators second job, or no job, and that who ha.

Laura Varlas wrote an interesting piece in ASCD “Caught in the Middle” July 2010 | Volume 52 | Number 7 Called- Looking Within: Teachers Leading Their Own Learning She had me at her opening line, “The most powerful and ample resource for change in education is teachers’ own expertise. Yet, teachers are regularly overstepped when it comes to leading school improvement.” What’s not to love? Teachers developing expertise and leadership by using their voice in areas that impact them most, areas such as, profess.

A good friend told me that he heard another friend whining about how he wished educational bloggers would get back to blogging from the heart. It struck a cord with me. While I am anything but a Chicken Soup for the Soul kind of blogger– (more emotion than substance in posts) I do think there is a place for emotional intelligence when addressing educational reform and change. Michael Jansen, the first black person to serve as dean of the University of Pretoria in South Africa outlines seven themes that I think encompass leadership with a hear.

Alec Couros and I were talking the other day and I was reminded of a post I have been wanting to do about deep thinking, sharing and action. We originally connected to talk about a new project PLP is sponsoring, a virtual Institute for Higher Education, which Alec will lead, but it took us awhile to get to that part of the conversation. Why? Because we were sharing strong ideas and passions about education, leadership, change, and human nature. Alec said something that got to me– I am paraphrasing here, but he said something to the effect.

While I am becoming more and more dissatisfied with Delta as my preferred airline because of treatment by most (not all) gate folks and flight attendants, I am finding that I am enjoying the networking opportunities with the folks I meet there more and more. I travel. A lot. Because of that I often get bumped up to First Class and in First Class you meet the most interesting people. People who really have a great deal of knowledge and are willing to share it if asked. The dynamics are interesting actually, networking in-flight has its own norm.

Would love your comments on these ideas — let’s have a conversation. OTHER FORMATS Portable (iPod) http://blip.tv/file/get/Snbeach-Reflection1ToTEDxNYED352.wmv Audio-only http://blip.tv/file/get/Snbeach-Reflection1ToTEDxNYED604.wmv

Lawrence Lessig, at a talk given at TEDxNYED March 6, 2010, does a wonderful job of modeling how we can work together to accomplish copyright policy change that is in the best interest of freedom and our kids’ future, rather than reinforcing the polarizing type of rhetoric heard from both conservatives and liberals alike. He encourages us to teach the values of freedom, community, limiting regulation, respecting the creator and other issues of fair use,  while teaching us a thing or two about copyright and the shift in the process. The .

I am driving home from NYC and while I know I should be devoting my time to the PLP communities, I couldn’t help myself- I had to come here first and reflect. It is such a rare thing when I have a chance to attend an event as a learner only and at TEDxNYED I was just that “learner only.” Don’t get me wrong,  I learn a great deal while I am presenting and engaging  audiences in the workshops and keynotes I am invited to give, however, it is rare that I am ever able to attend an event with no pressure to perform-where I.

I had an epiphany today. For most of you who lead change, run a company or ministry this is probably obvious. But for me– not so much. I was listening to John Maxwell on TV today and he shared something I had never considered. My mission, my purpose in all the work I do, whether keynoting, conferences, working with for profits like Intel or Microsoft or non profits like the EETT grant work and especially in the building of PLP, has to be about adding value to the lives of others. I know..I know.. for you guys it is a no brainer, but for.

Definitions of smart on the Web: showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness chic: elegant and stylish; “chic elegance”; “a smart new dress”; “a suit of voguish cut” bright: characterized by quickness and ease in learning; “some children are brighter in one subject than another”; “smart children talk earlier than the average” fresh: improperly forward or bold; “don’t be fresh with me”; “impertinent of a child to lecture a grownup”; ̶.