Energy in the Room

I recently formally observed a Beginning Teacher in my school that demonstrated how important and beneficial it is for the teacher to be the energy in the classroom.

You can find hundreds of articles and resources discussing how important it is for the teacher to be the energy in the classroom.  Why is it so important?

Two primary effects:

1.  Instructional time is maximized.

2.  The students are engaged.

You ever notice how fast an observation goes when you're in an energetic classroom?  Forty-five minutes fees like 15.  The best compliment a student can give a teacher is, at the end of the class, you hear, "It's time to go already?!?".  This only occurs when the instructional time is maximized, keeping students engaged for the entire class period.

Last week, I retweeted a tweet by @Jaymelinton (who will be moderating Wednesday's #ncadmin chat, "New Teacher Support", at 8 pm [shameless plug]), which was originally posted by @coolcatteacher:

"Students will rarely exceed the energy you put into the equation."

The importance of energy and enthusiasm was best demonstrated near the end of Thursday's observation:

Since this occurred in a world language class, I'm not sure what exactly the teacher said (it was not a Spanish class-I can normally hold my own in a Spanish class).  All of the sudden, 24 high school students had their feet off of the ground and were sitting on top of their desks, working furiously on the activity and participating with the dialogue led by the teacher.  It was some sort of quick-paced, relatively silly, "the floor has turned into hot lava that is rising towards the desk" activity.  These students could not care less about "looking cool" in front of others.  Remember, these are high school students.

Every single student participated; Every single student was engaged; This was the result of the energy in the room.

Thanks for reading!

CS



The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith     and do not represent the school or district in which he works.

Student Engagement Eye-Opener

Imagine it's a mid-year school day.  School begins promptly at 8 am, but with a one-hour early release at 2 pm.  But, there is one major adjustment for the schedule of the day.  Each student will report to one class and remain in that class ALL DAY LONG.  In addition, students will report to a course in which they have failed previously.

My Vision of iPads in the Classroom

      Two of my teachers and I have recently applied for a an iPads in the Classroom Pilot, so I wanted to share some of my thoughts:

       My vision for the use of iPads in the classroom is with the primary objective to help facilitate instruction in the classroom and increase student achievement.  The use of iPads in a 1:1 format will allow teachers to use technology-based student work products as a part of their instructional design.  If given the opportunity to incorporate iPads in the classroom, a teacher would be able to engage students to address higher level thinking skills and truly parallel their instruction with the 21^st century standards. 

Tablets would provide opportunities for students to demonstrate responsibility through technology.  Technology empowers students to explore and create (Gliksman, 2012).  Most importantly, iPads encourages independent, creative, and innovative use of technology.  The new Information and Technology Essential Standards require teachers to use technology as a tool and are expected to “use appropriate technology tools and other resources to access information” and “use appropriate technology tools and other resources to design products to share information with others”.  The implementation of iPads will directly coincide with these expectations and requirements for our teachers.

Finally, I was recently recognized by RobertJackson, the 2010-2011 Wachovia Principal of the Year, during the Regional Principals Conferences throughout the state of North Carolina in regards to my ongoing NC Principal ePLC (CSmithGoBlue/ncadmin).  The purpose of this ePLC is for North Carolina school leaders to collaborate and work as a Professional Learning Community with a centralized focus of the instructional issues for schools in North Carolina through Twitter and Tweetdeck.  Needless to say, if given the opportunity to take part in the iPads in the Classroom Pilot, my strong involvement in Twitter as an instructional leader will provide unlimited professional development and collaboration.

Thanks for reading and follow me via Twitter @CSmithGoBlue

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.

What Makes a Successful Counselor?

Since February 6-11 is National Counseling Week, a Principal in my district created the following:

“WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL COUNSELOR?”

by

James Robert White, Ed.D.

CIRCULATE THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL!

OBSERVE STUDENT BEHAVIOR!

UNERSTAND STUDENT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT!

NOURISH STUDENT SELF-CONFIDENCE!

SCHEDULE CLASSROOM VISITS!

ENCOURAGE PARENT INVOLVEMENT!

LISTEN CAREFULLY TO STUDENTS!

OPEN YOUR OFFICE TO STUDENTS!

RESPECT SUDENTS’ OPINIONS!

SUCCESS                    SUCCESS                    SUCCESS

[Copyright © January 25, 2005]

(Dr.) James Robert White, Ed.D.

Assistant Principal ▬ Catawba Heights Elementary School

101 Ivey Street

Belmont, North Carolina  28012

(704) 827-3221 Fax: (704) 827-2419

You can also check out: What Makes a Successful Mentor?

What If A Student Follows You On Twitter?

"What if a student follows you on Twitter?"

I was asked this question by a staff member last week and wanted to share my thoughts:

• I don't see any harm in students reading posts from any "hashtag discussions", such as #edchat, #cpchat, #atplc, etc.  Aren't we conducting these conversations to grow professionally with the ultimate goal of improving as a school leader?

• I manage two Twitter accounts: @CSmithGoBlue, which is "Craig Smith", and @AshbrookHS, which is the account for my school.  This allows me to distinguish if something tweet-worthy is "coming directly from the school" or "directly from me".  I will admit, this is difficult at times.  On occasion, I will re-tweet a @CSmithGoBlue tweet using @AshbrookHS, to keep the two separated.  It sounds like a pain, but it does indeed help. 

• Students see educators as role models within the school.  Today's 21st-century students needs to see responsible leaders with social media, as well.

• Twitter is such an easy way to promote positive news.  For example, we have a very spirited student section (aka "The Zoo Crew") and I was extremely proud of how they conducted themselves over the past few games.  I tweeted this after a basketball game two weeks ago and, as a result, the tweet began circulating among the student body.  It was a simple token of appreciation for the students acting responsibly.

• I don't follow back.  PLAIN AND SIMPLE.  Maybe after a student graduates.  Maybe, since...

• It is a simple way to keep in touch with alumni, especially my former athletes.  BUT NOT CURRENT STUDENTS.

• I understand and completely agree that educators need their "lives away from school."  So, I don't tweet my life away from school.

• The majority of my non-educational related Tweets are sports related.  I am not too worried if students see that I believe Michigan needs a big conference road win.

• I am going to be sending this Blog Post out via Twitter.  I am hoping a few students read it. 

Finally, the popular mantra regarding social media is to "never post anything you wouldn't want your grandma to see."  At a public forum, I once heard a Detective say, "You shouldn't have anything on Social Media that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of The Charlotte Observer."  I prefer to use the mentality of "never tweet something you wouldn't want the entire student body to see".

Thanks for reading and follow me via Twitter @CSmithGoBlue!

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.

What Makes A Successful Mentor?

In recognition of January being National Mentoring Month, an Assistant Principal in my district created the following diagram for reference:

“WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL MENTOR?”

By

 (Dr.) James Robert White, Ed.D., Assistant Principal

Catawba Heights Elementary School 101 Ivey St., Belmont, N. C. 28012 [704-827-3221]

MAGNIFY  ENCOURAGEMENT,  GUIDANCE,  CHARACTER  AND  INTEGRITY!

EXPRESS  UNCONDITIONAL  COMMITMENT  TO  EQUITY,  EQUALITY,  AND

      EXCELLENCE  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  MENTEE!

NEVER  GIVE UP  AND/OR  QUIT  ON  THE  MENTEE,  SCHOOL,  HOME,  AND   COMMUNITY!

TRUSTED  AND  TRAINED  ADVISER  (MENTOR) WHO  PROVIDES   UNCONDITIONAL   

      ENERGETIC TIME TO  STUDENTS  (MENTEE)  IN  AN  EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION  OF

      LEARNING!  [AND/OR AN EXPERIENCED INDIVIDUAL IN AN ORGANIZATION WHO TRAINS

     AND ADVISES NEW EMPLOYEES].

OPEN  YOUR  HEART,  MIND,  AND  SOUL  UNCONDITIONALLY  BY  MODELING  THE     

      SYNERGY  OF  CARE,  CONCERN,  AND  CONNECTEDNESS!

RESPECT  AND  LISTEN  UNCONDITIONALLY  TO  THE  OPINION  OF  THE  MENTEE



Thanks for reading and please follow me via Twitter @CSmithGoBlue

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.

Who Are Your "Go To" Teachers?

Take a second and imagine this situation:

You have an unexpected visitor at your school: someone from the community, a local elected official, maybe even the Assistant Superintendent.  They would like to visit a couple classrooms.  Quickly decide without hesitation--where are you going to go?

The teachers which entered your mind are who I like to consider your "Go to" teachers.  These are the teachers that seem to always be on their game when you perform your routine Walk-Through's.  These are the teachers where the student engagement level is always very high and the classroom environment is consistently conducive to maximize instructional time.

These are the teachers that possess an enthusiastic personality and excitement about the content and day-to-day instruction that occurs in their classroom.  You are confident bringing anyone into these classrooms any day of the week, and more importantly, these teachers would welcome any visitor.  I remember a veteran Social Studies teacher once told me, "You know, I don't care if the Governor comes in to observe me.  They just better be ready to participate!"

The best part about this is that I haven't even discussed which students you would bring the visitor to observe.  What does this indicate?  Any student can thrive with a "Go to" teacher, regardless of grade-level, economic status, etc.  And every student deserves a "Go to" teacher.

It's our job as educational leaders to provide a school full of "Go to" teachers.  Therefore, when the visitor arrives and wishes to visit some classrooms, your quick response can be, "anywhere."

Thanks for reading and please follow me via Twitter @CSmithGoBlue

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.