As I sit here today at Aspen Coffee House in Menasha, WI, I have again been invigorated to push forward with the transformation of education. I came here today to work on my grad work, and I expected to knock out a ton of tasks which I needed to get done. However, as you can see from this blog post, my mind has shifted to getting my current mindset digitized. About a half an hour ago I started to get bogged down with the formal process of how I need to put together my grad research paper. I love to be organized, and I need structure and process to move forward...at least that's what my current Strengthfinder 2.0 survey told me. Don't get me wrong, all of the previously mentioned skills are needed, but to be innovative, one must continue to be messy and challenge failure. For the past two hours, I have heard three discussions around me discussing challenging the status quo and pushing the envelope. Did I miss something, or are we currently not in a recession with little money flow? The mindset of individuals in this place is inspiring today.
Case Study 1: Fitness and website love
This was an informal business meeting of old friends. They stared by catching up with old times and then a spark began to flame. An innovative connection occurred and the brain spew began to fly. One lady never worked for a company in her life because she always ran her own work environment, however, she has been sought after for years by multiple companies. Recently she connected with a company and is now hired by someone for the first time in her life. No this is not a sit at a desk and someone telling her what to do...instead she is dictating her work environment and what she does. She has CONTROL over everything because she is selling her ideas. She is able to connect everything she is involved with while working for this company. The company gets her enthusiasm and passion to push their products in which she believes in. Her boss is in St. Louis and he is more of a confidant than a boss. Back to today...because of her meeting with her friend they are now hooking up to connect two abstract ideas to create something new. The lady and the Frosted Flakes box they pulled out of the garbage to throw their ideas together, are getting a workout today. Passion in progress! Love it!
Case Study 2: Technology and Intellectual Property: the happy dance group
I had to laugh at the individual coming into the coffee shop, because he reminded me of me. He was practically running around the group he was coming in with telling a story. I can tell he is truly in his "Element" (@sirkenrobinson). To find out...he is the current failure (loosely associated term) in their group. His abstract ideas are not ready for the Fox Valley Area because he is trying to sell and create intellectual property in technology. People will not buy what he is selling because there are no assets to sell if the business venture fails. The group of individuals he is with, are highly motivated and successful in the Fox Valley. They believe in the failed individual, and have started to throw ideas around. So, where does the happy dance come in? Two phone calls were made to Silicon Valley in the last half an hour, and this individual is now going to be taking a two week hiatus to grow his idea. The only warning they gave him...once you go, you will not come back. (Insert Happy Dance Here) WOW! The discussion continues to flow and revolve around is the Fox Valley ready for this? Pushing innovation forward!
Other discussions from Case Study 2: Open source aircraft hardware - Canadian Project (This is for @jimnchetek)
Case Study 3: Old and young- voices to push forward with advice
A recent college grad, meeting with a mentor of choice for advice. Innovative ideas coming to fruition. The college grad is working on final tweaks to implement a program for over 200 people. She has all the answers, but the mentor is here to help her put it into words. A true Strength Based Aproach!
What do all of these have in common? There are thought partners and a group of individuals working together for the betterment of society and the world around them.
So What? (a Barney Slowey special) Are our schools fostering this type of thinking, and not only fostering, but ENCOURAGING the development and innovation of ideas to move forward? THIS IS THE UNDERLYING QUESTION OF MY GRAD PROJECT!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I need to keep moving forward to develop this type of atmosphere in schools, or as I would like to call them- "Learning Environments!" People here today are autonomous thinkers, they are supported by others, they are willing to take calculated risks, and they are passionate about what they are involved with. Not one of the conversations that is happening around me is forced, or is being done because someone is telling them that it has to happen. I know from the conversations around me, that not everyone is rich, I do not know what type of car they drive, or how big of a house they live in....but, I do know that there is something burning inside of each and every one of them. They are not just here on Earth... they are LIVING a life that they are dictating with purpose. Is this not what students should leave schools with?
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Expanding my PLN
I am starting to become more conscious of themes that are running through my life. Some are constant themes, which I would call values that include my family time, appreciation of people's talents (strength based), and empathy towards people's situations. I also have themes which have come into my life and gone quickly with little or no thought. Then there are themes which come into my life and intrigue me to the point of connecting many things in my life together.
I currently have the later theme running through my life with Personal Learning Networks. There have been many people who have asked me how do I fit all that I do into my life. I am a Learning Support Teacher, Assistant Varsity Boys Basketball Coach, President of a Charter School Board, Teaching Grad Class Learning Communities, finishing my administration license in a years time, and, most importantly, a husband and father of one and soon to be two sons (just found out that exciting news tonight). The first time I was asked this was around 3 years ago, and at that time I did not have nearly as much going on as today. I can remember that day vividly...I looked at a good friend of mine and gave the nervous giggle. That's right I said giggle-which many of you can probably relate to. I did not think much of it at the time, but it came back to me when another person asked me the same question in a different way, months later. I thought everyone was doing a lot of different things outside of their classrooms. I reflected on why did I feel this way, and I did not have to look much farther than outside my home. My wife is my rock, and she not only supports me but encourages what I do within the education profession. I do not feel stressed or stretched on one of my core values of family time, and this has made my life easier. However, when families expand, it continues to get harder to build learning networks with the amount of time in a day. This theme has been lingering around for the past 3 years, until recently when it came charging to the forefront of my life.
My thought partner, Michael McCabe (@KornerstoneGuy) is a non-stop learner and educator. He has a knack for engaging in conversations and moving ideas forward. Last year he went on a nation-wide-tour getting coached up for the opening of a charter school. He began to really build his network as he was on his journey and he brought back the great discussions which he had over that time. He was fully invested in twitter and began to educate me on the benefits of it. I began to get plugged-in with many of the people with whom he was in contact with. This, without me knowing it, began to build my national PLN. Reflecting back, I had no idea what was going on, but I did know that the conversations I was having, and the like minded people I was finding, really started to stoke up the fire inside me. There are so many great people around this nation who truly care about educating our youth and our future.
With my constant thoughts and excitements about twitter, I had two other media experiences that have helped shape my thinking at this time. The first was a Ted talk by Matt Cutts ( http://bit.ly/md0PY5 ). He has a simple philosophy on setting a goal for 30 days to change a habit you have in your life. I thought great...I want to utilize this philosophy with twitter. I have made it a constant effort to tweet each day at my school for 30 days. It had been a life changer in multiple ways. For one, I have shared publicly a lot of the great things going on at my schools. Second, I have become a daily researcher of knowledge bites. And third, it has grown my PLN to an exciting level. The second key experience in the past month was a blog post by @tomwhitby on PLNs ( http://bit.ly/phgdJ8 ). I have really become conscious of being media literate and modeling the knowledge I have. I have found myself in positive twitter discussions with multiple administrators over the past couple of weeks. We can not ignore social media, and I will argue that we have to experience and use social media to help move education forward. My friend Michael has been doing an unbelievable job helping students see the potential of twitter with real world projects at Kornerstone Charter School. I become motivated every day I read the updates from students about their true learning experiences.
This past summer I decided to start a program to get my educational administration license. My close friends Michael McCabe and Ryan McGinnis (@CoachMcGinnis) have joined me on an adventure to help build a program to embrace an open source program in education. We have been joined by Tim and Kim from Western Wisconsin in our journey, and we have all been growing as people by our close bond this summer. We are looking at taking our Chippewa Falls Learning Community to a nationwide sharing network. Our vision, which will be explained in greater depth at a later date, is to provide a space which will live on for other administrators, and potential administrators, to have a resource to expand on our ideas, and share new ideas which they may have. We believe it will take on a life of it's own. We believe, at this time, that this will be our early contributions to the educational administration field. We are looking to hide less, and open up more discussions and great ideas. Last week I was able to run this idea past Lisa Misco (@Maggiemay629). She was a previous graduate of the current program we are going through. She enjoyed the concept of the open network for all to add to. This is just another way to build a person's PLN. Lisa is an unbelievable administrator who is years ahead of the profession. Her discussions and ideas would definitely add to the discussions on twitter about #edchat. We (educators on twitter) need to seek out great people and educators to help add to the PLN pool. The bigger we can build the pool, the more ideas we can discuss, and more unique outcomes will come from it.
Overall, the PLN helps link my passions together and to open doors. As we all become busier than we were the year before, we need to have places to go to get quick (140 character) answers and research. Twitter allows educators to learn when they need to learn, and more importantly, when they have time to learn. Twitter will help education move forward at a faster pace by broadening people's spheres of influence. The goal of our Admin Program is to capitalize on this intellectual theory for the betterment of the whole.
Now I will end with the only way I can think of for this post.... Follow me on twitter!!!!!! @krauseunc
I currently have the later theme running through my life with Personal Learning Networks. There have been many people who have asked me how do I fit all that I do into my life. I am a Learning Support Teacher, Assistant Varsity Boys Basketball Coach, President of a Charter School Board, Teaching Grad Class Learning Communities, finishing my administration license in a years time, and, most importantly, a husband and father of one and soon to be two sons (just found out that exciting news tonight). The first time I was asked this was around 3 years ago, and at that time I did not have nearly as much going on as today. I can remember that day vividly...I looked at a good friend of mine and gave the nervous giggle. That's right I said giggle-which many of you can probably relate to. I did not think much of it at the time, but it came back to me when another person asked me the same question in a different way, months later. I thought everyone was doing a lot of different things outside of their classrooms. I reflected on why did I feel this way, and I did not have to look much farther than outside my home. My wife is my rock, and she not only supports me but encourages what I do within the education profession. I do not feel stressed or stretched on one of my core values of family time, and this has made my life easier. However, when families expand, it continues to get harder to build learning networks with the amount of time in a day. This theme has been lingering around for the past 3 years, until recently when it came charging to the forefront of my life.
My thought partner, Michael McCabe (@KornerstoneGuy) is a non-stop learner and educator. He has a knack for engaging in conversations and moving ideas forward. Last year he went on a nation-wide-tour getting coached up for the opening of a charter school. He began to really build his network as he was on his journey and he brought back the great discussions which he had over that time. He was fully invested in twitter and began to educate me on the benefits of it. I began to get plugged-in with many of the people with whom he was in contact with. This, without me knowing it, began to build my national PLN. Reflecting back, I had no idea what was going on, but I did know that the conversations I was having, and the like minded people I was finding, really started to stoke up the fire inside me. There are so many great people around this nation who truly care about educating our youth and our future.
With my constant thoughts and excitements about twitter, I had two other media experiences that have helped shape my thinking at this time. The first was a Ted talk by Matt Cutts ( http://bit.ly/md0PY5 ). He has a simple philosophy on setting a goal for 30 days to change a habit you have in your life. I thought great...I want to utilize this philosophy with twitter. I have made it a constant effort to tweet each day at my school for 30 days. It had been a life changer in multiple ways. For one, I have shared publicly a lot of the great things going on at my schools. Second, I have become a daily researcher of knowledge bites. And third, it has grown my PLN to an exciting level. The second key experience in the past month was a blog post by @tomwhitby on PLNs ( http://bit.ly/phgdJ8 ). I have really become conscious of being media literate and modeling the knowledge I have. I have found myself in positive twitter discussions with multiple administrators over the past couple of weeks. We can not ignore social media, and I will argue that we have to experience and use social media to help move education forward. My friend Michael has been doing an unbelievable job helping students see the potential of twitter with real world projects at Kornerstone Charter School. I become motivated every day I read the updates from students about their true learning experiences.
This past summer I decided to start a program to get my educational administration license. My close friends Michael McCabe and Ryan McGinnis (@CoachMcGinnis) have joined me on an adventure to help build a program to embrace an open source program in education. We have been joined by Tim and Kim from Western Wisconsin in our journey, and we have all been growing as people by our close bond this summer. We are looking at taking our Chippewa Falls Learning Community to a nationwide sharing network. Our vision, which will be explained in greater depth at a later date, is to provide a space which will live on for other administrators, and potential administrators, to have a resource to expand on our ideas, and share new ideas which they may have. We believe it will take on a life of it's own. We believe, at this time, that this will be our early contributions to the educational administration field. We are looking to hide less, and open up more discussions and great ideas. Last week I was able to run this idea past Lisa Misco (@Maggiemay629). She was a previous graduate of the current program we are going through. She enjoyed the concept of the open network for all to add to. This is just another way to build a person's PLN. Lisa is an unbelievable administrator who is years ahead of the profession. Her discussions and ideas would definitely add to the discussions on twitter about #edchat. We (educators on twitter) need to seek out great people and educators to help add to the PLN pool. The bigger we can build the pool, the more ideas we can discuss, and more unique outcomes will come from it.
Overall, the PLN helps link my passions together and to open doors. As we all become busier than we were the year before, we need to have places to go to get quick (140 character) answers and research. Twitter allows educators to learn when they need to learn, and more importantly, when they have time to learn. Twitter will help education move forward at a faster pace by broadening people's spheres of influence. The goal of our Admin Program is to capitalize on this intellectual theory for the betterment of the whole.
Now I will end with the only way I can think of for this post.... Follow me on twitter!!!!!! @krauseunc
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Leadership qualities of an effective school administrator
As a requirement for acceptance to the Silver Lake College Education Administration Program, I needed to supply them with a writing sample about leadership qualities of an effective school administrator. I wrote this on August 18, 2011, and I believe I would already change some main points of my discussion. I will write about those at a later date...I do not want to skew feedback from my peers, colleagues, or others. Again, I am looking for this blog to be an active collaboration between any, and all, people who would love to participate. Let me know what you think... here it is.
With the many duties and responsibilities of a school administrator, there must be a clear vision in which to anchor decisions and actions to throughout the day. There are many leadership qualities which an effective school administrator must encompass. The three most important of these being student-first, a continuous learner and innovator, and a positive and energetic role model.
As a student-first leader, an administrator can attach decisions around what is best for each student. The administrator understands through systems and designs that students are affected by all choices which are made within a school district. Each student is the number one responsibility of the administrator and he/she needs to help nurture each student to grow academically, along with emotionally. The whole student should be the focus, with a mission to help foster creating a well rounded individual. Servant leadership is a key principle under the student-first philosophy. As Robert Greenleaf said, “The servant-leader is servant first … It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.” An administrator needs to treat each student as if he/she is his/her own. With the student-first leadership quality in place, decisions will be grounded at the roots of where one builds an educational and emotional foundation.
The second main leadership quality an administrator must possess is being a continuous learner and innovator. One must continue to be creative and seek out new information. There must be a drive and positive attitude to strive to be the best learning organization within education. However, it is not just good enough to learn about this information, but it is what is done with the knowledge one has that counts. The final step of this leadership quality is to have the ability to share and foster the growth of individuals within the organization to help them grow and pass this on to each student within the school. Again it is not good enough for an administrator to be knowledgeable in a given subject, but instead it is how that knowledge is used to help individuals grow. The leader needs to know that the biggest asset a school community has is its people.
The final leadership quality an effective administrator must possess is being a positive and energetic role model for all participants involved within a school district. It is the responsibility of the administrator to lead by example and create positive change while maintaining the great qualities which are happening within a school district. The great qualities which are happening in a school should not only be maintained, but they should be celebrated to create a culture of being excited to learn and grow as people and an organization. The overall outcome of being a positive and energetic role model is to have a focus on building community wherever one goes. An effective administrator then leads by strength based qualities, rather than deficit based qualities. It is important for the administrator to help foster the idea of positive strength based leadership within members of the school. Each person within the organization has a choice to control his/her attitude and strength based leadership qualities. In the end, it is the administrator who values the qualities of community and strength based leadership which leads by example with a positive and energetic attitude at all times.
Overall, the qualities of student-first thought, being a continuous learner and innovator, and being a positive and energetic role model, will define the legacy of a successful school administrator. These three cornerstones of an administrator’s belief and values system will help shape and form true community, while fostering the positive attributes of the district and people who are such vital parts of the learning organization. Educational writer and social scientist Howard Gardner would approve of this compilation of leadership qualities of an effective school administrator, but he would not be interested in carrying out these duties. As he states in his own biographical writings, “I’m more interested in understanding human beings than in portraying them (as a novelist would) or in helping them (as a clinician or a schoolteacher would).” Herein lies the beauty in strength based leadership qualities. Howard Gardner can continue to help others understand human beings, while others can implement the findings into a practical setting and structure. As long as an administrator keeps students first, continually learns and innovates, and leads by example with a positive and energetic attitude, the learning organization will thrive, and well rounded individuals will be a part of the structure.
Bibliography
Greenleaf: Center for Servant Leadership. Ed. LeAnne Yoder. Greenleaf Center, 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2011..
Gardner, Howard. "One Way of Making a Social Scientist." Howard Gardner. Ed. Howard Gardner. N.p.,
2003. Web. 21 Aug. 2011.
With the many duties and responsibilities of a school administrator, there must be a clear vision in which to anchor decisions and actions to throughout the day. There are many leadership qualities which an effective school administrator must encompass. The three most important of these being student-first, a continuous learner and innovator, and a positive and energetic role model.
As a student-first leader, an administrator can attach decisions around what is best for each student. The administrator understands through systems and designs that students are affected by all choices which are made within a school district. Each student is the number one responsibility of the administrator and he/she needs to help nurture each student to grow academically, along with emotionally. The whole student should be the focus, with a mission to help foster creating a well rounded individual. Servant leadership is a key principle under the student-first philosophy. As Robert Greenleaf said, “The servant-leader is servant first … It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.” An administrator needs to treat each student as if he/she is his/her own. With the student-first leadership quality in place, decisions will be grounded at the roots of where one builds an educational and emotional foundation.
The second main leadership quality an administrator must possess is being a continuous learner and innovator. One must continue to be creative and seek out new information. There must be a drive and positive attitude to strive to be the best learning organization within education. However, it is not just good enough to learn about this information, but it is what is done with the knowledge one has that counts. The final step of this leadership quality is to have the ability to share and foster the growth of individuals within the organization to help them grow and pass this on to each student within the school. Again it is not good enough for an administrator to be knowledgeable in a given subject, but instead it is how that knowledge is used to help individuals grow. The leader needs to know that the biggest asset a school community has is its people.
The final leadership quality an effective administrator must possess is being a positive and energetic role model for all participants involved within a school district. It is the responsibility of the administrator to lead by example and create positive change while maintaining the great qualities which are happening within a school district. The great qualities which are happening in a school should not only be maintained, but they should be celebrated to create a culture of being excited to learn and grow as people and an organization. The overall outcome of being a positive and energetic role model is to have a focus on building community wherever one goes. An effective administrator then leads by strength based qualities, rather than deficit based qualities. It is important for the administrator to help foster the idea of positive strength based leadership within members of the school. Each person within the organization has a choice to control his/her attitude and strength based leadership qualities. In the end, it is the administrator who values the qualities of community and strength based leadership which leads by example with a positive and energetic attitude at all times.
Overall, the qualities of student-first thought, being a continuous learner and innovator, and being a positive and energetic role model, will define the legacy of a successful school administrator. These three cornerstones of an administrator’s belief and values system will help shape and form true community, while fostering the positive attributes of the district and people who are such vital parts of the learning organization. Educational writer and social scientist Howard Gardner would approve of this compilation of leadership qualities of an effective school administrator, but he would not be interested in carrying out these duties. As he states in his own biographical writings, “I’m more interested in understanding human beings than in portraying them (as a novelist would) or in helping them (as a clinician or a schoolteacher would).” Herein lies the beauty in strength based leadership qualities. Howard Gardner can continue to help others understand human beings, while others can implement the findings into a practical setting and structure. As long as an administrator keeps students first, continually learns and innovates, and leads by example with a positive and energetic attitude, the learning organization will thrive, and well rounded individuals will be a part of the structure.
Bibliography
Greenleaf: Center for Servant Leadership. Ed. LeAnne Yoder. Greenleaf Center, 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2011.
Welcome!!!!
I am excited to be starting my first blog about my life journey. I have used blogs before in my classes, but I have never collected my thoughts, writings, pictures, and artifacts using this tool. I believe in the open concept of learning, and I need to "put my money where my mouth is." I have been looking at PLNs and how blogs are a great way to continue to expand these networks. I love using twitter to continually learn what people are doing. Over the last month I have made it a conscious effort to post and share my education life on twitter. This blog will be a way for me to share my administration education journey with the world. I hope people can give feedback, get a couple of new ideas, and learn through this collaborative process. I have never been a huge journal writer, but I see this blog as evolving into more than just writing. I will be filling my readers in on who I am, and where my philosophy comes from, throughout my journey. Thanks for being a reader, and hopefully a contributor, to this blog. Have a great day!
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