Light ’em up!!

This past weekend, I was fortunate to attend my first national conference.  I attended “Ignite 14”, the conference for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).  Being a music geek, the theme “Ignite 14” made me think of the song “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘Em Up)” by Fall Out Boy that has become so popular at sporting events (see “Mups have been lit”). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkIWmsP3c_s

First off, let me say that I was blown away by the production value of the entire conference.  It’s amazing how they can bring so many “things” together and have it run so smoothly.  From the opening thought leader session with Carol Dweck and Daniel Wong to the closing session with Simon T. Bailey, it was a demonstration of fluidity of motion.  While the logistics of the conference were amazing, that wasn’t what made this such a powerful event for me.

When I landed in Dallas, the weather did not want to cooperate. While my trip to the hotel was an interesting story by itself, it wasn’t enough to prevent great things over the next few days. There were so many amazing sessions, my head was literally full by the end of the three days. It was an awesome opportunity to learn from some of the smartest leaders in our country, many who I have “known” from afar through Twitter, and others that I had never heard of before.

Have learned so much from Todd Whittaker

Have learned so much from Todd Whittaker

The best part of the entire event was the ability to connect face to face with educators I have admired and respected for years.  At dinner on Thursday night, it was a veritable who’s who of rock stars on Twitter. Among the people in the room were authors (Todd Whittaker, Annette Breaux), National Digital Principals of the Year (Eric Sheninger, Daisy Dyer Duerr, Dwight Carter, Derek McCoy, Jason Markey) and National Principals and Assistant Principals of the Year (Laurie Barron, Jared Wastler). At one point at dinner, I looked around the table and had to grin at the compilation of great lead learners all in one place. It was a bit humbling to be at the table. Just sitting and listening was a PD that you could not put a price on.  Thanks to Jimmy Casas for getting that set up (even though Jimmy was unable to attend because the weather delayed his flight from Iowa).

Dinner with some of the great people who put our kids first!

Dinner with some of the great people who put our kids first!

As the conference continued, I was able to connect with more and more educators from Twitter.  Brad Currie, the “Godfather of #Satchat” was at dinner that first night and I was also able to eat with him the next night. Brad’s cousin is a speed skater on the Olympic team and we had a cool moment at dinner as we saw him enter the stadium during the Opening Ceremonies.  Brad and I were “adopted” by the Iowa gang and I enjoyed spending time with friends from Iowa including Matt Denger, Aaron Becker, and Lucas Ptacek. The day started with a session from the Bettendorf, Iowa group, a group of leaders I was fortunate to get to know this past fall and have tremendous respect for. If your child goes to the Bettendorf schools, your kids are in great hands with Kim Hoffman, Kristy Cleppe, Joy Kelly, Colin Wikan, and Jimmy Casas. I can’t put into the words the admiration and respect I have for this group of people. Thank you for allowing me to learn from you. Not only are these people smart, they are fun to be around. And as Annette Breaux said during the conference, “If there isn’t a big kid inside of you, there isn’t a great teacher coming out of you.”

Iowa adopts New Jersey and Missouri

Iowa adopts New Jersey and Missouri

 

Final night dinner with the gang

Final night dinner with the gang

 

 

 

 

 

The final speaker, Simon T. Bailey, really spoke to me, even though by late Saturday I was mentally full and really ready to be home with my family.  He talked of the difference between average and brilliant leaders.  Average is no longer acceptable. He also talked about taking care of the “people who will cry at your funeral.” That hit home to me. I know that I have worked very hard to be a “connected educator”, but it also makes me stop and take a moment and realize that disconnecting now and then may be the most important thing I can do. I hope there are  many at my funeral, but I am sure of three that will be crying (or at least I hope). I am working to make the three of them know they are the most important people in the world to me. That is probably the most important thing I got from this conference.

The three most important people

The three most important people

There were many others I was happy to connect with for the first time, Paul Vieira, Chris Stogdill, Leslie Esenault, Darrin Jolly, Carrie Jackson among them.  I was also glad to see and spend some time with my Missouri friends, Jason Eggers, Jim King, Phil Lewis, Matt Lindsey, Dave Steward, and John Faulkenberry. I’m sure there are others I have left out; it seems like a blur. I do know that I head back to my own students with Fall Out Boy singing in my head, because this event did “ignite” me, in fact, “I’m on fire!!!!”. Thanks to the many people who made it a great adventure.

 

 

 

Twitter, One Year and Counting

The other day I noticed on my mobile app on my phone that I joined twitter on September 16, 2010. I was surprised that I had been on that long, and at the same time was surprised that it had only been a year. Our district brought Will Richardson in for an inservice for administrators about a year ago to discuss the usage of different types of media, including twitter. I really didn’t get it at first, but I gave it a shot. My first tweet went something like this: “So I’m tweeting, now what?” It took a little time for me to see the value in twitter, but a year later, I have a different perspective. I felt like sharing a bit of what my one year journey has been like.

One of the biggest impacts I feel that twitter has had for me is my ability to share information about our students and their activities in a timely manner. Any time we can put more information out there about what is going on with our kids, I think that’s a positive. I’ve developed relationships with local media and community members based upon our sharing information on twitter, connections that were not there at that level a year ago. I like to think that sharing that information makes their job easier, and that it makes it easier for our kids to get recognition. It’s also a quick, efficient way to share lots of information WITH students, as many students follow my twitter account.

Twitter has also given me an outlet to share some free stream of thought, although some people who follow me probably hate that part. In my own mind, I think I am funny. I like to share my (somewhat) funny thoughts. Twitter makes it so that my wife isn’t the only person subjected to my brand of humor. Twitter makes me want to watch award shows just so I can comment. Twitter has also enhanced my sports experience. I interact with tons of Royals and Chiefs fans and it has made me feel more connected with those teams- maybe a closer connection with the Chiefs isn’t something I want this year, time will tell.

To me, the most important aspect of what twitter has given me is the professional connections I have made in the past year. I get lots of professional development in small bites, picking and choosing articles to read that others have linked, and often in short frames of time that I have available (sitting at a ballgame, waiting for a meeting, etc.). I have had the ability to learn and interact from people all over the country and world that I would not have interacted with. I have made personal connections with authors that I admire (Todd Whitaker, @ToddWhitaker) and feel like I have gained friends who share very similar views of education and how we make things better for students (Bill Burkhead, @northeagles) and people who are not educators, but are doing great things to improve their communities (Trish Brown, @TB101163).  These are just a few of the smart, talented people that I count as part of my PLN, a phrase that I was not even familiar with a year ago. I debated if I would list any in this post, because there are so many that I admire and respect in my PLN. I look forward to participating in chats like #edchat and #leadershipchat and being able to get so many different perspectives in a concise format.

As I look back on the last year of twitter (and the slightly over 4000 tweets I have sent), I’d have to say my viewpoint is much different now. I feel that I am more globally connected, but able to act locally with the information I am able to access. Someone once said smart leaders surround themselves with people smarter than they are. Twitter has become an invaluable tool for me to do just that. So I’ve tweeted, and now I really DO know what.

It’s the Apple That’s Rotten, Not the Barrel!

A bill that passed in the Missouri legislature was recently signed into law by Governor Jay Nixon. It has grabbed nationwide attention for educators in the state of Missouri, and not necessarily the kind of attention we hope for.  I tend to stay pretty up to date on many legislative issues that affect education, and was aware of this bill, but became much more involved last week as I was interviewed by both our local media (KQTV2) and by Foxnews.com for stories.  If you ever want to quickly become an expert in something, agree to go on camera, it makes you cram like you would before a very important test.  Before going on any more, let me lay some ground work for those of you unfamiliar with the subject here.

Court Icons by digitalart

The bill (Senate Bill 54) is also called the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act and additionally creates a task force for the prevention of sexual abuse of children.  Amy Hestir (now 40) was abused by a teacher when she was 12. In summary, the bill requires schools to share information about district employees who are terminated or allowed to resign due to sexual misconduct involving a student.  This part of the bill is not very controversial, in fact, I applaud it.  My heart aches for the pain that must have caused her in life. Nobody can justify those actions. I’m sorry that she suffered through this. Schools (and other employers, for that matter) have become afraid of saying anything about a former employee for fear of a suit from the released employee, many following a policy of only confirming dates of employment.  This bill allows us to share that information, and in my opinion, do what is right for children.  I detest the thought of any educator (or adult for that matter) engaging in that type of behavior with a student/child.

The controversy that has been created lies in a section of the bill, Section 162.069, that states the following:

“By January 1, 2012, every school district must develop a written policy concerning teacher-student communication and employee-student communications. Each policy must include appropriate oral and nonverbal personal communication, which may be combined with sexual harassment policies, and appropriate use of electronic media as described in the act, including social networking sites. Teachers cannot establish, maintain, or use a work-related website unless it is available to school administrators and the child’s legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian. Teachers also cannot have a nonwork-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student. Former student is defined as any person who was at one time a student at the school at which the teacher is employed and who is eighteen years of age or less and who has not graduated.

By January 1, 2012, each school district must include in its teacher and employee training a component that provides information on identifying signs of sexual abuse in children and of potentially abusive relationships between children and adults, with an emphasis on mandatory reporting. Training must also include an emphasis on the obligation of mandated reporters to report suspected abuse by other mandatory reporters.”

In essence, to combat inappropriate behavior, Senator Cunningham has chosen to attack the media used, not the behavior. In a time when many teachers are working to connect with students in forums that they are comfortable learning with (and to prepare them for the technologically-driven 21st century), teachers are being mandated to cease using any forums that might possibly create an instance where there would be exclusive communication. I am relatively new to some different forms of social media, and the two that are most commonly discussed related to this are Facebook and Twitter. Facebook communication only happens if you choose to “accept” a “friend request”. I have long had a personal policy that I don’t “friend” students (and spend a good deal of time in my office encouraging students that are fighting on Facebook to NOT be friends there, but that’s a different story for a different time). My “friend list” on Facebook generally consists of people I grew up with, went to college with, and a few former students that have been out of school for years (some as many as 18 years). Twitter is generally an open forum in 140 character bites. Direct (or private) messaging is only available if you are being “followed” and you are “following” that account back. I don’t generaly follow student accounts, so again, this shouldn’t be an issue for me. That is not the case for many educators that are using electronic media in very legitimate ways.

Our student government recently started a Twitter account. They follow me to keep up with items that I tweet about (scores of games, upcoming events, etc.) and I followed them back to stay up on what they are sending out as representatives of our school. They had a question the other day and sent me a DM (Direct Message). Under this new law, I would be in violation. Many educators use sites like Blackboard and eCompanion, which allow for online

Social Network by renjith krishnan

discussions about class. Students can turn in papers digitally in these platforms and also receive feedback. Anyone that has taken a college class in the last 5 years will tell you that the days of turning assignments in as a hard copy don’t exist any more. Our students need to be familar with this type of interaction and platform to be prepared for continuing their education. Just as a teacher wouldn’t discuss and evaluate a student’s hard copy paper openly in class, a teacher wouldn’t post in an open forum the revisions needed on Blackboard or eCompanion.  There is real value in being able to have a conversation that is between the student and teacher. This law forces districts to create policy that will forbid that.

One of the problems I have with this legislation is that there is an underlying tone to it that assumes that teachers are predators, just waiting to strike if they can find a way to privately communicate with a student. I thought maybe my own personal bias was just reading that in on my own, until I read the following response to an email that a young man sent to Senator Cunningham’s office:

Excerpt from email reply sent to Cameron Carlson by Senator Jane Cunningham’s legislative aide, Sandra Allen, on August 3rd (was posted to the Facebook Page Students, Parents, and Teachers Against MO Senate Bill #54, Sec. 162.069):
 
“First things first – I need you to educate yourself to the magnitude of the sexual abuse of students by educators. It is of epidemic proportions both locally (Missouri) and nationally. Just a quick Google search brings up pages. Unfortunately, this heinous crime has gone grossly underreported because the school districts didn’t want to deal with it – now they have to or they will be held liable and culpable for the future abuses perpetrated by someone they just pass to the next district. Senator Cunningham recognized the need for these types of laws to protect innocent children from being taken advantage of by someone in authority.
 
Second, what I am hearing you say is that the 1st amendment gives educators, who by the way would be the only adults allowed, the right to any all unmonitored private conversations with minor children? If so, I find that extremely unnerving and a lot like the adult child pornography proponents.
No adult – teacher, doctor, police, judge, Senator, Legislative Assistant, mechanic, etc., etc., etc. has the constitutional right to private conversations with children under 18 without a legal guardian and/or parent present or that has not given written permission.
 
I also find it strange that it is the male educators who are the loudest critics – interesting don’t you think? The female educators recognize the need for these types of laws. The ones who have contacted Senator Cunningham have wanted to make sure they stay within the confines of the new law.
 
Sincerely,
Sandy”

I had to read this response more than once. Did this person really imply that educators are similar to proponents of child pornography? Did she really claim that male educators are the only ones bothered by this law? Finally, does she really think that this law will prevent private conversations between teachers and students? Numerous private conversations happen daily between teachers and students, they are integral to the relationship-building we work so hard to develop. While she claims that teachers are asking for some exclusive right that others don’t have, this law actually makes teachers the ONLY group that would not be able to have this type of communication with students. Parents in your building could privately interact with students electronically, but teachers would not have that same ability. Should youth pastors be prevented from this type of communication with children, after all, there have been cases of abuse in this situation? (Note- I am NOT advocating pastors be grouped in here, only making a point). Should legislators be prevented from responding to a private email from a student? It makes one ask where do we draw the line?

I don’t think this is the end of this issue, I think it will continue to be cussed and discussed, and that’s a good thing. Healthy debate can bring solutions to complex issues. Seeking out the view points of those who disagree with you can be a good thing. My hope is that from this we realize that it’s not the means of communicating that is the problem, it’s the message. Inappropriate conversations or comments are inappropriate in any forum, whether it be by email, a private message, a tweet, a text, a phone call, a note, or a smoke signal. And we should focus on that, the inappropriate behavior. In discussing this with educator and author Todd Whitaker the other day (one of the smartest people I know-and in a Twitter DM no less), he said, “Idiots already know what they do is wrong . . . tough to legislate appropriate behavior with creeps”. Immoral people are in all walks of life, sadly, even in our field. We can’t legislate morality either, as much as we might want to. That being said, we can’t just make the assumption that ALL educators are immoral, to do so is damaging to our profession, and in the long run, to our children. The target should be on the rotten apple, not the barrel holding it.

Scary Green Apple by Tina Collins

So Now What?

Well, it’s finally happened, I sat down and actually created a blog.  Maybe this will give me a place to put all the meaningless information (according to my wife) that floats around in my head- or at least the things that take me more than 140 characters to share with others on twitter (@DocSig on twitter, if you are so inclined).  I’m guessing that this will be a journey that will give me an outlet to share my views about education and where we are headed in our field.  I’m sure my thoughts about things completely non-educational will leak in, as well.  I hope you enjoy a peek into the attic space I carry around on my shoulders all day.  Feel free to comment and stimulate the growth of gray matter with me and others.