tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24885057611680634262024-03-17T00:20:51.238-07:00Ninja Reflections on EducationA collection of thoughts and ideas from an educator.Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-77075035681597995812017-08-16T21:05:00.000-07:002017-08-16T21:05:47.726-07:00New Blog, New Website! #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
In case you haven't heard, I just relaunched my website!! It's been months in the making, but <a href="http://www.toddnesloney.com/">www.toddnesloney.com</a> has had a complete makeover!</div>
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Which also means, that I will now be blogging on my main site! So this will be my final post on this blog!</div>
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So head on over to my website and follow my new blog! I just posted a new post today!</div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-5835170042906240572017-06-18T17:21:00.000-07:002017-06-18T17:21:43.552-07:00Guided in Mentorship #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>This post is co-written with the incredible Joshua Stamper. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Joshua__Stamper" target="_blank">HERE</a> or check out his blog <a href="https://joshstamper.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Guided in Mentorship.jpg" height="378" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/N7_yHjxeyJP3b33o5X1b9JDOX5VtxxJ10cjuT2ISA56rlNL-E0gc67z8xubAOeyBm5WmH54lQHeYcG7QmHbJP_cAG06Eo5SBqRTYuHEVHrs3PNf0TqXnLprQvpuwovUsAIXHdv6S" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="483" /></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c9fb1eb3-bd9a-09c8-3ed4-724bb57b4bc0"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Shawn Hitchcock</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Throughout our lives, we have been guided, counseled, and advised through hardships, indecisiveness, and lack of direction. During each stage of our education and our career, individuals such as coaches, teachers, professors, employers, pastors, or family friends have positively influenced the trajectory of our decisions. As educators, we have adopted the same practices by providing coaching, support, direction and advice with our students and staff.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Coaching - </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Growing up as an athlete, my (Joshua’s) coaches challenged my abilities, allowed learning through mistakes, believed in my potential, and provided honest feedback. At the beginning of my senior year of high school, I had an extremely poor and disappointing soccer tryout. After the tryouts concluded, the varsity coach pulled me aside to explain that I didn’t make the cut. If I wanted to continue playing soccer, the only option was to play Junior Varsity (JV) my senior year. I was devastated by the coach’s decision and my first reaction was to quit the sport altogether. As I was walking back to the campus, the JV coach grabbed me and told me how excited he was to have me on his team. I was sceptical at first but the JV coach provided quality instruction, philosophy of strategy, clarified my role on the team and presented a plan to improve my individual skills. Although I was crushed by not making the top team, the JV coach quickly infused me with hope, excitement, and motivation. After two games on JV, I was promoted to varsity. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After my high school career, I continued to play soccer in college. Due to the coaching I received, I was able to apply the values of grit, determination, and perseverance toward other aspects of my life. These qualities allowed me to grow as both a player and a leader. Without the guidance and motivation from my JV coach, I would have walked away from a game I loved and missed some amazing experiences, friendships, and teaching. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I (Todd) have had many different people who have helped coach me into the person I am today, professional and personally. My youth minister always challenged my thinking and really helped build a sense of empathy and compassion into me. My PLN (Professional Learning Network) who have helped me grow not only as an educator, but as a writer and communicator, and helped me think through what I truly believe down to my core about what I do.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am someone who thrives off of constructive feedback. I need people around me who will push my thinking and question my decisions. It helps me become a much more reflective person and always growing. I have had to be really selective over those that I let into that “inner coaching circle” because allowing yourself to be coached by others requires you to be vulnerable and open. And that isn’t always easy or comfortable.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a mentor, we have used the same strategies to help instill a growth mindset in our students. Unfortunately, in the world of academics, students tend to think they must be perfect on their first try on each assignment, project, and test. As educators, we must provide an environment to allow students to practice and master their skills. Being an educational coach allows the sports analogy and growth mindset to be a reality. If learning is important, then allowing students multiple opportunities to try again is imperative. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Direction</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During a challenging time, one of my (Joshua’s) college professors pulled me into his office and asked me a very powerful question. The professor was a man of few words with an impactful and stoic presence. Imagine sitting in front of a visual blend of Albert Einstein and Andre the Giant. At this time in his class, I wasn’t providing my best effort. The professor asked simply, “what do you love?” It was an unexpected question, since I assumed I was going to be reprimanded for my lack of effort. I didn’t really know how to answer. The professor asked me to fold a piece of paper in half to create a list in two categories, “things I love” and “things that make me happy”. He quickly explained, the things that we love we need to hold onto forever. The things that make us happy will not last since they can change with each day. After the meeting, I went home and I made the list, which became my compass of direction going forward. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Through the practice of inquiry, a mentor can provide direction within reflection. Using a series of questions and a basic activity, my professor was able to focus and direct my thinking in a positive trajectory. After our meeting, my circumstance didn’t change but my outlook changed drastically. Mentorship is a process to present possibilities and abilities, not dictate, guilt, or demand the decisions of others. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Guided in Mentorship diagram.jpg" height="430" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/9fmW78jgseqS085XwlAbm1idpW4YSLLVNQHALbaYuu1tOWw589EkXjDbXPX8k_FFHpWg4IiTpnBdTrnbQy_CLN1iDTvC0-YLO4MUzXzXt5Ae2-MEyUEfRDMgFDPEk34AWMU6e0Iy" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="550" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I (Todd) still remember sitting down with someone I respected and admired in the educational sphere. As we were talking through some of the successes I was experiencing, he asked me “what do you really want to do with yourself? Your career?” I had honestly never really thought of that. I was always a ‘day by day’ kind of guy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To stop and think through where I saw myself years ahead was hard for me. And as I sat and reflected, it really helped me dive even deeper into some of my core beliefs. Even now I get asked often “are you still going to be a principal next year,” and my answer is always a resounding “YES!”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taking that time to look at my life a year at a time has helped me see just how happy I am doing what I’m doing. But it’s also given me the ability to continually seek advice over how I can grow in my current role. Consistently taking that time to reflect and plan ahead allows me to focus on areas I want to better myself in and never stop growing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We both know that having an idea of a direction you’re heading in is important. It doesn’t mean your plans or path can’t change, but we have to have a vision. It’s just like steering a boat. If a boat has no captain guiding its’ direction it will just amble through the ocean. We need to be at the helm, forging a path and making a plan for future endeavours.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Opportunity </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I (Joshua) was studying to become an administrator, a new assistant principal was hired at my school. Upon our first meeting, the principal mentioned I was in a master's program for educational administration. The new assistant principal provided an invitation to shadow the position and gain additional experience. As soon as the school year began, I took full advantage of the invitation of learning from my administrators. The assistant principal provided collaborative sessions to problem solve, complete tasks, and implement new initiatives. Due to the opportunities given, I was able to learn through experiencing the many nuances of the position to prepare me for future leadership positions. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Within the mentorship process, it’s imperative to provide others with opportunities to experience new and challenging moments to establish growth. As an administrator, I try to provide the same opportunities to my teachers on my campus and to other teachers within the district so they can see beyond their own classroom. The mentorship process goes beyond conversations. We must develop others through active participation in expanded roles and responsibilities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I (Todd) still remember every opportunity that has been afforded to me. I remember the first time someone asked me if I would write a blog post with them. Or the moment an experienced teacher asked if we wanted to teach a lesson together. Or that time when the principal came to me to ask for my help with a project because of certain qualities I possessed.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those moments when you’re given an opportunity to shine are moments that aren’t easily forgotten. As someone now who has a little larger sphere of influence, I try to pass that along to others. I love being able to bring in people for me to present alongside of when I travel. Those moments where you can allow someone to use their voice, when they haven’t used it publicly before, is a game changing moment. Or those moments where I can ask different educators I admire to write with me. Where I get to watch our two voices combine and work off each other.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As educators, we know the power that lies in providing people with opportunities. But it’s equally important as an educator to take advantage of opportunities that are placed before you and not to turn something down for fear or lack of self-confidence. If an opportunity arises, seize it! Who knows if it might come back again! But at the same time, be thinking about opportunities you can provide to help grow and stretch others too!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Advice</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I (Joshua) have sought advice from those who have experienced success in areas I want to improve and learn from. By connecting for coffee, lunch, or a formal meeting, I have been able to hear many stories of triumphs and mistakes. Through those meetings, I was able to gain immense wisdom and advice for future actions. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Receiving advice can be a risky or rewarding endeavour based on the source of the counsel. It’s extremely important to create a support system to provide trustworthy guidance. If we aren’t careful, we can construct a circle of deception to feed into our own desires. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I (Todd) know how much I’ve been impacted by the advice given to me by those I choose to surround myself with. Advice that hasn’t always been easy to take, but that I have always needed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The biggest thing I have learned is the importance of surrounding myself with people who don’t all think like me, who don’t agree with me all the time, and who come from different backgrounds than I do. Sometimes the most dangerous place we can put ourselves in is an echo chamber. I want to receive advice from people who are going to challenge what I think, who are going to question my decisions, but who will still be there to encourage me and build me up along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We both have learned that sometimes finding people to give you quality advice can be hard. We have been lucky to have people in our day to day lives to lean on, but we also both have found many great sounding boards through different people we have met online through social media. We’ve both seen the walls torn down when you reach out to others and take that risk of putting yourself out here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our careers, much less life itself, is a difficult road to walk. But when we walk down that road with a mentor beside, behind, or in front of us, the walk is oh so much easier. It doesn’t mean all of your issues will be solved or that every decision becomes a piece of cake. But just like Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one. For if one falls down his friend can help him up.” We need those mentors in our lives. And just as importantly, we need to be ready to mentor others as well. In the end, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” (Winston Churchill).</span></div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-38887440819093325302017-06-04T13:04:00.000-07:002017-06-04T13:04:07.470-07:0010 Educators Worth Following This Summer #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh56M-HyqQ1KRZMiYQkdw7d5ACSPrq84mbs3D0ObuGwmpqqQ4LqfQsU7XRGm70GMMaSggLOudvfE2uEJhvXXoakXrj2aheB4W5cEM8scEP2lik42QhDljCgB50VqASTxGLfY9K5JZSVJvl/s1600/10+Educators+Worth+Following+This+Summer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh56M-HyqQ1KRZMiYQkdw7d5ACSPrq84mbs3D0ObuGwmpqqQ4LqfQsU7XRGm70GMMaSggLOudvfE2uEJhvXXoakXrj2aheB4W5cEM8scEP2lik42QhDljCgB50VqASTxGLfY9K5JZSVJvl/s320/10+Educators+Worth+Following+This+Summer.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Summer is always a time for learning, connecting, and growing! Below are 10 people I've connected with recently who I feel like are GREAT educators to learn from, and might just be a few you haven't connected with yet! We're all better when we're connecting and growing together! Show them some love!<div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/mr_meighen" target="_blank">Mitchel Meighen</a></div>
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Pennsylvania High school educator, Mitchel Meighen, is an educator who is passionate, funny, creative, and all around great guy! He is always looking to do what's best for kids and finding new ways to do it!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/_SteeleJackson_" target="_blank">Steele Jackson</a></div>
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Steele is a educator fairly new to Twitter, but who has been a powerhouse already! He just completed his first full year teaching and has just relocated to Alabama to continue his teaching career! He is an exceptional new follow!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/kasnelson" target="_blank">Kas Nelson</a></div>
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Kas is an elementary Principal in Oklahoma. I have loved following Kas's journey and seeing all the amazing things she shares and feeling her passion through her tweets!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/MisterMinor" target="_blank">Cornelius Minor</a></div>
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Cornelius is an educator who I highly respect. He is the definition of a champion for kids and is incredibly intelligent and creative. I love everything Cornelius shares!</div>
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Josh is an administrator in Texas. Josh is an exceptional leader but also a great writer and champion for all kids. He is always sharing the work of others and is brilliant in his own right!</div>
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I love the work Isis Stephanie Cerda does. I have been a fan of hers for a while and love how she celebrates the voices of so many. Always love supporting my fellow Texans as well :-)</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/DerekVoiles" target="_blank">Derek Voiles</a></div>
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Derek is an educator in Tennessee! I have followed his journey for a little while now and he shares some great stuff! He was also recently the Tennessee Teacher of the Year!</div>
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Sara is someone I just recently became connected with and I have LOVED getting to learn from her in my PLN. A great author, educator, and all around awesome Twitter sharer!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelBonner_" target="_blank">Michael Bonner</a></div>
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Not only was Michael recently featured on the Ellen Degeneres show, but he has been teaching and sharing greatness all the while! He is full of energy and someone who seeks to continually be doing what's best for all of our kids!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/snhurstELA" target="_blank">Shontisa Hurst</a></div>
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I got to "meet" Shontisa first on Twitter, but then finally face to face a few months ago! I LOVE what Shontisa shares and the things she does with her students. She is funny and always seeking to go above and beyond despite the challenge! She inspires ME!</div>
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There you go! There are 10 people (you're probably not following) who've recently I've been growing and learning a lot from! Connect with them!</div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-66622391597509808012017-05-28T07:44:00.000-07:002017-05-28T07:44:04.158-07:00Scars #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"</div>
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I have never understood the value in that simple statement. I have heard it my entire life though, as I'm sure many of you have. But if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that words do hurt.</div>
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Writing has always been a cathartic experience for me. It affords me the opportunity to communicate my thoughts much more clearly than if I were to express them verbally. So here goes...</div>
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I guess the best way to start out is by expressing what I know many will understand, I am not perfect. I have never claimed to be "the best" or someone who even "has it all together". I have a personality type that never feels as if I'm worthy of any recognition I've received for what I've accomplished. I know it's a personal flaw of mine, but it's something that's always been with me.</div>
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Now don't get me wrong, I'm not downplaying some of the work that I have been a part of. I'm just saying that despite some successes I've had in my life, I never quite feel like I've done it right. And I'm reflective. I'm always seeking feedback, wanting input, and identifying ways that I can be better for next time.</div>
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As educators, we are in that type of profession that allows for constant feedback and/or criticism. You all know what I'm talking about. That student who tells you suck at life, that parent who tells you that you don't know what you're doing, that colleague who only complains about everything, and that administrator who makes you feel worthless. We've all experienced at least one of those in this career.</div>
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But sometimes, in this role, we get great feedback too! We hear ideas on ways we can make our lesson better, we are shown examples of resources we can use to better ourselves, or we get that feedback that there are some things that we do that are fantastic. And those moments put gas in our tanks. They help us keep pushing along when the nights can feel so dark.</div>
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And then just due to timing, we can feel bombarded by the negative. That was me this week.</div>
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Now before I get into this next part, I don't want this to sound like I'm complaining or saying "woe is me". I promise I'm going somewhere with this.</div>
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In "Kids Deserve It" I wrote about someone with whom I used to work with. Someone who left our team under very dark circumstances. And when they left they bombarded me constantly through social media, email, and texting about how I was the most terrible person they had ever met. How I clearly wasn't a Christian. How I do nothing right and am only placed here to ruin lives.</div>
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It brought back memories of being in High School, being a student who NEVER got in trouble, but one day was called into the principal's office and told (by the principal and assistant) that I was a punk kid who was a loser and would never be a leader at the school or in life. </div>
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Though I knew the words they said weren't true. They have stuck with me to this day. Years down the road. And every time I am feeling not so up to par, those words come sneaking back into my mind.</div>
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Then this week, I got to experience something like that again. Three anonymous sources, shared some feedback with me. And it wasn't your typical feedback. It was extremely personal, deeply negative, and meant to cut to the bone. And it crushed me. And it brought back the memories.</div>
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"When the principal sneezes, the whole school gets a cold". A phrase I often remember. I always take that phrase to mean that, as the principal, I help set the tone for the school. My demeanor and attitude can leave ripples felt all day long.</div>
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So when I received the crushing feedback on Tuesday (right after spending 4 hours in a dunking booth), I closed my door and cried. I let it out. Then I sat there and remembered that my only option was to take what I could from their remarks, learn from them, and put it on the back burner for now while I go out there and be there for the kids.</div>
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So I left my office and went out into the school with a smile, with jokes, with hugs, and no one was any the wiser.</div>
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And what did I do later that afternoon and evening? I reached out to my support system. To people who would help me digest the information and not take it so deeply personal. And it wasn't easy. At first I didn't want to tell anyone what was said about me. I was embarrassed. And on a crazy level, it brought up those memories from the past, and I sat there and thought "maybe all this venom is true".</div>
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And now, it's been almost a week. And every word that was written is still fresh in my mind. It still hits me throughout the day and tells me "you're a loser", "no one likes you", "you do a terrible job", "you're a terrible person". And I know these things aren't true. I know it. But they're there.</div>
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And the funny thing is? No one in my day to day work life (except my assistant principal Aaron) knew what I had read about myself. But the week was capped off with little reminders here and there from staff, from students, from parents, and from my own family who helped remind me of the worth I bring. Who helped me refocus myself.</div>
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So I share all of this for several reasons. </div>
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I share my story to hopefully give some hope to those who are going through something similar. You are not alone. </div>
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I share my story to remind you that we have to lean on others in times of despair. And I am the toughest one to get that through my head, because I never want to add to anyone's already busy lives. But we CAN'T do this alone. And I know without the support of my friends this week, I wouldn't have made it through.</div>
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And finally, I share this story to remind us all that words matter. That wounds left from hateful speech, aren't wounds that heal. They often leave scars that never go away. But we can let those scars be reminders that we were strong enough to survive.</div>
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I know life, and experiences, are all about perspective. And I try to keep my focus on the things that I have to be thankful for. The experiences (good and bad) that have taught me so much. To keep leaning on my friends around me.</div>
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Feedback is important, criticism is important, reflection is important. But there is a way to do that so that we all can grow better together.</div>
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We all have wounds. We all have scars. I myself have been guilty of saying or doing things that I knew have left scars in someone else's life and I have tried to make amends for those moments I was made aware of.</div>
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But today, my encouragement and reminder to us all, is to think through what we say and do before it's something we can't take back. And if it's too late, if it's already out there, take the time to find that person and apologize. And mean it.</div>
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Scars don't heal, but we can learn from them and become better. And today, I choose to be better.</div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-18704990860707407162017-05-04T18:24:00.000-07:002017-05-04T18:24:08.734-07:00Counting Down #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>This post was co-written with <a href="http://twitter.com/nowakro" target="_blank">Roman Nowak</a>.</i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On social media, so often we see posts of countdowns to the weekend, Christmas, Spring Break, summer; it is usually accompanied by elation and celebration. As students and educators, we often can’t wait until there is a break from school. Why is that? We know it’s because we work HARD! Education is a tireless job and the breaks are something we look forward to and desperately need.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This “tradition” has been around for many decades. We don’t know about you, but we can definitely remember our teachers keeping track of countdowns. In many cases it isn’t done with a negative intention; however this seemingly harmless practice can have profound consequences. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You may have heard the phrase “perception is reality”; think about it, when someone online, who is not an educator, sees us gleefully posting about how much we can’t wait for a break, what message does that send? What about to the parents of the children we serve? It sends a message of “these kids are driving me insane and I need a break” or “Woe is me, my job is so much harder than others so I deserve this break”. Now don’t get us wrong, teachers do work hard. We work harder than most realize and with many unpaid hours. But again, what message do we really want to be putting out there?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s have a quick comparison with anyone who has ever trained a dog. We are taught with dogs to be conscious of our tone of voice. When disciplining a dog for a bad action, we should not use a pleasant voice, because a dog will associate that with good behavior. This of course is possible because of that pleasant tone we use to praise a dog. We are also taught to be repetitive with dogs. In order for behaviour to be learned, it must be constantly addressed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now let’s come back to school. Hypothetically, from a young age, teachers put down that innocent countdown on a blackboard or a bulletin board. Also regularly, when referring to that countdown, a pleasant and often exciting voice is used by the teacher. Students in turn mimic that pleasant voice and share their excitement from that break from school. We all need breaks because we feel tired, overworked, and uninspired. But we think that maybe instead we should be building up a pleasant tone with the amount of time we have left! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t know about you, but we’ve had those teachers who talk about how they can’t wait to be out of this school. How they deserve this break. And as a student, I (Todd) remember a teacher once telling us just that, and somehow, in someway, I felt like the problem. I felt like it was my fault the teacher was counting down the day until she could rid herself of me and my classmates.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I (Roman) also had a similar experience. As a child, I loved school. It was a place to learn new things, to meet new people and to escape reality that wasn’t always fun. I knew that no matter what, with the teachers that were there, I was in a safe place where I could shine and be recognized. Every time teachers would put up that countdown, I would always feel a sense of being weird and different. While most were like the teachers, happy to be escaping school, I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be in my “fun place” for the summer. These made me feel inadequate. I couldn’t share what I felt because no one would understand. Unbeknownst to be, I kept this tradition alive in my early years of teaching. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is where our disappointment comes in; disappointment for two reasons. First, we </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have been guilty of this practice in our careers. Second, disappointment because the very job we chose out of love for learning and teaching has so many students and teachers celebrating the end moment instead of focusing on the here and now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And that’s the kind of countdowns we now need to hold in our offices and classrooms. Not countdowns that celebrate the moment we get to “escape”, but instead countdowns that celebrate the moments we have left. Even more, why not start a count up until the beginning of the next school year, where greater learning adventures and fun will take place? Where all of us, kids and adults alike, will grow together as a family.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our world is so filled with turmoil and pain. As educators we are held to a different (and sometimes unfair) standard. So even though it may seem like a countdown to summer is innocent, we have to take a step back and evaluate. What is the message we’re sending, even unintentionally?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We know that the message we want to send is that every moment matters. That even though we look forward to time with our families and time to decompress, we know that at school, that is a child’s safe place. A child’s place to feel valued, important, worthy, and get the best education possible.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s not countdown the moments until we have a break, and instead starting today, let’s countdown the moments that we have left to make a difference in the lives before us. Our #KidsDeserveIt.</span></div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-38688584452752408492017-03-19T08:59:00.001-07:002017-03-19T09:24:40.753-07:00Speaking Louder Than Words #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the past year or so I've really been thinking about the messages we send. Those things we do that speak louder than the words that are coming out of our mouths. </div>
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Back in January of 2016, I wrote a post called "<a href="http://nesloneyflipped.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-journey-race-economics-and-white.html" target="_blank">My Journey: Race, Economics, and White-Privilege</a>". That post was my first time to really dig into my thoughts, preconceptions, and my own upbringing and how that affects all that I do....even when I don't realize it.</div>
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And as I've worked with the students and teachers I work with now, and those I've met while traveling and presenting, I've seen so much. I've learned so much.</div>
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I always talk about how social media changed my life. How it got me out of my bubble and really opened me up to other ideas, beliefs, upbringings, and so much more. Even while traveling this week in Italy, my wife (who is not active on social media) made the comment of "Every time we travel I gain more of an understanding and appreciation of the way others live. It's so different than us, but that's ok!".</div>
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When I was flying back this week I kept coming back to this thought of how sometimes all we consider when living our lives are the things with which we were brought up with. Then I remembered this episode of the tv show "Switched at Birth" that aired a few weeks ago that dealt with racial bias. And it got me thinking. </div>
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There are so many messages that we send that speak louder than anything coming out of our mouths. And sometimes we don't even realize those messages are being sent because we've never thought of the implications that are being expressed with our actions. Here are a few that came to my mind....</div>
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<b>1. <i>The people we work with</i></b></div>
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I work in an environment that is 85% minority. We have about 50% of our students who are Hispanic and about 35% who are African American. But when I look at the staff that works at our school, it is not reflective of our student population at all. And that bothers me. And trust me, it's not from a lack of trying to diversify.</div>
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But when we only have 2 classroom teachers who are African American and only 6 classroom teachers who are Hispanic, out of 47, what message does that send to our students? When our students walk down our halls they see the instructional aides or the cafeteria workers or the custodians as the only consistent faces of their culture. It sends a message that "my race is less than". That "white people" are the ones who will be teachers and leaders.</div>
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And we teach all of our students that they can be anything they want to be. That they are capable of greatness. But in my conversations with some of our older students, this racial inequality of our teaching staff has actually come up. Our teachers "don't look like me, so they don't really understand me".</div>
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That's why it's so important that we consistently show students the faces and backgrounds of people from ALL cultures who are successful. That we celebrate diversity (and not just during a month pre-determined by our government). That we learn and grow ourselves in our understanding of all backgrounds. That we bring in those from the community who come from different walks of life. We can do better at this and we have to do better at this if we want to make a real difference.</div>
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<b>2. <i>The way we treat each other professionally.</i></b></div>
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I can't tell you how many times I've had a student tell me that I know Mrs. So-And-So doesn't like Mrs. So-and-So. Not because they've seen them fight, but because of their actions.</div>
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When I've asked kids how they knew that, they've mentioned seeing one teacher completely ignore another on purpose, or taking a different recess so they didn't have to be around them, or laughing behind their back when they say something, rolling their eyes in conversation, or even having a teacher talk bad about a teacher during class.</div>
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We tell kids to be nice, not to bully, and to find a way to work with their classmates. But when they see the teachers they look up to do that exact thing, what are they supposed to believe? So often we act like children are too young or ignorant to really pick up on things, but you'd be surprised at how much kids really do pick up on. </div>
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<b>3. <i>Language</i></b></div>
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With over 50% of our population being Hispanic, there's a lot of our students who speak Spanish. Because of that I've been very cognizant of the fact that everything I send home must be in Spanish. But even more than that, I want the signs and things posted around our school to also be in Spanish and it's something I've been working on!</div>
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When parents walk into a school and see that everything is written in a language they don't speak or understand, I believe it sends a message of "our language is the only one that matters, learn it or too bad". I don't ever want our school to feel like that. I want our parents to feel like they can navigate our halls and understand that different things that we have posted.</div>
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<b>4. <i>Books we read</i></b></div>
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A few months ago I wrote a post for the Scholastic Reader Leader blog called "<a href="http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/readerleader/shelookedlikeme-092216" target="_blank">She Looked Like Me</a>". Even the books we choose to read ourselves, or read out loud to kids, or have on our bookshelves speak to our beliefs.</div>
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Think about the books you're reading or are reading to children. Do they have the same type of characters every time. Is it always a male protagonist? Is the girl always having to be saved? Does the boy have to succumb to male stereotypes? Are the characters always animals or pale complected? </div>
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It is so important that we select books to read to our students that represent a variety of cultures and ideas. That show characters in new lights. That empower those who are typically placed on the sidelines. </div>
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Reading builds empathy. And we have to be reading books ourselves with characters unlike ourselves. AND we have to be filling our shelves with those books as well. To give those options to our children, so that they can find characters that look like them, but also find characters they connect with that are nothing like them.</div>
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There are so many more things that we do that speaker louder than the words that escape our lips. My hope with writing this post is that it makes you stop and reflect on some of the things you unintentionally do in your own life that may be sending a message you don't want to be sent.</div>
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Our kids are so impressionable. They soak it all up. Little ears are always listening and little eyes are always watching.</div>
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So today, let's break down more barriers and let's raise up kids who are not only told they are wonderful and unique but seen it reflected all around them. Let's allow our actions to speaker louder than our words ever could. Our #KidsDeserveIt</div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-71907241775350685502017-03-03T05:55:00.002-08:002017-03-03T05:55:53.396-08:00Blank Pages #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARcV09iMaWlttqer9rkK-B286fUS6y9j6dmyS1uyLxR__QQ_-A208w7Ar98JfGTqZ_Cl3S6d-IFRAinDoq5SclpiKEfNs7f0P_0RHFaRoFvkVuuoTCRoG8PQoj_rKCw4BbgbfWQucsBcD/s1600/Blank+Pages.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARcV09iMaWlttqer9rkK-B286fUS6y9j6dmyS1uyLxR__QQ_-A208w7Ar98JfGTqZ_Cl3S6d-IFRAinDoq5SclpiKEfNs7f0P_0RHFaRoFvkVuuoTCRoG8PQoj_rKCw4BbgbfWQucsBcD/s400/Blank+Pages.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-a5e36e76-82aa-896b-6115-6e34996a686f"><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>"When we spill our emotions onto blank pages, we can see, through words, the problems that plague us. It is a unique way of healing" <a href="http://twitter.com/teachermantrav" target="_blank">Travis Crowder</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Writing, and blogging specifically, have been such a great release for me. I still remember when I started my blog a few years ago. I was terrified to share my thoughts and ideas with anyone and to allow them to see my flaws as person, but also as a writer. I remember making my blog completely private so no one else could see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As time passed I began to open my blog up for others to glance upon. And then as I became more comfortable in my writing skin, I even began to blog about personal things in my life. I blogged about my frustrations with my skill set at my job, the death of my grandparents, the struggles with students/parents, and more. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And it began to connect with others. But even more so than that, it helped me put my fears, thoughts, dreams, emotions onto a blank page, and work through them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It taught me I wasn't as alone as I sometimes imagined myself to be. It allowed me to use my stories and experiences to help others understand their own. It connected me with people in ways I had never been connected before.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I took this idea of writing from the heart, to my students, I watched their hearts pour onto the empty pages as well. I shared my stories with them and in turn they shared their stories with me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing is scary. It opens you up to silent judgements and when you're honest in your writing it can allow you to bare your soul.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">But writing also has the power to change lives. I've always felt that my thoughts and experiences were more deeply reflected in my writing than when I tried to tell them orally.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I read the quote at the top of this blog post, from<a href="http://twitter.com/teachermantrav" target="_blank"> Travis Crowder</a>, last week. It moved me immensely. And I think it hits the nail on the head. Writing is the act of spilling emotions onto the page. It begins as a process for us to get our thoughts out, but when we share that writing it can lead to an even deeper experience. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing allows us to see our emotions instead of just feel them. And when we put that writing down on paper, and when we are brave enough to share that writing with others, it can also bring a sense of healing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I absolutely love reading those heartfelt, honest, genuine, soul searching blog posts. Those ones that you know that person just had to put on paper or else their hearts would explode.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">So today I encourage you to write. To put it all out there. But even more so I encourage you to share your stories. Stories are what unite us, they are what builds empathy, and they are what reminds us we aren't so much alone in what we're going through.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fill those blank pages. </span></span></div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-52572163754516821502017-02-19T08:33:00.000-08:002017-02-19T08:33:16.357-08:00Ask Me #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFqfNzr8hYy3rKZ_LJ9ra7mBBvQwvYf9b2jjWRf9IIjv8SsL4eNkSyt5CCauMz-PfHC0EYgZUWWGYkqlEdV-pyOajVetLtmk7XuaieDSRyu75bNrKkZVQlOF72L1oNEqluHjXXU1mCNHb/s1600/Ask+Me.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFqfNzr8hYy3rKZ_LJ9ra7mBBvQwvYf9b2jjWRf9IIjv8SsL4eNkSyt5CCauMz-PfHC0EYgZUWWGYkqlEdV-pyOajVetLtmk7XuaieDSRyu75bNrKkZVQlOF72L1oNEqluHjXXU1mCNHb/s400/Ask+Me.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The closer we get to Spring it seems like the shorter our fuses get and the more rambunctious and misbehaving our kids become.</div>
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As a classroom teacher I loved having "those kids". The ones that the teacher from the year before would warn you about. The ones who pushed every single button you have, and those you didn't even know you had. The ones who scream, who curse, who run, who say they hate you. Those are "my kids". Those are the ones I'm drawn to.</div>
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As teachers, we all have some of "those kids" in our class every year. What I've learned though is that often we can let our own emotions over take us and the way we interact with students.</div>
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Time and time again, I've watched a teacher get upset with a child over a choice the child made. The teacher would yell, or tell them they were a liar or loser, or send them out in the hall without another thought, or make them walk laps at recess, or sit at lunch detention, or more. But sometimes, the piece I've seen missing has been this....actually talking with the child.</div>
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We work with kids who don't know how to control their emotions. With kids who are taught at home that you scream back at someone when you're upset with them, that you shut down when someone is yelling at you so you can "hide" from the yelling, that you use your fists instead of your words, and more.</div>
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Oh how quickly we forget that. Yes, we teach them otherwise at school. We teach them school expectations. But they're children. Those lessons are never "one and done" or even "twenty and done" lessons. They are lessons we must teach again and again.</div>
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I worked with quite a few children this week in my office. And this week, every single child that was brought to me, I sat down with the, spoke in a calm and quiet voice, and asked them what happened. Asked them to tell me their story.</div>
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And do you know what some of them said?</div>
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- This morning my mom told me I was her stupid child. It made me so upset that all day I've been angry at everyone and can't figure out how not to be angry.</div>
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- He said something about my dad. My dad is in the hospital and I haven't seen him in 3 days, so when he said that, all I could see was red.</div>
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- Yes, I made a bad decisions, but when my teacher saw, she screamed at me and told me she was sick of my behavior and brought me up here. She didn't even give me a chance to tell her I was sorry and that I knew better and wasn't thinking.</div>
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And that is just the tip of the iceberg.</div>
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Will kids frustrate us? Yes! Will they lie, manipulate, get angry, and disappoint us? HECK YES!</div>
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So what can we do? We only have on choice. We have to be the adult in the situation. We have to put our own emotions away and stop and talk to them. Not every poor choice from a child HAS to have a consequence. Many times you can talk to a child and see they understand their choice, and then move on with the day!</div>
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I mean, come on, look at who we the kids who have lunch detention and are walking laps at recess? If it's the same kids, it clearly isn't working as a consequence.</div>
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Will having a conversation with a child fix the problem overnight? No. But it's our jobs as educators to grow every part of a child. And getting angry at them and sending them straight to the office before you have even had an opportunity to calmly talks to them, destroys your relationship with that child because they see you as the one who's not really in charge, the office is.</div>
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Let's take time this week to stop and talk to our students.</div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-10722797869762165992017-02-17T11:23:00.000-08:002017-02-17T11:23:47.152-08:00Destructive Reading & Writing #KidsDeserveIt<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXy9ygC-pHDkmVB0MOzBKGm8vBUPFc8ODHFemxjnag98hYTbdv8glzfu3lT0ynD27fBoa3KBY56NZOBAGYfmX2wkyItaJ57Ql-RJOcvDodJccM__U28w9g-VkuH_-Ud6FqzObgzDbX5gY/s1600/Destructive+Reading+and+Writing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXy9ygC-pHDkmVB0MOzBKGm8vBUPFc8ODHFemxjnag98hYTbdv8glzfu3lT0ynD27fBoa3KBY56NZOBAGYfmX2wkyItaJ57Ql-RJOcvDodJccM__U28w9g-VkuH_-Ud6FqzObgzDbX5gY/s400/Destructive+Reading+and+Writing.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This post was co-written with <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1632285142"></span>Travis Crowder<span id="goog_1632285143"></span></a>. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/teachermantrav" target="_blank">HERE</a> or his own blog <a href="https://teacherman2016.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ve all been there at one point or another….that moment where a child needs a consequence and as educators we jump straight to “write this sentence 100 times” or “sit there and read your book in silence for 30 minutes”. It’s an easy consequence. But both of us have come to understand and realize that it truly isn’t what’s best for the child.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You see, when you make reading or writing a form of punishment you create a sense of dislike for those subject matters. You create students whose memories of writing are not some kind of joyus experience of self-expression but instead a dreaded experience of annoyance, frustration, and punishment. You create readers who dislike reading because of the memories of being forced to read because they were in trouble.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>From Todd:</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the principal of an elementary campus, we’ve done after school detention as a form of punishment for students. The whole concept of “you wasted your class time with poor choices, so I’m going to waste your time after school”. When we started this consequence, we always had them write sentences. For whatever reason we had this notion that making a child write “I will make better choices” would actually influence them on a deeper level. What were we thinking!?!?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After having some of my writing teachers come to me concerned that this consequence was building a dislike for writing in students, I took a step back to reflect. And those teachers were so right. We WERE building an atmosphere of “writing = punishment”. As a teacher I even remember “making” students read when the class was behaving poorly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I guess it’s like they say, the first step to moving forward is understanding. After realizing what we were doing to our students I knew I had to figure something else out as a punishment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s when we moved to digging to the heart of the issues. Now our after school detention is a place of meditation and mediation. We have kids stop, evaluate, and think through their choices. We work with them on understanding their emotions and how to react in situations. And you know what? Our discipline has decreased. It never decreased with the sentence writing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>From Travis:</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have been passionate about reading and writing since childhood, and one of my goals, as an educator, is to build the same passion for those subjects in my students. I want them to see reading as a lifestyle, writing as a means of expression, and watch them grow to love the artistry of both. A rich reading and writing life will carry our students far in life, providing them with skills that will sustain them academically. While I have them, I want the year to be full of rewarding experiences, both in their reading and writing lives. There is an exquisite joy when a self-proclaimed non-reader falls in love with a book; when a student who has despised language arts writes a thoughtful poem related to a book he has read; and when hyperactive teenagers silence each other as they prepare for independent reading during class. These are noteworthy, indelible moments, and I treasure them deeply. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not long ago, I found myself engaged in a conversation with several co-workers, both planning a reward day for their classes. One teacher had told her students that “if they were not eligible to participate in the reward, they would be going into another classroom and would </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have to read</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.” Those words stung me. If not participating in the reward, they would be reading, implying that reading was a punishment. I mentioned to this teacher that a room devoted to reading would be a reward for many young people, and it was wrong to vilify books by representing them as activities for punishment. The teacher chuckled and walked from the room. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I structure my classes to give students time to write and read every day, experimenting with different genres and mentor texts that will guide them to be better readers and writers. I always use positive language when I discuss the act of reading because I know that my attitude will affect my students’. I never issue punishments for a refusal to read or when I notice that students are not reading outside of class. When I note those behaviors, I know a conversation is necessary, and I target those students during independent reading time. I want to know why they aren’t reading, if the book is not interesting to them, if they are confused by the events in the book, if the characters or situations do not reflect their interests, and so on. I have never (*knocks on wood*) been unable to get a student invested in a book after such a conversation. It takes some work, but it is well worth the time spent in discussion with the student. </span></div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-81482670639149529052017-02-17T07:50:00.002-08:002017-02-17T07:50:38.390-08:008 Educators Worth Following on Twitter #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZihPqR3mfZlwhOZbO3djNSQkmSglusj7k1Bu31JnMomggBZa6ZwkpqF0A2MqFzsaxT1xvrB1z0w2UBxUnKEoL58cPu5CgCHD2R2d5JZEQD6Ktufo9NOQCkUI37I0EI5i2lk1howkF_IT/s1600/12+Educators+Worth+Following+on+Twitter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZihPqR3mfZlwhOZbO3djNSQkmSglusj7k1Bu31JnMomggBZa6ZwkpqF0A2MqFzsaxT1xvrB1z0w2UBxUnKEoL58cPu5CgCHD2R2d5JZEQD6Ktufo9NOQCkUI37I0EI5i2lk1howkF_IT/s400/12+Educators+Worth+Following+on+Twitter.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Every so often I love to write a post sharing with you some people on social media who have been inspiring me. I am connected with, and inspired by, so many! So this is in NO WAY the complete list! But these are a few that I've come to find in the last month or so who are doing some incredible work! So connect with them, follow them, and let's learn together!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/MrCoachEli" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRqjNhG7daZF9KlIM9bVGZm8qOPNdQpbtpEcVpG6K42ULFiKZwBXGd1OcNHWTEzcFKzowNvT5M_cmjRhAypwubyUv7P63699Kc20SSN4ECybo0J81_jVkuyAKyiGqtsXsxMAZS6t8HXUb/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.12.37+AM.png" width="217" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/MrCoachEli" target="_blank">Eli Casaus</a></div>
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Eli is an Elementary administrator in New Mexico. I love Eli's passion for education and his tireless work to do what's best for kids. Eli is great at pushing your thinking, encouraging others, and really looking at things with a unique perspective. Eli is never one to let any excuses get in the way of doing what's best for kids. I have learned so much from Eli in the short time I've been connected with him and he pushes me to grow more every day!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/teachermantrav" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF78apum-qFA10L6gxj_SOnmDrdf2xhMOg0iwiYirXivm1euVOvj1upFUqGIPqNzpGfrIz32lKmevTkbzd09SiOC6_vmjXRQj6ee_i-KpKSGlnVhSKHsu0Yu3VYRdqLOSWaLnsT2qFBnXR/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.25.46+AM.png" width="227" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/teachermantrav" target="_blank">Travis Crowder</a></div>
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Travis is a middle school teacher in North Carolina. Travis is one of the most incredible writers I've ever met. His posts always contain such depth, information, and passion. He is an avid reader, but even more so he's an advocate for all children. He is incredibly giving of his time to kids and other educators and is always up-lifting. Travis has really pushed my thinking about independent reading, poetry, and student led projects.</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/O_L_Mayers" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsvptiNdiJLUOG5096vBQPM8r3BBNdpzMeTDEJpvKiV8xaVUQ7miYdGSGsWZdGLINhlsNFbiBCxpVgnWz4Y-s_JB_3i_vg1080LI_zwMVgfeWGdUbwwVX2IvkAqnwYL2JgSuYmQvvDacW/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.11.22+AM.png" width="221" /></a></div>
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Onica is an Elementary principal in Texas. I absolutely love Onica's energy and passion. She is always encouraging her staff and pushing herself to be better. She is outgoing and incredibly focused. I have loved following Onica (and stealing a few of her ideas along the way!)</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/SerjioMedina" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8-_dq-9pwJMt9hq-PYYJh8SUbmA3jEfIVa-iJ147HRh8Wn2prdI5mSXhf9sPsE8P2Gs0MSfuPKokZr613QlKuufbAKiXO5JdpS4reUG5EUJHbop7CTTiJ1XXA9zu2lcF5nxeJnVV_UAV/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.26.46+AM.png" width="253" /></a></div>
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Serjio is 4th grade Teacher in Texas. I love Serjio's ideas that he pushes into the classroom with his students. Serjio is great at sharing his learning (in person and online) and is really passionate on providing a high quality education to every student regardless of their backgrounds.</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/ortizteach" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhApEeSXAcDHagi7WbPjrBIkrcyVNyKhfuOhOBsy866V6sqIXE0-b14gUj2UpnTX-eDMS1ZQ0aej3tfydMqjwGIsO6N2oxmV8y0ivR9aXO5tGYoX98L3FrXp4H2NC-ilNXwErdt5clPHYc/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.27.24+AM.png" width="238" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/ortizteach" target="_blank">Jorge Ortiz</a></div>
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Jorge is a 3rd grade teacher in Texas. I have been blown away by Jorge's creativity and ideas. He works tirelessly to provide new and exciting ideas for his students. I am thankful there are leaders like Jorge who are sharing their ideas online so that I can keep passing them along to my teachers. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRox6l6mfV0YTtxEP5GRxWZfTzEdzlh3OLaAEWsXHmmxcyJbOehbKORtK00H6BfVVi21ghwzqTHa3luoECQrTWq1u1W0pkPoxNK5zzpLFlyl6nyl0vzDihebcwUEZY8dyMpp8N58OAHGbJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.28.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRox6l6mfV0YTtxEP5GRxWZfTzEdzlh3OLaAEWsXHmmxcyJbOehbKORtK00H6BfVVi21ghwzqTHa3luoECQrTWq1u1W0pkPoxNK5zzpLFlyl6nyl0vzDihebcwUEZY8dyMpp8N58OAHGbJ/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.28.24+AM.png" width="233" /></a></div>
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Catherine is a teacher in Australia. I have absolutely loved following Catherine's tweets and seeing the work she's doing. Catherine is super encouraging and someone who is always working to do better for her students and school. She's an avid learner and is active on social media and connecting with others.</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/ECUcrystalECU" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWuly-RbifA6G7p2GKLV4W7WZK6oilYPCC33NamVrTMCNM5I89mYTvZpNSDaLoRZ_YynjnuZROJiVZcQLrcyQY6Sw_X35HhXDTJC-Ca-ny3H2P2S1dgUHSggHHt6NyPY-K2N8a6rnkBC_/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.29.47+AM.png" width="254" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/ECUcrystalECU" target="_blank">Crystal Williams</a></div>
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Crystal is a Math Specialist in North Carolina. I love the things that Crystal shares on social media and how she's always highlighting the work of others. She is full of energy and incredibly passionate. She shares great ideas and always has me wanting to be and do better!</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/RobertwRuncie" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIUWWBO-u9HRmjaMoTQJJmaB0dqCx_c3Vb9KVCYor4wKql2fsYof_wtBOs28l3FAgqT6txLgjYUzczzHMJ0fUgC1TbWGZrGs1wHOxSYtW-Kgkf-1kmGls_1ISCd_hL4VALZxThTebo2X3/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-02-17+at+9.31.06+AM.png" width="233" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/RobertwRuncie" target="_blank">Robert Runcie</a></div>
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Robert is a Superintendent in Florida. I love Robert's passion for showing of his students and schools. He is super positive and encouraging and one who is a great resource of tons of ideas shared through his twitter!</div>
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So there ya go! Just a few more people to check out on social media that you may or may not have already been connected with!</div>
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<br />Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-69210401398499579992017-02-12T09:09:00.001-08:002017-02-12T09:09:24.946-08:00Look Down #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
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This week has been a week of deep reflection for me. Every one of us goes through periods where we doubt our gifts, where we wonder if the place we find ourselves in is the place we're best suited. And for whatever reason I've always felt that February is by far the most difficult month of the school year. It's that period where we're over the Christmas Break honeymoon, spring break looms around the corner but so does testing, and the kids (and adults) can sometimes act like it's their first time ever in a school setting.</div>
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It wears on us, it tears us apart. I know I am so blessed to work at a campus with 81 staff members. I work hard to connect with each of them, to spend time in each of their spaces. I know I could do it better, we always could. I know I am blessed to work at a campus with over 750 students. I work hard to get to know each of them, to spend some face to face time connecting with each of them. I know I could do better, I always can. </div>
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I was informed in late December and early January, by several staff, that this year they felt under appreciated. They felt like I could be doing a better job to bring us all together. That I could do much better at providing feedback. That I could be more encouraging. That I could find more ways to recognize more staff. And you know what? They were right. And that kind of feedback keeps me growing. It led to me (and the rest of the admin team) sending emails every time we do a 10-15 min walkthrough to give more consistent feedback. It led to the creation of a weekly workout, weekly bible study, and a monthly staff get together. And it's helped me adjust other ideas I've had too.</div>
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When I took a position as a principal, I had high hopes. I wanted to be the best there ever was. And though I am not anywhere near where I want to be, I still work at it. I look at Webb and the growth we've seen over the last two years. The decrease in ISS/OSS placements, the increase in males being involved on campus, the increase in love for reading, the staff retention, and more. I'm so proud of our work. Of the work everyone has done, because this is by NO means a reflection of me or my leadership. Everything this campus accomplishes is because of the hard work <b><u>they</u></b> all put in.</div>
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The one thing I never expected when taking a principal position was the constant barrage of anger, disappointment, and frustration. I want to be very careful how I express this because I LOVE my job and am not complaining by any means. One thing I never knew as a teacher, that I now know as a principal, is that every day no matter how scheduled and organized I am, is filled with unexpectedness. On a daily basis I have several parents who tell me how I am the worst leader, I have staff who come in to tell me what I need to fix and how I should be doing things better, I have upper administration who reprimand me for making a decision I felt was best for kids, I have students who are hurt and lashing out, I have the state asking me to do more or making sure we're on the right track, and more.</div>
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I look at the work left to do before me and at times it feels overwhelming. It feels too much. I feel I'm not qualified enough, that someone could do it better. That someone else should be doing my job.</div>
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It's one of the reasons I really don't like winning awards or being recognized for things. I know I am not "the best". I know I have a lot of work to do to even be half of what I want to be. </div>
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I am always looking at growth. I push all of my team to keep growing and trying. I see the hard work they're putting in and I'm blown away every day that I get to even share the same building space as them. They are the game changers, they are the rockstars, and I am the one who is here just to clear the path for them and carry some of their load so they can shine brighter.</div>
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I don't share this story as a "woe is me" moment. I share this to let you know that every one of us deals with doubt. I love my school so much and want to create the best environment for these kids because they deserve it. They have enough going wrong in many of their lives that they deserve to come into a building filled with love and the best education ever.</div>
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So when it seems too much, when you wonder if you were meant for this, take a moment to look down. Look down into the eyes of the children we serve every day. And remember, you may be the only adult in their life who shows up every day for them.</div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-65604931704506790192017-02-05T10:10:00.000-08:002017-02-05T10:10:48.663-08:00Read Me A Story #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you take just a minute to turn on the television or pull up a news article, you are bombarded with news and information. Much of which has become a stream of gasp-inducing executive orders, mean-spirited Tweets/Facebook posts, or worse.</div>
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One of my favorite things about being a principal is the opportunity to go into classrooms and read stories. There is nothing better than walking into a classroom and having a kindergarten student tug on my pants leg and ask me, "Mr Nesloney will you read me a story?". </div>
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And I've read stories to classrooms since my first year as a Principal. A few months ago, I wrote an article for Scholastic's Reader Leader Blog called "<a href="http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/readerleader/shelookedlikeme-092216" target="_blank">She Looked Like Me</a>". That post came from a new season of my life I had entered. A season where now I feel so much more educated about providing opportunities for children to read and have stories read to them that include characters and storylines that are personal to them. No longer do I ignorantly read stories that include predominantly white and/or male characters.</div>
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I know stories teach empathy, understanding, and acceptance. Stories can teach you how to deal with your emotions, handle difficult circumstances, and remind you that you're not alone. And as a Principal I know the importance it is to introduce children to those stories. And I'm not just talking elementary aged children either. High School students are EQUALLY as important!</div>
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The month of January I read to every PreK-5th Grade classroom and my Life Skills classes. But I didn't just choose a story randomly off my shelf. A month or so ago I was able to visit an incredible bookstore in Minnesota. Instead of having all the picture books organized on one large shelf, it had shelves that were sorted by what country the author or story was from. And the books were fantastically eye opening. The distinct artistic and storyline differences. The concepts, cultures, characters were vibrant and reflective of people from all over the world.</div>
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So I chose a variety of stories. I chose books from all over the world and spent way too much money. But I knew it'd be worth it.</div>
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This month I read "<a href="http://amzn.to/2kaByeh" target="_blank">Seven Blind Mice</a>" written and illustrated by Ed Young to all of my PreK and Life Skills classes. A simple story of what seven blind mice THINK they are encountering at their pond. Ed Young is a Chinese born illustrator and author and his story is filled with beautiful pictures and brief, but powerful story about understanding the whole picture before you make an assumption.</div>
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Then I read "<a href="http://amzn.to/2kH1oti" target="_blank">My Name is Yoon</a>" written by Helen Recorvits and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska to my Kinder-5th grade classes. Gabi is a Polish born artist and Helen's parents were immigrants. "My Name is Yoon" is a WONDERFUL story of a little Korean girl just moving to America and trying to find her place in an English filled world where she feels alone and can't stand the English version of her name.</div>
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I read the stories to the children. We talked about what they meant, the characters, the lessons. Did it change their lives? Maybe not. But what it did do was introduce them to characters that didn't look exactly like them, that didn't sound like them, or necessarily think like them.</div>
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Building empathy in children is about letting them see we all go through different things and handle things differently, but in the end we are so very much alike.</div>
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We live in a world where people feel more bold than ever before to scream out "illegal", or "learn english!" or "go back where you came from". A world where 6 year olds stop me in the hall and ask if mommy will be here today to pick her up or if she is going to be deported before she gets home. A world where a 4th grader stands up and says "I am more than the gangs and drugs you see on my streets". A world where a 3rd grade girl asks me "Girls can do that too, right?".</div>
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As educators we can't waste a moment. We must use books to teach stories and introduce children to a vast variety of characters and experiences. Our future depends on it.</div>
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Go through your classroom books, seek to diversify and add new stories, and when that child looks up at you and says "will you read me a story?", find a story that will only add to their experiences. It's easier than you think, but it will take an effort on all of us.</div>
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<i>**What are some of your favorite stories to use in class? Share in the comments below!</i></div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-47435136175277964322017-01-22T10:08:00.000-08:002017-01-22T10:08:09.089-08:00We All Need Growth #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
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Something we talk about quite often is growing. Growing as professionals and personally as well. Not one of us has reached that pinnacle of knowing everything. Though sometimes we all like to act (yes, even me) like we do!</div>
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As campus leaders part of our job is to work with teachers to help them grow. We send them to (and bring in) PD, we do walk throughs of their class, sit with some of them one on one, and use the T-TESS process to help us along the way.</div>
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We're always pushing you to help teachers grow. Sometimes it's uncomfortable, sometimes it's fun, and sometimes it's hard and makes them want to cry or walk away. But one of my favorite lines to think about is, "How dare we ask our students to come to school every day and learn, if we're not willing to keep learning ourselves".</div>
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But one thing I never want to do, is I never want to ask my team to do something I wouldn't do myself. That's why I'm passionate about reading to classes, doing morning/lunch/afternoon duty, helping plan lessons, team teaching, modeling lessons, sitting in PLCs, working with our PSP coach, and more.</div>
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I know for me that I have a lot of growing to do as well. I make it a point to do a self inventory every week to remind myself of things I'm working on, ways I'm growing or trying to, and things I need to do to continue my growth.</div>
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One of the most dangerous phrases in education is "we've always done it that way". But I'd like to say another phrase that's dangerous is "what I'm doing is working better than others, why do I need to grow?"<br />
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One way that I've tried to share this with my team is through our Swivl Recordings. We have a <a href="http://www.swivl.com/" target="_blank">Swivl</a> robot and it's amazing. The teacher wears a marker/microphone around their neck and the robot turns and follows the teacher as they move around the room and speak. <br />
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Since we finished all our teacher evaluations before Christmas, during January we wanted to continue growing. So we're recording every teacher for 30 minutes in January and the teacher then will watch their recording and submit a written reflection over what they see and how they're addressing the two areas of refinement we identified in December.<br />
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Yes, recording yourself, much less watching it, is scary. I hate hearing my voice, seeing the way I move, etc. But I know when I did it as a teacher, there were GREAT things I learned. But since we asked our teachers to do it, my admin team felt we needed to do the same. So over the last two weeks myself, as well as my admin team, went into classrooms and taught a lesson and recorded ourselves.<br />
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Then during our staff meeting this week, the teachers will get to choose which admin lesson they want to watch, and THEY will rate US using our T-TESS (State of Texas) evaluation system. Then myself, and my admin team, will spend the spring semester working on our areas of refinement based on how the teachers rated us.<br />
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Was/Am I terrified to do this? Of course!! But as campus leaders we must also be growing, learning, and modeling. Plus I view myself as an INSTRUCTIONAL leader. How can I call myself that if I'm not actively teaching, growing, and bettering THAT craft??</div>
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Growth is something we're all doing, or should be doing. So let's remember to keep pushing, keep trying, and keep growing this week. It's when we go through something and DON'T use it as a lesson to learn that things become dangerous for us as professionals.<br />
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But, when we talk about growth, one thing I think we also have to think about is our growth in learning and understanding different cultures, backgrounds, stereotypes, and more. I saw the video below earlier this week and couldn't stop the tears from flowing. How many lies do we believe, not only about our kiddos, but about people in general. Let's take the time to learn about and truly work to understand and respect everyone.</div>
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<br />Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-30712098333789846512017-01-16T08:31:00.002-08:002017-01-16T10:53:00.168-08:00Self Negativity #KidsDeserveIt <div style="text-align: center;">
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I know that each of us has worked on a team or campus where people complain. Where people are negative. They don't like a certain person and talk about it all the time. They don't like a decision that was made and complain to you about it for hours (or sometimes days). The parents are annoying. The kids are annoying. The curriculum, the school board, the central office, the principal, the cafeteria workers, and so on. If we look for just a few minutes it is very easy to find something to be negative about.</div>
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But often, what I think is even more dangerous is when we begin to talk negatively about ourselves. </div>
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I have a few educator friends that I talk to on a regular basis. One of those friends, every time I will compliment him or say something was impressive, he will shoot me down. Tell me it's not that big of a deal, that everyone does it. Or that others do much greater/cooler things than him. </div>
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I have another friend who every time I compliment or encourage him, he ignores it and flips it on me and how I do something well. And I am constantly trying to get him to accept the compliment. To feel worthy.</div>
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And I have one more who with every compliment, he says "yes, but I have lots of growing to do" or "well I'm not as great as __________".</div>
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I get so frustrated when trying to build them up because it seems like they don't even believe in their own greatness. <br />
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And then I find myself doing the exact same thing when I am complimented or encouraged. I deflect the compliment. I say I'm not as good as someone else. I claim you just "caught me on a good day".</div>
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Why is it so hard, for us as educators, to take a compliment? Why do we have to be so hard on ourselves and negative about what we are doing right. We're all in this profession because there is something great that we do. And though it's hard to remember that, we must.</div>
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I will always remember what Angela Maiers told me... she said "Why aren't you sharing your genius with others? When you sit there and don't ever share your great ideas or what you do in your class/school, you're doing a disservice to others in our field, because then no one gets to learn from you and you bring great things to the table"</div>
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I see every team member on our campus do something incredible on a daily basis. It's why I'm always pushing them to share out their class activities on Social Media, I want the rest of the world to see!! <br />
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<b><i>So this week my challenge to you is, try and make it a point to accept any compliments that come your way and take some time to share your brilliant ideas with others.</i></b></div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-10333978648964712932017-01-07T13:55:00.001-08:002017-01-07T16:21:53.548-08:00It's Time to Speak Up #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
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On Friday, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released information on a new Texas Rating system. It's a very simplified rating system that gives every school and district in Texas ratings on a A-F scale. Even though this system will not officially go into effect until August of 2018 (yes, 2018), the state released preliminary ratings to the public at large on Friday.</div>
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If you've been following the news at all lately you've seen the outcry for educators and districts alike at the disdain for this new system. For the first time in all my years in education, I see districts rising up with one voice to stand against this injustice.</div>
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What's the injustice you might ask?</div>
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In my opinion, the injustice is the misunderstanding of education. </div>
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There has been much research released lately that discusses the simple fact that schools that have higher minority and poverty stricken families, score lower than their counterparts. That if you remove the standardized testing from the equation completely, you would be able to figure out school ratings based on minority groups and socioeconomic status alone.</div>
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And that's the problem. The people who are making decisions concerning our schools and our students have often never stepped foot into a public education classroom since they themselves were students.</div>
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So how does this happen? It's partly because of us. Of educators. We haven't stood up or spoke up. We haven't stood TOGETHER to speak out against injustice. Not enough of us have called legislatures, written letters, marched to Austin, wrote about it, or spoke about it. We complain at our schools. We say they just don't get it. But I'm tired of doing just that. I'm ready. I'm going to use my voice this year and I'm going to speak up.</div>
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But why is it important to speak up now?</div>
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Because our schools are so much more than a A-F rating. Out of 4 domains, my campus (Webb Elementary) received three "F" ratings and a "C" ratings. How does that make a parent or community member feel? How does that make our kids feel?</div>
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I know for me, even though I know the great work we do, the "F" ratings hurt, and cut deep. I know they're not reflective of the work we ARE doing at our school, but still I know the scores are out there in the public conversation.</div>
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What does this rating system not take into account?</div>
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It doesn't measure the progress we've made in connecting with families. It doesn't measure that we had over 350 families come to our Hot Dog Cookout at a local apartment complex every semester.</div>
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It doesn't measure that we had over 580 MEN come to or our Dinner with a Gentleman with their child. </div>
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It doesn't show how excited our students are to come to school. </div>
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It doesn't measure those children we have connected with and helped find success in an area for the first time in their life. </div>
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It doesn't measure the fact that our nurse has spent over $500 of her own money this year to buy students deodorant, toothpaste, or even clothes because they couldn't afford it themselves and were too embarrassed to ask for it. </div>
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It doesn't show the excitement our students have for our new "house system" (from the Ron Clark Academy) that has brought everyone together, taught about teamwork, and is helping kids learn character traits and grow into better citizens.</div>
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It doesn't measure the child who spent the entire day in her kindergarten classroom for the first time this year, because she's been working with her teacher on self-control and finally went a day without hitting another child.</div>
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It doesn't measure the little boy who's crying in the office, because he doesn't want to go home this weekend and is begging to stay with one of us. As we consol him and teach him how to live through difficult things.</div>
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It doesn't measure that many of our teachers spend HOURS a week attending Little League football, baseball, soccer, and T-Ball games. Or the dance recitals. Or the kickboxing competitions. Or the cheer and gymnastics events.</div>
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It doesn't measure that we've decreased our ISS and OSS rates by over 90% in less than a year because we've been teaching students how to manage their emotions and react in different situations with respect.</div>
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It doesn't measure that we've built a love of reading in our students where teachers are advertising what they're reading, students are sharing book recommendations on campus, checking out library books at unprecdented rates, and reading in during dismissal and arrival (because they WANT to).</div>
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It doesn't measure that our Counselor worked with many different families this Christmas season to surprise them with groceries or Christmas gifts so that way they could actually celebrate the season with a little less stress.,</div>
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It doesn't measure the countless CPS calls, parent counseling, drug and alcohol lessons/counseling, or sexual abuse that we help kids and families work through.</div>
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It doesn't celebrate our innovate teachers who are trying flexible seating, classroom transformations, cross grade-level collaborations, lessons with Olympic Athletes, Skype with classes from across the world, and so much more.</div>
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No, what the system judges us on is one test. One day for some kids.</div>
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Does it take into consideration that maybe that morning two of our students were dealing with their father being shot the night before in a fight over drugs and they are having trouble focusing? No.</div>
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Does it take into consideration that despite the work we've done to teach them otherwise, a group of 3rd graders are overwhelmed by the pressure put on them by the state to preform for their underperforming school? No.</div>
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Does it take into consideration the immense stress our teachers feel to get out of "Improvement Required" or "F" ratings, even though deep down we know we are more than that and we ARE providing a good education? No.</div>
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What this system does is create environments that are demeaning to teachers and families. Teachers who are fearful of their jobs because they are doing everything they can to improve scores, but fighting the poverty and emotional battle is just as important. </div>
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The system adds extra pressure on school boards and Superintendent to "fix" schools.</div>
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How do I convince my teachers that they are working their butts of and doing a great job of filling in gaps and raising up children, when the state just told them their school is failing?</div>
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How do I convince my parents that the school their sending their children too is a school that is truly changing lives AND educating their children at higher ways than we have every done before, when the state just told them their school is failing?</div>
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How do I convince my students that they are NOT the cause of our low test scores. That they are not failures. That instead they are inquisitive, bright, energetic, world-changing kids who despite their home challenges still come to school every day ready to learn, even though the state just told them their school is failing?</div>
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It's a battle. A battle every day to not define the work our school is doing because of a standardized exam. An exam that doesn't truly measure the work we do. </div>
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But fight on I will. And fight on WE must.</div>
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We have to speak up and share the greatness that goes on in behind our school walls, even when the state says we're a failure.</div>
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We have to rise up and show up every day to give our kids and parents the best education they could ever dream or hope for.</div>
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When you work in an environment that is overcome by poverty, you realize what these ratings do to a community.</div>
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And I will not be silent. I will not complain behind school walls or in small groups of educators.</div>
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What I will do is I will shout from the rooftops and in every forum I can find, about the INCREDIBLE work my team does on a daily basis.</div>
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What I will do is write my state legislatures. I will call them. I will march to Austin if I have to.</div>
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What I will do remind my students that they are wonderful. That they are more than ANY test score will ever tell them they are.</div>
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What I will do is tell my team, as often as I can, the wonderful work they do and that the countless hours they put in are not wasted.</div>
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What I will do is continually share with our parents how hard their children, and the staff at our school, are working, in a broken system, to give their children the best education possible.</div>
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My question is though, will you join me?</div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-79140754249551266742017-01-07T09:24:00.003-08:002017-01-07T09:24:50.457-08:00Fear #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
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Fear. When you think about that word I think we all have something different we think of. Some have a fear of snakes or spiders. Others may fear the thought of losing someone or dying alone. And in the education system we have fears too.</div>
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The fear of failure is one. We work in a system where someone is always judging us. They watch our classroom management, our understanding of the standards, our interactions with our students, our interactions with our peers, our curriculum planning and more. We all handle fear in different ways too.</div>
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Some of us do what is minimally expected without getting in trouble so that we can coast by and make things easier on ourselves and limit the possibility of failure. Some of our are so controlled by our fear that it can stop us in our tracks and make us perform worse than we could have imagined. Some of us are good at facing our fears and we tackle each one as they come.</div>
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The thing to realize is that all of us has fears in our professional careers. But what we can't ever do is let that fear control us and the decisions we make.</div>
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We have to not only find ways within ourselves to face our fears BUT we also have to continually lean on those around us to help us face our fears.</div>
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I think about the things I've faced, and am still facing in my career. There have been countless times where I convinced myself that I could fix it on my own. That I could face it on my own. And every time I come back to the realization that we weren't meant to do this alone.</div>
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And yes it's scary asking someone for help or even allowing them to see that I'm not strong enough to do it on my own. But time and time again, when I allow those walls of insecurity to come down, I find that there's someone on the other side who connects with my fear, or understands it, or is willing to help me through it because they care.</div>
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Fear can control us if we let it. But what we have to remember is that we're all growing. We're all facing struggles and battles and our own insecurities. Some of us are really good at sharing those, while others aren't. But when fear begins to creep into our lives. When it begins to cause us to stumble or lose our breath, or doubt our gifts and abilities, that is just the moment where we find our people and lean on them to remind us.</div>
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And if you're struggling finding your people, reach out to those online. We're all in this together and if you can't find someone who can help you, maybe we can. Or maybe we can help you find that person. The only true weakness is when we don't seek out the compassion and help of others.</div>
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My friend, <a href="https://twitter.com/thebradmontague" target="_blank">Brad Montague</a> (who also just happened to create Kid President) filmed this beautiful story about facing his own fear. I love it so much and share it everywhere. Could be great to share with your students too. The world is a scary place. Share anyway.</div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-20590171506166045822017-01-01T12:48:00.001-08:002017-01-01T12:48:21.674-08:00My #OneWord2017: Hope<div style="text-align: center;">Well we're here, 2017. Every year brings the opportunities for goals, dreams, things you want to change, ways you want to improve. For a few years now I've seen the idea of choosing "one word" that you want to define your new year. I really wanted to think about this, and truly choose a word I wanted to encompass my goals for the year.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">So the word I chose this year was, "hope".</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img id="id_1a0e_3f2b_d53a_aa1b" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7px25Zu2XiTZsJmxnmV_BNCKptWN7YgdQ75jNWNWcqdiK7MqWDKSLaDhgGmRJpQXmfOaqic7FDl1uIPoDk_4uDPQgpKoIFoq_HzeCwKMUhKzQkGZG5giiJYmA2wT_DAurnDlj-w66KCQV/" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 581px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hope for growth...there are so many ways that I want to grow. As a person, a husband, a brother, a friend, and as a educator and leader. I tend to be a pretty reflective person who easily notices my shortcomings. I see constant opportunities for growth and betterment. So this year I hope to make more headway in those areas. That I am not defined by the things I lack, but instead seek to become the best person I can be. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hope for change....I hope that more and more educators can bind together to continue to make changes within our field that will be in the best interest of our children. Far too long I've sat silent, or allowed others to stand up and speak out, and this year I seek out to stand up myself. To use my voice to work more closely with policy makers, politicians, parents, other educators, and more.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hope for compassion.....I hope to continue to see people of all backgrounds come together. To continue to see walls torn down and not built up. I spent a lot of 2016 (and 2015) educating myself on other cultures, religions, upbringings, parts of the country/world, and I want to continue to educate myself. We have to seek to learn about others if we ever will seek to empathize with them.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">There are so many things I look forward to doing and experiencing this year. From more writing, to continuing to work with my team to make changes at Webb Elementary, and more. My word is "Hope" but I know it's more than that. You can't just sit back and have hope. You also have to have action. And through my hope I will choose to act. I will not be silent. I will learn, change, grow, speak up, be more visible, connect face to face more, read more books, continue to find ways to embrace creativity and imagination, to be a voice for those silenced, to empathize more, and the list goes on and on.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">I know there will be many times I will fail this year. Many lessons I will learn. But I also know that my hope will not be shattered. I may fall, but I will rise again, ready to tackle the next moment. Our #KidsDeserveIt</div>Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-60368139072080793012016-12-15T18:07:00.000-08:002016-12-15T18:07:20.987-08:00Connecting Across Borders #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4bjXa4WrxMwAQP7WqGTkATrG9P_aaNUptLqhFYk15uYspOIofLDEWqA_RnD08IZmoFMS-NLCig9cuOeTJYMNlPKzntRiJ3AGqpQW3Wvzx34vu0AoepktaZmlJwzm4vQ0XaSmjGmRpVcc/s1600/Connecting+Across+Borders.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4bjXa4WrxMwAQP7WqGTkATrG9P_aaNUptLqhFYk15uYspOIofLDEWqA_RnD08IZmoFMS-NLCig9cuOeTJYMNlPKzntRiJ3AGqpQW3Wvzx34vu0AoepktaZmlJwzm4vQ0XaSmjGmRpVcc/s400/Connecting+Across+Borders.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><i>This post was co-written with the INCREDIBLE <a href="http://twitter.com/nowakro" target="_blank">Roman Nowak</a>.</i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For years we’ve heard, or talked, about the power of being a connected educator. About how when you put yourself out there and learn from and with others, it changes you. It grows you. It gives you a perspective you may have never had before. Today, we even encourage such connections, through various platforms, in the hope that it will bring about lasting change.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both <a href="http://twitter.com/nowakro" target="_blank">Roman</a> and I have been in the educational field for several years. One of us completely in the Canadian education system and one of us in the United States education system. One of us with a focus and experience at the elementary school level, the other at the high school level. Opposing educational spectra meant to blur traditional divisions and create a lasting impact. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ve connected with other educators in our areas and in our own countries. We’ve learned and we’ve grown.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for the first time, we connected with someone in another country: each other. Two passionate educators who strive to transform the learning experience for kids, to bring about change, by starting with the heart. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We met through unique circumstances. <a href="http://twitter.com/nowakro" target="_blank">Roman</a> had just finished reading “<a href="http://amzn.to/2hK0R9v" target="_blank">Kids Deserve It</a>” and was able to convince me to come present in Canada. We met before the event and immediately formed a friendship. A friendship that has only grown exponentially since we parted ways. You see, if we are going to make a lasting impact for students by starting with the heart, we will have to lead and collaborate through the heart as well. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How is that even possible? And what’s the point?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two educators, from different parts of the world are able to collaborate together, plan together, and be an encouragement to each other across international lines. And this is only a beginning. The power of change lies in the importance of human connections. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By connecting and growing together we’ve been able to see the subtle and the prominent differences in our education systems in each other’s countries. We’ve been able to see how alike, yet different, our cultures are. We’ve been able to discuss educational policies, institutional differences, lessons, teachers, unions, and so much more. Through all these discussions, there is always one common denominator : how will our decisions make things better for our kids. In education we often talk about change, transforming pedagogical practices, adding new technology, trying new apps. However, in the end, if our decisions don’t help improve learning, well-being or student engagement, are they really good decisions?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You see, there is great opportunity in learning and growing from others in your area, your state, or your country. But imagine the even greater learning when you connect with someone from a different country or culture. Not only does it help you grow, but it helps grow your worldview, your ideas and your experiences. It also reinforces what we tell our kids : learning happens beyond the school walls.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can’t all travel the world and meet fascinating educators. But social media has destroyed those boundaries and allowed us limitless opportunities to connect, learn, and grow together.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every child on this Earth matters. It doesn’t matter what country they’re coming from. But it will take all of us; it will take every one of us, working together, to bring the best education possible to every child.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It won’t be easy and it won’t happen quickly, but if we keep tearing down walls and collaborating, one by one, we will all make it happen. Because in the end #KidsDeserveIt.</span></div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-9995810470953709712016-12-09T13:08:00.001-08:002016-12-09T13:08:43.955-08:007 MORE Educators Worth Following #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NYdPtqwx4YJLFu5aOu1NuVtrNPv26_QjRFZAZpsDesKpvb7uzsPL5RiXojIkACZOkgovGIVDJbgBjAF5MjA_EGFa10UHuiwz2eFbnNDW93Oso0DAnb1LxAvyj8eNBGSHWte35SP29gjH/s1600/12+Educators+Worth+Following+on+Twitter+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NYdPtqwx4YJLFu5aOu1NuVtrNPv26_QjRFZAZpsDesKpvb7uzsPL5RiXojIkACZOkgovGIVDJbgBjAF5MjA_EGFa10UHuiwz2eFbnNDW93Oso0DAnb1LxAvyj8eNBGSHWte35SP29gjH/s400/12+Educators+Worth+Following+on+Twitter+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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About a week or so ago I wrote a blog post called "10 Educators Worth Following". It took off like wild fire. My goal in writing that post was just to introduce readers of my blog to 10 people they probably weren't following, that are sharing great info online and doing exceptional things in education. It did so well that I wanted to introduce you to 7 more people you probably aren't following, but in my opinion should be!<br />
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<a href="http://twitter.com/nowakro" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkyY6z2oHuf-2cdXUc20qlFdZ9-R4NxnatfWZfxB-YYanGEIb3UpBGi-Lx_Ayd7uHqt1PwZ3cGy_bGfSe2BY143IVHqx4qts07Jl1xdez9hvOSudYPPolMuMLUlmQBP-NCto7qvzKAZoK/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-09+at+2.50.07+PM.png" width="231" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/nowakro" target="_blank">Roman Nowak</a></div>
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Roman Nowak is an educator in Canada. I had the pleasure of meeting Roman face to face a few weeks ago. This guy is the real deal. He's creative, out of the box, extremely passionate, and really pushing to instigate great change. He is someone that has pushed my thinking, helped me grow, and continually is an encourager. I can't recommend this follow enough! (**yes some of Roman's tweets are in French, but he still shares some great stuff!)</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/adamdovico" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X5B6O4MUvWzNVDfx82CzBU-WQwM-RqzhgZ9za5gcnEh6-hDJUKlIVSlwL_I9KYS_k2sJzklRZ6-SfYDRKcxzu2Az0AAsQRbMYo-zuXRjP4mnPvZibJB_61oM3TF4wJkSAqIYPcF6E5lr/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-09+at+2.50.23+PM.png" width="216" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/adamdovico" target="_blank">Adam Dovico</a></div>
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Where do I even begin with Adam Dovico. Adam is someone I have looked up to for years. He used to teach at the Ron Clark Academy, he wrote the must-read INCREDIBLE book "<a href="http://amzn.to/2hfEqWz" target="_blank">Inside the Trenches</a>", and he even co-founded <a href="http://twitter.com/rockmathed" target="_blank">@ROCKmathEd</a>. He is a phenomenal individual who I have learned a great deal from. He's also got one of the biggest hearts for kids. I love learning from Adam.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/chadwsu" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfS8HUu0Qfz_EBK_5IZz9NEgvD-IA____LV4AH8s75gk0gipaP-T8QSK39XJ-F0rwMzm2liIVnqbhmnpCImZkyYwv6UyBCsBhzi6UB0qlYZuNlnOsuEuhNZ4cJgr2w-q7zli0I7qmCKAg/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-09+at+2.50.40+PM.png" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/chadWSU" target="_blank">Chad Arnett</a></div>
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Chad Arnett is an educator in Ohio. I absolutely love learning from the things Chad shares as well as the activities he's constantly attempting. Chad has been dipping is toe more and more into Twitter and would be a great "up-and-comer" to connect with! He's also quite the Walt Disney fanatic!</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/jofeetremain" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnB0_yXIR3aC-shIWmwcMivYoGfQnDzYUEziq5sKPVpkUzpVgcwhnGhvJkfbWq7KSVaeuhiQMaw0mQUm37u1cYOUTMSd19ljpnsY1yqOE7S7ziongoMVM5ksTQ56nXsssCihGwQRBCzZs/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-09+at+2.50.56+PM.png" width="249" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/jofeetremain" target="_blank">Jofee Tremain</a></div>
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Jofee is an elementary Principal and quite the amazing one at that. I have had the pleasure of meeting her face to face and I can tell you she was super sweet, encouraging, and full of passion and ideas. Jofee is someone that is always bragging about the teachers and kids that she works with. I love that!</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/mrikeramos" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMTVAYKBJWewWty8ayXotfxsCgt0gG37B-5VMThGOINOgdMmS4waZabs7lgNwHN-FI_I-q9k9eyhuvAKogl2cyx9ubvdtlXoVADJ4YnCSCxDInv40K6M-gDF-BtxIKRVjDvY6vITQtdgi/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-09+at+2.51.09+PM.png" width="210" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/mrikeramos" target="_blank">Ike Ramos</a></div>
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Ike Ramos was recently a guest on our Kids Deserve It show. I was blown away by the talents and passion of this man. He was a great guy to talk to and hear about his philosophies of learning and education. He's also quite the rapper and does a lot of work with Flocabulary! I love seeing what Ike is up to and sharing about.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/mr_mccomb" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLZBog61p34w3iNV0jniyqEXfG1JVsX-APPw0zOe5-gXjTMMQoiYogpUzyV0UmGfSyE60jXAWkcWRBbRMaIXyL7AY6Lk_3YR1g5vMKnZHudnb63NH5mRQQk79LjBZNDNM2IScpqX4VQoe/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-09+at+2.51.28+PM.png" width="221" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/mr_mccomb" target="_blank">Sean McComb</a></div>
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Sean McComb is a force to be reckonwed with. He is a champion for teachers and students alike. Oh, did I mention he was also the NATIONAL teacher of the year in 2014? Sean is passionate beyond belief and someone I greatly look up to. Sean pushes my thinking and makes me want to be better every single day.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/kharima4" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5nFZG7NIP9LG_mPgcaeJE4BT8TpPXKuI7sGvvWyJH5gffwFzZx3ZXzJHYE5WvT7QdFMCUUkziigpKe6jl_ga5LPXZobQaHY6TSjZZ60mp9qC2JuTeuM5a1AYxUCYIt0mCVYy_AdyhaEa/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-09+at+2.51.40+PM.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/kharima4" target="_blank">Kharima Richards</a></div>
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Kharmia Richards is an educator in Texas! She is a powerhouse. She is funny, smart, and passionate about kids and education. Kharima shares so many great resources and ideas and is always trying to push thinking in all educators. I love what Kharima shares!</div>
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So there you go, 7 extra people I think are worth a follow!</div>
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<br />Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-34679122128743239902016-12-09T05:07:00.002-08:002016-12-09T05:07:15.066-08:00Remembering My Why #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzWLfXHunGNt3tNcvRb-Eny-zViOaZxG_GKpVBANpdEes2bw3-vT7Un8iOO1AbnvvUZyF9PrkCX5HJ_UIxXLhdEP8-AYvToEihEIY2TtD7uxOb9hlVFIM89vcdEK82AWhjdYoZ6viC-qv/s1600/Remembering+My+Why.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzWLfXHunGNt3tNcvRb-Eny-zViOaZxG_GKpVBANpdEes2bw3-vT7Un8iOO1AbnvvUZyF9PrkCX5HJ_UIxXLhdEP8-AYvToEihEIY2TtD7uxOb9hlVFIM89vcdEK82AWhjdYoZ6viC-qv/s400/Remembering+My+Why.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you were to ask someone what the job of an educator is in today's world, I'm sure they would say something to the affect of "Their job is to teach our kids what they need to know so they can pass that test, or go to college, or get a job".</div>
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But for anyone who's been in education very long, you know our jobs are so much more than that. In addition to the job we have of educating a child with the standards required for that grade level, many times we also: become surrogate parents, buy clothes/food for our students, teach them how to become good citizens, organize after school events, before school events, attend extracurricular activities....oh and somewhere in there we try to still have a life too.</div>
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Thursday evening I was reminded of just what we <b><i>really</i></b> do as educators.</div>
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Thursday evening was our annual Family Holiday Night at my Elementary School. This a fundraiser put on by our Parent/Teacher Organization. Kids and families can come for a night of games, pictures with Santa, and then a Holiday Movie with pizza and popcorn. It's always a great event!</div>
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The night went off without a hitch! We had a great crowd!</div>
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After making sure all the families had left, I went up to the front to grab my things and lock my office. After grabbing my stuff, I made sure the front doors of the school were locked (as I always park in the back and sometimes forget to check!).</div>
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When I was making my way back through the office to head to the back doors, I saw one of our 5th graders asleep on our office couch. I knew right away who it was. This little boy was one we see quite often in the office. He's a young man that we have invested in for several years now. As soon as I saw him there I knew what had happened.</div>
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You see, at 3pm earlier that day he had stopped by my office to ask if he could come to the Family Night even if he didn't come with family and if he didn't have a ride home. I knew his family wouldn't be there. So I reminded him that we have to come with an adult or we can't stay if we don't have a ride. He said ok, and walked away.</div>
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When I saw him asleep on the couch I knew what he had done. He wanted to so badly to be at school, instead of somewhere else, that he stayed after, attended the family night and then fell asleep in the office on the couch. And the worst part? He didn't stay to see students who were his friends, he stayed to see his friends, the teachers.</div>
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I gently woke him up and told him it was time to go. Knowing I couldn't just leave him there, I grabbed his backpack and told him he was gonna get a ride home from me. I checked him with again to make sure no one was coming, just to be sure. And of course the answer was, no.</div>
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This young man doesn't say a lot at school. One of the things he struggles with is using his words when he gets frustrated or overwhelmed. So as we walked to the car, we walked in silence. </div>
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I already knew where he lived because I've made several home visits over the last few years.</div>
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Once we got to his apartment, he sat in my car. I let him know we were home, and that I would see him tomorrow morning bright and early. He turned, looked right at me, and said "Thank you for taking me home Mr. Nesloney".</div>
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I almost lost it right there. This young man doesn't always choose to have that kind of attitude or use those kind of words. But as he got out of my car, and walked towards his door I was reminded of one simple fact.....</div>
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As educators our job is so much more than to prepare a child to pass a course, a grade-level, or a test. As educators we get the opportunity every day to touch and change lives. We get to invest in hearts as well as minds. We get to hold kids as they cry, sneak off to Wal-Mart to buy a new pair of shoes for a little girl with holes in hers, slip an extra $10 in the little boy's lunch account so he doesn't eat a cheese sandwich that day, go to their football game because they off-handedly told you no one else would be there, and more.</div>
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As I drove home, after dropping him off, I was filled with a mix of emotions. I was heartbroken for so many of our kids who come to school just to be loved. But at the same time I was hopeful, because I know my team is filled with people who would have done exactly what I had done (and have before) without a second thought.</div>
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When people ask why I'm in education, when they ask why I work with kids from poverty when I could be in an "easier" area, when people ask why I stay in the district I'm in, I will look back at this moment and remember my why. That one little boy that I was able to drive home and show an act of kindness to. That is why I'm in education, because our kids need us.</div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-36955899880009121862016-12-08T15:00:00.001-08:002016-12-08T15:00:33.615-08:00The Forest For the Trees #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSBg4rTwfkIw9Odc_t56ikCCyP2Oaav2RFOI4uDXVePDU2w8z-xBwDAGy6YFBSNXwclUYjMVCpB0b7VGOrM0hhTEp4ZJb6n5Uio8mGLYBZkqsyUL9JlBP5Q2v1LZmwpVwXefgd4HvAKiK/s1600/Forest+for+the+Trees.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSBg4rTwfkIw9Odc_t56ikCCyP2Oaav2RFOI4uDXVePDU2w8z-xBwDAGy6YFBSNXwclUYjMVCpB0b7VGOrM0hhTEp4ZJb6n5Uio8mGLYBZkqsyUL9JlBP5Q2v1LZmwpVwXefgd4HvAKiK/s400/Forest+for+the+Trees.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm sure you've heard of that saying of "you can't see the forest for the trees". I have heard it before, but this week it was spoken to me by someone I greatly respect and reminded me of something.<br />
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Sometimes we get so deep into things as an educator....the grading, lesson planning, parent meetings/phone calls, assessments, data, behavior concerns, and so much more. Those things are a real every day part of our lives as educators. But sometimes those things can consume us so much that all we see is what's right in front of us: the trees. And we lose sight that there's a whole forest out there.<br />
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I'm so often guilty of this. I was being really down on some things that I was trying to accomplish on my own and with the help of others. I was asking my advisor, "Am I doing ok" and "Am I doing enough" and "I feel like I'm getting it all wrong".<br />
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That's when she looked at me and said, "Todd, you can't see the forest for the trees". She reminded me that sometimes we need someone in our lives to grab us by the shoulders, look into our eyes, and say STOP.<br />
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To say, take a step back. Look at the big picture for a moment. Realize that what you're doing matters. What you're doing IS making an impact.<br />
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And it lead me into another revelation....I have two friends who I talk to on a daily basis. Two friends who are absolutely FANTASTIC educators. One is in a "newer" position outside of the classroom (but still in education) and one is dealing with their first year in the classroom, period!<br />
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I talk to them, and hear the incredible work their doing, and am blown away time and time again. Yet every time I tell them how great they are or how I'm stealing one of their ideas, they say things like "It's really not that great" or "I could be doing better" or "I'm not as great as _________".<br />
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Every time I'm blown away. How can these two not see how fantastic they are? How can they not see how they're twice the educator I was at that point in my career. I admire their work and steal their ideas on a daily basis.<br />
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And I was reminded this week that I tend to be the same way. I feel like my stuff is junk when I see the greatness of others. I feel like a failure, like someone who really shouldn't be sharing ideas out there because there are voices that are stronger than mine. Ideas that are more creative then mine. <br />
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I realized I had to stop. I had to stop doubting the gifts I had been given. I had to start believing my voice held worth.<br />
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It's funny to say that when I've had some great experiences and opportunities in my life. Heck I even co-wrote a book!<br />
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But yes, doubt and self-worth are two things I am working on, on a daily basis. Some days I do a much better job at it than others.<br />
<br />But I write this to share my side. To show that we all deal with doubt, insecurities, and getting lost in the trees.<br />
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When we focus so much on that tree right in front of us, we can lose sight of the forest. We can lose sight of the bigger picture.<br />
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So today, I choose to rest in the fact that I come to work and give everything I have, every day, for these kids. Some days I am a success, and other days I am not. But each day I will go to bed knowing that tomorrow, I will wake up again and try again. These kids need us to own our genius (as Angela Maiers says) and to bring our best for them every day.<br />
<br />Don't get lost in the trees. Step back and enjoy the beauty of the forest.<br />
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<br />Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-18316727174097207792016-12-02T05:10:00.000-08:002016-12-02T05:10:10.021-08:0012 Educators Worth Following on Twitter #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvQSevc3ehBNelFzGjgxLKr557bx9l7xYRGkqESnxJdMOczXgZFq-G-eiAou9ryfZ3_CzjPIAOXwIY7MTcbihWoSOCPSyVABDZUxeXgcN5KEfkOEKL0A_fp0cuOckCxQkjyZJkk4pZkP-/s1600/12+Educators+Worth+Following+on+Twitter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvQSevc3ehBNelFzGjgxLKr557bx9l7xYRGkqESnxJdMOczXgZFq-G-eiAou9ryfZ3_CzjPIAOXwIY7MTcbihWoSOCPSyVABDZUxeXgcN5KEfkOEKL0A_fp0cuOckCxQkjyZJkk4pZkP-/s400/12+Educators+Worth+Following+on+Twitter.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Every so often I love to use the platform I have to recognize other educators in our field. I have learned so much through tools like Twitter. But those tools are only as good as the people you choose to surround yourself with!<br />
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These are some educators online who I think have some great resources, ideas, and just flat out big hearts for kids! I hope you show them some love and follow, interact, and learn alongside them!<br />
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<a href="http://twitter.com/jordanpotrzeba" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWV8JvAco9xqpKvHBOu378f9i0XjeZrArURPdWLns2SEHO0lOPpCWldnMStk3UjqMsEf15WqpFpdR9s37db8pdDE5B6NGnd2N3hj13nEn3bYtSYuUUA949_I4aaUILlj4R4J46Hm26Pqm/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.36.28+AM.png" width="253" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/jordanpotrzeba" target="_blank">Jordan Potrzeba</a></div>
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Jordan is a first year, 3rd Grade teacher in Missouri. Jordan is dynamite. He is creative, energetic, and always trying new things for his kids. And what's better? He's a first year teacher!!! He is trying to build his PLN online and is sharing things he's doing in his classroom. Jordan is a definite must follow as I'm sure he's going to be "one to watch" with some of the things he's doing in the classroom.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/mrhowettsci" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xblvqVdNzo-7EKqbN6aYU6qh0YUYRZ0UsSX1tC2SzkuLmcU-pMmeQXvv_C8W8Vflbdo3RZl_S2uUuiOm6YFA4UEiH8n9hiIumRQF2e66itODlxWTGfRdwpo9qv5UXTSCfvoqyvNdtcYR/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.38.25+AM.png" width="218" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/mrhowettsci" target="_blank">Nate Howett</a></div>
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Nate is a 7th grade teacher in Indiana. I had the pleasure of meeting Nate a year or so ago when he was JUST getting started on social media. Nate is a huge encourager and passionate about truly doing what's best for kids. He's full of great ideas and is someone I would definitely recommend following.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/teresagross625" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2hPXcieU9k6j6asO3Abzx7nuYQOoy8d01InGOCpuVPon5b65bhOvH33LYmXVeORqUySVEa2vuXq51pDJJkUlYqR2-uj3UuH_gtdNwaikzD-wMFp0sCUVYfVzta65vpeeNL7MeUSRMeY5/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.40.43+AM.png" width="224" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/teresagross625" target="_blank">Teresa Gross</a></div>
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Teresa is a Middle School teacher in New York! Teresa is a powerhouse. She is excited about kids and learning but just as excited about sharing that with the world at large. Teresa is someone who is active online and wants to connect, learn, and grow.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/principalkp" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWywoijrjVn-2UT6GpeGgYeZaPu1BgI3akoXwZMJR8u_sa1pHOm12qgkjQ_alZhVfHycsEPERWNXlFuvEzY4HESv0kJ6miAPnAKU0Hz_6eD_2jP4hDWlNQun__BWbjZ8bm_z3GMlcKiPu/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.42.24+AM.png" width="207" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/principalkp" target="_blank">Keith Peters</a></div>
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Keith is an elementary Principal in Florida. Where do I even begin with Keith? He is always going above and beyond for his students and teachers. He's got an INCREDIBLE TEDx Talk and is always sharing. He wears costumes, plays with kids, and isn't afraid of stepping outside of the box. Keith teaches me something every single day.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/svicglass" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNN3IBNjoJoJIdG96kV2Z1lrt9mdeOQKJwcr5pOEkquBuZP2-rvZVPFnGg011HCrVyH2tzav6aeUUPBnGqkz1B7K2tr7QBrAGColyqhVpgQhZxVsqHGpd7NSJe5NocZRqkw5lRaZUotkbj/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.43.55+AM.png" width="193" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/svicglass" target="_blank">Shaina Glass</a></div>
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Shaina is an educator in Texas. Shaina is someone who's super passionate about technology and using tech with kids to have them create! She shares countless great ideas and always has me checking her feed to see what's new in EdTech.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/tommyspall" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcz5PaRPUTwo5ZeMD4FWTMrOgV84PWUKS50bQAs-NUqdCe60E2ljIFtkrjj_En72tXEyJvSvChLyv1SYdn8MmnEann8pDzU-J1C7eMAPgxaSoK1N4NGWTaPsjHMFrSRXjRGW3TuK6QPJ0p/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.45.09+AM.png" width="199" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/tommyspall" target="_blank">Tom Spall</a></div>
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Tom Spall is an Instructional Technologist in Texas. Like Shaina, I view Tom as a leading voice in what's happening in Google and EdTech. Tom is funny, active, and always willing to lend a helping hand to help you. He's got great ideas and is coming up with things I would have never imagined! I love learning from Tom.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/ciji_thurman" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2dXuH_cZkZzL5gZCoBTUAiRZqIbrX_bGjwdZsbWyRqxlmgRYOs7qtzaeW0A9Oroh83fhs3HQyeitu9l73sYy6ts9kvb7X8OaCK7M0KMfB6PAQje-vqBj71qp2BKaW2YqNUmPaEO0ieSI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.47.30+AM.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/ciji_thurman" target="_blank">Ciji Thurman</a></div>
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Like Jordan, Ciji is fairly new to Twitter. I have come across her tweets recently in different feeds and I have really enjoyed them. Ciji is super encouraging, and shares some awesome things going on at her school as well as just encouraging things in general. Ciji is another "one to watch"!</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/yandellsplace" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiolNdowxG6rtt9ovCQzaCMxOR4oj-nYJgXnt-CiZ67oisl9U-PUvwNglOek_qho5R9axpiMVN-afGDTX0it2T8gAKr_PLn88keHYKzZaM95oLMS4KCrsbETTfHkMUe1A8Ain5_ZlyN26Gq/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.49.50+AM.png" width="215" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/yandellsplace" target="_blank">Julie Yandell</a></div>
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Julie is a Reading teacher in Texas. Julie's passion for what she does shines through on her Twitter feed. She is constantly sharing the greatness going on in her classroom and online. Julie is also one who will connect and learn alongside you. She puts herself out there and wants to continually be growing.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/memayer21" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCP5oXQJ6LTNU8pWwVXBBU72KdjTXQRWBHpgYeUheLmONZAdMo5t0Os49tudS1s6FZkZMd6oRmCkYFkg_NnQurnGFiZGY3gm2sIj_pVAllw9O1QBya5RdHLvAY1B_6I4u7M9ArGo7glb6/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.51.42+AM.png" width="255" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/memayer21" target="_blank">Matthew Mayer</a></div>
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Matthew is an Elementary Principal in Illinois. Matthew is another active user of Twitter and one that loves amplifying others. He's constantly sharing great links, sharing his own thoughts, and sharing encouraging messages. I love checking out his feed!</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/techamys" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbI6_YtwW9Xhyphenhyphen29UmYi3SifRfTcjPSlSQEJxQXwdaI8u_AmhCotFM08MUohO2I31EialNsooT2eEQI4ljNRCwyfgkB3MdinvuspboBR8hVLy-tPyq1BSmTzR2rZu5T21HcZyyvYBMhcUX-/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.53.12+AM.png" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/techamys" target="_blank">Amy Storer</a></div>
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Amy is an Instructional Coach in Texas. What I love about Amy, besides that fact that like the others on this list she's always sharing her ideas, is that Amy isn't afraid to learn from others. Amy sent me a DM one day asking to come hang out at my school....with 6 of her colleagues. She came asked questions, interacted, persicoped, and more. I love when people step out and learn from others, but Amy really is the real deal. She is constantly sharing great ideas!<br /></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/chrispombonyo" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXEuJA0zcYdHcTGFohIlozjPZiP0LR694weXTCkUIYJ4HxNVqM6zXKU6M2j_7NRV-19rEV0ZPyY_JSD2P5hX_4LD85K5ePUdKfAv1IPXc4xdMn5uNYpBVmOjd6TknTeXHl_plPJ-oAx7d/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+6.55.06+AM.png" width="218" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/chrispombonyo" target="_blank">Chris Pombonyo</a></div>
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Of course, I have my buddy Chris Pombonyo. Chris is a PHENOMENAL teacher! The things he does in his class blow me away. He is so passionate about doing what's best for kids and loves sharing out his ideas on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. He's full of energy and has already been recognized by some pretty great organizations for the work he's done! Chris is def one to connect with.</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/danaboyd0922" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02KrzShAz1rpyUuHqorj0_qlTPTQfY_EcA7GTIEOKaS1evyZZLBbvTvGd09NqG9ot8Q41S4RzcTimJr4C7Okex9IOHALgmCQadCVdAmzY_FplTCcsV4_bS6CdX6wqX9-qUmVhDcxyP2RU/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-12-02+at+7.00.28+AM.png" width="241" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/danaboyd0922" target="_blank">Dana Boyd</a></div>
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<br />Dana is an award winning elementary Principal in Texas. Dana is one of the kindest people. I had the pleasure of very briefly meeting her in June, but have followed her online since. She is doing amazing things at her school and for kids. She is passionate about change and is someone I strive to be more like!</div>
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So there you go! There are 12 people I am really loving learning from right now! Great people to check out, follow, and connect with!</div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-70810539288358431492016-11-13T09:33:00.001-08:002016-11-13T09:33:36.224-08:00Let's Be Thankful #KidsDeserveIt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJKHXmYb6aXx9IMWUeOidu9CETVUCP70E3wYZNeXg11R4RbhMKZyBJg4cRkzxCJ1dub5IM4rUfNR6HL77tmoC1kZVrDReb6bKXDDDnTpFd64ehvtjlshel7_VdTCZlryi6LVTVw1LGYsv/s1600/Let%2527s+Be+Thankful.....png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJKHXmYb6aXx9IMWUeOidu9CETVUCP70E3wYZNeXg11R4RbhMKZyBJg4cRkzxCJ1dub5IM4rUfNR6HL77tmoC1kZVrDReb6bKXDDDnTpFd64ehvtjlshel7_VdTCZlryi6LVTVw1LGYsv/s400/Let%2527s+Be+Thankful.....png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thanksgiving. That time of the year when we take just a little more time to think of things we're thankful for. As I was making a list of things I was thankful for, our students kept coming to my mind. And how we could view so many of them as having trouble making a thankful list, but in reality, they're able to notice the "little" things so much better than us sometimes.</div>
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I was having a conversation with a student this week about her behavior. She's a tough cookie. She's been a "project" of ours for about the last year or more. She's got a lot of pain built up in her life, and that sometimes comes out of her in the most unfriendly ways.</div>
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As she had another episode, I pulled her into my office. I asked her what was going on, and of course she didn't want to talk about it. She never does.</div>
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So I tried a different approach. We have three staff members in particular who are working or have worked a LOT with her to get her in a better place. I told her how much her teacher loves her, I told</div>
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her how much our assistant principal loves her, and then I told her how much her teacher from last year loves her. Because truly, they care about her so much.</div>
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Then I told her, that the way she treats those who care about her, hurts them. And that some people can only take so much of someone being hateful to them before they throw their hands up. Before they walk away. Before they say "I've tried everything and I just don't know what else to do". Before they say, "Does she hate me??" We've all felt that way before about a student or loved one.</div>
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And for the first time ever, I saw something different in her. She looked at me and said "I don't hate them. I love them a lot too."</div>
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What?!? I had never heard her say that about anyone.</div>
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And she sat with me in my office and she cried, with me. We talked about how our emotions can sometimes get the better of us. It happens to all of us at one point or another.</div>
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But we can't let our emotions control us all the time. We can't let our hurt, our anger, our pain, push others away just because we choose to lash out at those we love.</div>
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We talked about how it's ok to be angry. It's ok to struggle with work or friends. It's ok to want to cry.</div>
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But we have to verbalize those emotions. We have to ask for help. We have to show that we're trying to change and be better.</div>
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Did I truly get through to this child? Who really knows. Only time will tell. And I know she'll lash out in anger/pain again. But maybe, just maybe she can see a little more that we care about her so very much. That we want to help her, to be a part of her life, to walk with her down this road.</div>
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I tie that into Thanksgiving because I am so thankful to have the job I do. I am so thankful to work with kids that come to us broken in a thousand pieces, hoping to find someone with a little glue and time to help them put the pieces back together again.</div>
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Teaching is a special profession. It's not something I feel I have to do, but I get to do.</div>
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And I am so incredibly thankful to work alongside people like YOU every day. People who pour their heart, soul, time, blood, sweat, tears into these kids.</div>
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People who are more than just educators. People who are life changers.</div>
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Our job isn't easy. Our job doesn't always feel rewarding every day. But I am thankful you walk alongside me with these kids. That you jump off the ledge with me. That you take risks, love deeply, and keep pushing yourselves.</div>
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I am thankful for our parents we have how are doing the best they possibly can to raise their children. I am thankful for our district administration who makes decisions they feel are for the betterment of kids. I am thankful for our own personal families who deal with our tears and time away from home because we love what we do.</div>
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Thank YOU for what you do. There is no way I could ever express how needed and appreciated you are.</div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-36358146944864911462016-11-04T16:14:00.002-07:002016-11-04T16:14:34.009-07:00Some Have No One Else #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
This week I was reminded of the simple fact that we have children at our school that have no one else. That we're they're only one. The only one who encourages them, celebrates them, believes in them.</div>
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I have students come into my office every day for "Hats Off" calls to celebrate them. Friday something different happened. I had called home to celebrate a third grader who struggles with school quite often. He was so excited about his "Hats Off" card. As we called mom (and had her on speaker phone), I told her the great reasons why I was calling home and how proud of her son we were. I then asked her, as I do every parent, if she'd like to talk to her son to celebrate him too. Her response? "No, that's ok. I can talk to him later if I feel like it".</div>
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Wow. Did I mention she was on speaker phone? And her son heard the whole exchange. I watched this little boy lose all sense of excitement and instead put his head down. It broke my heart.</div>
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But it was a reminder. A reminder that our kids come from homes where they aren't always taught of their worth and value. And socioeconomic status doesn't always play a part. These kids come from home full of monetary wealth and homes devoid of any material things. Kids are kids.</div>
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It was a reminder for me to hug our kiddos a little tighter. To give a few more high fives. To dance a little more. To laugh as much as possible. To celebrate every single moment. For we may be the only way celebrating that challenge and I want to be the pebble in that child's pond of life where ripples are felt for years to come.<br />
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Remember this next week, as we get closer and closer to the Holidays, that the holidays aren't happy experiences for all of our students. Some dread those days where they have to be at home instead of being at school. And because of that fear and dread they will act out in different ways. <br />
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We have to have a big enough heart to love them anyway. To forgive them time and time again. To wrap them in compassion, patience, and honesty. We have to show them we aren't going anywhere, we aren't going to abandon or give up on them, and we love them so very much. Because we might be the only one.</div>
Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488505761168063426.post-47478173895385736202016-10-29T10:24:00.000-07:002016-10-29T10:24:01.706-07:00Learning from Others #KidsDeserveIt<div style="text-align: center;">
This past week I had the experience of visiting a friend's school and seeing what they were up to. I've always been a believer in connecting with others online and learning from and with them. But that is only a piece of the puzzle. To truly learn from someone you have to see them in action!</div>
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Time and time again, I have learned so much more from personal visits to schools rather than conferences, webinars, and trainings.</div>
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This week I was able to spend a day at Brad Gustafson's (<a href="http://twitter.com/gustafsonbrad" target="_blank">@GustafsonBrad</a>) school in Minnesota. Brad and I have been friends for years and talk on a daily basis. Brad (and <a href="http://twitter.com/benjamingilpin" target="_blank">Ben Gilpin</a>) have been my constant source of encouragement and coaching as I've entered this administrative world. I met Brad on Twitter, and over the last couple of years through Twitter and Voxer we've become great friends. Our wives are even good friends now and we have traveled together on several occasions.</div>
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It's one thing to hear about things someone says is happening at their school. It's another to see it in action, especially since Brad was just recently awarded the National Distinguished Principal for Minnesota.</div>
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I was so impressed with many things I saw. From the student work posted everywhere, the amount of teachers trying innovative seating/classroom design options, to the clear focus on literacy (student AND teachers advertising what they're reading), to the friendly little touches such as the welcome mats and signage. It was a great day with lots of learning.</div>
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I share all of this to remind and encourage you of the power of connecting with others. I always say "no matter where you work and how talented the people are that you work with, your ideas are still limited to the four walls". Putting yourself out there and connecting on sites like Twitter really does expand your learning and opens doors like nothing else. Then when you can push those "twitter" connections to the next level, and make face to face learning happen, it's a whole new ball game!</div>
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Todd Nesloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609476999461854620noreply@blogger.com0