Creating Lollipop Moments

I am a TED addict. I try to limit myself to a video a day, but of course, that rarely happens. As I was researching leadership, I found this great video. It is a short one, a little over six minutes and time well spent! I found that I related to it on so many levels!

I became a teacher 13 years ago; my preschool teacher would claim I have been a teacher my whole life. She told my mom daily stories of me helping my peers, rounding up a group of kids and “teaching” them a task during recess, in general being bossy, but they also followed my direction without complaint. It was something that just always came naturally to me. I became a mom exactly 10 years ago. In an instant, the person I defined myself as for 26 years was gone and I was a mom. I had just finished my second year of teaching and was just becoming accustomed to being called a teacher. That was a role I had aspired to, relished even, this new role was one that I never imagined I would be. Those "natural" maternal instincts that all girls are supposedly born with never found their way into my genetic makeup. I never played with dolls or played house or dreamed of my future children, their names, etc. Luckily, I had roughly eight months to prepare for this new journey and I sought out advice and support from everyone, especially my sister, whose preschool aspiration was "to be a mom." The people around me became my village without even knowing it. They boosted my confidence and taught me the baby skills I was desperately lacking. (I still can't swaddle a baby, however, that skill just never sunk in.) When the day arrived, I greeted it with much anxiety, but also with confidence, not in my parenting skills but in my village that I had created to support me through this terrifying task ahead of me. Through these last ten years, I have had many lollipop moments as my village has supported me through the tears, terrifying moments, and days of celebration that come along with parenting.

I believe in many ways, teachers feel just as daunted to begin integrating technology and 21st century skills as I did about having a baby. Do we really know enough? How can I keep up with the ever-changing world of technology? What if the lesson doesn't work? What if the technology doesn't work? What if the Internet goes down? These fears have stopped a lot of great teachers from taking the first steps to transitioning to 21st century classroom. The fear stops us in our pursuit, makes us back track and rely on the comfort of what we already know how to do. As I begin my new role as an instructional coach, I hope to create many lollipop moments for teachers and help them to see that they had the ability all along, they just needed to trust it. I also need to remind myself that, though, this new role is very intimidating, especially in thinking of myself as a teacher leader. I, too, am surrounded by leaders that will help me to improve my skills and find lollipop moments. I am so excited to start working with this great group of teacher leaders!

Permission to Find Your True Self

My daughter, a soon-to-be first grader, a six-year-old going on twenty, and the light of my life. She was born to be covered in glitter, diamonds, and any other shiny piece of clothing she can find. She runs her own Pinterest board, pinning the latest nail designs, wedding dresses, wedding cakes, sparkly high heels, and cutesy pictures of animals. The exact opposite of her mother, who abhors the sight of glitter, sparkles, and all that "girly crap!" While I was pregnant with her, I had the overwhelming knowledge (I can't explain why) that I was going to have a girl. I found my self bargaining with fate..."If she's going to be a girl, please make her a tomboy, I can handle one of those!!" I remember thinking, if I do have a girl, I am NOT following societal rules. She will be introduced to science/math early. I will not give her Barbies. I will not buy her a kitchen/cleaning playset. I will dress her in blue. But fate had other plans and by a year old my very independent (that she did get from me!!) fashionista was playing with her baby dolls, Barbies, and princesses in her kitchen play set. When she was four, she designed her bedroom...I found myself painting two walls fuschia and two walls purple with purple and pink/purple polka dot bedspread. Then in kindergarten, I paid for cheerleading camp, then watched my daughter practice her cheers every night and cheering at a varsity football game; she loved every minute of it! As much as it killed me on the inside, I have wholeheartedly supported each "girly" activity she has decided she needed to tackle next. From the day she was born, my daughter has been teaching me a lesson. No matter what my plans are for her, no matter what my opinions are of societal pressure on feminine versus masculine roles, she is going to be whatever she was born to be.

I have taken this lesson into the classroom. Each year, I am greeted by thirty plus teenagers, all with differing dreams, goals, realities, support, and talents. Instead of trying to make them what I believe to be the best type of student, I take the time to learn who they are. Not just the type of learner, but what really makes them tick, what do they do outside of my classroom, what are they passionate about, what is most important to them. Lessons, then, can be individualized to their needs/passions. For example, If I have a student that writes fan fiction, she writes her own fictional stories of historical events. This summer, I am leaving the classroom to begin a new role, instructional coaching. I will be working with high school teachers, supporting them in the craft of teaching. As I start preparing for this task, I find myself thinking, again, of the lesson my daughter taught me. Yes, there is a definition of good teaching, but each teacher also brings their own personality into the mix. We need to allow teachers to find their true teacher self and support them blending that into the lessons, allowing them to experiment with new tools, growing from their successes and failures. As I begin this endeavor in August, that will be the focal point of my coaching, giving the teachers permission to find/be their true self.