Drew Dudley, the TED speaker In the video we watched on Election Day, poignantly pointed out that there is no one “world” for the Herculean leaders to change. Every one of us experience the world around us differently, and leading is simply about making this experience better for someone, one person at a time. It’s something all of us can do and have done.
However, some things can’t wait for us to change one person at a time. In a more recent talk, Drew Dudley brought up that the image of who we collectively perceive leaders to be can create devastating glass ceilings for those who think they don’t look the part. So who looks the part? Take a look at the Google Image search for “CEO” if you don’t already know.
(NOTE: Google produces results based on popularity…the top results are the ones people click on first when they search for the term CEO)
Such social norms can be devastating and it starts early. Our students are amazing and more than a few can compete with the best from the country. But How many of them see themselves as leaders? How many of them truly believe they can set the limits to their own success? And how many of our students leave 8th grade thinking that there is even a remote chance they can become president?
Ability is nothing without the courage and will to use it, and our job as teachers is to help students acquire all three, even if the latter two will never show up on state test scores. We must be mindful to model each day that leadership doesn’t have anything to do with your gender, the color of your skin, or the neighborhood you grew up in. It’s up to us to show them that leadership is within all of us, that leadership is a mindset and a choice, and that leadership is simply the willingness to pay the price to do what’s right.
In short, leadership is this Angela Davis quote: “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Ms. Mercado and Ms. Listl are off to a fantastic start in their ICT partnership in Kindergarten. With effective systems in place to set expectations for behavior and learning, students can spend all of their attention on the learning tasks at hand. To learn how to look closely and later write with details, students traced objects such as pointy leaves with their fingers in the air and describing it as they go. The practice builds upon existing knowledge (drawing) to support new understanding (recognize and describe details). With Ms. Keen Li teaching a third group, all students were able to enjoy small group learning. I can’t believe this is only the team’s first 40 days!
From Ms. Mintiens: Ms. Falesto and Ms. DelVecchio are spicing up the learning and putting the FUN in Fundations Word Study. The two have been pulling students who need extra support in reading in grades K, 1, and 2- specifically focusing on word study. They use the Fundations Curriculum with fidelity (utilizing the picture icons from the program) but also add their own activities that incorporate multi sensory learning in order to grab and keep students’ attention for a full period. Some activities include using a word bank of sight words and students have to come to the chart figure out which words are missing a ‘bonus letter’. The students created words with their magnetic tiles. The two teachers created straws with the different sets of ‘bonus letters’. One teacher called out a word and students had to hold up which bonus letter they heard. The two teachers play off of each other to model skills and ask students questions. The energy is contagious!
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Academic Intervention Services will begin by the end of the month for at-risk students. A staff memo will be mailboxed this week with information on the students who will be receiving services as well as the criteria used for determining eligibility. Should any students whom you are considering sending home a December Promotion-In-Doubt warning letter are not on the AIS list, please speak with your assistant principal as well as guidance counselor.
Please use your Tuesday parent outreach time to schedule meeting with families. Now that you have some initial information on your students’ performance, you should be diligent in communicating with families to ensure all parties are on the same page and have a plan to support student learning. We lose trust with parents when they find out their children are not meeting expectations from a report card or during PTC, and we earn trust when they find out at a personal meeting arranged by you.
Ballroom Dancing, Paint Night, and Other Fun Times with Families. Now that Ms. Pimentel is up and running, we will begin planning a series of workshops/fun times with our families. Last year we had several amazing Paint Nights (thank you Ms. Holden and Ms. O’Donnell!), and this year we’ll add mother-son/ father-daughter/ father-son/ does it matter?! ballroom dancing with Ms. Eliades as the instructor. Let me know if you’re interested in coordinating an after school Parent/Student/Staff event.
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