Thrivapy: Live, Learn, Have Fun

One of the educator’s most favorite pieces of advice for students is, “There are no bad questions.”  I’ve said it.  You have probably said it.  Someone has likely said it to you.  I agree that there are really no dumb questions, but I also think that the questions you ask says plenty about how involved one is in the issue at hand. There is also a misguided assumption that the smarter one is, the fewer questions he or she asks.  That misguided assumption is based on the confusion between being smart and being a “know it all.”  In my experiences, those who project themselves as having all the answers are typically trying to distract others from the fact that they really have no idea what they are talking about.  On the other hand, I have found that most people that are inquisitive and look to expand their understanding ask good questions.  Regardless of IQ, I classify the latter to be the “smarter” of the two groups. “Smart” people ask good questions I am NOT implying that the oppos

I began blogging last summer as a way to get some ideas out of my head, see if anyone else had any interest in them, and hopefully spark a few conversations.  After some time, I noticed that I was not generating much traffic at all and considered the idea a bust. A friend suggested that I use a more comprehensive approach which led to my sharing via Twitter (@DrTroyRoddy) and Facebook (Troy P. Roddy, Ph.D.) .  Since then, I have had a satisfying flow of visitors as well as “followers” and “likes.” The point of this post is not to promote social networking, but rather to explain how my work to engage and develop a digital footprint has had an effect on my daily face-to-face work.  Here is a list of ways that I feel I have changed for the better. My writing is better because I am doing so much more of it.  This improvement is felt in my emails and letters to parents, not just my blogging. I am learning new ideas and am forced to reflect on my beliefs.  This is the only way I can g

Attention educational leaders! Do you wonder why their feels like a disconnect between you and your teaching staff? Are you confused as to why the room gets very quiet when you enter? Would some suggestions about how to re-discover the joys of education that motivated you to join the teaching profession? May I suggest that you may need to get more “full of …ble”?  Yes, you may need to develop a greater appreciation for “..ble”. What is “…ble” you ask?  “…ble” can be many things like: AVAILAble – Can teachers find you and talk to you? APPROACHAble – Do you project a genuinely welcoming atmosphere? CAPAble – Are you knowledgeable and current in your area?  Can you get the job done? VISIble – Is your presence felt all over the campus? HUMble – Are you quick to praise and slow to accept it? Feel free to add your own list of “…ble” in the comments section.

One of the more challenging aspects of assuming a formal leadership role as a school administrator is how to address difficult issues with the faculty.  This is even more difficult when the issue has the potential to create an “us (faculty) vs. them (administration)” mentality. Avoiding a “confrontational” mentality is not the same as avoiding confrontation.  Developing a “solution” mentality is critical to moving forward productively.  Setting the right tone also develops the collegial environment necessary to inspire innovation and motivate others to be part of the solution rather than contributors to the problem. So, we call a faculty meeting and need to address the issue.  How can educational leaders introduce the issue with the best chance of creating a “solution” mentality rather than a “confrontational” mentality?  Your choice of words and areas of emphasis will speak volumes about the atmosphere you create. One thing to accept is that as the leader, you have a great deal of

Tomorrow, many of us will go back to our schools with varying degrees of enthusiasm and optimism.  We have good days and bad ones.  Often our day is shaped greatly by the first few experiences we have once we arrive. So, here is a list of ways I hope our days begin in order to set a positive tone. A student smiles and wishes you, “Good morning.” A fellow teacher compliments you on a recent accomplishment. You get a, “Thank you” email from a parent of a child that you have been spending extra time helping. An administrator recognizes your efforts in the classroom. Your student government serves free pancakes in the dining hall. While I wish any one of these for you, feel free to accept any combination of the above items for extra credit!

If you are a current or aspiring educational leader looking for a great resource for leadership, I strongly suggest visiting and subscribing to Lisa Petrilli’s C-Level Strategies and joining in on the #LeadershipChat sessions via Twitter on Tuesdays at 8:00 pm EST .  While the focus is more business oriented, I have found Lisa’s site and chats to be a source of great information and inspiration for leaders of all sorts. In a recent article, Lisa writes about being loyal to yourself as a foundation for building loyalty in your organization .  She asserts that loyalty to self includes: Personal Vision – knowing it and living it with conviction Ensuring that our vision is tied to what makes us passionate in life Committing time each day to listening to ourselves – I’ve discovered over the past few months that it’s in the quiet moments I reserve for myself that answers to questions of magnitude finally emerge in my brain…having traveled straight from my heart Taking care of oursel

In the 1950’s, the emergence of rock and roll onto the music scene changed pop culture in the United States and the world forever.  This cultural shift was greatly the result of its huge popularity and ability to connect to a younger audience.  Rock and Roll’s influence, both good and bad, is an example of how a younger generation, mostly kids, drove the rest of society to find their place among the more established (and older) community. Today, many of the shifts in education due to emerging technologies are also the result of the younger generation’s effort to find their place and contribute to their world.  Rock and roll allowed the child of the 50’s to make a stronger connection to their known community – town, neighborhood, school, etc.  Today, that community is global.  It’s boundaries are determined solely by the touch of a keystroke and the click of a mouse. Rock and roll found its place in the music world.  It took some time, but it is no loner viewed as the subversive and

I recently wrote a post in which I describe an exercise I had with students titled, “Why are you here?”   That post had the most views in one day than any I have written since starting this blog.  Since then, I have wondered if the actual question is the attraction or the exercise involved in reflecting and trying to answer the question. Contrary to “Why are you here?” , this post is not an example of something I have done recently, but it is another example of a question that I believe will spark conversation, especially among teachers. “Where do you want to go?” This is an important question for a number of reasons. First, this is a standard question to answer in order to establish a strategic approach to realizing your school’s preferred future.  If you do not know where you want to go, you’ll never get there. Second, in order to answer this question, you also must reflect on where you currently are.  The assumption is that there is some distance between these two points. Thir

I began my 7th grade history class today with this question, “Why are you here?”  The response most often reported was, “To learn.”  Now, I was actually pretty pleased to hear that.  After all, I could have gotten: “because I have to come here, my parents made me”, etc.  So, I was happy to hear that learning seemed important. As we continued to talk, we realized a few other pieces to the puzzle.  Here are a few of them in no particular order. We cannot possible learn everything Of what we do learn, we sometimes forget pieces Even when we learn, we sometimes revert back to old habits that are less effective I challenged the class to answer, “If we cannot learn everything and we forget some of what we learn; then how do we decide what needs to be learned and how can we measure that you actually learned anything?” I was impressed with the level of sophistication and thought that these students engaged in this conversation.  It provided a great insight into how they think about sch

I do not mind mistakes.  As a matter of fact, mistakes are valuable opportunities for growth.  The issue that concerns me is that in order for a mistake to become an opportunity to grow, there has to be a conscious effort to actually learn from the mistake and endeavor to not repeat it.  So why do we see so many examples of people repeating the same mistake over and over again.  In schools, I’m sure we can think of the teacher who continued to make the same mistake with parent communication, student evaluation, lesson planning, etc.  We end up asking ourselves, “Why are you doing that again?  Didn’t you learn from last time that that is a bad idea?”  While I generally believe that we humans are among the more intelligent species (insert laugh here :), I think I have learned more about this issue from quite literally a “bird brain” – the cardinal who insists on visiting my house every morning. My “visitor” is a bright red male cardinal who lands on the front porch before taking flight

Being an educator, I meet many very smart people.  I have learned much from them and I find myself seeking audiences of smart people with whom to share my own experiences.  Let me also state that I do not consider myself some sort of “intellectual snob.”  It is not as if my friends and acquaintances must meet some minimum IQ.  I am simply saying that, generally speaking, I get much satisfaction from engaging with smart people. The topics of my recent reflections are smart people and the things they do.  Thinking about this question, I found myself thinking quite a bit about my past teachers, current colleagues, and a sprinkling of smart historical figures.  One common activity among many of these people is that they tell good stories, especially among the teachers.  Looking back on my experiences, the teachers whose intelligence I respect the most are those who were able to use stories very effectively.  This requires two similar, yet distinct criteria. The story was, in and of its

In 2010, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) published A 21st Century Imperative: A Guide for Becoming a School of the Future .   In that document, there is a section on Learning Communities in which the following comments are made: Teachers are the key to school transformation. When asked to describe “the teacher of the future,” i.e., that individual who can deliver an education for our times, each head of school focused on the same qualities: • Deep domain knowledge • A commitment to ongoing professional development • Significant career and life experience outside of education • A greater interest in what is learned than in what is taught • An ability to work as part of a team Schools have always valued teachers who are deeply and broadly educated. Yet at a time when the knowledge base is changing so rapidly, especially in technical fields, deep domain knowledge is more than ever a prerequisite to effective teaching. A teacher must be able to keep abreast

In Twenty Principles for Teaching Excellence: The Teacher’s Workbook (1992) , Dr. M. Walker Buckalew walks teachers through the following summarized list of teaching principles: Academically authoritative Current in fields of academic expertise Hold high expectations of students Set high standards  for all students Student time on task is no less than 50% of class time One minute of test prep per 2 minutes of test time View test prep as integral to teaching Grading includes subjectivity and psychological reinforcement principles Classroom behavior control is both fair and humane Classroom behavior control approach is consistent, rigorous, and based on individual equity Endeavor to be professionally/emotionally involved with students outside of class Display interest in students' outside of class lives Teaching approach includes providing responsibility and adult type roles Goals and standards for student performance is taught in a planned progression Treat students a

I know how to do a few things.  Among these are paint a room, change a light bulb, unclog a sink, hit a baseball, and sew a button.  That does not make me a painter, plumber, electrician, slugger, or tailor.  I have, along the way, developed a few skills that come in handy once in a while, but on the whole, they do not define me or have a significant part in creating my own self-image.  The essence of my being is not attached to any of them.  They are not the cultivators of my ethos. I am an educator.  My identity is attached to a different set of skills, beliefs, and characteristics. So, what does that have to do with educational leadership?  I have been thinking quite a bit lately about the nature of professional development and the need to re-examine “PD” given the needs of the 21st century school and student.  The teachers will need to deliver on those needs and the development of teachers must align itself with these challenges.  One such challenge, I find, is addressing the di

A little while back, I raised the topic of teacher professional development and training in the 21st century as part of my involvement in the TED-ED Brain Trust .  The framework of my thread was that given the changes and expected student outcomes in the 21st century (collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication, etc.), shouldn’t there be at least an equal emphasis on redesigning or refocusing our teacher training programs? I have had good responses and the topic is somewhat “hot” on the TED-ED Forum .  Many responders talk about the role of technology in teacher development.  I think that is a given and not necessarily innovative.  After all, many teachers engage in technologically based PD on a daily basis – they blog, Tweet, take course, etc.  What I found missing was some insights in to the objectives of teacher PD for the 21st century. After reflecting on this topic for a number of days, I have the following items to suggest.  All of them, as I see it, are part of

It has become a generally positive attribute for leaders who work to identify, nurture, and build a “leadership density” within their schools.  In graduate school, I actually had a professor state that a sign of an outstanding leader is that when the leader is not present the school continues to operate without a hitch.  In other words – hire great people, put them in position to be successful, and your school will operate exceedingly well.  For the most part, I do not have any issues with this idea as long as we recognize a few other considerations. One item to consider is the potential pitfall of complacency.  School leaders who lose sight of their own influence due to overreliance on the “leadership density” may soon find themselves in a difficult position especially when an issue related to the leader’s responsibilities is questioned.  I have stated many times that a leader can (and should) delegate authority to others, but the leader cannot delegate responsibility.  When leaders

On Saturday, I am presenting Using Twitter for Professional Development at the VAIS (Virginia Association of Independent Schools) Technology Conference. I want to send a most sincere “Thank You” to all the wonderful people who contributed to my Google Doc . I hope to represent all of your thoughts at the conference. Below is a copy of the Prezi I prepared for my presentation. Using Twitter as a Professional Development Tool on Prezi

The ability of a teacher to effectively engage a class is somewhat dependant on establishing a level of mutual respect.  Students respect the teacher’s role as head of the class.  Teachers respect the role of the student as developing learners.  This, obviously, is an  oversimplification of the relationship between student and teacher, but it helps describe the basic conditions from which an engaging and effective learning environment emerges. One quality I have noticed about teachers who are adept at establishing this environment is their ability to exhibit a “presence” in class.  This “presence” is hard to define.  It is similar to the description of pornography given by United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart - “I know it when I see it.” Therefore, I have taken this difficult situation and reflected on a method by which to examine the level of “presence” a teacher brings to the class.  Based on these reflections, I offer what I call the 45% rule .  This method may be u

Once in a while I read an article that seems to illicit a response that I find hard to categorize.  When this happens, I let it sit for a day or so before making any judgments.  If after a few days (and a few more reads) I still fell uneasy, I consider writing about it.  This post is a result of one of those situations. On March 29th, an article by Mr. Larry MacDonald, President of Edison Innovations, Inc.,  titled, Educational Technology Breakthrough: Let Kids Teach Each Other appeared on Huffingtonpost.com .  In that article, Mr. MacDonald makes his case for supporting the use of student produced videos as a breakthrough in educational technology.  He references Khan Academy and Kids Teaching Kids . Before I discuss some concerns I have about the article, I want to state up front that the field of education is well served by passionate people, like Mr. MacDonald, who care deeply about student achievement.  I am also a huge proponent of creative thinking and interesting ideas.  Mr.

When I think about leadership effectiveness in schools, I am usually persuaded to reflect on context, situation, and the orientation of how leaders think.  I have a more pragmatic side also.  That part of me simply says that leadership effectiveness is determined by how much further a leader moves her school along its chosen path.  That path is most often defined by mission statements, strategic plans, and the like.  Measurements of these items usually takes the form of tests scores, attendance records, benchmarks, and other descriptive data used to compare where a school is currently compared to a pre-determined time in the past. For the sake of simplicity, let’s set aside a discussion of the actual research concerning leadership effectiveness, the differences between espoused and actual leadership effectiveness, and the various markers used to measure school leadership effectiveness.  I can (and plan to) write about these concepts in later posts. If we agree to do the above, then

“Good things come to those who wait.” All of us have likely heard that phrase used a few times.  To me, this implies that exhibiting a little patience is a condition from which positive outcomes emerge.  On the other hand, I do NOT believe that this phrase implies the opposite to be true – that by not waiting, bad things will happen. As a father of two children under 6, I imagine the origin of the phrase has something to do with a parent desperately trying to address the “I wants” or the “Can I’s” of raising kids. Of course a more adult version of this phrase is “patience is a virtue.”  I say adult version because I’m not sure why anyone would want to explain what a virtue is to a small child under the circumstances in which you find yourself needing the use the phrase! Recently, I wrote a blog post in which I discuss untapped talent .  In schools, we are mindful of helping students (and teachers) discover and share their special gifts with the larger community.  While there ar

  Many of the most effective leaders I know are good “ideas” people.  By “ideas” I refer to: the ability to listen to and consider multiple options present a new option that synthesizes previous ideas does this in a way that moves the issue at hand further along towards realizing its potential An interesting piece to the effectiveness of leaders and their ability to generate ideas is that good ideas potentially guide others to generate additional ideas.  In other words, effective leadership that generates good ideas often inspire innovation.  Unfortunately, good ideas represent only half of the equation.  Good ideas also need to be put into action. Without action, good ideas are only good in theory.  Once applied, good ideas move from theory to practice.  It is only then that the value of good ideas becomes apparent.  It is this value, gleaned from practical application, that reveals any necessary adjustments and, thus, opens the door for additional good ideas. In schools, I d