Adventures in Administration

Photo Credit The last couple of weeks have been really crazy.  So crazy that I had to come in on a Saturday to actually catch up and clear off my desk.  We have all been there, I know.  The challenge for me these past few weeks has been that the further behind I got, the more challenging it was for me feel effective in my job.  People would come in to chat and ask "Do you have a minute?" and while I was saying "Sure" or "Of course", I was screaming in my head "No, I don't have a minute!  Get out and see my assistant to make an appointment!"  Not an effective mode to be in when having a conversation that is really important to that person seeking you out.  I also was really putting myself out there collecting data from the staff about a recent PD day that had been a stretch for me to put together as well as a stretch for many to participate in.  Needless to say, as the feedback came in, I was still feeling so invested in the day that I cou...

It has been a while since I have been able to blog.  Sound familiar?  Winter and spring are really a crazy time of year in education, at least I think so.  Not only are you working hard to keep the momentum going for the school year after a nice 2-week holiday, but you are also planning for the next year.  A foot in both worlds.  It wears on you.  I have been struggling to keep my head above water for weeks.  But yesterday, it was different.  Yesterday was a breath of fresh air for me and an opportunity to reinvigorate my practice and rejuvenate my enthusiasm.  Let me tell you why:   Yesterday I was able to remind myself of what is most important: the students.  And how I did that was really nothing more than a series of fortunate occurrences that ultimately added up to one unbelievable day. My day began not at my school, but at the school of a dear friend (we've known each other since college (you can decide how long ago that r...

I was given a gift this year in that the first three days of my Thanksgiving holiday were spent on the road with my sister.  I helped her to drive her two amazing dogs and what had been left by the movers from Houston, TX to Los Angeles, CA.  Yup, three days of driving, 28 hours in the vehicle and only ourselves and Highway 10 for entertainment.  While this was not the way I would normally choose to spend a holiday, I am so very glad that I had the opportunity to do so. The route is a pretty desolate one.  There is not much in the way of interesting scenery (with a few exceptions in New Mexico).  And no matter how much you love spending time with someone, 28 hours of driving and the care of two large dogs is demanding.  However, this trip reminded me of a few important lessons that I am carrying with me as I move with our school community towards finals and towards the end of Advent. Cool rock formation in New Mexico Any time that you have to...

Photo Credit: Sam Garza, wikimedia commons The November blogging challenge from @techthought is a great opportunity to take a step back and think about what I am thankful for. Today's prompt, however, is a real challenge: What do you do to take time out for yourself? My husband gets on my case all the time about this, with good reason. I am always the last person that I take care of. However, over the last year I have tried to be more conscientious about taking some time for myself, because if I don't care for myself, I can't care for others. And educators have many "others" to care for! So to take time out for myself, I try to do one or more of the following: a nice cup of tea (chai is my favorite!) non-professional reading (historical novels and biographies along with the occasional romance for good measure) an afternoon at Starbucks with my iPad to combine the two above exercise watching my latest Netflix arrival (which usually sits for about ...

Well,  @teachthought is at it again.  Another blogging challenge, and keeping with the "theme" of November, it is all about gratitude.  This month has been pretty crazy for me so here I am on the evening of November 12, almost half-way through the month, and I am finally getting to enter a post.  Our prompt for Day 12 is: Share a photo--or photos--of things/people you are grateful for.  Well, how lucky am I to enter the challenge on picture day?!  I have to say, I have much to be grateful for (as we all do). The family... At the top of my list is my family: without their constant love and support there is no way that I could do the job that I do.  Not that I am "great", I have much to learn.  However, my husband makes sure that I have the time I need to spend at work and willingly steps in to care for our son--even when our son wants NOTHING to do with dad.  It is tough to be an Administrator.  Not having to worry about my family ...

Photo credit: http://goo.gl/2Ssfhp This past weekend I did something I honestly don't remember the last time doing: I used vacation time in the middle of the school year!  My son had a four day weekend.  Our school had a three day weekend.  I took a four day weekend.  And WOW!  What a difference it made. We can always make an argument for staying at the office another hour.  We can always justify working into the wee-hours to catch up on those last few emails or finalize tomorrow's meeting.  But that can take a toll.  And it was taking a toll.  I was not as productive, tasks were taking twice as long, things were falling off my radar, causing the infamous "fire drill" every day.  On top of that my son was making comments like: "I wish you would just go back to teaching so I could spend more time with you."  Ugh!  How do you argue with that one? So this weekend I made a conscious decision to lighten up on my connect...

Photo credit: Flickr http://goo.gl/mI8NLQ This past weekend I attended  IntegratEDSF (#isf14).  Halfway through my morning session on day 1, my mind was already swimming with new ideas.  Then came the Key Note and look out, full mind explosion!  iSF is a very different type of conference as you only have two sessions in a day that are designed to be workshops rather than an hour of information coming fast and furious and then on to the next session with no time to process in between.  This was my first time attending iSF and I I will be back.  But that isn't why I am writing this post.  I am writing this post to reflect on some of the lessons I learned over the weekend... Failure to Communicate My morning session was facilitated by Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp) author  and teacher extraordinaire.  The session was entitled: The Empowered School.  It was a fantastic conversation that caused me to think about when I say "yes" vs...