CONNECTIONS: One Shining Moment
This week’s blog post comes to us via Joy Kelly, co-author of the newly-released bestseller, Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect. Learn more below in our “New Releases” feature and connect with Joy on Twitter: @JoyKelly05
March Madness is in full swing. This annual NCAA basketball tournament is a family favorite and tradition. My boys started going to the NCAA Tournament as little kids and lived for Selection Sunday with their predictions as to which teams would or would not get into the "Big Dance." Our family has been a part of The University of Iowa men’s basketball program since 2014. First, after my oldest son Nicholas accepted a preferred walk-on spot and then when my younger son, Michael, joined him in 2017. Michael initially served as a team manager before being offered a preferred walk-on spot his second year in the program. Remarkable is the only word I can use to describe watching both sons live out their dream of playing for their beloved Hawkeyes. To eventually witness both of them suit up together for their own NCAA appearance was magical (and nerve-wracking).
When their time as Hawkeye team members came to a close, Nicholas and Michael each expressed profound gratitude not only for the experience they had together but for the relationships they had with their coaches and teammates. They didn’t talk about the practices, play calls, wins or losses. They talked about their friendships and the closeness they felt with teammates and coaches. They experienced the highs of big victories and NCAA wins and the lows that come with losing, physical injuries and personal hardships experienced by their teammates. Central to their collegiate experience was the relationships they formed and the care and concern they had for every member of their teams.
PHOTO: Sophomore Michael Baer (0) checks in for his brother Nicholas Baer (51) on Senior Day at The University of Iowa.
As a parent, this is the kind of experience I wish for my children. As an educator, this is what I want for all of my students. My friend and colleague, Jimmy Casas, and I recently released our book, Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools and with Dignity and Respect. The purpose of the book is to help educators, coaches, directors, and even parents to examine a variety of school-related situations, both in and out of the classroom. In schools across the country, educators at every level are faced with delicate, challenging situations that require leadership, insights, and skills in order to support students and staff. Through our own experiences and those shared with us over the years by other educators, Handle with Care addresses a variety of difficult-to-handle situations and provides tools and techniques to ensure that every student and staff member feels seen, heard, and valued. I am proud to be a contributor to the "Eyes on Culture" series with the publication of Handle with Care. It is a manuscript that reminds us that the heart and soul of a positive culture begins and ends with the way all members of the school community are handled with care, grace, dignity, and respect even (especially) when missteps occur.
March Madness closes with the National Championship game. Millions of people around the country will tune in for the game and it's quite possible even more will tune in for the song by Luther Vandross, One Shining Moment, which plays to video highlights from the tournament. This is a great time of year to ask ourselves if we are creating the conditions in our own schools for students, players and performers to have their one shining moment. How are our teachers, coaches, directors, and club sponsors creating cultures that focus on teachable moments in order to build better school cultures in almost every area? While only a small percentage of athletes get to the "Big Dance," educators have the capacity to give every student their one shining moment by the attitudes, dispositions, and level of respect we bring to every interaction.
Thanks to all educators reading this for the amazing work you are doing during these challenging times. As always, Teach and Lead with Passion...
Jeff and Jimmy
DAILY INSPIRATION EDUCATOR
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NEW RELEASE!
Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect by Jimmy Casas and Joy Kelly
We are so excited to announce that our newest book is in print and the reception has been fantastic! In Handle with Care, authors Jimmy Casas and Joy Kelly examine a variety of difficult school-related situations, both in and out of the classroom.In schools across the country, educators at every level are faced with delicate, challenging situations that require leadership skills and insights in order to produce favorable outcomes for students and staff. This book provides educators with insights into a variety of difficult-to-handle situations and scenarios that educators can relate to and may have experienced themselves. Well-intentioned, but inadequate, human responses are identified and practical ideas for handling delicate situations with dignity and respect are provided. This book will help educators develop tools and techniques to help students and staff emerge from missteps more self-aware, feeling valued, and able to move forward.
In this book, you will learn:
What it takes to cultivate a school culture in which every student and staff member feels seen and heard.
How to treat student and staff missteps as opportunities for teaching and learning based on dignity and respect.
How to build leadership capacity and culturize school pride.
The value of student-centered classrooms and school-related programs.
Look for this book to be in stock on Amazon and at connected.org on or before April1!
FEATURED BOOK:
Eyes On Culture: Multiply Excellence In Your School by Emily Paschall
In this recently-released book, Emily Paschall supplies the recipe for success in today’s schools. School culture is the hidden curriculum that drives a school forward or backward, and when strong relationships and relentless passion are at its root, this is when excellence multiplies. This book is filled with a wide range of authentic stories and lessons, as well as tangible takeaways that will culturize your classroom, school, and community. Emily provides you with the necessary tools to not only live your own excellence, but to multiply excellence in others. In this book, you will learn:
How to use your lived experiences to help someone else
How to unlock the key to connecting with all kids, even those who seem unreachable
How to build partnerships with families so that they desire to work with you
How to make difficult conversations not so difficult
How to help every student, parent, and colleague achieve excellence
Check out more here
CONNECTEDD’S TAKEAWAY’S
Thought for the Day: “At the desk where I sit, I have learned one great truth. The answer for all problems of the world comes to a single word. That word is education.” Lyndon B. Johnson
Teaching Technique to Try: Crop It: In a Crop It activity, students use cropping tools to frame a portion of an image and then discuss their choice with classmates. This strategy requires students to notice, identify, and respond to specific portions of an image before interpreting the image’s overall meaning and impact. It’s an effective way to help students look closely at and analyze images. Check out this link from Facing History and Ourselves for a step-by-step process for using this technique.
Eyes On Culture: We believe that culture is a true difference maker in any classroom, school, district, or organization. As a result, we focus much of the work we do on creating and maintaining positive and productive cultures. Culture Focus: Consistency. In high performing schools with strong cultures, adults behave consistently. Whether that refers to expectations for student work quality and completion, enforcing the student code of conduct, or having a daily schedule with predictable routines, all adults in the school deal with the students they serve and the colleagues with whom they serve in a consistent manner. They do not enforce one rule one day and overlook it the next. They do not say “Yes” to one person and “No” to another who has the same request. Although special events and activities that disrupt the daily schedule are planned and even welcomed, there remains an overall consistency to what happens and when throughout each day over the course of an entire school year.
Please share your thoughts about culture via Twitter: @ConnectEDDBooks We would love to hear from you!