The Power of Movement

As a leader, I find myself constantly moving. Actually, it probably has nothing to do with being a leader, I think it's more about who I am as a person.

"You're always on the go, Amy."
"Are you ever home?"
"When do you stop?"
"I was going to call you, but I figured you were off doing something fun."
"I cannot keep up with you! Don't you get tired?"

These are common questions and comments that I hear on a fairly regular basis. Moving. It is a part of who I am, and for me, it's the only way I know how to function. I love being on the go, surrounded by people who fuel me, and sharing positive energy with others.

I've spent the last three days at Skywalker Ranch participating in an incredible learning opportunity with 80 other administrators. CUE Rockstar Admin. Holy cow - what a journey.

Move Alone. 

Some attendees are here with a team, and others appeared to be lone rangers until they quickly made new friends. For me, I'm getting to live the best of both worlds. One of my closest principal friends, @chaugen, who I "principal" with in Petaluma is on faculty at Rockstar, but for the majority of the time, I've been able to float around as a lone ranger. I'm rarely alone, so this has allowed me to really quiet myself, reflect more than usual, and realize the power of movement.

Moving Closer to Leaders Who Make Me Better

Todd Sandwich! YES! 
@PrincipalUMS & @tsschmidty 

Although I had to beg these two for a "Todd Sandwich" picture, I can't get enough of being in the presence of leaders who make me better. Just knowing that we're all in this together, despite the fact that we rarely get the chance to spend time together, is rejuvenating. The little bits of wisdom, the new ideas, the reminder that we're making strides in the right direction because it's "good for kids" is more than enough to fill my bucket. Besides the dynamic faculty at Rockstar, the small but mighty list of attendees is also an incredibly talented and passionate group of educators.

Move Out of Comfort Zones

In each of the 7 sessions I've attended, the lead learner has expected me to move out of my comfort zone. In fact, sometimes we were even told explicitly, "All I care about is that you do something out of your comfort zone." In thinking about this, although it can feel uncomfortable for a few moments, I think it's SO critical that as educators we constantly force ourselves to feel this level of discomfort. We do it to our students ALL the time. We expect them to learn something new, try something hard, persevere, and too often as educators, I don't think we acknowledge how hard that can feel.

Me w/ Brian Briggs, Lisa DeLapo, & Catina Haugen 

Stop Moving

Yep, I would bet money on the fact that most of us should probably do this more often. Even me. It's been fun to watch so many of my busy friends find little corners in random rooms, sit down, and just soak up the scenery here at Big Rock Ranch. Being "on the go" doesn't always serve me well if I don't take the time to stop from time to time and reflect. A goal for myself after this experience will be to stop moving from time to time and reflect on my practice.

View from a boat ride a group of us took after the 

event to soak it all in.

My Fav: Moving for Fun! 

Enter Jennifer Kloczko! Oh my goodness, girl! On Saturday, Jen showed up to inspire us all and set the tone for day 3. Let me just say that she ROCKED it. Literally. With her stereo on wheels in tow, her disco ball attached to the top, and a super fun movement activity from Go Noodle, Jen had the whole theater of educators (except for Todd Feinberg - lame!) dancing, smiling, and singing! What a great reminder that movement is all around us. 

Alone. Together. In new places. Just for fun. Movement: it's powerful.

My Sparkle Sis, @jkloczko. xo 

One of my new fav principal friends, Tracey Allen!

Fav tweet from the event: 

Uh oh! It's Koo Koo Kangaroo Roo at @CUERockStar! Way 2 go @jkloczko getting the blood flowing on Day 3 #eduawesome pic.twitter.com/HyFVTAod9i

— Rick Rubino (@GUSDSUPT) November 21, 2015

We're Really Not That Techy

*** This post is co-written with Adam Welcome, Elementary Principal at Montair Elementary!

It’s inevitable, between both of us, we probably hear it on a weekly basis.

Someone is passing out a big binder to everyone in the group. - “Sorry about the binder and all the paper, we know you’re techy.” (Who can't carry a binder around all day, we need something that’s accessible from our phone during the day) 

Document camera won’t project during back to school professional development. - “Adam/Amy can probably help, they’re techy.” (Check the power cord and VGI cable, start problem solving) 

Other Principals or Directors - “What’s that Twitter thing you do, I should do that, but you’re techy. I’m just not there yet. Can you help me set it up?” - Two weeks later you see that person at a meeting, you’re looking at your phone and they chuckle as they ask. - “Are you Tweeting?” (We’re connecting our school with the world to develop awesome learning experiences for them!) 

Most of the time, we brush it off. Smile. Laugh. Turn our head the other way. But every now and then, when the stars are aligned just right, those words, “Oh that’s right, you’re techy”..... they almost rub us the wrong way. In fact, lately, we can’t help but wonder if people are really picking up what we’re putting down.

Do you know which group of people never call us techy? The kids! Why? Because this is the world they know, and it’s not about the tech, it’s about mindset and being relevant.

Here's a glimpse into their world, it's OUR world as well!

   

Kids are techy. Kids are relevant. Kids speak the language. Kids see the possibilities. 

They want us to be! They need us to be! They deserve us to be! It’s the world they live in and whether we like it or not, it’s the world WE live in too! 

Instead of calling us “techy”, we really wish people would just call us RELEVANT! We didn’t know how to do all these things either when we got started. But we saw a need, a way to connect, a reason to learn, and we took action. 

- Embedding a Google Calendar on your school website - just copy/paste the code from Google, no big deal. 

- A Twitter account for your school to tell your story, all you need to do is create an account and start Tweeting! See all the magic that can happen. 

- Creating podcasts with students, choose from a plethora of app options in iTunes and just start recording. 

- Troubleshooting a projector or TV with an issue - pick up the remote and start problem solving! 

- Just last week in a Foundation meeting we were talking about our fundraising goal for the year. How about a thermometer on our website to show our status and what we need to achieve? All you do is Google ‘fundraising thermometer widget’ and with two easy clicks and typing our financial goals, it’s ready to embed! This doesn’t mean I’m techy, it means I know how to search, that’s a relevant skill all people should have! 

- Working on collaborative docs with other administrators and teachers to streamline communication, just create one! 

- Responding to student blogs so they see there is an engaged and connected audience, just search #comments4kids and get to responding! 

- Handing your smartphone or device over to students so they can teach you new things, be vulnerable! 

- Need to create a space to share documents with a parent group, a Google Drive folder that’s open to everyone. Our 3rd-5th graders know how to do that, so should you! If you don’t, go to Google Drive Help, there’s a short video to teach you how. 

- Watching a YouTube video on how to make a form to use during walkthroughs in order to provide meaningful and timely feedback...ready, set, go! 

- Add some ideas here please! 

We owe it to our students to be relevant with the means by which they learn and can connect. When we were kids in school, it was a different game. It’s time that leaders and teachers start making a shift in order to make sure they’re ready to play. 

Learn the skills and get in the game. You can’t coach your team from the locker room, get on the ground floor. Get engaged. Get your hands dirty. Speak a new language. Take some risks. Feel uncomfortable and push yourself. 

Our kids deserve us to be on top of relevant ideas. The parents in our communities should expect us to be! Our colleagues we work with should be a sponge for what we’re trying to do, rather than a source of pushback or negative comments. 

The next time you hear someone say, “You’re techy.” Be observant. Is that person really being techy? Or perhaps just relevant? 

Don’t speak the chalkboard language of eras past and be this guy, it won’t end up well for your students and you won't have as much fun!

 


Adam and me at the NAESP conference in Long Beach, CA this summer!