listening
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Listen and Be Honest
I attended ICSEI, the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement last week. I listened to powerful keynotes by Russell Bishop, Charlene Bearhead, and Warren Simmons. These passionate and articulate educators from New Zealand, Canada and the United States shared themes of equity, caring and action for indigenous, black and latino students which resonated strongly with me.…
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One Thing Everyone Needs
“Thank you!” “I value your participation.” “What an interesting idea – let’s follow up on that.” “What do you think?” We all want to be noticed, valued and to belong. A big fanfare is not always needed, but those moments of quiet recognition that say, “I see you, and you are valued” are powerful. When…
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Edcamp Hamilton Redux
Today was our second Edcamp Hamilton and it was great! After months of planning, we welcomed over 60 educators, parents and a student for self directed learning and discussions. People came from all over southern Ontario, from Belleville through Toronto, Waterloo and Niagara. I reconnected with some many Ontario educators and met some new friends. And…
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Why I Serve
Today I almost forgot it was #AprilBlogaDay! Fortunately, Chris Crouch sent a topic that inspired my thinking. He asked “Why do you teach?” It’s a great topic, because we should all be connected to our big “why”. Finding our purpose is essential to our commitment. Having a life in public service has always been important…
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Do Less
What about if we all did less? Before you get panicky about your email inbox or the myriad other operational tasks you have to do, stay with me. What I’m talking about is slowing down. I often think about our pace of life and how crazy it seems to be. We live in a culture…
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When Empathy Isn’t Easy
We talk a lot about empathy in schools. People able to feel empathy are happier, have better relationships and are more successful. Empathy is essential for our society to function in a caring way. So we teach lessons about empathy (it’s one of the HWDSB Character Traits), we help students understand why it’s important to…