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~ J Clay Norton, Ed.D.

The Book Chamber

Monthly Archives: May 2024

That’s A Wrap on 23-24…

10 Friday May 2024

Posted by The Book Chamber in Education, Educational Leadership, Leadership, Teachers

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Education, Educational Leadership, Leader, Leadership, Learning, school, Teachers, teaching

Well, here we are, the end of the 2023-2024 school year…

Another year down, a year wiser, a year older, and another graduating class to remember…

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” The end of the school year marks the packaging of academic efforts, the closure of one phase of learning, and the beginning of another. It’s a time to reflect on the experiences gained, the knowledge acquired, and the growth achieved. It is the time we have been given…

I hope you have enjoyed the blogs this school year. Some have special meaning to me and the others were an opportunity to write about leadership and actually have people read it… well, I am very appreciative. Thank you.

For our traditional last blog of the year, here are the five most-read blogs from this past school year. Just click on the link to read again or read for the first time…

  1. A “Teacher Gram” for Sherri Ottis…
  2. Mississippi’s Senate Education Committee Has A Bill Worth Considering About State Testing…
  3. “Go fund me, fair and equitably,” says the public schools of Mississippi…
  4. What Are Teacher’s Thoughts Before Christmas Break?
  5. What Is This Thing Called Spring Break?

As for my favorite… I’m going with this: Fighting Complacency in Contentment – A Leadership Battle…

Again, I would like to thank the readers of The Book Chamber Blog. Thank you for reading my thoughts, rants, or whatever you might call them. Your comments and feedback are always welcome.

And… As always, A Thank You to teachers everywhere who are in it for the students. You are the reason why education will always have a chance to help society.

If you are wondering what the most read blog is since I have been writing… Here it is… Is the “Leadership Force” strong with you?

As summer vacation nears, make time for yourself and your family. In the end, that is what is most important. And as always… if all else fails and you need something to do, read a book.

We will pick back up in the fall.

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2024 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… X @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…

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Guardians of the Educational Universe – Teachers Appreciation Week…

03 Friday May 2024

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Craft, Education, Educational Leadership, Encouragement, Leader, Leadership, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers, Thankful

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Education, Educational Leadership, Leader, Leadership, Learning, Respect, school, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers, teaching

In a world where sometimes, chaos reigns supreme, there exists a sacred order that can contain the pandemonium – TEACHERS. I’m thinking of He-Man and She-Ra, valiant warriors who march into classrooms to battle, armed not with swords but with dry-erase markers and endless reserves of patience. Let’s take a moment to realize that these unsung heroes of our sanity are masters of the educational universe, and we are fighting Skeletor.

Screenshot 2024-04-30 at 10.46.53 AM

Guess what, everyone? It’s that week where we appreciate teachers. So, let’s appreciate them! Here are a few reasons why…

Think about it this way, consider the sheer audacity of our profession. Day in and day out, teachers bravely enter classrooms filled with small windstorms to E4 tornadoes, disguised as children and young adults, armed with nothing but a lesson plan, a winning smile, and knowledge of how to teach their subject. It’s like facing a pack of rambunctious squirrels hopped up on espresso and only one acorn to be found, yet they tackle this challenge with a resilience that only a teacher knows they have. Why? Because it’s what they do!

But wait, there’s more! Let’s talk about grading papers… Teachers possess the superhuman ability to decipher the cryptic hieroglyphics known as student handwriting, forgetting the fact that it is not even in cursive anymore. Seriously, have you ever tried to decipher a student’s paper written in what can only be described as a blend of an ancient cryptic language and chicken scratch? It’s a skill worthy of admiration and maybe a Nobel Prize in code-breaking. The government should hire teachers as cryptologists.

Let’s also remember their unparalleled talent for multitasking. Have you ever tried herding students who struggle to walk and chew gum simultaneously? Instead, let’s say they are on their phones, never looking up. Teachers effortlessly juggle lesson plans, pacing guides, actually teaching, sometimes counseling, grading, and all the other unneeded bureaucracy that the education institution throws at you. Does it ever end? 

And what about their unwavering dedication to their craft? Always trying to find a better way to teach a topic, trying to find worthwhile professional development. Yet, despite the occasional existential crisis induced by grading a mountain of papers, trying to explain the quadratic formula for the umpteenth time, or answering student’s questions of “why” and “I don’t understand,” teachers warrior on, fueled by an unyielding passion for education and maybe an over-the-limit amount of caffeine.

So, dear reader of my blog, the next time you see a teacher, take a moment to acknowledge them for what they do. For they are not just educators but the guardians of our future, the architects of others’ dreams, and the unsung heroes of our sanity in the educational universe.

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2024 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… “X” @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…

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