Category Archives: covid19

Lesson plans? They probably do not include these things…

28 Friday Aug 2020

Posted by in Agenda, coronavirus, covid19, Culture, Decisions, Distance Learning, Education, Educational Leadership, Leader, Leadership, Lesson Plans, Teachers, Understanding, Value

≈ 1 Comment

Lesson plans… who really needs them at a time like this?

First, let me preface that I am not a huge “lesson plan” educator kinda guy. Often times, lesson plans are more of a “dog and pony show” than actually containing value for both the student and the teacher. And for those of you who know me, you know that I believe education should be anything but “fake.” Who should lesson plans be for anyway? I have never had a student come up to me and ask, “What does your lesson plan look like today?” Needless to say, I am more of an agenda/syllabus teacher. Anyway… I digress…

Lesson plans…

Always thought out, methodical, on schedule, time-consuming, TTW, TSW aligned with the pacing guide, etc… (I’m worn out just typing this…)

But what about now? Where is the idea of lesson plans with teaching via Zoom or virtual? Hybrid? Or any other way that is “non-traditional?” Yes, we still need a plan, but how does that look? Usually, what we start out wanting in not always what we get…

Of all the “stuff” that lesson plans are to contain, here are a few thoughts of mine… during this time of the “unknown” as everyone calls it, that lesson plans cannot measure…

Connection – Not with the computer, but you, as the teacher. Find a way to connect with your students. Take a moment to make a moment. How do you write that on your lesson plans? Odds are, you do not… It just comes naturally. Listen to comments being made and chase some rabbits. Call out your student’s names during the lesson. Find out something about them and touch on that at different times. Subtle acts of acknowledgment go further than you realize.

Easability – Yes, that is a word in my vocabulary, and it needs to be in yours. You can teach content, have it relevant, and have it high on Bloom’s taxonomy, but please do not put extra stress on a student. Not every student in every school has the same “learning” capabilities with technology or anything else for that matter. Teach your lessons and facilitate them. As you have probably noticed with the current status we are in, not all schools are equitable and fair with their resources. This is not the student’s fault.

Opporchallengy – Yes, another made-up word that I use… Every teacher, more than likely, is teaching differently. Think about it this way… Whatever way school is set up, teachers have had to build their class culture and day-to-day activities for classes they have never seen “live.” So much is to be said for educators who have the characteristic of adaptability because they see challenges as opportunities, hence my word, opporchallengy.

Strange times to be an educator. I know there are not any quick fixes right now, and I have a lot of questions. I have a few answers too, but nobody really wants to hear them… In the end, our job is to find ways to reach students like we never have before. How do we do that? Not by lesson plans, but with you. You are that one constant in a student’s life. Be the educator they need “live” and not on paper.

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2020 J Clay Norton

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Why you need to be an idealist educator right now…

21 Friday Aug 2020

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Change, coronavirus, covid19, Education, Educational Leadership, Effective, Idealist, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Teachers, Whole

≈ 3 Comments

Regardless of how long you have been in education, I believe you fall into one of three categories… Idealist, Contented, or Disheartened (I will discuss the last two at a later date).

If there was ever a time for a need of quality education and educators, it is now (really all the time for that matter). You ask, why do I say that? Well, for starters, look at where we are with teaching and all that is going on with the current pandemic. Learning is in the form of… Zoom, virtual, digital, distance, hybrid, traditional, non-traditional, etc…

So, why idealist?

An idealist teacher is going to focus on the student while at the same time threading the curriculum into the lesson. Students are in a class for a brief period of time, and we really do not know where their mind wanders off to or even where it has been. But to engage a student in an environment that is inviting, where they enjoy the setting, creates an opportunity for success for both the teacher and the student.

Idealist teachers have vision. They see what is on the side, and they help pull a student’s imagination to reality. Classroom instruction becomes an invitation to students instead of a demand. Students have the opportunity to be part of “something” and possibly experience a deeper understanding of not only the material being taught but, more importantly, themselves.

I also believe that idealist teaching enables a student to become an idealist learner. Where lessons can educate the whole child instead of “just learn this now” mentality. Idealist teachers teach growth of a student’s mind instead of force-feeding them information. Straight methods of lecture should not be the norm of teaching. Allow students to think out loud and draw from different perspectives.

Now, to those who say idealist teaching doesn’t work… You might possibly hear that idealist teachers are young and have little classroom experience. They try too hard to be “friends” of students. They allow things to go undisciplined. They are not concerned about the curriculum. They…

Well, my answer to that is… I know many educators who are not young and have many years of teaching experience who have the same “so-called” characteristics I stated above as why an idealist teaching does not work. Great teachers can exhibit mutual respect from relationships formed in the classroom. When it comes to being a quality educator, no one really cares about your age or your years of experience. Ultimately, the one concept that matters is can you, as a teacher, provide an education for a student that helps them succeed. Be that change agent for them.

Think on it this way… Are you the type of teacher that you would want your child to have as a teacher? Hello, maybe someone might have just had the OMG moment…

So, are you already an idealist teacher? If not, can you become one? Better yet, do you want to be one?

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2020 J Clay Norton

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An Educational Pandemic…?

15 Friday May 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, covid19, Culture, Education, Educational Leadership, Intentions, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Teachers, Whole

≈ 6 Comments

A little long today, but it is the last one for the year…

Well, here we are again at the end of another school year. And yes, it has gone by very fast considering what education has been through this spring semester with the Covid19 and the effects of the pandemic.

As always, many people have many opinions about many things they know nothing about… Just stand in line and take a number to be heard… However, one thing teachers know is education, and I believe that this is an excellent thought to end the 2019-2020 school year.

The Covid19 pandemic has caused a significant shift in many areas of our lives; education being one of them. As a person who is passionate about educational leadership, I feel that we have this one chance to help change education, as a whole, for the better. If we do not, then our future generations will continue on the same path education is now.

Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with my daughter. Now, understand we are a family of educators. My wife is also in education as a school counselor. We were discussing the idea of our “distance learning” and how it is either helping or hurting students. As we talked, I stated that I believe if done correctly on both ends, teacher and student, it would be beneficial. I also told her, that in all practical matters, “education” has this one chance, as I said above, to get “how we educate” right for the future. I gave her the following example, which I saw in a YouTube video…

A long time ago a phone looked like this…images

Now, it looks like this..iphone-xs-iphone-xs-max-21-1

A long time ago, an automobile looked like this…images-3

Now, it looks like this… (I hope you see where this is going)141843-cars-feature-techrules-at96-trev-image1-lffzvrp3ql

A long time ago, a school classroom looked like this…old-school-sarah-akers

And now…?
What has changed?Empty classroom with whiteboard

The above picture can probably be the standard of most classrooms across America.  Desks are lined up neatly, 25 to 30 in a classroom, teacher desk up front, etc. If this continues to be our model, then we might as just well label a school as a factory setting. I am sure many teachers would want to change the look of their classroom, but either they are told they cannot due to “classroom management” concerns or the school does not have the financial resources to change. Which leads me to this…

Educators are the experts in their field of study, yet we are told how and what we are to teach. Now, I am not saying we do not need direction and structure… However, I am saying that if we are going to educate the whole child and help them to become productive citizens of society, we must stop viewing them as a “test score” sitting in a desk… Like then, Like now…

I like reading articles that pertain to schools that are changing the paradigm shift to how they instruct. With that being said, I recently read an article where it stated that when school does start back (whenever that may be) that teachers should focus on students’ social and emotional learning due to the Covid19.

i-am-more-than-just-a-test-score-1024x683My mental response to that is this: If we were educating the whole child, to begin with, then we would not have to worry about their social and emotional learning because it should be an innate teaching characteristic, to start with. It seems that we would be trying to do what was undone, to begin with, somewhere down the road in the past when the education system sold its soul to the idea that we need a “score” to be labeled a success.

School should be a place that edifies a student. Where teachers lead by example and can provide positive emulation. I like to call that the “3 E’s of teaching, which provides “ease.” (I hope you got that)… When we do that, we are actually building the social and emotional aspects of students. Too many times, just as in life, we look to see what makes us look good (test scores) instead of focusing on the whole so we can all look good.

We have a chance to revamp, reconstruct, reorganize, re… “whatever” education, and now is the time. It will take a group of people who are willing to listen to teachers first and set aside predetermined thoughts as to what they think is best for a school. Every school is different, but if we continue to gauge every school’s success the same way, we will create another pandemic, one that there might not be a cure for…

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2020 J Clay Norton

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Your Leadership Brand…

01 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Actions, Brand, coronavirus, covid19, Crisis, Leader, Leadership, Value

≈ 1 Comment

The value of branding your leadership is not always measured by how many times we hear “Well done,” or “You did a great job,” or “I know you worked long and hard on that project.” Oh, but how we often want it to be measured that way… Our leadership is measured on the impact it makes, not in short, but in the value of the long term, it has on the organization and, most importantly, the people. And that value… unconscionably creates your brand…

As that opening paragraph begins to simmer and resonate in your mind, I think it is timely to talk about our leadership “brand” and the effects of it, especially in a time such as we are experiencing now. I would think it would be safe to say that we all aspire to be quality leaders. Reflectively speaking, it can be creative and fun. Finding new ideas and ways that help the overall picture of what we know “something” can be and then, with the help of others, bring a common good for all is the best feeling.

I also believe one of the hardest things to do is “hope” that your leadership brand has enough weight to carry itself and a group when it is time to have a plan without having a plan ready to go. I once heard the old adage, “It is better to build a plane on the ground, instead of in the air.”

The “brand” we talk with is heard, and we walk with is seen. What are people hearing and seeing as you lead with your brand? It is hard enough to “sell” your brand, much less wanting people to understand your brand and what it is. My leadership style has to be made by me from a summation of lifetime experiences. However, how I lead cannot be a copy based on the brand of other leaders. More times than not, when we copy leadership, it just doesn’t fit well. And we all know when something doesn’t’ fit well, it sure doesn’t wear well.

I think of a person’s leadership brand like I do a company’s logo. Take the company “XYZ” for example (insert whatever company you want). When we hear or see the company’s name or logo, a mental explosion takes place, and everything we have ever seen, heard, tasted, tried, etc… comes to thought. I would dare say the same thing happens when we see or hear the leadership around us.

With all of that being said, I feel the importance, now, of others knowing what our leadership brand is. One thing our brand cannot do is change like the weather. Our leadership brand is what we make it. Needless to say, through all of your leadership tenure, your leadership brand will be remembered. Maybe now more than ever.

One more thought, you know those cattle branding irons? They tend to leave a permanent marking… Well, so does your leadership…

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others

©2020 J Clay Norton

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