Category Archives: Educational Leadership

An educational slide becoming a constant…?

01 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by in Circumstances, Connections, Culture, Decisions, Educational Leadership, Encouragement, Engagement, Leader, Leadership, Value

≈ 2 Comments

Let’s start today’s blog off with questions…

Is our society becoming incapable of understanding what education should be? Can society think in terms of what is good or bad for education? Has relativism taken over?

I’m a big fan of educational cartoons. One that I often use in my college class is the pic for today’s blog. Yes, it is dated, but the idea from 2010 has not changed any, I believe. Can you see the slide? Has society taken education out of the hands of educators?

1c09788af7a85dc03ff7c62fcfbe6db2

The most gloomy aspect of our educational slide is that the problem continues to feed itself. This past week, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) released the 2020-2021 District and School-level Assessment Results, and in it was the 2020-21 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) Executive Summary.

When I dove into the findings, the two areas that caught my attention were comparing the top ten and bottom ten schools of 2020-21 and preceding years of reported results. Guess what? Not much changes. While there is a resorting, per se, the top ten and the bottom ten are usually the same schools. Now, let me say that I acknowledge that the last quarter of the 2019 school year and the 2020-21 school year were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just think, we have students who did not set foot in a school building for almost 18 months. However…

Now, here is the interesting part… If you take the map of Mississippi – Census Low Response Score that predicts the mail return rate of the 2020 census based on the return rate from the 2010 census, you will find that the top ten schools are primarily in communities with a high self-reporting census rate. The bottom ten schools are primarily in communities with a low self-reporting census rate. Connection, correlation, thoughts? Is it, or the lack of, leadership, money, teachers, students, parents, community buy-in? It has to be something, right? Is blame even the right word to use?

While each one of you, I’m sure, will have conclusions of your own, I suggest that no community wants their educational setting to be low-performing or in the bottom ten. Why would they? The money winning questions has to be, though, what has to change? What needs to happen? Talk about hitting your head against the wall enough times to make your head hurt and then saying you don’t have a headache… Maybe the better question is, why is it happening? For change to occur, hard questions must be asked, and answers must be found to say that we want a fair and equitable education for all. The notion of “the better we all do, the better we all do” works.

As educators, what we do and do not do matters. As for educational leaders, teachers, students, parents, community, the same is true. Remember, the slope of a slide only goes downward. Let’s find ways to help everyone climb and reach for what education should be… for all.

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2021 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on…

Twitter @thebookchamber

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

“Ready or not, here I come,” said the school year.

13 Friday Aug 2021

Posted by in Actions, Classroom Leadership, Classroom Management, Decisions, Educational Leadership, Encouragement, Engagement, Kindness, Leader, Leadership, New School Year, Rest, Teachers, Understanding, Useful

≈ 6 Comments

Hide and seek… the seeker would always start with, “Ready or not, here I come.” Well, the school year, like a 500 pound gorilla, does not hide. Every August, it opens its doors to all, ready or not. We do not have to go looking for it.

248700515d90e15371d5077d4c336ca3_4584daf7ec36f94fc899c2b2dc4b5aca

Educators are in meetings, school supply lists are getting filled, new clothes possibly bought for the first day, and whatever else everyone does. The sound of the first bell of the opening day is like the start of the Kentucky Derby… “and they’re off.” By the time those horses make the final turn, teachers are much like them… worn out at the end of the day… legs tired, out of breath, heart beating fast. Last words of the first day for a teacher, “I can’t wait until the weekend gets here.”

Just think… to put this in calendar terms… we have 36 school weeks to go until May, 180 school days… I will not give you the number of hours 🙂

If this is you, let your heart not be troubled. As educators, we are all in this together. No one is on an island… UNLESS you choose to be there by yourself, and that is a much more serious problem on its own.

So, what are some “things” that will help you not always feel you are waiting for the weekend as school happens this year? Three “things” I believe are very important. All three work, directly and indirectly, to make your life better as a person and as a teacher.

Have a classroom leadership plan, not a classroom management plan.
To borrow a paragraph from a previous blog on classroom leadership Teach with classroom leadership not classroom management……
“Classroom leadership is centered around empowerment, not only for you, as a teacher, but for the student as well. Classroom leadership should be based on a vision and principles, not managing students like they are products on a shelf; a vision that shows what the end result can be – where students can grow, and finish better than they started. Classroom leadership should be about influence, and that is what leaders do; influence inspires, management manages. When people are inspired, they do not have to be managed.”

As an educator, I believe this with every educational fiber I have in me. Part of classroom leadership is “doing right by students.” When you do, they will do right by you in return. When you have an inviting atmosphere in your classroom, you do not have to sell your product.

Learn your student’s names.
Yes, and learn to pronounce their names – correctly. Get hooked on phonics if necessary to pronounce them. It will show an investment on your part. Sometimes, all a student has, is their name. We really do not know how they are being acknowledged outside the classroom. We all want respect; correctly learning and pronouncing a student’s name might seem small, but huge rewards can pay off. You might be surprised how quickly respect can be earned doing this. Also, try to acknowledge everyone in the class at least once during the class period. One more idea… meet them at the door.

It is essential that you take care of yourself and your family.
We all know that our home carries over into our jobs. I have really never met anyone who can separate the two entirely, even when they say they can. At one point or another, we all get run down. To bring our best to students in every class, we must be at our best.

I know it is hard, and we all “want” to do better, but try to plan your family life out by the week. Now, there will be surprises and hiccups, but at least you have an idea of what is going on. Yes, we are here to serve others, but we cannot do that unless we take care of ourselves. Above all, get some rest. Teaching tired benefits no one. A good and restful you is good for all. Try to eat right (that’s what I am working on right now..) and try to get some steps in (this too). Sitting behind a teacher’s desk is not good teaching any way.

Yes, the school year is upon us. There are so many things that we cannot control, but these three things we can. Work on perfecting them as the new year begins. Everyone will be better for it.

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2021 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on…

Twitter @thebookchamber

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

That’s All Folks…

21 Friday May 2021

Posted by in Education, Educational Leadership, Leader, Leadership, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers

≈ Leave a comment

Well, here we are, the end of the school year. Don’t we love it when we can say that? So… this week will be my last blog for this school year. But, for today’s blog, I wanted to do something a little different. While there is always something to write about regarding education, leadership, ramblings, rants, and musings, I thought I might look at what you thought, as readers, were the five most-read blogs of the past school year.

thats+all+folks

While each of these five blogs is totally different in their themes, the one constant is always leadership. Leadership, or the lack of it, is always easy to see in others but much more challenging when we look at ourselves. I can remember my mom saying growing up, “Others see you better than you see yourself.”

As a blogger, it is fun to see what people will read. Every week I wonder, is it more about the title or the picture that makes a person want to read? As with most things in life, it comes down to what can get an audience’s attention.

Nonetheless… 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 (there was a tie with 3 and 4).

  1. Dr. Seuss, Oh the places you will continue to go…
  2. My Pet Peeves… Drives Me Crazy…
  3. Decision Making – Emotional or Factual? 
  4. Things Leaders Should Not Say…
  5. Friendship Thankfulness…
  6. Why you need to be an idealist educator right now…

As we close for the year, I would like to say thank you to the educators who helped “make this school year happen.” Teachers are the backbones of the schools. It is because of teachers, that this school year has been a success. There will be many who say this year was not a success, but I would disagree. Quality teachers are going to do what they do best… teach. Thank you for staying the course. Maybe, many years from now, the future will look back and be amazed that we “taught through the COVID pandemic” and survived.

Personally, I would like to thank the readers of The Book Chamber Blog. Your comments and feedback are always a welcome and it allows me to consider new topics each week. We will pick up next school year… whatever that will look like. Hopefully it will look like what normal is supposed to look like. In case you are wondering what the most read blog is since I have been writing… Here it is… “Ride The Fence” Leadership

As for the summer… this might be the summer we all need! Make sure you take time for your family. Enjoy the moments and the memories. And… if all else fails, read a book.

Now, I have to decide what book I have in my “to read” stack I want to read first…

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2021 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on…

Twitter @thebookchamber

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

“A Great Teacher” is what I want to be…

14 Friday May 2021

Posted by in Actions, Authentic, Character, Culture, Education, Educational Leadership, Effective, Encouragement, Engagement, Heart, Inspiration, Leader, Leadership, Legacy, Memories, Passion, Purpose, Reality, Reflection, Servant, Sincerity, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers, Value

≈ 5 Comments

Do you ever wonder if you make a connection with your students? What will they remember about you? With teaching being as much about classroom psychology as it is knowing your subject matter, how students remember us lasts forever in their minds. In a previous blog Memories so thick…, I mentioned the idea of how educators/leaders can create an atmosphere where students make memories, but today, I wanted to take a different look at the same idea.

One of many joys I have as an educator is being able to adjunct teach at the college level. One of my running statements is that I try to “positively corrupt” future educators on how the educational world actually is. It’s harder than you think, by the way. And then there are those current teachers who are working on an advanced degree in education… more than anything else, I try to convey to them the much-needed characteristic of being a servant-leader.

With saying all of that, I have to be minded of the educator I am as well. In my own mind, I think I know what type of educator I am. However, the students throughout my career are the ones who can testify as to what type of educator I actually was.

I love how movie snippets that can say exactly what you are wanting to say, and I have one for us. I highly encourage you to watch the Emperor’s Club with Kevin Kline, if you have never seen it. I believe it should be required of all educators. There is one scene near the end of the movie that sends a message for the type of educator I hope I am and the type of educator I want to be. The message sent is what I wish all teachers/leaders in education would strive to become and be. Not only for themselves but for their students as well. I believe this one clip to be so powerful; I show it at the end of each semester to the class of future educators in hopes they will understand the passion I have for teaching and educational leadership.

Please take 2 minutes and 4 seconds to watch what I am talking about… Maybe get a tissue ready?

Emperors Club – “A Great Teacher” Clip

Here it is in print…

“A great teacher has little external history to record. His life goes over into other lives. These men are pillars in the intimate structure of our schools. They are more essential than its stones or beams, and they will continue to be a kindling force and a revealing power in our lives.” 

This is about as good as it gets for me. This is the type of teacher I hope I am. This is the type of teacher I want to be. I have been very fortunate to have some teachers and mentors like this and they have had an ever lasting influence in one way or another on my life. This is the type of teacher education needs, now more than ever. As we begin to wrap of this school year, make an effort to be this type of teacher. 

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

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2021 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on…

Twitter @thebookchamber

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