Week 4 Wimba

This week in Wimba we discussed the art of possibilities, our Leadership projects and MONTH 12! The question was asked how is the Art of Possibility different from the Power of Positive thinking or The Secret.  I think it is very similar yet it doesn’t require readers to imagine it allows them take ownership and try to figure out what is it about me that is not pulling the best out of my people.

Only one Wimba session in month 12 and it is very important. We will have several videos that we need to watch before Wimba. Information on the Final Presentation will be given out along with a URL for that final presentation. 5 day before your presentation you must have a approval.

week 4 leadership role model

I ended up in music by no choice of my own. A counselor placed me in chorus because my health class was over populated. I did not know I could sing. Once I got there I met a teacher that would change the course of my life. Her name was Nancy Bishop.  Mrs. Bishop introduced me to music not just R&B or rock but classical and musical theater. She took me to see my first musical and sparked the passion for music in me that I now try to share with my students.  Mrs. Bishop exposed me to the arts, which I honestly believe changed the course of and possibly saved my life. I find myself saying the things she said to me to my students and taking them to the places she took me and teaching them the songs she taught me.  Mrs. Bishop made me feel like the best singer in the world, which is what a good leader does. She is with out a doubt my role model when it comes to leadership.

Week 4 reply to Mary

Mary,
 The second half of this post felt like you took control of my brain and typed my thoughts. Being the Board hit home with me as well. The last two months have been frustrated with work,home, and lack of time and I was placing the blame on everything but me. Putting things back on my board give me a different out look and allows me to think of solutions instead of complaining.
Great Post! Thanks for sharing.

week 4 reading: being the board

every chapter of this book has shifted my perception of my world a little bit. being the board tilted my perception even more. i, as many people do, often blame others for what happens to me. but in this chapter i was presented with a new way of thinking. putting the blame on others takes all of your power, it makes it where the situation seems helpless because it is out of your realm. instead in the new way of looking at things you take that power back on to your "board" you have control of situations, or how you perceive the situation. 

i try to apply all of the chapters i am reading to my own life and this one is no different. i have been really stressed out lately and often blame it on my kids, my students, homework, time. but this is taking the power away from me. if i bring everything back to my board then i can choose a different way to look at or view my world. i chose to have a family (whom a truly love and am thankful for), to work at a school with challenging students, and to attain my masters degree this year. as i sit here at the start of a holiday weekend completing homework with my youngest child on my lap my older one sitting next to me, a stack of papers to grade, and a husband urging me to hurry up so we can leave on our vacation, i have to think this is my life, this is my board and i love it.

Week 4 reply to Cynthia Madanski

Week Four: Leadership ~ Teachers are Leaders

The prompt for this post is "reflect on leadership role models whom you respect and whose example you would want to follow. Look at individuals or organizations that you admire and spell out what it is that attracts you and how you might incorporate this into your own leadership style."

In a school setting, few people in the public think of the teacher as a leader.  If asked who leads the school, almost every parent, school board member, and citizen will say automatically "the principal".  Many teachers themselves will reply the same two words as the answer to that question.  I am the exception to the rule as I disagree.  I don't feel that the principal leads most schools.  Teachers do.  That is not to say that there are not some amazing principals that develop a great relationship with parents and their staff who work hard to make their school a great learning environment.  But teachers are the ones who have a direct, personal relationship with students.  Teachers are the ones who know their students' strengths and weaknesses, and what motivates each of them personally.  Teachers are the ones who make a difference to individual students every day.  

I have been recommended each year for the past five years for an administrator cohort in my district.  The district will pay for an administration degree for the few recommended teachers, and these teachers are then expected to go into administration for a minimum of 5 years in our district.  While it is an honor to be invited, it is something I have no interest in.  A principal has to see the forest, teachers see the trees.  A principal must make decisions that benefit the school as a whole. A teacher has to make each individual student in front of him or her feel Important.  Priceless. Powerful.  Smart. Valuable.  No tree in my classroom is ignored or sacrificed for the better of the forest.  I would much rather be a leader in my classroom and have a direct impact on each student daily, than a leader in a more general setting and make decisions that trickle down to students, yet don't impact them on a personal level.

With that said, role models to me are teachers I have had in the past and teachers I have worked with.  Teachers like my high school Latin teacher Mrs. Pawlowski who taught me life lessons.  Dr. DeBruin who taught me as an undergrad to make Science hands-on.  Mr. Birr who taught me how an intervention teacher and classroom teacher can work together to make the most powerful learning environment possible.  Mrs. Rusgo who taught me that kindness is as important than knowledge.  Teachers are Leaders! Even if I eventually decide to leave the classroom after Full Sail, I will never forget the impact teachers have.


Cynthia,
Great Post! I really enjoyed the spoken word " What Teachers Make" by Taylor Mali. POWERFUL! I too have been asked to go into administration and I have the same out look that you do. I love music and I want to share that love of performing and creating music with my students to help them develop their and passion. 

Week 4 blogg

So it took customer services to reconstructed the link for me twice to get the books the Art of possibilities. It was well worth the wait. I was so behind in my readings because of the error I didn't think I would ever catch up. However I had read so many great things about this book on my cohorts blogs that I could not wait to dive in. The read has been so engaging mainly because of the music references that are used by our author Ben. I watched his Ted presentation long ago and reading the words just reminded me how true his work is. I think a great question to ask ourselves as leaders is who are we that are followers are not shinning. What a powerful self evaluation tool.

Enrollment is the ability to produce a spark of possibility for other to share. We should ignite passion instead of fear as we lead. This leads me to think how one producer can get a better performance out of a singer in the studio by relating the song to the artist passion.
Declaring that I am the framework of my of my life reminds me of another powerful book that I read a few years ago The Secret. Basically saying that I control my universe.
I have enjoyed this book and I will use some of the lessons taught in my personal life.

Week 3 leadership hub

I chose to share my project with GMEA. This will be a prime regional location for me to share my leadership project.  This conference will have several of my peers that are interested in motivating and engaging their students. It will be a great start to a grass roots effort to digitalize music education.

week 2 post

week 1 post

You can find my project by following this link. Leadership Project 

You can find the speaker notes to go with my project here. Speaker Notes

Week 3 reply to Mary Wilson

this book was well worth the wait, the book is like opening a door where you are suddenly blinded by bright light, at first it is so bright you cant see anything you just close your eyes and take in the new feeling, as you stand there longer you start to acclimate to this new environment and try to figure out how you can share this amazing feeling with others.

this is where i am with this book, i was amazed by the first few chapters. now my head is spinning on how and where to use these new found ideas. i have already told my mom, my sister and two teachers about this book. i have restructured my final so that the students will be able to express themselves in a way that is more comfortable for them instead of how i wanted it.

i had assigned a project as their final exam because most of my students do not do well on traditional tests and i thought a project would be a better way for them to express their creativity. i had one student who seemed really bummed about the project and really was not doing anything. when i asked him what was wrong he said he would rather just take a test, i immediately said no and got kind of mad that he had even asked, i mean i spent a lot of time designing a project that i thought the students would enjoy and excel at, so i told him to try the project and left it at that. lucky for him i read over the art of possibility and reflected on my decision and thought maybe i should not take my decision so seriously, maybe i should ask him what he thought of the whole thing. we had a discussion and we decided that i would make him a test and that would stand in for his final project. after the conversation i noticed he was smiling, he said mrs. wilson i probably look really happy on the outside right now, but on the inside i am ten times happier, i am jumping around and screaming, you have made me so happy. thank you for listening to me.

Mary,

I think the paradigm shift this book has brought you to is great. Taking the time to ask the student what would be best for him was great. I hope that you are able to use all the information you have gained productively.