If you CLICK they will succeed!

When I started teaching in South Carolina, almost seven years ago, I was very impressed with the technology available to students and educators.  There are Smartboards, Dell projectors, portable computer labs, and a surround sound system with wireless microphone capabilities in every classroom.  This is a far cry from the chalk dust and overhead projectors I was accustomed to in my previous school district.  

My district is currently working to get a personal computing device into the hands of the 25,000 plus students in our district.  Schools that have received their devices have already implemented a paperless and bookless system. The dusty copiers and printers are no longer churning and spitting out warm worksheets ready to be collated and stapled.  The quiet whispering of student conversations replaced with the repetitive tapping of secret Google Chat banter now fills these classrooms.  

While this movement is exciting and innovative there is an underlying apprehensiveness lurking in the teacher workrooms and creeping into staff meetings. "How am I going to teach my standards if I can not use books?" "Can I give a test using this tablet?" "What! No Microsoft Office?" 

The transition is overwhelming and will take some time to completely implement. My goal is help teaching professionals make the shift from textbooks to tablets (iPads, Chromebooks, Thinkpads) successfully by teaching them how to CLICK!

Lighting a Spark-"The Art of Possibility"

Lighting a Spark: Since my universe of possibility includes reaching the lives of others by igniting a spark I must remember to enroll myself as much as possible into the lives of those seeking passion and engagement. Sometimes I find myself unwilling to participate because of past fears or my inability to see pass personal limitations. My most valuable contribution can be to relinquish my judgments and accept those who may be reaching out to light a spark inside of me.

Being the Board: Living my life as the board puts me in control of all of the things, which come into my playing field.  I decide what happens when things get moved around. My response determines what possibilities are available to me.

Creating Frameworks for Possibility: Climbing out of the downward spiral is the key to taking full advantage of the possibilities available to me. Recognizing that division feeds the spiral will help me change how people respond to me.  I want to that teacher who makes the abnormal the status quo.  Like the second grade teacher who shaved her head I want to take a flash of insight and change it into a possibility.

Chapter 12. I would like to think that I have been able to tap into my inner power and use it to make a substantial difference in someone’s life. I just do know for sure if that is the case.  I have played many roles including mentor, teacher, mother, and friend.  I would like to believe that I have had a role in helping some of the people I have known realize their dreams.

Leading from Any Chair -"The Art of Possibility"

Chapter 5. Leading from Any Chair: Making a difference in the people we influence each day requires only one thing: humility. According to Zander & Zander, “…a leader who feels he is superior is likely to suppress the voices of the very people on whom he must rely to deliver his vision…” (p. 67).  Zander provides a wonderful example of how humility can work to improve many relationships.  Leaders must acknowledge their mistakes and provided opportunities for constructive feedback. Listening to those who help us make our dreams a reality is a sign that we appreciate their hard work and respect their feelings. 
Chapter 6. Rule Number 6: Don’t take yourself so seriously: Live, Laugh, and Love is my family motto! I have this motto hanging in our dining room we walk by it daily as we leave and enter our home.  I think it’s a great way to remind my family to smile as they leave the house each day and when they return in the evening. I know that is helps me stay calm at work.  Working with middle schoolers has taught me how powerful laughter can be in the learning environment.  Twelve-year-olds take life very seriously.  They are passionate about their friends, cliques, clothes, grades, and social status. It’s part of the calculating being, which dwells inside each of them.  I often diffuse very heated confrontations by recounting the situation using humor.  Laughter often helps to lighten up the situation.  I never belittle my students by trivializing their problems I just help them realize the lighter side.  Most of the time this approach is successful. There are times of course when one of the parties involved is just not ready to give up the spotlight and the calculating self remains-understandably so, these are of course middle schoolers.  But for those who transcend and move to the next level where the primary focus is not gratifying some inner need to be part of the “in crowd” – their in lies an inner peace. A serenity, which comes only with knowing in that one moment, she has grown up just a little and has for first the time recognized her central self. 
Chapter 7. The Way Things Are: I think understanding that “The way things are” should not be an excuse for accepting substandard treatment or complacent living. I have spent some time at both ends of this continuum.  Expecting nothing, sacrificing happiness, and stifling my progress, so some else could operate comfortably in the world have been a part of my life for many years. I think this has much to do with the world of measurements and living in a place where others control major aspects of our lives.  Sometimes we lie to ourselves by saying “I gotta do what I gotta do” but this is not case.  Complacent lifestyles can be are not always as satisfying as they look. They become easy so we live out our lives according to what we know best – routine.  I think people are afraid to move outside of their routines because they fear criticism.
Chapter 8. Giving Way to Passion: I do not believe that I am actively expressing my true passion in life because I am not sure what that passion really is.  I have had this conversation many times with a very close friend of mine – Dr. Alison Morgan-Black (she is also a critical friend for my ARP).  I have shared with her while I am please with my career choice I am uncertain whether or not if this is my calling.  I think Amanda says it best “…beauty glimmered all around me, but nothing was defined” (Zander & Zander. P 118)

Zander, R. S., & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. Boston: Harvard Business School Press..