with William D. Parker and Friends
When I was a boy, my father rigged up a large water barrel to use as a solar-heated hot water source. He wasn’t environmentally friendly. We just lived a simple life in the backwoods of West Tennessee. Until we had…
A couple of weeks ago, I was standing in the high school commons when one of our military recruiters had set up a table to hand out items to interested students. For years I’ve watched recruiters talk to kids who…
Having just enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday, I came across a number of helpful resources that still have me thinking about gratitude. One is from an interesting NPR story, another from a motivational speaker, and the third from an inspiring sermon.…
Over the weekend, I was having lunch with a friend who works in petroleum engineering. We talked about the kind of research and data that he uses to determine which sites are best for drilling or exploration. Investors are especially…
This summer some of our teachers attended Literacy Strategy as part of our before school professional development. As a follow-up, we invited a Literacy specialist, Shannon Gaines, to spend a day with our teachers observing and providing feedback. We scheduled…
All four of my children were taught to swim by a retired teaching couple that lives in our community. She was a kindergarten teacher, and he was a secondary teacher, coach, and principal. A couple of summers ago, I was…
October is busy month for our school. In addition to regular classes, softball and volleyball regionals as well as football games, we just hosted after-school parent conferences. As I was also working on the state accreditation report, I realized a…
Saturday I was up early to drive my fourteen-year-old daughter to band practice at the school. On our way, the pink fingers of clouds were stretching hellos from the eastern horizon, misty clouds were rising from the fields and ponds,…
When I was student teaching, I had the idealistic view that teaching alone was the most powerful way to influence the success of students. Although research shows that teacher expectations significantly affect the success of students in a classroom setting,…
In a previous post, I shared Building Positive School Climates: 20 Ideas from Principals on ways to better serve school communities. Last week I attended a gathering of innovative school leaders when we were asked for ideas on what’s working…
When I was in high school and college, my brothers and I worked part-time diving for mussell shells in the Kentucky Lake area. We would sell them by the pound at local markets, and those shells would in turn be…
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a fellow administrator in Sydney, Australia, asking for permission to re-publish a recent blog post for their executive newsletter. Although he and I are literally sitting on opposite sides of the…
One day I was standing outside my classroom during a passing period when I suddenly had one of those Jedi-moments that teachers have–when I could tell something was about to happen. I could just feel a change in the hallway…
I grew up in West Tennessee where my parents raised the six of us on a small farm in the middle of nowhere. Gravel roads, winding creeks, swampy bottoms, large fields, and rambling woods were my playgrounds. We were so…
This summer I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, D.C. with my superintendent. At our district’s opening meeting with staff, he told a story about one morning when we decided to paddle a kayak on the Potomac near Roosevelt…
Last week I found a handwritten card in my box at school. It was from a student who will be a senior this coming school year. In the note, she was telling me thank you for the ways we had…
The following is an interview between Deborah Gist and me. Deborah A. Gist is the Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. Previously, she was Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education. Before coming to Rhode Island, Deborah served as the…
This past weekend, our oldest daughter, Emily, had signed up to run her first 5k with her younger sister who ended up unable to run it with her. When I drove Emily to the race downtown, I could tell she…
I know a lot of people who love Chick-fil-A because of the quality of their food and service. If you’ve eaten there, you know how friendly they are to customers, you’ve seen the fresh flowers on the tables, and you…
Even with the rewarding moments of of being educators, I’m not sure I can imagine an occupation (unless it’s customer service reps or pastoring) that involves the inevitability of dealing with difficult situations or people. In Part 2 of my…
I’ve never been on a cruise ship, but I have lots of friends who tell me you couldn’t find a better vacation choice. Although I’d love to try one, I’ll have to take their word for it. With my four…
This week is graduation at my school. Our band will play Pomp And Circumstance, our graduates will line their way into their seats, and thousands of family and friends will fill our activity center for the special event. But one…
: Play in new window | DownloadAs we wrap up the last days of our school year, it helps me to keep things in perspective so I wanted to share the following video clip of one of my favorite educators,…
We’re a month away from the end of school (sorry friends not in North America). When I’m asked if I am excited for the end of the school year, I usually say, “Yes!” But the truth is that I don’t…
It’s finally here! I am thrilled to share this collection of insights, motivation, and practical ideas for school leaders. Principal Matters is the advice I would share with anyone who wants to grow as a school leader. School leaders are…
If you had asked me to describe my greatest challenges during my first years as a school administrator, I would have quickly said managing student discipline. When I talk to prospective principals, I sometimes ask them to think back to…
Recently I was listening to a January 29, 2015 episode of Invisibilia, a podcast about the invisible forces that affect us without us being aware. Specifically, the reporters narrating this episode were talking about a phenomenon known as “entanglement.” They…
A few weeks ago, some fellow administrators and I presented to an awesome group of teachers who are preparing to become admins. A great follow-up question was: “What kinds of questions can I expect in an interview for assistant principal…
Yesterday I participated in a presentation to a group of teachers who are aspiring to become principals. We talked about what it means to transition from the classroom to administration, the roles of school leadership, and the to-do’s of interviewing…
A few nights ago as I let the dog out one last time, I noticed an eery glow in the night sky. A blanket of fresh snow was covering our neighborhood, and the all-encompassing-white was casting a hazy light on…
Last Friday our basketball teams played at home. Unfortunately, we lost both varsity games. But the night was not a loss. At half time, our athletic directors introduced a team of student athletes who had returned with medals from their…
A friend who is also a reader asked me the other day to explain to him what I meant by being motivated by wonder. “Motivation by purpose, I understand,” he said. “But motivation by ‘wonder’? Can you tell me…
Education news is a buzz with talk of the federal government taking up the issue of reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The issue will continue to be a hot one over the months to come, so here…
Our high school choir students gave us a beautiful Christmas present this past week when they performed the musical It’s A Wonderful Life. I’ve loved the movie version since I was kid, and seeing the story put to music as…
Last weekend, our high school football team came home with a silver instead of gold trophy from their state championship contest. Their experience reminded me of this quote: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points…
Our high school football team is headed for the state championship game this coming weekend. (You can see their championship game promo here.) Two years ago when these senior players were sophomores, their team won no games. It was a…
Last Friday night, our school hosted a second-round football playoff game. Just days before, the opposing team’s community of Guthrie, Oklahoma had suffered a devastating fire at an apartment complex that destroyed the homes of several students and resulted in…
The European Space Agency’s historical comet landing of the space craft Rosetta last week has my head spinning. First of all, imagine organizing a team of scientists and space engineers who design and launch a space craft with the goal…
Last weekend I attended the memorial service for a former student. His family members and friends took turns sharing how he had touched their lives with his kindness, curiosity, and creativity. It was an outside gathering, and the cold November…
When I was a boy, I loved to lay on the front porch at night. With no streetlights or neighbors, our house was enveloped in darkness, surrounded by swampy creeks and woods, accompanied by the sound of crickets and the…
Almost two years ago, I began posting weekly to share ideas for school leaders. That choice opened a lot of opportunities for me to collaborate with great educators, connect with people all over the world, and interview some fascinating leaders.…
Last week I had the opportunity to share with a graduate class of educators studying school leadership. We talked for about an hour about essential roles of school leaders, and then I fielded questions from class members for another half hour. At one point, a…
I remember my first year of teaching when I walked into a boy’s bathroom that was reeking of smoke. A couple of boys were standing at the urinals when one of them dropped a lit cigarette at his feet. I…
School or work environments are like home environments–it doesn’t take long to figure out if you are in a happy, productive place or not. Last week I was in Oklahoma City for a meeting with OASSP, the Oklahoma Association of…
The other day I was going through my books when I came across a copy of Jim Collins Good To Great. It had been a couple of years since I had read it, but as I flipped the pages, I…
Recently, my junior high daughter began taking clarinet lessons from a private tutor. When I picked her up from her first session, she said, “I have been playing for three years, but I learned today that I wasn’t putting the…
I have a lot of friends who are good golfers. I am not one of them. But I recognize a good golfer when I see one. He or she is usually the one who gets the ball in the hole…
We just welcomed our teachers and students back to school. It was hard work to prepare for all the moving parts that make up master schedules, professional development, and schedule pick-ups. But there is also great satisfaction in having everyone…
Last year I was attending a high school track meet when our school’s 4 x 400-meter-relay team faced a rival team with a runner known as one of the fastest boys in the state. Our four-man-team actually held the lead…
I once knew a teaching couple who told me a funny story. They lived right across the street from a man who never seemed to go to work. During their breaks from school, the neighbor always seemed to be home;…
I remember a story a good friend told me about her first year as an assistant principal. She worked with a teacher who frequently referred the same boy to the office for misbehavior. Although the boy (I’ll call him Billy)…
I am not a basketball coach, and I don’t pretend to be one on TV either. Over the years, however, I have watched a lot of games, and sometimes I’ll still shoot baskets with my kids until my legs give…