with William D. Parker and Friends
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was little, I loved to stand in the garden as my grandparents tilled soil and put out spring tomatoes. The smell of freshly tilled dirt, the sun beating down on my back,…
: Play in new window | DownloadI’m a frequent flyer. The more I fly, the harder I find it is to stay focused when flight attendants are reviewing safety procedures. They could be standing right in front of me with…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast year my student council members came to see me about an idea they had for finishing the year with positivity. These student leaders wanted to end the year was by doing something to…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast week I was walking back to my car from a visit to Oklahoma’s state capitol, when I saw a line of reporters, police, and education supporters stopped in front of me. I just…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast year I sat across my desk from a student whose father had abandoned him and left the state. A family in our community had taken in the young man, and our school had…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn 2016, a Pew Research report showed 62% of adults receive news via social media – a 49% increase from 2012. 70% of people in western countries use social networks like Facebook or Twitter.…
: Play in new window | DownloadOn November 30, 2016, I sat down for a conversation with Oklahoma’s 2016 Teacher of the Year, Shawn Sheehan. That conversation became episode 045 of Principal Matters. In today’s post, I want to replay…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhat kind of school environment encourages teachers to race tricycles down the hallways while also engaging in deep conversations about student learning in PLC’s? Kenny Ward, this week’s special guest, discusses how schools like…
: Play in new window | DownloadIn Tim Elmore’s book Generation IY, he shares data from his 2015 research showing the following trends among youth. • 75 percent post on Facebook • 73 percent shop online • 49 percent Tweet…
: Play in new window | DownloadRecently, Rachel Simmons wrote an article in the Washington Post called Perfectionism among teens is rampant (and we’re not helping). It is a good reminder how this generation of students faces challenges and opportunities different…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast Sunday my family and I were watching the Winter Olympics when the men’s 30km Skiathlon began. As the race started, Norway’s Simen Krueger fell. Snow was flying all around him as two other…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast week I was speaking to a group of Assistant Principals near Montgomery, Alabama, when I noticed a familiar face at a table near the back of the room. I saw a man whom…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis summer my wife and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. For some reason, I’ve never thought of myself as older, but I realize now that I’m preparing for this anniversary, my children…
: Play in new window | DownloadThis Christmas break, I took the family to see the newest Star Wars movie. If you haven’t seen it, please note the forthcoming spoiler alert. In the opening scene, Jedi-in-training, Rey, has journeyed to…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in high school and college, I spent a lot of time diving for shells in the lakes near my home in West Tennessee. It wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds. Lake…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast month I enjoyed some time away with family in West Tennessee. When I was there, my son Jack and I hiked the backwoods behind my parents’ farm. There is a winding creek that…
: Play in new window | DownloadA few years ago, I sat in a gymnasium with bleachers filled with middle schoolers while I watched high school student Jesse Haynes, one of my own Skiatook seniors at the time, share about…
: Play in new window | DownloadJust a few days ago I was presenting to principals in Wichita, Kansas. I was a little nervous because I had been having trouble with my voice from some bronchitis in my lungs. The…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in college I climbed my first mountain which was an active volcano near Guatemala City. We loaded a bus the night before and arrived hours before sunrise to begin our hike…
: Play in new window | DownloadOne of my favorite illustrations of the brain is not from a science magazine. It is from a Mercedes Benz advertisement. In it you see a painting of the brain with the left side…
: Play in new window | DownloadOne of my favorite ways to enjoy a long drive is by listening to podcasts or audio-books. And I especially find biographies a helpful way to learn lessons about life and leadership. Two audiobooks…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in junior high school, everyone on my basketball team wore Converse high-tops. I’ll never forget mine: they were the color of golden-rod, and I was so proud of them that I…
: Play in new window | DownloadRecently, on a trip to Philadelphia, I was sitting in airport gate seating area, which gave me a view of the ground crews prepping planes for departure. Workers were driving baggage trains, pulling fuel…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in college, I was a resident advisor in the dormitory where I lived. My dorm director, Scott Boss, was a graduate student who not only supervised all the resident advisors in…
: Play in new window | DownloadRecently, my twelve-year-old son, Jack, and I took a long road trip from Oklahoma to West Tennessee to visit my parents. Gran and Grandaddy live in the country–so far out they receive no cell…
: Play in new window | DownloadHave you ever wondered what it would be like if you walked into your child’s room at home, looked around, gave him a quick nod, and then left him a walk-through-form listing the pros…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was a boy, I loved to walk the garden where my grandparents grew summer vegetables. My grandfather had an interesting way of planting tomatoes. He would dig a deep hole, scatter a…
: Play in new window | DownloadI’ve been reading an excellent book by Tim Elmore and Andrew McPeak, Marching Off the Map: Inspire Students to Navigate a Brand New World, and it has sparked a lot of thought. The first…
: Play in new window | DownloadA few days ago I was at airport security when I ran into a parent from my previous school. We exchanged pleasantries, and I asked him about his children. As we said goodbyes, he…
: Play in new window | DownloadThe other night I was invited to visit a university classroom with sixteen educators who are working on graduate degrees in educational leadership. I listened to each of them present vision and mission statements…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast week I heard a presentation by Will Richardson, educator and author, who shared stories about new ways students are interacting with learning today. Here are three examples he shared: He talked about Nate…
: Play in new window | DownloadThe other day, a principal friend emailed me this question: >>Will, I’d like your thoughts on something I grapple with: that is the importance I place on staff approval of what I do or…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast month, Justin Baeder, from Principal Center Radio, invited me as a guest on his show to talk to me about my new book Messaging Matters: How to Inspire Teachers, Motivate Students, and Reach…
: Play in new window | DownloadReflection is such an important part of growth — whether that involves your own growth or the growth of your school or team. Jon Harper from BAM Radio’s podcast “My Bad” is a school…
: Play in new window | DownloadRecently I was speaking to school leaders at Okaloosa County Schools’ Summer Leadership Academy in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. I decided to combine my travels there with an opportunity for my family to stay…
: Play in new window | DownloadSometimes my left elbow aches. I have a scar there from when I broke it falling from a horse almost twenty years ago. When it starts hurting, I can usually be certain the weather…
: Play in new window | DownloadSchool leader and podcaster Danny Bauer shared a conversation with me about his education journey as well as how leaders are collaborating together to keep growing personally and professionally. Danny “Sunshine” Bauer is the…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in high school, my dad reenlisted in the Navy and we moved to New York where he was stationed while his ship was in dry-dock. For a country boy from West…
: Play in new window | DownloadInvisibilia is a fascinating podcast about the invisible forces that affect us without us being aware. In a January 29, 2015 episode, the reporters narrating the episode were talking about a phenomenon known as…
: Play in new window | DownloadOne summer when our oldest daughter, Emily, was beginning to run track, she signed up to run her first 5k with her younger sister during the July 4th holiday. Unfortunately, our younger daughter ended…
: Play in new window | DownloadOne 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…
: Play in new window | DownloadLast month I was asked to share a webinar on how to prepare for our state’s accreditation visits. I decided to begin the conversation with the practical steps we take with my school team…
: Play in new window | DownloadDuring my daughter’s first year in high school, I drove to the local lake dam spillway to meet her teammates for a weekend track workout. After twenty minutes of warm-up running on the grassy…
: Play in new window | DownloadI was listening to an interview between Daniel Bauer and Jethro Jones the other day on Daniel’s Better Leaders, Better Schools podcast. Daniel asked Jethro, an Alaska principal, “What is one of your regrets…
: Play in new window | DownloadYesterday John Wink hosted a Twitter challenge called #LoveMySchoolDay where he invited educators across the country and around the world to celebrate their schools and share out moments, ideas, photos, etc. of why they…
: Play in new window | DownloadA few nights ago, I was sitting on the couch with my wife, Missy, when our four children slowly made their way into the living room. Our lives are so busy with three teenage…
: Play in new window | DownloadThe other morning, on my drive to school with my daughter, I was listening to a story on NPR called The Scarcity Trap: Why We Keep Digging When We’re Stuck in a Hole by…
: Play in new window | DownloadThe other day I was talking to our high school choir teacher, when she told me about a fascinating brain study involving music. MIT neuroscientists have discovered that music triggers an auditory cortex of the…
: Play in new window | DownloadA few years ago, I was talking to a senior student, Jesse, who was publishing his first book. He shared with me that he had a great opportunity to speak at a gathering of…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was boy, my parents would often stop by a decrepit farmhouse where they had first lived after being married. My great-grandfather had built it in the early 1900’s with a big front…
: Play in new window | DownloadDuring my first two years in school admin, I barely slept, rarely exercised, and seldom had time for my family. I’ll never forget the night I was up late after my wife and I…
: Play in new window | DownloadWhen I was in high school and college, my brothers and I worked part-time diving for mussel shells in the Kentucky Lake area. We would sell them by the pound at local markets, and…