week two

Isn't it funny how quickly you fall back into the swing of things? It's almost like summer never happened.  I got an email formally telling me who my evaluator will be this year. Team meetings are running like clock work.  Chute's Instructional Leadership Team is planning our first Staff Meeting. We are focusing on student engagement by way of engaging lessons. We have an all school read this year, Teach Like a Champion  by Doug Lemov to help illuminate some ways to make our classes more engaging.   It's official, I'm going to declare it.  The honeymoon is over! Now we can get down to the real work!

So the question that hit me, while sitting in some of these meetings. Where does our iPad Journey fit into all of this?   I'm listening to some of the meetings that are riddled with details that must be addressed to keep the machine  of school going. So I thought grassroots....divide and conquer.....get in where you fit in.  Right?

Meeting with my colleagues in small groups has truly been enlightening.  We met by content area and grade level.   Each group had its own concerns and entry points.  I was encouraged by the willingness to share.  It also became clear, that differentiation is greatly needed.

I'm reminded of bootcamp.  I joined bootcamp this summer to continue to up the ante with my workout routine.  My first session, I was so excited to go that I got up at 4am, showered, selected by clothing carefully, prepared bottles of water to take with me to bootcamp. I left my house around 4:30 so that I would be on time. When I got there the instructor told me to warm up by running on the track. I thought okay, I can do that.  I trained for a marathon before, no problem.  Then the whistle blew and it was time for the group of 15 early risers to get into the actual workout.  Needless to say, it was an intense workout.  I paused to catch my breathe, to wait for the burn to quit, just to think and ask myself "why" throughout the entire hour. After class, the instructor, a retired marine, says, "You did great!" I'm thinking, what have I gotten myself into? Can I do this? Can I keep up with everyone else? Is there a refund policy? The instructor then says, "It's your first day. Everyday will get easier, and easier.  I'll say give me 10 push-ups and you'll drop and do them, no problem. We'll run 2 miles in cadence, and you'll lead the pack. Just take one day at a time."

During our PD, everyone was so excited about this opportunity.  We worked with each other, played with a few aps, and enthusiastically attempted to add our iPads into the first day of school activities.  I called that the warm up.  These were things we could do without much assistance.  But now the whistle is blowing, and we are learning our students, becoming familiar with our students IEP's and 504's. The workout is in full swing. How do I support my colleagues to keep the voices in their heads quiet?  How do I make them feel like my bootcamp instructor did for me. So after every meeting and playground session I had this week, I said, "This is the beginning of our journey.  Everyday, using the iPad will get easier and easier. We are in this together as a community of learners." We schedule our next time together, and surprisingly everyone is still smiling.

Funny thing about honeymoons and marriage.  While the honeymoon may be the fun part, its the wonder of a long marriage that's the miracle.  So, the honeymoon is over, but now the real work begins and it has it's own tenor of excitement.