In preparation for a workshop at Jakarta Intercultural School, I recently gave the same presentation to colleagues at Seoul Foreign School and decided to video the presentation. Similar to most people, I was hesitant to make the video and even more weary to watch it. Would I appreciate my own voice? Would I find certain tendencies annoying? Would it cause me to give up completely on presenting again in the future?

That same evening, with a drink in hand, I sat down and braced myself for the premiere.

I was not entirely please with the presentation and was hesitant to watch and relive the 50 minutes. However, I am so glad that I took the chance to film (and watch) the presentation as I was able to:

1. realize that the presentation was not as bad as I had thought and,
2. take away some valuable reflections to hopefully improve my presentation style and delivery.

A couple years ago I gave a presentation to colleagues and a trusted team member told me that I used the filler word “okay” throughout my presentation and it sometimes distracted from the content and delivery. Since that time I have been conscious and intentional about not using that word in transitions or while thinking during presentations.

Throughout the presentation I rarely used the word “okay”, however, I did find a couple of things that I’d like to improve moving forward.

1. While talking I have a tendency to shift back and forth on my feet with a slight sway. During my next presentation I will work on being grounded with the floor and feeling that strength of foundation.
2. I was reminded again of the importance of practicing, especially the first 5 minutes and/or first few slides. I do not like to memorize the entire presentation as I want to be able to adapt and change based on the room and meet the needs of those in attendance.
3. Since this viewing I have been able to add in a couple more activities for participants to get up out of their seats and network/interact with others.

As a teacher, leader, or administrator I would strongly recommend taking the time to video a class, activity, or meeting as a way of reflection and improvement. While watching your own premier, may I recommend reflecting on these questions:

1. Do you have any tendencies that might distract the audience from your presentation?
2. Do you move around too much or too little, interact with the audience, stand in one place, etc?
3. Do you interact and engage the audience with the content?
4. Do you call on some people more than others (female or male / hand up or hand down)?
5. What is one thing to improve upon during your next class, activity, or meeting?

 

 

The start of a new school year always brings a plethora of feelings…excitement, nervousness, anxiety, joy…the idea that everyone has an opportunity to start over; a fresh start! This is certainly no different for me as I begin my adventure this year as the Middle School Assistant Principal at Seoul Foreign School in Seoul, South Korea. Although I have had similar roles in both primary and secondary schools, this will be the first time with a sole focus on middle school and I couldn’t be more excited! There’s a certain buzz that comes with being around middle school students, teachers, and parents that is unique and can’t be found anywhere else. Just like being an early childhood teacher, it’s something special and takes a certain characteristic to spend your days with 250 adolescents. The picture above, showing the seven doors, is a great example of what I’m hoping to learn and achieve throughout the year. Weaving in and out, opening and closing different doors, as different challenges and successes come and go. Each of these different experiences will help me to grow and achieve both personally and professionally.

One of the biggest goals in the Seoul Foreign Middle School is to create a safe learning environment for students to explore, create, grow, and flourish. We do this through balancing strong academic achievement with continual emotional, social, and spiritual support. This is especially important for middle school students as they navigate their changing emotions and bodies and move through adolescence into adulthood.

Here are my personal/professional goals for the year…all focused on supporting others:

What goals have you set for yourself this school year?

As educators, one of the most important aspects of our job is the pastoral support we offer students. The amount of time we spend with students provides us an incredible opportunity to support their social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and spiritual well-being. This is done on a daily basis through classroom interactions, after school activities and coaching, and in having a growth mindset when it comes to helping students make positive choices.

I believe strongly in a holistic approach to education and supporting the whole child. At all stages of child development we support students in how to interact with one another, how to practice the skills of sharing and collaborating, how to understand that academic success is just as important as emotional success, and how to overcome challenges and persevere with grit and drive.

The importance of building positive relationships with students and families has a huge impact on the types of conversations that take place during times of pastoral support. As an assistant principal I am often tasked with working with students and families during difficult times. I do my best to approach all challenging situations with a growth mindset and use the technique of listening first and responding later. Rather than jumping to conclusions or placing judgement, it is important for me to gain perspective and listen to the stories and emotions behind the actions. I want to focus on the why and the how, in addition to the what, when, and where. Doing this allows for meaningful discussions and conversations and often eases the tension and anxiety around the consequences. We all need to be held accountable for our actions, however, we must fully support the process in getting there so that mistakes do not repeat themselves.

Parents are an important part of the process and the home-school connection needs to remain strong in order to move forward and show a united front. We all want the exact same thing for our students…for them to continue to grow and flourish as they transition from childhood to adulthood as capable, talented, leaders of the future!

For the previous two years I have had the opportunity to work with a leading learning support specialist, Erin Madonna, at Shekou International School. With Erin’s support and guidance, I have truly began to learn what it means to recognize and appreciate the differences in all of us. As an educational leader, I have a passion and desire to continue to learn in this field and to do everything possible to support the learning needs of ALL students.

I am hoping that this blog post is a first of many in sharing my newfound knowledge and practical application of capturing the unique hidden capabilities of all students.

As I try to reflect, it is difficult for me to articulate how I felt even a few years ago about the topics of differences, neurodiversity, gifted and talented, special education, etc. I was always cognizant of it and wanted to support education in any and every way possible, however, I was never in an environment where it was at the forefront of my daily thinking and interactions. As the topic becomes more central to international education, and my desire to adequately support all students who walk through our classroom doors grows, I look forward to and welcome the opportunity to learn and grow as a leader.

I fully understand that not all schools have the resources to support all students-although more and more schools are making it a priority to support in this way. As the topic continues to grow I want to learn more in order to see all student’s potential, holistically. I have a strong desire to continue my educational path at schools that strive to meet students where they are and have it as part of their beliefs that differences need to be honored and respected.

Join me as we embrace these differences together!

“Dare to be different. The world is full of the ordinary.” ~RVM

The beginning of the school year provides educators around the world with the opportunity to start over…to re-imagine and re-evaluate their practice and craft…and to have a renewed perspective on all the many reasons we became educators in the first place!

I have always personally embraced change and looked at it as an opportunity to reflect on my past, live in the moment, and strive toward the future. Some years are better than others, but I can honestly say that this is going to be the best year yet! Throughout the summer I provided myself with the opportunity, time, and space to take a look deep inside at the core values that guide my daily practice and character. The changes that I made have proven to me that I truly can “do anything I set my heart and mind to.”

To all my fellow educators out there far and wide, I encourage you to embrace another school year, start over, and make those changes to be a better person both personally and professionally.  There’s no doubt that it’s difficult…it wouldn’t mean as much if it were easy…but now’s the time to set those goals and to keep those promises.

With a new set of students and parents entering your classrooms soon…and after a long over-due summer vacation of relaxation, reflection, and rest…now is the perfect time to be a new you and to embrace those changes head-on with grit, determination, passion, and a smile.

My #1 goal, promise, and commitment for the 2017-2018 school year is to be an integral part of our school’s student support team. To work closely with our Counselor, Learning Support Specialist, Principal, and EAL Teachers to fully support ALL students learn, grow, and flourish. I truly believe that all students have a right to a quality education and that our role as educators is to provide differentiated learning environments for all learners.

As you begin another year influencing the lives of students, what is your goal? What change will you make? How and where are you going to intentionally start over?

This summer has served as a time of transition and change for me personally as I strive to be a better husband, daddy, friend, and colleague to those around me. I am not sure if all of this was sparked due to my boy going through his fourth open heart surgery with better than expected results during surgery and recovery, the fact that 40 is quickly approaching, a general realization that I need to get myself in gear and back on track, or a special combination of all three. Whatever the exact formula, reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey at the beginning of the summer helped to light the fire and supported me in making some huge changes this summer both personally and professionally.

In particular, this quote from Covey’s book encouraged me to set reasonable and attainable goals toward a dynamic summer of change: “Make small commitments and keep them. Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem” (pg. 100).

My theme for the summer was to keep in REAL as I set four goals to help me get back on track and moving forward. These four goals would often overlap and provided a healthy and necessary balance of important things in my life. As I continue to work towards the goals, I am reminded daily of keeping it real in my life.

R – Refocus: This first goal had me take a step back, look at all of those things in my life that are of great importance, and to refocus on those core values and attitudes that guide me as a person. As I strive to be and want to be remembered as a helpful, kind, caring, supportive, encouraging, and trusting man it was important for me to make daily commitments where these characteristics would shine through in my interactions with others. I do believe that with this mindset I was able to think more clearly through difficult conversations and uncomfortable moments this summer as well as to open myself up to be more attentive and a better listener during various conversations.

E – Exercise: This goal took on the overall idea of being healthy in mind, body, and spirit. The most obvious successes came in this area for me as I was able to set and accomplish a series of goals and results. Through a disciplined summer of consistent exercise and healthy eating I was able to see results fairly quickly that resulted in the desire and drive to continue. Although not always easy, this goal helped me to stay on track and to realize that habits can be changed for the better.

A – Action: Closely aligned and overarching the other three goals, this goal was about daily and intentional actions towards setting and keeping the various commitments. Each morning I would make it a point to visualize my various goals of exercise, healthy eating, reading of professional literature, and my overall attitude towards myself and others. I would make a daily plan and really reflect on how I was able (or not able in some cases) to follow through with the different commitments. There were certainly set backs and difficult days, however, by the end of the summer I was able to have a better grasp and understanding of my own personal drive and mindset toward making positive changes in my life. Now that I am back in China and getting ready to dive back into daily routines, I have a couple more goals (centered around service and spirituality) to add to my action list.

L – Literature: Another goal that was easy to measure was reading literature to help me move forward both professionally and personally. My summer reads, including books and various articles, provided the desire and commitment to make positive changes in my personal life as well as to increase my professional knowledge and capacity.

I truly hope that the changes that have taken place for me personally over the course of the last two months will serve as a starting point for the type of person that I strive to be for the rest of my life!

Having lived and worked overseas for nearly 15 years, The Culture Map by Erin Meyer has given me a whole new perspective about what it means to live and work in different cultures. I have always considered myself culturally sensitive with the ability to thrive in different countries around the world. Even so, I wish I would have read this book years ago. Yes, the book absolutely does stereotype and place people from different cultures into their own cultural boxes (made clear by the author), but I found so many of them to be quite spot on. Although I don’t fit the typical “American” stereotype with every example, I can see how the way I act and the things I do are based on the fact that I am American and my upbringing from family, schooling, and cultural nuances.

In the final pages of her book, Meyer states, “The way we are conditioned to see the world in our own culture seems so completely obvious and commonplace that it is difficult to imagine that another culture might do things differently” (244). This could not resonate more with how I view the world both professionally and personally. There are ways that I conduct meetings and interactions with others in the workplace that are based on my own cultural upbringings rather than taking into full consideration the number of people I work with from different nationalities. Meyer gives example after example throughout her book of how different cultures approach some of the most difficult and complex skills, including; communicating, evaluating, persuading, leading, deciding, trusting, disagreeing, and scheduling. The different countries where I have lived and worked as an educator (United States, Ecuador, Thailand, Myanmar, Korea, and China) fall on very different sides of the spectrum in just about every one of these categories. I have found that I have thrived and faltered in different categories, in different countries, at different times.

Knowing that culture has a profound impact on how I see the world, the first thing I’d like to specifically focus on is truly taking the time to understand the other cultures where I live and work. I can’t change my cultural upbringing (and not that I want to), however, I can be more in-tune with other cultures and shift my thinking and approaches from time to time. After all, I currently live and work in China and am a guest in their country. Hopefully once I start to identify what truly makes another culture different from my own, we can begin to listen, share, learn, and understand one another.

Lastly, it is extremely apparent the importance of having clear guidelines, roles, responsibilities, and expectations when working with people from different cultures. If it is possible that many leaders sitting in the same room together have different thoughts and values on the 8 skills listed above, which I believe is the case, then we need to be even more intentional on how we conduct business and interact with one another.

I highly recommend this book for people living and working across diverse cultural contexts.

My first summer read, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, could not have come at a better time. The last year has been difficult at times for me both professionally and personally. Reading this book has helped me to re-focus on the principles that guide me as a husband, father, son, brother, friend, educator, and colleague. For the past year I have felt negativity and criticism creep into my daily interactions with others and I feel as though some of my relationships have weakened because of this (possibly because of the Emotional Bank Account that Covey refers to in his book). Even while reading the first few chapters I felt an incredible sense of relief and grounding as I looked inside and was able to personally focus and re-evaluate who I was, who I am, and who I want to be. In particular, these two quotes reminded me of the man I am and want to be through all of my interactions with others, professionally and personally:

“Make small commitments and keep them. Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.” (pg. 100)

“As a principle-centered person, you see things differently. And because you see things differently, you think differently, you act differently. Because you have a high degree of security, guidance, wisdom, and power that flows from a solid, unchanging core, you have the foundation of a highly proactive and highly effective life.” (pg. 136)

“Peace of mind comes when your life is in harmony with true principles and values.” (pg. 310)

Here are my 7 habit take-aways from this profoundly encouraging and uplifting book:

1. Principles and core values need to be at the center of my interactions with others. For me, these are to be helpful, kind, caring, supportive, encouraging, and trusting!
2. I need to change my habits, be proactive with events and activities in my life, and really choose how I react and respond to different situations. How I respond to what I experience in life is what really matters.
3. Making commitments and keeping promises will support me in being both proactive and building a strong Emotional Bank Account with others.
4. I must seek first to understand and then to be understood. The power of empathic listening builds strong relationships and moves everything forward.
5. It is extremely important to understand the balance of leading and managing. Quadrant II activities (pg. 159), such as relationship building and recognizing new opportunities, will support me to be more effective and efficient.
6. At the beginning of the book I highlighted personal areas of growth: exercise, service, spirituality, and professional reading. I need to exercise these four dimensions of renewal (pg. 300) regularly, consistently, and in a balanced way.
7. In order to be effective in all that we do, we need to involve others in the problem and work out the solutions together. This is at the core of my beliefs and will guide me both professionally and personally.

If you are looking to make a change in your life or to have a renewed sense of your core values, beliefs, and principles…I suggest you begin by reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey.

The end to another school year brings about time to reflect upon the previous 180 days and to further set goals for the 2017-18 school year. This year has certainly had its ups and downs for me both personally and professionally. In the end, all of the struggles and successes have made me a stronger, more capable leader and person. I am certainly looking forward to the time this summer with family and friends and for the opportunity to refresh and regroup.

Here are some of my goals and areas of focus for next school year:

1. Student Support: I work closely with our Learning Support Specialist (Erin Madonna) and Counselor (Dallin Bywater) to support all students learning and social/emotional growth. Next year I hope to expand my presence with student support and place quite a bit of my time and effort with students. We worked closely together this year and have some exciting ideas and changes for next school year. Redefining and making our roles very clear within the student support team will allow us to be more intentional and fully support students, parents, and teachers. I personally hope to be in the classroom much more next year working with small groups of students and maybe even some team-teaching from time to time.
2. Team: Next year we are very excited to have Harish Kanabar join us as the new elementary school principal. One area in particular that I am excited about is his extensive experience with PYP, as we will begin that journey this coming August. I am excited to work side by side with him in supporting our entire school community. On a personal note, I look forward to the opportunity in supporting his transition and quickly filling him in on the ins and outs of our wonderful school. I have a good feeling that the two of us will work well together!
3. Teaching Assistants: Two years ago a goal of mine was to provide more professional learning opportunities for our teaching assistants. Throughout the year we provided monthly PL opportunities after school and we witnessed our teaching assistants thrive in the classroom and take ownership and agency as instructional assistants. Next year we will move back to this system and continue supporting our teaching assistants in moving forward toward personal and school-wide goals. Some of the areas of growth that we will highlight include working with students in small groups and one-on-one, supporting ALL students at ALL levels (including EAL, Learning Support, Gifted and Talented, etc.), tightening up on classroom management/transitions, and technology/innovation/creativity.
4. Supportive and Positive: The reason I became a teacher nearly 20 years ago was to make a difference in the lives of others. Likewise, the reason I made the switch to administration was to support and encourage others. I never want to lose sight of this foundational piece of who I am and what I strive to be as an administrator. I am still young as an administrator and thrive working with and learning from the teams that I have been a part of. Through being in the classrooms working with students and teachers, making myself available for difficult conversations, and recognizing when teachers need a little extra support and encouragement, I can be that positive support for the entire school community. It’s important that all of us recognize and encourage the good in others and practice the true spirit of collaboration, communication, and commitment.

In the end what we remember and hold onto are the relationships that we have built and cultivated. I work with dedicated and talented individuals at #sisrocks that challenge and teach me everyday. I hope that I provide as much support and encouragement for them as they do for me. Here’s to a summer of rest and to a fabulous 2017-2018 school year!

A former colleague, Liz Cho, has recently led workshops on administrators and WTF (Where’s the Fun?). As I reflect upon my last couple of months coaching the middle school boys basketball team, I realize that the fun in administration comes in many different shapes and sizes and it’s up to each of us to find that Fun!

Educators go through hills and valleys throughout the school year and the months of April/May seem to be one of those times as stress and excitement are rising with the end in sight, and for administrators we are already planning for the following school year. I have found that one outlet for my WTF this school year has been through coaching.

Coaching has always been an important aspect of my journey of education and I want to make sure that it remains throughout my time as an administrator as well. For me it’s about that opportunity to relate with the kids in a different environment and to bring about the core values of teamwork, respect, positive effort, and sportsmanship.

Although today the boys struggled and went 1-3, there’s something incredibly rewarding when during the awards ceremony the organizer announces the sportsmanship trophy, says that the vote was absolutely unanimous, and calls your boys up to the stage. Yes, of course we would have loved to have brought home the first place trophy, but I’m so proud of these boys and the character they show both on and off the court.

Looking forward to next school year, I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue coaching and to try and make a small difference if the lives of young people. My days could be filled with difficult conversations and disciplinary issues (and sometimes they are), however, I also want to keep the fun. I have found that one way I can definitely keep the fun is through constant interaction with our students in the classroom, on the playground, and on the court!