Who should pick the Principal

Our principal has announced her retirement, and the rumors are floating around who will be our next principal.  My thoughts are who should have input in this decision?  Do all stakeholders, meaning, teachers, parents and students deserve the right to have input on this decision?  Or should the Superintendent make the decision based on the information he gathers from his people.

In interviewing thousands of people during the course of my lifetime, I realize that you often miss on your selections.  There are people who come across well in interviews that might not be as good as you think and that can also work in reverse.  So it is hard for me to think that the stakeholders in an interview forum will make the best selection.

On the flip side of the coin, nobody knows better than the stakeholders, what the school needs to lead them in the future.  So having stakeholders during the interview process might allow the final decision makers insight into what is needed in the building.

Your thoughts.  As stakeholders in the education process do you want a seat at the table when deciding a new principal.

Mastery grading is on the way

There have been a lot of discussion of a new grading system that will be put in place next year.  The theory behind this grading system is that students get a chance to master their subject.  That if you fail an exam you get a chance to retake the exam until you have mastered the content.  That would be the same for any assignment given you in class or for homework.

So for example this year I have used the mastery type system a couple of times.  After the midterm students were allowed to do test corrections in school from their midterm.  Then they had the chance to take their midterm again if they wanted.  For most students this was about a two hour investment of their time.

The results were that 18 students decided to retake the exam.  Out of those 18 the average score went up 4.5 questions, which is about 7.5%.  Since they were both released AP exams, I felt pretty confident that the tests were equal in difficulty and that our students benefited from retaking the tests.

What is being proposed is in the future is to allow all students to be able to retake all exams.  That if a student does not hand in the work, they do not get a zero but the chance to hand it in at a later time. If the original essay is a D they get a chance to rewrite the essay with the teachers comments to help guide them

So, currently I use the extra test questions I have to give students as a practice test.  If we moved to this type of program I would not be able to issue practice test questions since I would have to use them as mastery re-test questions.

What I would like to know from students is which do you think is more valuable.  The chance to retake the test, after doing the notes of the chapter, making test corrections, or would you rather have the practice quiz or test to help you prepare for the exam.

This is a discussion in which you are definitely the experts so please weigh in. 

Empathy vs Sympathy

I really enjoy this short clip that I wanted to share with my classes in school.  The problem however, is that we are having a hard time showing youtube videos right now and amazingly this video did not get through our safety screening process.

So I hope that you can take a couple of minutes out of your day to watch this video and then respond to it on the blog.  As many of the character skills somehow these discussions get lost in the school house.

So maybe my first question would be should we discussing this topic in school?  Why or why not?  Do you think people often mistake sympathy for empathy.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sympathy%20and%20empathy%20rsa%20animate&qs=n&form=QBVR&pq=sympathy%20and%20empathy%20rsa%20animate&sc=0-23&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&mid=40548622B1834D85D1D440548622B1834D85D1D4

Feedback is the breakfast of champoins

When you study anyone who is great at a particular skill you realize that they have been coached by someone along the way.  Good coaching provides the learned with constructive feedback that allows the learner to continue to improve.  In education is important for both the student and the teacher to be able to learn from this type of feedback so that they can both grow along the way.

However, it seems often that we have trouble communicating feedback in an honest and helpful way.  I read a blog the other day which I have posted below

We don't care enough to give you constructive feedback

But if we did, it would take a lot to speak up in a useful way. It's difficult to be a generous skeptic. Not only do we have to be clear and cogent and actionable, but we cross a social boundary when we speak up. We might be rejected, or scolded, or made to feel dumb. And of course there's the risk that we'll get our hopes up that something will improve, only to see it revert to the status quo.
So, most of the time, we don't bother.
But when someone does care enough (about you, about the opportunity, about the work or the tool), the ball is in your court.
You can react to the feedback by taking it as an attack, deflecting blame, pointing fingers to policy or the CEO. Then you've just told me that you don't care enough to receive the feedback in a useful way.
Or you can pass me off to a powerless middleman, a frustrated person who mouths the words but makes it clear that the feedback will never get used. Another way to show that you don't care as much as I do. And if you don't care, why should I?
One other option: you can care even more than I do. You can not only be open to the constructive feedback, but you can savor it, chew it over, amplify it. You can delight in the fact that someone cares enough to speak up, and dance with their insight and contribution.
Because then, if you're lucky, it might happen again.


So what are your thoughts?  Do we need to take the time to provide feedback for each other?  Is it that we do not care or is it that we are scared to hurt someone's feelings?  Love to hear your thoughts