I was a little horrified when I read this chapter the first time - Shelley Burgess describes the freak-out moment she had the day when she went out to purchase the coffee for a parent meeting. My "freak-out" moment happened when I was reading this chapter - Shelley was essentially describing something I had done - and recently!
How was this a high impact activity? It wasn't - Now don't get me wrong this is not an everyday thing that I do but it highlighted to me that on that particular day I had not prioritised learning and I was not swimming in the pool with the crew.
I want to be immersed and I think that our Senior Leadership Team works hard to do this but as always it is great to reflect - How can we do this better?
I like the idea of using the LEAD acronym (Leverage Systems, Elevate the Impact, Activate a team, Delete) to make more time for what matters most. I want to find more time to be working alongside our crew leading learning.
This year one of our main target is raising achievement in Writing - I love to teach writing - it is one of my favourite things to teach - I think I have a lot that I can share with our teachers - however I hate to admit I have not taught writing alongside any of our teachers this year.
I have chosen to concentrate on Leveraging Systems in this post. What systems can I leverage to make more time to be working in classrooms alongside teachers so that this becomes the norm rather than the odd occasion?
The office manager manages my calendar - if I can strengthen this system, I can recapture some time for teaching in the Hubs.
- Meet with the Office Manager and share my goals with her which will help her understand what I am trying to achieve.
- Block out some times in my calendar that are non negotiable which will ensure that I don't let the teams down by having last minute meetings being popped into my calendar.
- Give the office manager the go ahead to tell people that I am in classrooms - this will also let people know that getting into classrooms is a priority for me.
I know that none of this is rocket science, and none of this new to me but I have a renewed enthusiasm after reading this chapter to do this and do it well. I'll keep you posted!
It is always hard to balance our time, nut as you say we need to book out time that is non negotiable. I have decided to do 1 CRT per class this term to force me to book out the time to get into the classroom. So far this has worked me.
ReplyDelete"Renewed enthusiasm" is a great way to capture the feeling and the drive needed for the known and purposeful next step we all sound like we know we need to take.
ReplyDeleteI worry that having the intent and actually acting on it may be difficult. Yes we need to make time and remove the barriers to being that learning coach. I know that you are passionate about the teaching of writing and I look forward to hearing how you go with getting out there and doing just that.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog, I suddenly realised how my organisation around my calendar and professional reading has slipped. My secretary also manages my calendar and we had a great system working after a Malachai Pancoast session - must revisit. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Jo - I just binge read all your posts. I love the way you engage with ideas, taking the best of what you come across and consider how it impacts on your responsibility as a leader. You are well on the way to being the leader of leaders you aspire to be. You have an energy and enthusiasm for enriching and challenging yourself in your role that I don't see that often and it is contagious. A great series of posts to get appraisers thinking as well!
ReplyDeleteLois is right Jo. Added to that, you not only have the energy and enthusiasm to enrich and challenge yourself, but also you enrich and challenge those of us who are lucky enough to be working with you. #soproudtobeworkingwithyou
ReplyDeleteThanks Maire!
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