Category Archives: Leadership

We Are Where We Are

As engaged parents, we say we want our kids to do their best, but what we often mean in our hearts is we want the best for them.  We even hope for our kids to be the best.  It’s hard … Continue reading

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Steeper Mountains

It was 5:30 and I was still at the school, having waited for parents to get their kids who missed a bus. I was making calls to others who needed updates on how their babies had done that day and … Continue reading

Posted in Coaching, Leadership, Parenting | 3 Comments

Not My Job

Jim Howitt was a mentor of mine in life.  When I was in my early 20’s working at a marketing company, he was in his late 60’s having returned from retirement to work in our office.  For the first year … Continue reading

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Caring Hurts…do it anyway.

People tend to freak out or get really uncomfortable when you talk about loving others in the general.  It’s either misinterpreted as inappropriate if you talk about love outside of a family setting, or idealistic hippy-talk when you refer to … Continue reading

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EdCamp Lansing 2014

I spent last Saturday at a great professional learning event, called Edcamp Lansing at MSU College of Education.  Last spring I blogged about my virgin experience at Edcamp Detroit, so of course I was thrilled that a local version had … Continue reading

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Book Review – Professional Capital

Few books make me salivate to read them, prior to publication. I’m usually the latecomer to some chart-topper that has already moved the world’s thinking, but the pre-publication campaign for Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan’s Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in … Continue reading

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The Hats We Wear

The God I believe in has a sense of humor. I imagine God laughing every time I think I have a plan for myself and God hands me the real plan, usually with a new hat. When I look for … Continue reading

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Sisyphus

The new banner to my blog site is a picture of a paperweight my dad kept on his writing desk when I was a child. The original allure to me was that a GI Joe action figure was about the … Continue reading

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Testing Ourselves

The last cartons of standardized state test booklets were just shipped back from the school buildings I serve, hopefully marking the end of an asinine era of high-stakes test administration in the Fall. Michigan is rumored to be moving to … Continue reading

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Equalizing Cultural Capital

There are some truths I question. One came up recently when a colleague told me, “You cannot raise the cultural capital of one group by reducing it from another.” In a broader context, you can’t rob Peter to pay Paul … Continue reading

Posted in Coaching, Leadership, Parenting, Politics, Teachers | 1 Comment