Category Archives: Coaching

Please, Borrow My Stuff

Posted on February 10, 2013 by sutterlearn

Recently my daughter started borrowing our things.  She fits in my wife’s “trendy” shoes, so she puts them on without asking.  My water bottles disappear into her bag continually because “they’re more grown up”.  Ironically, she is also at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Parenting | 1 Comment

Rethinking Recess

Posted on February 10, 2013 by sutterlearn

Even without a classroom right now, kids still inspire my thinking the most.  Recently, a second grader shared with me that he was bored and frustrated at recess.  He passionately lamented that after “almost three years on the same playground” … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Leadership, Students, Teachers | 1 Comment

Surrounded by Expert Teachers

Posted on January 14, 2013 by sutterlearn

As our district tackled both a new teacher leadership structure AND the Common Core State Standards implementation this year, folks often feel overwhelmed.  By folks, I mean me specifically, but I know those around me feel the pressure.  While many … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Teachers | 1 Comment

Closet Epiphanies

Posted on December 18, 2012 by sutterlearn

Before I joined the workforce as an adult, I came upon the dream that I needed to become a chaplain for people in crisis.  Not one of a specific religious affiliation, but someone who could listen and move people through … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Leadership, Teachers | 1 Comment

All In One Leaders

Posted on December 18, 2012 by sutterlearn

Thomas Edison is known for literally thousands of failures before inventing a working light bulb.  After such admirable perseverance, you can understand his humble and familiar phrase, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” In our work, I’d argue against … Continue reading →

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What’s going on this year?

Posted on September 22, 2012 by sutterlearn

Enacting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a big part of my current job as a Transformational Coach. Do I completely understand them or their implications?  No. Do the people who wrote them?  I’m not confident. Are they clarifying … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Teachers | 3 Comments

Classroom in a Closet

Posted on August 24, 2012 by sutterlearn

This August I had to pack my classroom up into a closet.  Last year was my first as a cross-district teacher/coach, but I left my classroom intact, expecting it to be a one-year assignment.  Having learned that God often laughs … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Students, Teachers | 1 Comment

New Teachers

Posted on August 24, 2012 by sutterlearn

Being a new elementary teacher is quite possibly the most unsettling experience known to man (at least to this man) to such extent I cannot find a universal metaphor.  It is a total body insult.  Your self-confidence takes a hit, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Leadership, Teachers | 1 Comment

CREACTIVE

Posted on June 3, 2012 by sutterlearn

I’ve spent years reading leadership books, articles, allegories, and parables about the virtues of “laser-like focus”, “courageous conversations”, and “unapologetic direction”.  I like getting pumped up by such inspiring clichés.  It seems part of our animal spirit that the strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Leadership, Teachers | 1 Comment

Professional Learning Conception #6 – Lesson Study

Posted on April 21, 2012 by sutterlearn

In a former life, I was a quality manager where my job was to study things like kaizen, a Japanese methodology of “gradual continuous improvement”.  In my current life, a form of kaizen, also from Japanese culture is the structure … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Professional Learning Conceptions, Teachers | 1 Comment