Ever needed a pick-me-up? I'm not talking about a Venti Espresso from Starbucks or a Red Bull energy drink, but rather a boost of the verbal variety. Ever needed a kind word to lift your spirits or encourage you to keep going? I have.

I love my job. I mean, I really love my job. Having the opportunity to interact with students, parents, and staff at my school on a daily basis is incredibly rewarding. Seeing smiling faces. Giving high fives as students are dropped off in the morning. Seeing the "light bulbs" turn on for students as I visit classrooms. It's awesome. I am truly blessed to do what I do.

But if I'm being honest, I'm tired. My teachers and support staff are tired. I'm writing this post on a Sunday afternoon in mid-May, and there are a lot of balls in the air with only three weeks to go in the school year. Finishing up state testing. End-of-year district testing. End-of-year field trips and grade level activities. These on top of the typical day-to-day responsibilities. I'm tired, both physically and mentally, and a Carmel Frappuccino can only do so much.

I've been in need of a boost, and this past Monday I got one. At 9:32 p.m. I received an email from the parent of two of my students. It was a simple message containing four short sentences. It simply thanked me for what I do and let me know I was appreciated. Four short sentences...that brought me to tears.

See, it was exactly what I needed to hear (or read) at that exact moment in time. The parent's words had a profound impact on me that didn't just make my day, they buoyed me for the rest of the week. As my friend Cori Orlando has so beautifully written, words are powerful. They have the ability to build up, to encourage, to inspire. Speaking or writing kind words is so easy to do, yet this simple action can have an impact that is immeasurable.

Receiving this encouraging message from a parent last week reminded me of the need to speak life into those around me. I'm challenging myself and anyone reading this to make someone's day. Speak, write, text, or email some encouraging words. Express your appreciation. Say, "Thank you." Go ahead, make someone's day. You never know -- you may make his/her week, month, or even year. 

My school is full of amazing students. 875 of them to be exact.

While part of my job as a principal is working with students who, at times, make choices that prevent them from meeting the school’s behavioral expectations, I also get to see daily examples of kindheartedness, sharing, perseverance, and forgiveness. Kids get a bad rap sometimes, but today I was reminded just how incredible our future generation is. Today I experienced impromptu student awesomeness.

Today was the day our 5th graders officially recorded their mile run times as part of California’s physical fitness assessment required of all grade 5 students. They’ve been training all year, spending the first part of each day out on the track building up their stamina, working up to today’s run.

Soon after the bell rang to start the day, I needed to relay a message to one of our 5th grade teachers so I headed out to the field. As I approached, I heard a lot of noise coming from the students gathered on the grass. The closer I got, I realized the noise was cheering. Students cheering for each other.

When I arrived at the field, I observed the boys circling the track, pushing themselves to get their best times yet. And I watched and listened with pride as the girls cheered on their male classmates, filling their tanks with the fuel of encouragement.

“You cheering for the guys?” I asked a few girls as I walked past.

“Yep,” they responded, smiling.

Pretty cool, huh?

During lunch, I walked through the staff lounge and heard the 5th grade teachers talking about the mile run and its student cheering section.

“That was so cool!” I said. “Did the boys do the same thing for the girls?” I asked Mr. Walton, one of the teachers.

“You didn’t see what the boys did?” he asked. I hadn’t, as I had left the field before the girls began running.

Mr. Walton proceeded to tell me that not only did the boys enthusiastically applaud for the girls with a variety of creative cheers, they made a tunnel with their arms for the girls to run through at the conclusion of their run. Mr. Walton said the girls in his class were so appreciative they gave the boys an extra cheer when they returned to the classroom.

But the best part? It was totally impromptu. No planning by the teachers. The students organized it all on their own. They displayed kindness, encouraging each other, not because they had to but because they wanted to. Mr. Walton got goosebumps telling the story. I got goosebumps listening to the story. I’m getting goosebumps again as I write this story.

Today our students displayed impromptu student awesomeness. Our future is in good hands.

Have you ever finished your day tired?

​Pretty silly question, right? Of course you have! We all have. Being a teacher or administrator is a hard, tiring job.

Last week, as is sometimes the case in my role as a site principal, I spent the majority of my day attending SSTs and IEPs. At the end of the day, though I enjoyed discussing student progress during my meetings, I walked back to my office exhausted. I mean, really tired, and this got me thinking. Why was I so tired? What did I do? I spent most of the day sitting down, not moving around much, yet I felt more tired than on days when I am constantly on the go and moving around campus. If you’re an educator, I’m pretty sure you can relate to this. It seems the days we spend sitting in meetings or traditional “sit and get” professional development are much more tiring than a typical day of teaching and interacting with students.

There’s a lesson here. 

When our students go home, are they tired? And if so, why?

Is it because they’ve been working hard, up out of their chairs, interacting and collaborating in rigorous and relevant activities with their classmates?

Or is it because they’ve been sitting all day?

When my teachers finish a day of staff development I helped plan, are they tired? If so, why?

Is it because they were given opportunities to get out of their seats, to collaborate with their colleagues, to work hard at learning or creating something that will improve their practice?

​Or is it because they were forced to sit and listen all day? 

Like adults in staff meetings or professional development, students need to get up and move, to engage in discussion about what they’re learning. Yes, there’s a place for quiet, independent work, but if that’s all students are doing, all teachers are doing, there’s a problem.

As I plan professional development activities for my staff, I’m challenging myself to remember what it’s like to sit in meetings all day. I invite you to keep this in mind too as you plan your daily lessons. Who’s with me?

Our classrooms and lessons don’t look the same as they did 20 years ago. 10 years ago. Even five years ago.

Or at least they shouldn’t.

Think of all the tools potentially available in a teacher’s toolbox that weren't around just a few years ago, resources and strategies that enable teachers to better engage students, promote collaboration, differentiate instruction, communicate with parents, and increase learning (both for the student and teacher/administrator).

iPads. ChromeBooks. Google Docs. Desmos. Khan Academy. Thinking Maps, Kagan Strategies. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Twitter chats. Pinterest. Teachers Pay Teachers. Remind text messaging. ClassDojo.

Research, our own personal experience, and common sense tell us the traditional model of education isn’t what’s best for students. We’ve learned that the teacher should no longer solely be the “sage on the stage,” but rather the “guide on the side,” facilitating learning. Students sitting quietly in rows listening to the teacher do all the talking doesn’t necessarily equal learning. Students must be engaged in critical thinking, allowed opportunities for discourse, encouraged to ask questions, and allowed to create in order to demonstrate their learning.

We as educators must be willing to embrace change, for through change comes growth.

Last week, Alice Keeler tweeted the statement below, the inspiration for this blog post.

This past Friday, my school held its annual student talent show. It’s always an event our families look forward to, with students showcasing their talent in the form of playing instruments, singing, and dancing. This year, the scheduled closing act was to be three boys dancing the Whip/Nae Nae, and they asked me to join them on stage toward the end of the dance. Though dancing skill is not something I possess (imagine the male equivalent of Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes), I agreed, thinking the students would get a kick out of their middle-aged principal trying to bust a move. How’d it go? Judge for yourself.

This week, the #YourEdustory blogging challenge topic is “PLN Appreciation Week.” Educators all over the world are being encouraged to say "Thanks" to a member (or members) of their Professional Learning Network (PLN) for inspiring, encouraging, and helping make them better at what they do.

I want to thank Tim and Scott Bedley. These two gentlemen exemplify “out-of-the-box” thinking, their practice encouraging me to challenge limits and conventions to reach students. Both have been Teacher of the Year for their counties, and for good reason. In addition to being outstanding classroom teachers, they host their own education talk show/podcast, The Bedley Brothers Ed Chat, where they discuss cutting edge topics with leaders in the field such as John Hattie, Alfie Kohn, Susan Cain, Alice Keeler, Jon Corippo, and Adam Bellow. You can watch their broadcasts on YouTube or listen on PodOmatic.

I had to privilege of visiting Tim’s classroom and seeing him in action, and what I observed was incredible. The learning environment he provides for his students defies convention. See, his classroom has no desks. That’s right, students don’t sit at desks. Instead, couches and camp chairs occupy the floorspace, and all four walls are lined with whiteboards. Students engage in what Tim calls Gallery Learning, spending much of the day working on the whiteboards surrounding the room, displaying their work for classmates and Tim to see. Students are able to rotate around the perimeter of the room and see each other’s work and offer feedback on things such as problem solving methods and descriptive writing. And due to the increased visibility of his students’ work, Tim is able to easily assess their progress and provide support and challenges when necessary. It’s 360° of learning, and it’s awesome!

Using Mystery Skype and Google Apps, Scott breaks down the walls of his classroom altogether. Many teachers use the peer editing technique. Scott takes it a step further. Scott has implemented cross-age peer editing -- with students at different schools! A few years ago, Scott shared at the annual CUE Conference how he, Bill Selak, and Sean Ziebarth used the “Share” feature of Google Docs to have 2nd graders, 5th graders, and juniors in high school provide feedback on each other’s writing. Imagine this -- 2nd grade students sharing their writing, via Google Docs, with 5th grade students who provide feedback through comments within the docs. Then the 5th graders share their Google Docs with 11th graders who are able to point out the positives and offer suggestions for improvement. Talk about authentic learning! 2nd graders receiving encouragement from "big" 5th graders, and those same 5th graders getting feedback from high schoolers! Awesome!

In addition to inspiring me with ways to take classroom learning to new heights, I want to thank these two gentlemen for how they stretched me during last year’s CUE Conference, where I had the privilege of co-presenting a session on digital storytelling with Tim and Scott. As we were planning our session via a conference call, one of the guys had an idea.

“We should give out the link to our slides and ask attendees to hijack the slide deck before we start our presentation. Make it interactive. Let them contribute!”

The other instantly responded, “Yes! I love it! That’s a great idea!”

How did I respond? Confession time. I had one of those moments of internal disequilibrium. It didn’t feel comfortable, because it was out of the box. It wasn’t what a session was “supposed to be like.” I started to sweat. What if we did this and it bombed? What would people think? But then I thought of the other possibility -- What if it’s a home run?

“Cool!” I said. “Let’s do it.” See, Tim and Scott are risk takers, and in that moment they stretched me to take a risk with them. Did it pay off? Was the idea a flop or a home run? Well, based on the feedback we received during the session and from the tweets below, it was a huge success.

I love Post-It notes. When I was in the classroom, my students and I used them all the time. I utilized them to keep myself organized, reminders and checklists constantly stuck on my desk, notebooks, and teaching manuals. Each of my students had his/her own pad of Post-Its they used for a variety of purposes -- note-taking, making graphs in math, even classroom currency paychecks. They were everywhere in my classroom, and you’ll find them all over my office today. Post-Its are awesome! But the other day I was reminded just how powerful a Post-It note can be.

Thanks to a bond measure that was passed by our community, all the schools in my district are receiving educational technology upgrades, and my site is scheduled to have new audio/visual systems installed in a few days. Our staff is very excited! The other day I was in a classroom showing a teacher where the new equipment was going to be installed in her room. As we were standing by her computer, I glanced down and happened to notice a Post-It note the teacher had stuck to the bottom of her monitor. On it were the words “Thanks for everything you do!” The handwriting on the note looked familiar and for good reason -- I had written the note.

I remember writing it, but to be honest, I don’t remember exactly when. What I do know is that I wrote it some time ago. Yet there it was, stuck to her monitor, offering her encouragement every time she sits down at her computer.

In that moment I was reminded of the long-lasting impact words of encouragement can have. Five words, written on a sticky note. That’s it. Not a five-paragraph essay, not a formal letter of recommendation. A Post-It note. Yet it must have been meaningful because it didn’t get tossed in the trash. It instead occupies valuable real estate on her desk.

Years and years ago I took an unused purple file folder and labeled it “Thank You.” Each time I’ve received a nice note from a student, parent, or administrator, I’ve dropped it in my “Thank You” file. Periodically I pull the file out and glance at some of the notes inside, usually when things are incredibly stressful and I’m in need of a little encouragement. Most of the notes I’ve saved aren’t long. Many are tiny scraps of paper with only a few words on them. But they meant enough to me that I’ve saved them for all these years, and they’ve lifted my spirits time and time again.

Seeing that Post-It note on my teacher’s monitor reminded me that I need to write notes like that more often. So often I think how appreciative I am of those around me, and I try to be very deliberate in expressing my appreciation verbally. That’s great, but putting those words of affirmation in writing takes it to another level. A note is tangible. A note can be saved and read again and again and again, for years.

​If you’re a teacher, I encourage you to write notes like this to your students. Choose a couple students a day and write a short note of encouragement on a Post-It and put it on their desk, notebook, cubby, etc. If you’re an administrator, take a moment to write notes like this to your staff. It’ll make a difference, I promise. And who knows? You may find your note stuck to a computer monitor some day down the road. :)

In February of 2009, at the urging of the edurockstar Tony Vincent, I signed up for Twitter. In terms of professional development, it has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. By following like-minded educators all over the world who graciously share their expertise, resources, and words of encouragement, I have grown immensely over the nearly seven years.

This week, I made some new discoveries via Twitter. From Toby Price, I learned about Storyline Online, an educational website that hosts a collection of videos of famous actors reading children’s books. The videos feature pleasant music behind shots of the book’s pictures and the actor reading. I immediately shared the site with my staff, thinking this would be a great resource, especially for primary classrooms.

I learned from Tony Vincent about Air Scanner, an iOS app that turns your iPhone or iPad into a mobile document camera by wirelessly mirroring your device’s camera to a web browser, which can then be projected via an LCD projector. The app is normally $1.99, but Tony tweeted that it was free for a limited time (it's now back to $1.99). Again, I quickly sent email and Remind messages to my staff letting them know about this gem. Teachers are already using the app in their classrooms to quickly and easily display student work during lessons.

And if finding those two resources wasn’t enough, I read a tweet that led me to an inspiring blog post by Adam Welcome about how the impact we make on our students goes far beyond simply teaching them to read and write. You can read Adam’s post here.

But you know what’s crazy? I found all three of these resources within a span of 24 hours. I became more informed, armed with more resources and inspiration, and in turn shared this new knowledge with my staff, making them stronger. All in less than 24 hours. I’ve never met Tony, Toby, or Adam, yet because of their tweets, I’ve grown professionally.

I was reminded once again about the power of Twitter and became re-energized to spread the word about this online tool. There is so much to be learned, 140 characters at a time, and so many educators out there don’t know it yet. It reminded me of The Matrix.

In the movie, Morpheus tells Neo that what he has accepted as real, isn’t. If you’ve never seen the movie or need a refresher, watch this short clip.