Write the Next Chapter

It is still amazing to me that after 20 years of a "first day of school," I still get those excited jitters. This year is especially exciting as I begin the year unlike any other in my 25 years of life. I will be starting the school year as a husband, a resident of a metro city, and a South Tama County Trojan. There have been plenty of changes take place throughout this summer, all I believe for the better. It's important to be able to sit down during these summer months and reflect on the job you did during the previous year and look forward to what you can improve on for the year ahead. 
With that being said, it's also important to realize that every school year is the beginning of a new chapter in the book of education. This new chapter will be full of ups and downs, highs and lows, successes and failures, but it's always moving forward. The new chapter is about starting fresh, with a growth mindset and a willingness to put yourself out there to do what's best for kids. Below, I have a highlighted a few keys ways that you can make your next chapter the best one yet!

1. Be a success seeker.

Recently I watched a TED talk by Scott Geller entitled "The Psychology of Self-Motivation" and it focused on the question of how do we get people and ourselves to be self-motivated? About halfway through the fifteen-minute talk, Mr. Geller posed this question to the audience; "How do we get people to be success seekers rather than failure avoiders?" This question struck me as odd for a moment simply because I had never thought of it that way. I began thinking about the things in my life that I had chosen not to do in the past and wondered if it was because I was trying to avoid failure? I also reflected on this past school year and asked myself how many times myself or my students "avoided failure" rather than chose to seek success? It's an important mindset shift, focusing on seeking success rather than avoiding failure. This will help you become a better educator or leader as it will allow for more risk-taking and innovation. Choose to be a success seeker this school year.

2. Bring the donuts consistently.

As I was taking part in the weekly #IAedchat on twitter one of the co-moderators, Dan Butler, was tweeting about the differences between climate and culture and posted that "bringing donuts for the faculty meeting may impact the climate, but not the culture. Culture established slowly." While this is true, he brought up an even greater point later that if you bring enough donuts consistently you can begin to impact the culture. I think this is greatly important in our educational systems. Don't be a one and done type of teacher that tries something once and either forgets about it or chooses not to do it again, regardless of the success of the attempt. Whatever "donut" you are bringing, make sure that you are bringing it consistently in an attempt to continually improve your school's culture for the better. Choose to bring the donuts consistently this school year.

3. Be the lead learner in your classroom/school.

As educators, we should be the lead learners in our classrooms. As educational leaders, we should be the lead learners in our schools. If our districts and schools goals involve raising the learning for our students then we must also spend time as educators learning ourselves. Everyone has something to improve on or something new to learn about. One of my favorite parts about this summer was being able to read the book Kids Deserve It and gaining a wealth of knowledge from it to take back to my classrooms. It's why I've also decided to read books about branding your school and shifting mindsets as a leader. I have made it a commitment to be a lead learner and challenge my colleagues both in my school and in others to do the same. Choose to be the lead learner in your classroom and/or school this year.

The great thing about these three ideas is that they are simple enough to implement as long as you have a growth mindset. As educators and leaders, we should always be looking to grow ourselves, our students, and our schools in any way possible. Implementing these three ideas in your classroom or school this year will help make this next chapter of your career the best one yet. Remember, we are in the business of helping kids reach their hopes and dreams and we can not do that if we are not at our absolute best! I hope everyone has a great school year and make sure that whatever you do or attempt to do, you do because #KidsDeserveIt!

Until next time, Be A Light!
-Derek