What are you reading?

One of my guilty pleasures nowadays is sneaking a little professional reading on my iPad.  I always seem to have one or two books on the go, but I find difficulty in staying with them for the long haul.  Currently I am reading “Professional Capital,” by Michael Fullen and “Think Like a Freak, “ by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner. Both books are sitting on my night table, half read.

While I recognize the importance of these longer professional readings, and hope to finish them both, I have redirected my limited time to reading shorter articles and blog posts.  I know that blogs and short articles may not have the investment in academic rigor and research that the books have.  However, I value them because of how they get me thinking about current issues in education. 

I don’t waste a lot of time browsing the internet looking for articles and blogs.  I currently have two trusted sources for my shorter reading.  The first is Twitter.  I use this Social Networking tool and follow nearly 300 people and organizations in the education community.  I follow leaders in the use of social media in education, like George Couros (@gcouros), Cale Birk (@birklearns), and Chris Wejr (@ChrisWejr), organizations like the BCPVPA (@BCPVPA), and individual leaders, principals, teachers, and friends.

The second source of reading for me is an iPad app called Zite.  Interestingly, I was reading an article on Zite, which provided a wonderful description of the app:

If you are not familiar with Zite, it is a personal news reading application that launched on the iPad in 2011. Essentially, Zite was a big recommendation engine that gives you articles based on what you like to read—based on your social feeds like Facebook and Twitter, but also based on your reading history and preferences.

Want to read more mobile news? More ReadWrite? More from a specific author specifically? You could tune your Zite to offer you those articles but also many similar articles. The beauty of Zite was never its user experience—which, to be fair, was always good but never great—but the engine that powered it.

The article refers to Zite in the past tense, because it was bought out by another great app, Flip Board.  The two are supposed to be merged in the near future.

The CEO of Zite, Mark Johnson, made what I feel is a valid comment back in an interview in March.  He said:

To me, Zite is a product that helps peoples lives get better. It finds those articles for people that are potentially life changing.

I don’t want to sit here and tell you that what I’m reading through Twitter and Zite is life changing, but what I’m reading on a regular basis because of the access provide by these two sources is life and career affirming in a lot of ways.   I stay current and connected with issues of importance to me and to my career in education. 

So what are you reading?

Resources:

http://readwrite.com/2014/03/05/why-zite-flipboard-acquisition-cnn-perfect-news-reading-experience

Images:

www.yourpchero.com

Start Off By Making Your Bed

I spend some time every few evenings reading blogs and articles on an app called Zite.  This app gathers online resources for me and creates a magazine based on my Google search preferences and my Twitter account.  I read a blog last night, posted by Nathan Barber, called “An Awesome Way to Open the Conversation About Grit at Your School.”  In the blog he references the University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address by Admiral William H.M. McRaven.  In the address, McRaven presents and inspiring plan for “meeting challenges and struggles head on.”

In this reflection I want to focus on the first of McRaven’s 10 lessons learned from basic SEAL training that will be of value as you move forward in life.

McRaven says, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

This may seem like a strange topic to focus on in a blog entitled, “180daysoflearning,” however, as we plow through the first couple of weeks of returning to school after a longer than normal break, McRaven’s words ring true. 

McRaven talks about how during his basic training for the Navy SEALs, every day started with an inspection in the barracks.  Recruits were expected to have their beds made to an impeccable standard.  Corners were to be square, the sheets pulled tight, and the pillow centered under the headboard.  This was a simple mundane task. According to McRaven, The message in this was clear,

If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day.  It will give you a sense of pride and inspire you to do another task, and another, and another.  By the end of the day, the one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed every day will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter.  If you can’t do the little things right, you will never be able to do the big things right.  And if by chance you have a less than stellar day, at least you will come home to a bed that’s made.

What does this all mean in the context of our work in schools?  We can’t ignore what appears to be day-to-day minutia.   The little things that take up so much of our time and sometimes divert our focus from the larger issues do actually matter.  And, they must be done well.  Attendance, documentation, reports, returning phone calls, responding to emails, following up on work orders and bus requests, are all important to the operation of our schools.  If we do these little things right first, then we will be able to do the big things right as well. 

In doing the little things right, we’ll continue to build a sense of accomplishment that will help us to complete the larger important work within the school. 

What a simple, but important message.

Image from: www.elevation180.com

References:

Nathan Barber, “An Awesome Way to Open the Conversation About Grit at Your School.” 

Admiral William H.M. McRaven, “University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address”