tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370821000019720852024-03-06T00:33:52.912-08:00Be Great and Get Better! Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-32846783885314581852014-09-01T14:28:00.001-07:002014-09-01T14:28:11.626-07:00Genius Hour! <div class="MsoNormal">
Genius Hour!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I feel that our traditional bell schedules and classes
taught in isolation at times contribute to our student’s not being able to
produce high level authentic creations that would truly wow us. I often wonder what we could do to try to rethink
our current structure while also preserving some of the pieces we know help our
students become productive citizens. I
believe that the structure that made our educational system a success now too
often gets in the way of what our students need to develop their problem
solving, collaboration and critical thinking skills. In order for our students to be globally
competitive and future ready we need to look for alternative opportunities for
our students to develop these traits and this could mean rethinking our
approach. If we hope to stay an economic
power our success depends on our students having the ability to move into jobs
that require higher level creative work.
If you question anything I just said, I would encourage you to read the
work of @mcleod and @danielpink. These
two show how jobs are changing and what plays into our motivation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<img src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2CMnJbo2nPRGOe3mbMcAZcJdsDWaT-Qqm_ESF_Q0dCihmnLB_" /> <img src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSCsaQ4ucoQcehTsjPfJs0xsGWZZyvirCYZZ8kujnGO08sDbgXqjA" style="cursor: move;" /></div>
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In July, a group of South East Junior High teachers
attended a four-day STEM Innovator and Entrepreneurship Institute sponsored by
the Jacobson Institute and College of Education at the University of Iowa.
Focused on the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math,
the teachers developed a plan to roll out the Genius Hour project for the
entire school. Based on the Genius Hour
concept made famous by employees at Google, students will spend 40 minutes
every other week focused on a topic of their choice. Using Design
Thinking and the Business Model Canvas taught by the University of Iowa
Business, students will identify a problem, plan their research process,
attempt to create a solution, and then share their results. The projects will
be entirely student-directed, with homeroom teachers available for
troubleshooting, guidance, and encouragement. (Thanks to @MsSimsICCSD for letting me steal
this from her press release.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Check out our video here! </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzzIuHxsyN4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzzIuHxsyN4</a></div>
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The goal will be to have our students solve real world
problems, explore their passions, and possibly fail in a productive way. We are hopeful that students will make community
connections and forge new relationships when solving their problem. These projects may be done in groups of
students or by individuals. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There will be several skeptics that wonder how this could
work if we are not grading the students work or monitoring them continuously. In fact some students will undoubtedly struggle
with this as well. We may run in to some
problems or challenges, but I am optimistic that we will be shocked by the
student’s ability to create high level solutions to problems that we encounter
on a daily basis. Stay tuned to see what
the students are doing @SouthEastJHIC! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Be Great! </div>
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Matt</div>
Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-45304274405657940872014-07-09T13:01:00.001-07:002014-07-09T13:03:01.625-07:00Pockejtke – We need to find our sweet spot! <div class="MsoNormal">
Some of the happiest memories I have of my childhood were
spent on my Grandpa and Grandma Upah’s farm.
I can remember spending a week with them every summer and more holidays
than I can count. In the summers I would
wake to my grandma making a plate full of bacon and eggs. I would chase it with coffee that would be
heavily loaded with milk and sugar to the point it did not really resemble
coffee, but it was great! Then I usually was allowed to watch some cartoons and
the old school Adam West, <u>Batman</u> TV show. </div>
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Throughout the day my grandma would let me
help her pick food in the garden, feed the bottle calf, catch and tame kittens,
play with the dog, show me how to butcher chickens, and help her bake delicious
desserts (more on this to come). At the end of a long day in the field my
grandpa would let me ride the tractor with him to “help” him do chores, which
included feeding the livestock and pets.
After dinner, which if we were lucky included a trip to town to hit
Hardees and Dairy Queen, he would drive his orange and white ford pick-up truck
to his pasture so we could count the cows.
The best part of this drive was when grandpa drove up the steepest hill
in the pasture and then would hit the gas as we went flying down the hill hitting
all the bumps and laughing all the way down.
When we would return home he would show me the projects he was working
on in his wood shop, many of which are still in my house today. He is also the man that taught me how to fish
and we had many conversations while trying to catch the next big one. This man is one of the most special men I
have ever known and I miss him every day.
Sometimes at holidays I catch myself thinking about him sitting in his
rocking chair saying <i>pockejtke</i> (which
is Czech for, wait/hold on) when we would ask him for help or assistance in
putting a new toy together. After we patiently or impatiently did so he would
call us over and slip $5 in our pocket and tell us not to tell our mom and
spend whatever amount of time we needed with him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The reason I share these memories is because of an event
that recently got me thinking about one of these experiences as it relates to our
role in education. My grandma used to
let me help her occasionally bake as I mentioned above. She often would make a Czech dessert, called
Kolaches. Every year Cedar Rapids, hosts
a Kolache festival and they too are very good, but they are not my
grandmas. I am sure if she wanted to she could still
make them the way I remember them. The
best part of the process was filling the “sweet spot” in the Kolache with the
different fillings – apple, cherry, prune, apricot, and my favorite – poppy
seed. Recently when I was at the Kolache
festival I got to thinking that in our careers all of us need to try to find
and function in our sweet spot as much as possible. Some authors and researches have called this
experience<i> flow</i>. Athletes most recently like Tim Howard of the
USMNT refer to it as being in the zone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Have you ever asked yourself how often are you operating in
your sweet spot at school? To function at a high level we need to and as
leaders need to help staff members operate in their sweet spot for a great
portion of their day. This is really about being passionate and committed to
your work and having external barriers removed so that you can get there! There are some obvious challenges and
frustrating aspects about our work, but I love what I do and cannot imagine
being in a role that did not involve helping people in some way. If you are not operating in this zone then
ask yourself, why not? What is holding you back? How can you change? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Better yet, how can we change the experience for our
students? How many of them operate at this high level throughout the day? The
more I thought about it the answer is a little scary. I thought to myself <i>pockejtke,</i> I am not sure that many of them do for the majority of
the day/week at school. Rather how many do we hear say they are bored or disillusioned with what we ask them to do at school. I feel strongly about
the fact that we have to work to change this. We have to be better. We have to change. We have to give students a voice to channel their passion! They need to have the same opportunity to
work in the zone, flow, or sweet spot. Let’s
challenge ourselves to find our sweet spot and give students the chance to do
the same thing! Please share with myself and others what you are doing at your
school to increase these opportunities for students. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Be Great and Get Better!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Matt <o:p></o:p></div>
Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-89616126211480376552014-03-23T11:57:00.000-07:002014-03-23T11:59:20.413-07:00Project Achieve! <div class="MsoNormal">
Recently in collaboration with City High School and the
Belin Blank Center at the University of Iowa we have started a new effort
called Project Achieve. This program is
for high achieving minority students that are under-represented in Advanced
Placement (AP) and upper level courses. City
High is farther into the process than we are having met with their students a few more times. I have the fortune of working with City High
Principal @jbacon23, City High Guidance Counselor Linda Hoel, @SouthEastjhic
Guidance Counselor @BrianPIngram, and my wife @Drkkdegner, who is the
administrator for Iowa's Online AP Academy, on this project.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I remember @casas_jimmy telling me about a conversation he
had with 2013 NASSP Principal of the Year @TrevorLTGreene and when Trevor said,
“everyone deserves to be part of something great.” This has stuck with me and I am always
considering this perspective when thinking about all of our students. We are hoping to work with this group of
students and show them that they our great and can and should be part of something
great. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our first meeting @SouthEastjhic included hosting @drkkdegner,
some University of Iowa students from National Society of Black Engineers
(NESBE) and City High Senior Soumba Traore.
She talked to the group about her experience in taking upper level
courses at the high school and why she believes it is important they do
so. She talked about owing it to her
family and wanting to make them proud.
The best part of the luncheon that day is how she connected with these 7<sup>th</sup>
and 8<sup>th</sup> grade students and gave them an example of somebody that is
doing it and living it. I was so
impressed by the passion and resolve she showed these students and the time she
spent talking to them after the meeting. One of the long term goals is to hook the junior high students in with a high school mentor that continues the message Soumba started. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You could see a visible change in how these students exited
the library (no it wasn’t from the pizza) after hearing from these different
groups of people. They were beaming with
pride knowing that they are being recognized for the work they are doing. It is
amazing what happens when you just tell students you believe in them and they
can do it! Never forget the impact these conversations can have. </div>
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Finally, I was reminded by reading a post by @danpbutler
this morning that we don’t always have to have everything figured out to get
started either. In terms of this project
we are not sure of how it will all come together but we did know that we needed
to get started on this important work. I am truly excited to see how this project
takes off and the impact that is could have for the long term. <o:p></o:p></div>
Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-52901160068941910642014-02-21T12:46:00.001-08:002014-02-21T12:47:09.538-08:00Out of Bounds - What can and should we do about bullying?<div class="MsoNormal">
This week I had the opportunity to serve on a panel with a
group of professionals at the University Of Iowa College Of Public Health. The panel included Marizen Ramirez, M.P.H., Ph.D., Associate Professor,
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Associate Director for
Research, Injury Prevention Research Center, Briana Woods-Jaeger, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Department of Community and Behavioral Health and Shawn
Zierke, parent involved in the development of the show and a MA student in the
College of Public Health. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The panel followed a public preview of the play, <u>Out of
Bounds</u> by Working Group Theater. The
event was sponsored by the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health and
Hancher. The full length performance
was performed at our school and the other two local junior highs in
November. This is an effort to have the
arts help create some conversations about bullying. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I really believe in the work they are doing and know that as
a school administrator this is an issue we deal with on a consistent basis. We
try to solve problems but also serve as resource for our students and
families. I shared during the session
that I believe people really do try to do the best they know how. I do not think our parents, teachers, students,
or administrators have gotten worse or more ineffective. I do think that the methods that we see some
of these issues come forth are very different now in part to emerging
technologies. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To effectively address these situations we need to work as
partners. It pains me that there is a
level of mistrust in allowing school officials to help work though
situations. I do know that some parents
have been burned by the schools response or lack thereof, and movies such as <u>Bully
</u>show that schools do not always get it right creating some of the reason
for the mistrust. The best way to establish
this trust and to regain confidence is to take these situations as serious as
the victims perceive what is happening to them and to provide effective follow
through. Being an overweight child
growing up and getting teased and picked on relentlessly I think helps me
relate our student’s struggles. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At South East when presented with these situations I believe
there are important lessons for our students to learn. The first is <b>empathy.</b> See by sending a text message, post or
picture our students never have to deal with the emotion that comes from the
person on the others side of the screen.
It is just like as adults how we misuse email where we saw more and in a
different tone that we would in person.
Having students confront the feeling this caused to another person is a
powerful experience. The other topic I
commonly address is <b>being kind and humane</b>
to people. I credit @joykelly5 for
helping me frame this conversation. Is
it more important to be right or to be kind? Who are you reserving your best
manners for? Is this what you want people to think about you? Why are you allowing yourself to be treated
this way? Bullying at its core involves
inhumane treatment of others and it is not something we can allow others to
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Finally, I always
involve the <b>bystanders</b>. I tell them if they are not being part of the
solution then they are part of the problem.
When we see these situations we need to be advocates for others and not
allow this type of treatment to continue.
Most always all bullying situations or peer conflicts that we have end
with some mediation between the students involved. The success rate I have seen by doing this is
very high. Without taking this step the
problem often continues for some of the same reasons listed above. <o:p></o:p></div>
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During the panel I learned from the research of Dr. Ramirez that
schools do a really good job with having policies but that there is great inconsistencies
in the programs schools use to address bullying. No matter the program we use as school
officials we know, as @ToddWhitaker always says, it is the people not the programs that make the
difference. We need to make sure that
the people working in our schools have the skills to navigate the conversations
and work through interventions to resolve these situations. If you are a parent reading this and have an
unfortunate circumstance involving your student I hope you will give us a
chance to work as partners. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Be Great! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Matt</div>
Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-42268355791814552402014-01-06T09:16:00.005-08:002014-01-06T09:25:58.880-08:00PLN Blog Challenge <br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The thanks for this
post goes to Aaron Becker @aaron_becker32. You passed the challenge on and it
hit me at the exact right time. I have been neglecting getting to my blog but I
am excited to do a better job this semester.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Here are the Rules: </span><br style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">1. Acknowledge the nomination blogger. </span><br style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.</span><br style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.</span><br style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">4. List 11 bloggers. They should be bloggers you believe deserve a little recognition.</span><br style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate and let all the bloggers know they been nominated. (You cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">11 Random Facts About Me<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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1. I have a grandma
(Degner) that is taller than me. The
mother of my father is from an extremely tall lineage. I also have an uncle that is 6’8” and a
cousin Joe 6’6” that played basketball at UNI and professionally in South
America and Europe. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. I am a die-hard
Chicago sports fan although you may have deciphered this one from my
tweets. I love the Cubs but we are in
full blow rebuild mode. Remember me for
this one though, we will get it right with the current management
structure. The Bears are my next love
and I too think the pieces are in place for a championship soon. I fell in love with the Bulls because of
Jordan and watch them only when the Bears are out of it. Finally, the Blackhawks get turned on only in
the playoffs, but I did watch every game of the Stanley Cup playoffs last
year. My wife thinks I have an
issue. I probably do. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> My son probably will too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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3. I love Mexican
food and while I worked for @casas_jimmy in Bettendorf I was treated to some of
the best Mexican I have ever had prepared by his Mom! So disappointed I wasn’t
close enough to get the Christmas time delivery. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. I have a love of
swimming pools and swimming. Although I
never have swum competitively I have been a lifeguard, swim lesson instructor,
and pool manager. <o:p></o:p></div>
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5. I graduate with a
class of 48 people from North Tama High School in Traer, Iowa. Ever since that time I have had a preference
for larger communities. I enjoyed my
time but also enjoy some level of anonymity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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6. I was a chubby
(fat) kid growing up. I share this
because I think it has given me a level of higher level of sensitivity when
dealing with bullying situations as a principal. <o:p></o:p></div>
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7. I suppose every
Principal feels this way, but I think I would be such a better teacher
now. I almost wish I could go back and
help all of those students I had and do it better. <o:p></o:p></div>
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8. Both of my
grandfathers were farmers. I think this taught me a lot about work ethic and
appreciating what you have and not being concerned with what your neighbor has.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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9. My parents never allowed me to think I wouldn’t go to
college. I was the first one in my
immediate family to get a four year degree and they are responsible for
that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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10. I love to go
fishing. I enjoy the quiet and the
simplicity in it all, but it allows me time to think and also prevents me from
trying to do something else. <o:p></o:p></div>
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11. I recently got a
smoker for Father’s Day and it has turned into my new hobby. I hope to take on
a lot of different meats and woods this Spring.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>My answers to
@aaron_becker32<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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1. My favorite book to read as a kid was anything Matt
Christopher. I loved his sports stories.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. My top two favorite athletes would be Andre Dawson and
Kerry Wood. I know they both lack a
world championship but I have too many great memories from standout performances
by both of them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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3. My favorite teacher was Mrs. Robb. She never accepted my good enough when that
could have been better than most in her classes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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4. I hosted a party in 2006 when the Bears made it. Everything we served was blue and orange. So
I suppose that sums it up. Blueberry ice cream, hot wings, cheese balls, you
get the idea, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
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5. Leach Lake Minnesota.
As long as you like to be on the water.
My brother and I used to ride up in the back of my parents truck with a
mattress and topper over top. <o:p></o:p></div>
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6. Definitely go to Ireland.
Formerly a history teacher and history major in college I loved Irish
history and also love Guinness. I would
also like to go visit Africa and the boys home my father in law started in
Mombasa, Kenya. <o:p></o:p></div>
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7. I would hang out with JFK. I think the office of the presidency has a
tremendous amount of intrigue. I also
think with his age he would have an interesting perspective. <o:p></o:p></div>
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8. I like to spend as much of it as possible with my wife
and kids. My wife Kate works at the
University of Iowa. Jack (7), Liz (6),
and Alice (2) get my time when I am home from school. <o:p></o:p></div>
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9. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do
something you want done because he wants to do it.” President Dwight D.
Eisenhower<o:p></o:p></div>
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10. I really want to
go to ISTE. I am heading back to NASSP
this year and had a great time with @casas_jimmy last year, but really am
looking forward to getting to ISTE this summer.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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11. I would blow it up.
I think we need to rethink the traditional structure. I often get frustrated at the rate of change
we have to accept or work through in our current system. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u>Bloggers<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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1. @gcouros<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. @patrickmlarkin<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. @jasonmmarkey<o:p></o:p></div>
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4. @casas_jimmy<o:p></o:p></div>
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5. @joykelly05<o:p></o:p></div>
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6. @BHS_TL<o:p></o:p></div>
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7. @christopherlike<o:p></o:p></div>
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8. @colinwikan<o:p></o:p></div>
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9. @mcleod<o:p></o:p></div>
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10. @danpbutler<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
11. @benjamingilpin<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u>My 11 Questions<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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1. What is your stress reliever? <o:p></o:p></div>
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2. What Twitter chats do you participate in? Why?<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. What was the best conference you ever attended?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. What is your best educational experience?<o:p></o:p></div>
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5. What is your worst educational experience? <o:p></o:p></div>
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6. What are your favorite athletic teams? <o:p></o:p></div>
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7. If you were not in education what would you do for a
career? <o:p></o:p></div>
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8. What is your most noteworthy accomplishment as an
educator?<o:p></o:p></div>
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9. What is one book you would recommend to others? What are
you reading right now? <o:p></o:p></div>
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10. What would you tell someone that hasn’t bought into
social media as an educator? <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
11. What year will the Cubs win the World Series? <o:p></o:p></div>
Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-17420031576980725112013-10-13T19:51:00.002-07:002013-10-15T10:41:24.859-07:00Avoiding quicksand! <br />
<br />
I am a sucker for sports movies. My all time favorite is Major League. I could recite lines from it all day long and laugh to myself. This makes my wife think she married a weirdo, but my brother and friends think its pretty cool. The fact that I know Jake Taylor tames Wild Thing, puts the bunt down, reaches first, and helps the Indians win the pennant is enough for me no matter the reaction. Last night during #IAedchat I found myself thinking how I could relate the feeling that I believe students can have when things do not seem to be going well at school. Then I got to thinking this is not unique to just students. I am sure teachers or admins feel like this more often than we think too. I still struggled for a way to put it into context and then a movie quote hit me. It comes from another sports classic, The Replacements. <br />
<br />
<br />
"You're playing and you think everything is going fine. Then one thing goes wrong. And then another. And another. You try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink. Until you can't move... you can't breathe... because you're in over your head. Like quicksand." Shane Falco - The Replacements<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
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<img src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeLD_nTaUAvBVCKpUPgLSdDkQD40pg0fh_w1KZdR69-06CfU9E" /></div>
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Why can school feel this way? As someone who has now fulfilled each of the roles listed above (parent, student, teacher, and administrator) I think it comes from school being a highly competitive environment that takes some skill and finesse to navigate. Not all of it comes easy no matter who you are. I take solace in knowing that Shane Falco has a happy ending, he gets the girl and the job. He overcomes his challenges and succeeds at quarterback. We call can succeed too. It is not that bad things will not happen it is how we respond to those unpredictable challenges that come our way that determines our success. We are not always in control of what happens to us, but we are always in control of our response. If you have spent any time as a parent, teacher or administrator you know that it is not if mistakes will be made but rather when. When that time happens we have a great opportunity to promote growth in ourselves or others depending on the circumstance, but we also need to look for help. This is what we have to be able to show our students. Too often I see students that give up after one negative behavior incident or a poor performance on a piece of graded work. We have to teach them how to deal with adversity. We cannot expect them to know the way out. This is why we are here. As educators is to not only teach this important skill, but to practice it ourselves. <br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<img src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTxFlrfHD3YpiuZvmd8418EO8qnfVorSrqEX4lY3at1JE0D34ueK7Hz_k-1" /><br />
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One way is through a support system. In the Replacements Shane Falco had Coach Jimmy McGinty to pull him through it. Who is your coach? Who provides you perspective? Who will that person be for our students? If you are a student it could be your parents, but what if they are not able or willing? If you are a teacher maybe a colleague down the hall, but what if you usually are the one filling that role? As a principal you are the go to when all else fails for parents, teachers and students, So who is your Coach McGinty? You have to find a colleague or mentor that can help you keep your frame of reference and mindset in the right direction. However, I would encourage you to take this one step further. No matter your role to turn this into a network of people not just one person. What happens to Shane Falco if Jimmy McGinty never comes along? He lives a life stuck in the Sugar Bowl being drubbed with 3 concussions. He never believes he can be better. It is all about the relationships we form and those people that help us be better than we thought we could be. There are often no quick solutions to our most difficult problems, but the people we surround ourselves with will help us create a path out. Social media gives us an avenue to do this and essentially removes any excuse for why we cannot do so. Build your network folks. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Finally, when you feel like you have hit quicksand. Quit fighting back so hard. Get out of the office, step back away from the stack of papers, focus on completing one task first, talk to a supportive person. Sometimes as doers or overachievers our first reaction is to fix things right away, which can cause quick decisions that are often times not the best. You are not really in over your head, you just need to get your head back. You will not change what happened but you can plan your response and reaction. If we can successfully pass this knowledge on to our students then we have taught them a lesson that lasts a lifetime. </div>
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Be Great!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Matt</div>
</div>
</div>
Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-16001678613449745562013-09-04T13:08:00.000-07:002013-09-04T13:11:57.133-07:00When was the last time you said, "I am sorry?" <div class="MsoNormal">
From time to time I mess up; whether it is as a father,
husband, brother, son or principal, etc. I make mistakes. You get it, right? At some point in any aspect of our life we all
make mistakes. Hopefully, we learn from
them and improve. That is what we are
supposed to do, learn from our mistakes.
For me the first part of this is acknowledgement. I also believe that this is often the most
difficult. Why is this so hard for so
many of us? Is it pride, fear of
failure, appearing weak, anger? The reason can be different for different
mistakes. Whatever the reason when we
have made an error, we need to apologize and say I AM SORRY. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGojD5vOaHZ6Si4Ijktnv4P7Bg_OqGQOTGRUeT-7Hht7s9vsVuPeNXCjvveUoZayZoA332glUt158Is2-f0VINMXNceeYegSazqs4yy9SxvcXKGXl4OFmDfAUO5QG7Klx6noU4_lJwzpC1/s1600/imsorry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGojD5vOaHZ6Si4Ijktnv4P7Bg_OqGQOTGRUeT-7Hht7s9vsVuPeNXCjvveUoZayZoA332glUt158Is2-f0VINMXNceeYegSazqs4yy9SxvcXKGXl4OFmDfAUO5QG7Klx6noU4_lJwzpC1/s1600/imsorry.jpg" /></a></div>
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This can be especially powerful for our students to
hear. I was reminded of this during Rita
Pearson’s TED Talk and a recent interaction with a student in my office. She makes light of how students react to
adults that apologize. They almost seem
shocked. They shouldn't. We need to model this skill for them and help
them practice. I asked a student to apologize to another student this
week and they looked at me like I was crazy.
I did not force his hand at the moment because it was obvious he was not ready. My mistake was
forgetting to walk the student through what I would be asking him to do and
practicing it on me. I realized that
this student may have not had to do this before and fears looking weak to peers
by doing so. This is a skill I will
work with him to develop and come back to him when some of the emotion is
removed from the situation. The first thing I will do is apologize for putting him in that situation and come then come back to what he needs to learn and move on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkENrFqDoEor-nrU6PBXAjm0s7ILDTl6WphxTNweij_b_C1-fNgpE1Gtb4JRzgP0WTlkB3IYZ7dblqAVWWew77VtBHRoaY04rFQfpdINSiIKGEuwycbXfY3-Mjzi5zOsoNC8o-ex-Uzkw2/s1600/pearson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkENrFqDoEor-nrU6PBXAjm0s7ILDTl6WphxTNweij_b_C1-fNgpE1Gtb4JRzgP0WTlkB3IYZ7dblqAVWWew77VtBHRoaY04rFQfpdINSiIKGEuwycbXfY3-Mjzi5zOsoNC8o-ex-Uzkw2/s1600/pearson.jpg" /></a></div>
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We also need to model how an apology is received. A colleague of mine, would often be sure to tell students and adults that saying, it's okay, is not an appropriate way to receive an apology. Instead it is important to say thank you. Saying, it's okay, gives the impression that what they did was acceptable. It definitely was not if they are apologizing for it so we need to acknowledge their apology, but not downplay that the behavior was acceptable. </div>
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The last part of this equation is forgiveness. It is different depending on every situation and circumstance. You can't tell someone they have to forgive someone else that comes internally. However, I often tell my students that you can forgive somebody without forgetting what they did or how they made you feel. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpIkYgy0PW68La03HaftiWorZyTaPjnFfGk2vz8hb_1kNXQoUtUs_lOVXbbtezWVZEA-nzXw72EKai7244i43p6MYDqdjx2dUBoVl7HGFEBf1GHVBWXz3Z3_We2u1lliHntDzPkIasufT/s1600/sorry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpIkYgy0PW68La03HaftiWorZyTaPjnFfGk2vz8hb_1kNXQoUtUs_lOVXbbtezWVZEA-nzXw72EKai7244i43p6MYDqdjx2dUBoVl7HGFEBf1GHVBWXz3Z3_We2u1lliHntDzPkIasufT/s1600/sorry.jpg" /></a></div>
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Be Great!</div>
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Matt</div>
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Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-27263017853175921792013-07-30T19:26:00.003-07:002013-07-31T05:59:17.065-07:00Are we having fun yet? 3 takeaways from Teach Like a Pirate by @burgessdave<div class="MsoNormal">
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This past weekend we had one of those weekends that are few
and far between during the summer months for us. We did not go anywhere or have anyone over. This is a rather odd occurrence for us as we
usually spend the summer catching up with friends and family or traveling to a
favorite destination. Instead we spent
the weekend at home and doing things locally. Jack learned to ride his bike, we
put together Alice’s toddler bed, went to the farmer’s market, a movie, church,
and fishing. Sounded relaxing at the
start didn’t it, well it was and it wasn’t.
By the time we got to fishing on Sunday afternoon and got the poles in
the water, I think I had barked at Jack and Liz one too many times when Jack
asked me, “are we having fun yet?” See
sometimes when I one of our kids gets frustrated I ask them, “are we having fun
yet?” So this time Jack turned the tables and flipped the question back on
me. This was a stop and think moment for
me. I needed to step back and actually
enjoy what we were doing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is also what we need to remember to do throughout the
school year in our classrooms and buildings.
There will be times when we no doubt get frustrated, but we have to be
able to step back and remember that if we are not having fun then neither are
our students. If we are going to engage
them and increase learning opportunities we have to try to create as many
enjoyable experiences as possible. I recently finished reading Dave Burgess’ book
<u>Teach Like a Pirate</u> and believe there are three major ideas we can steal
to help us remember to have fun! <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><!--[endif]--> Just like
any good educator he states that relationships and rapport are very important
to be engage students. You have to know
what they find exciting or interesting.
They have to trust you to be able to step out of their comfort zone in
your class. When you ask them to share
and share about yourself this will lead to building some trust. As with anything you have to follow through
and deliver for that trust to come full circle<b>. </b>Burgess knows the tone is set the first few days, if you don’t
start to establish it then you will find it more difficult to do the longer you
wait. You can’t bore them with a
syllabus for two days and then start building relationships. It begins right away. <b> If you really want to have fun, get to know
your students on day one!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b> </b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><!--[endif]--> Transform
your classroom and instruction. Burgess
says, “Provide an uncommon experience for your students and they will reward
you with an uncommon effort and attitude.”
To get this generation’s attention he tells us that we
have to be remarkable. Ordinary is not
going to get it done or set you apart from other teachers. I would ask you, what will make your class
great? Similar to how Burgess asks, what
lesson could you sell tickets for? Talk
about a measuring stick<b>! If you really
want to have fun, work to plan the best lesson you have ever taught!</b></div>
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</span><!--[endif]-->Always approach your classroom with passion and
enthusiasm. If you take nothing else
away from Burgess’ work it should be that students can tell how excited we are
and see right through those that are trying to fake their way through it. You have to bring it on a daily basis. Think about it, we have all sat through
terrible lectures and presentations.
Usually those people were not even excited themselves. How can we expect our students to have any
more passion than we do? <b>If you really want to have fun, tap into
your passion, we are all creative we just have to go for it!</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope those of you that took time to read this post will
also read this book and buy it for you teachers if you are an administrator. Books such as this inspire me to be better
than I am, and get me excited for the school year. One of the teachers I recently hired is a
veteran of 25 years. He summed it up
well during his interview when he said, if we didn’t have fun in class today,
then I did something wrong. I believe your students will without a doubt
love you for it and learn far more than you thought possible if we increase
those opportunities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Be Great and Get Better!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Matt<o:p></o:p></div>
Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837082100001972085.post-32707415481114467612013-07-01T11:52:00.000-07:002013-07-01T11:52:41.853-07:00What are you doing this summer? <div>
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What are you doing this summer? As educators we often times get asked this
question towards the end of the school year or once the last day of school has
arrived. My own parents for the longest
time would ask me this question and it would really bother me. I believe it bothered me because I thought
people were operating with the assumption that we sat by the pool or at the
park all day. I do not even think all people
are trying to be spiteful or even have poor thoughts about that choice. I think some people do recognize
that it is a grind and that there should be a period of rest and
re-charging and this is good. Do not get me wrong you have to do some of this. However, I think it is our
job to make sure we tell the story of all the other things we do to get better as well.
I
do try to keep some more regular hours during the summer and take advantage of
not working the long days of the school year, but there are a lot of opportunities
that summer provides to me professionally as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So what are educators doing during the summer? You name
it! Many of us spend time working to
further our knowledge by taking classes, reading books/educational journals,
attending conferences, ramping up our presence on social media to learn from
others, or by networking with our PLN face to face. We also spend time preparing for the upcoming school year by improving lessons, rethinking past practices, working a second job, and evening visiting some of our students and families. Then there are some of us that coach because in Iowa we still have summer baseball and softball. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> I was one of the lucky few to spend some of my summers on the diamond. We have great opportunities
to learn from each other. Even though I was sad this past week to be a #NotatISTE
instead of a #ISTE13 Tweeter I still had a great time following the events and
learning along with everyone. </div>
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I believe that we have to model to our community what true
lifelong learning looks like. I try to
learn a lot every day during the school year, but I do invest a lot in my own
learning over the summer. We do not stop
learning once we leave K-12 education.
Conversely this should just be the foundation for us to get
started. If we are truly in the education business we have to make time for our own learning. Time is always a challenge, but it cannot be an excuse. Two weeks ago in Dubuque, IA I heard Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal) say, "I don't find time to learn and get better, I make time to learn and get better." So the next time you get asked,
what are you doing this summer; do not be afraid to share some of your learning
with whoever is asking. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have blogged for the past year and a half, but those blogs
were dedicated to our movement to a 1:1 environment in Bettendorf. I am now in Iowa City as Principal of South East Junior High and am still very
passionate about technology and social media, but I am even more passionate
about leadership and effective teaching and learning.
Therefore, I have started a new blog and hope you will enjoy it. The premise is that if you are not getting
better you are falling behind and that we should always strive to be great! Hope you enjoyed the read. Comment if you so desire! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Be Great!</div>
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Matt Degnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964144094919398450noreply@blogger.com0