Episode 239 – The 7 Principles of Effective Instruction Part 1

EPISODE 239The 7 Principles of Effective Instruction Part 1Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:Checking lesson plans is a waste of time. It’s more important to see how a teacher plans to help students achieve the standards during a unit of instruction than to see what the teacher is doing on a daily basis.  Every […]

Episode 238 – Would you know great teaching if you saw it?

EPISODE 238Would you know great teaching if you saw it?Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:There are really only 7 principles to great teaching. Anything else is simply your preference.Great teaching is a little like porn. We think we’ll know it when we see it. But the truth is, most of us really don’t understand […]

Episode 237 – How Builders Eliminate Problems

EPISODE 237How Builders Eliminate ProblemsBig Takeaways.Leaders solve problems at a surface level and it’s why those problems keep cropping up over and over again. Builders solve problems at the root and thus eliminate problems once and for all.We create a false dichotomy when we focus exclusively on serving our students. You can serve the students […]

Episode 236 – Do you want to look good, do good, or be good?

EPISODE 236Do you want to look good, do good, or be good?Big Takeaways.You may not think you are doing your work just to look good, but anytime you do something just to please the district, or your teachers, or your parents, that’s exactly what you’re doing.The tyranny of trying to please other people is keeping […]

Episode 235 – 5 Things you should be thinking about now to set yourself up for a strong second half of the school year

EPISODE 2355 Things you should be thinking about now to set yourself up for a strong second half of the school yearBiggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:Instead of waiting for the same challenges you deal with every year, why not take steps now to eliminate them before they arrive?Instead of coasting into the new […]

Episode 234 – When you just don’t feel like working

EPISODE 234When you just don’t feel like workingBig TakeawaysThere are some days when you just don’t feel productive and that’s okay. It’s not selfish to take care of yourself.On the days when you feel low energy, focus on those activities that feed you rather than deplete you.Sometimes even principals need a nap.We need to start showing […]

Episode 233 – The Steps to Buildership

EPISODE 233The Steps to BuildershipBig TakeawaysBuildership is a “who” not a “what.” It’s about who you become, not what you do.The secret to effortlessly achieving major gains each year is finding the right problems to solve.If you are not helping EVERY teacher you serve grow at least one level, in one critical domain every year, […]

Episode 232 – The only 3 ways you can fail

EPISODE 232The only 3 ways to failBig TakeawaysBefore you jump to a solution, make sure you really understand what problem you are solving.Sometimes it’s not that you don’t have the right solution, it’s that you haven’t given it long enough to actually work.We’re so anxious for quick fixes that we often have the right solution […]

Episode 231 – Keeping District Demand from Derailing Your Progress

EPISODE 231Keeping District Demand from Derailing Your ProgressBig TakeawaysStop waiting for others to believe in your 100% vision before you get started. Sometimes the only way to get others to believe that your 100% vision is possible is to show them.Not everyone will believe in your 100% vision. Pursue it anyway. Sometimes we forget that as […]

Episode 230 – The October Drift

EPISODE 230The October DriftBig TakeawaysIf the work you are doing now is not moving your school closer to your 100% vision, not in alignment with your mission, and violating your core values, why are you doing it???Do your systems make your work easier and more effective? Or are you just creating more busy work for […]