This week has helped realize, one more time, that I am a human. A broken one at that. There is a line in a song that I've often used with other people. I like the line. Really I do. But at the same time, I do not like it applied to me.

Feelin' pain's a hard way to know you're still alive

Feelin' pain's a hard way to know you're still alive

There is a hierarchy in a school, but it's not like the hierarchy in a business or even in today's version of our government.  In a school, things work better in a bottom-up sort of way, with everyone taking their cues from the students.  Burgess and Houf, the authors of Lead Like a PIRATE, seem to get this. Teachers, being the first responders in the classroom, must respond to the needs and strengths of the students that have been corralled into their care.

The primary clients for teachers should be students.  Teachers are the ones who have daily contact with the students.  As such, they have the opportunity to make the biggest impact on them.  They are the ones who create the day-to-day learning environments and plan the daily learning experiences.  The decision they make on a regular basis will help determine whether students in their classrooms will flourish and thrive throughout the year...

The primary clients for school leaders should be teachers and staff.  You can't teach every child in the school.  You can't serve lunch to every child, tend to every scraped knee, answer every phone call, clean every classroom, or supervise every playground and hallway.  But as a principal, you can have serious influence and positive impact on how all of these things are done.  If you are a school leader, make sure a significant amount of your time focuses on supporting the adults in your schools - helping them to be their best so they, in turn, can effectively serve their primary clients, the students.

The last interesting question on the application for the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute was quite open-ended, allowing the potential participant to add any other information that might "enhance" the application. ​As a matter of fact, I did have a few things to add, specifically some big events in my career and community experience.  These make my application unique.

In April of 1995, as I wrapped up my fifth year as a teacher in Oklahoma City, I was in the middle of a lesson with my second graders when we heard the guttural boom.  When the rafters of our old schoolhouse rattled and groaned, students and teachers searched for answers.  From our building, we saw the black plume of smoke from the terrorist truck bomb detonated just four and a half miles away.  As the lead teacher with no principal in the building, I locked down our school and consoled teachers, parents, and students. In the coming weeks, I became a better teacher and more compassionate person. That experience enriched my professional and personal life in unique ways.
 
My wife and I were already in the process of moving to Joplin, Missouri, where, the day after I arrived, I was offered a teaching contract as a fourth grade teacher at Cecil Floyd Elementary School (where I have remained for 25 years).  Within a few years, after an extensive vetting process, I received a coveted Golden Apple Award from the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.  I became the Teacher of the Year in 2004 and represented my district at the state level.
 
In 2011, our school was significantly damaged in the infamous EF5 tornado that destroyed a third of our city.  That summer, I assisted in coordinating relief teams who reported to the church for direction.  I passed out supplies and food to survivors almost every day from dawn to dusk.  The following school year became my most rewarding in education, teaching and counseling students and parents who lost their houses and loved ones or had been personally injured or emotionally afflicted by the storm.
 
I work with peers, principals, and superintendents to lead our district and influence stakeholders.  My teaching career has been challenging and very fulfilling throughout the years, but I am still learning and growing:  I still have years ahead of me, and I look forward to hitting the ground running with every new class.

Programs don't teach kids; teachers do, and teachers are capable of making magic happen for kids.  The solution to any school challenge or issue is never just a new program.  It is a commitment to the people who are doing the work.  It is building a sense of self-efficacy in the individuals on your team and convincing them that the magic isn't in the latest initiative or curriculum mandate - the magic is in them. That's a quote from Lead Like a PIRATE, by Shelley Burgess and Beth Houf, and it's really hard to disagree.  In this particular chapter of the book, the authors are all about heralding teachers and respecting them by giving them permission to make professional decisions.  Some teachers wait for that permission, and others rebel more openly until it comes.

During my (Shelley's) first year as principal, our district had just adopted a new reading program.  The mandate at the time was "fidelity to the core."  (That phrase seriously still causes me to break out in hives!)  I recall being completely taken aback when, during my interview for the position, someone asked how I would hold teachers accountable for to following the program exactly as written.  The concept of cookie-cutter teaching goes against everything I believe in, but I must have come up with a good-enough answer because I got the job.

It involves knowing the unique learning needs of each child in the classroom and developing strategies to reach them and help them thrive.  It involves grit, determination, persistence, flexibility, an element of fun, and a whole lot of heart!  No program has that kind of magic, but teachers do.  Believe in them, invest in them, build in time for learning and growth, and watch the magic happen.

We have all heard the saying that if  we try to do too many things, we are not doing any of them well.  This truth plays our all too often in education.  If you are going to find educational treasure, you need to identify what matters most - you have to know what you are searching for and then be relentless in you pursuit of it.  Spend the majority of your time working on obtaining it.

When I submitted my application for the teacher institute at Colonial Williamsburg, one of the questions asked how I would share the experience with my colleagues.  Presenting professional development is something I have done for almost my entire career. ​This question also allowed me to present this website as evidence that I can share in another format - online.  I have highlighted two previous institutes in this way. The truth is I love public speaking, and I love writing, and I especially enjoyed writing the last line in the following response:

I am an established, returning trainer at the local and state level in Missouri.  I frequently present professional development sessions to my peers, to teachers across the district, and at annual state teacher conventions.  Also, I enjoy a strong relationship with our parent association.  My classes are often featured in local media, including newspaper, radio, and television reports and broadcasts.  I am confident that the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute will easily find its way into unique presentations in a variety of formats, as well as in private conversations with community acquaintances outside of education.
 
More importantly is the reach of my professional website and blog at hoggatteer.weebly.com.  I have maintained the extensive site for several years now, updating the blog daily with reports, reflections, interesting information, and lesson sets.  I would invite your attention to the lessons I have developed for our history classes at https://hoggatteer.weebly.com/uniting-the-states.html.  Additionally, please consider the reports I have kept for other teacher institute institutes I have been privileged to attend.  For Mount Vernon, find https://hoggatteer.weebly.com/george-washington-and-mount-vernon.html, and for Fort Ticonderoga, go to https://hoggatteer.weebly.com/americas-fort.html.  Thousands of teachers, parents, students, and others peruse the site and the materials I openly and freely share.  Both of those teacher institutes were incredible - probably the most valuable of my career - and have changed my teaching forever.
 
How will I share the Colonial Williamsburg experience?  I will do so with tremendous excitement, great emotion, and a deep appreciation to the donors who make the teacher institute possible.