Coaching

#DBC50Summer Book 41-50 Recap

/ Alicia Ray / Leave a comment

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It is officially the first hour of Fall 2018! I published the blog about the 50th book 30 minutes before the official end of summer.

When I began the #DBC50Summer journey in June, I had no idea what it would look like at that point. I typically begin with the end in mind. In this case, I took a major risk. I had an idea and I just went for it. Not only did I go for it, but I jumped in head first by letting the owners of Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc know what I was doing before I even really knew what I was doing. From that moment, Dave and Shelley Burgess have been nothing but supportive. Their team at DBC, Inc is incredible; Wendy and Tara are two of the nicest people you’ve ever interacted with in your life! I have felt encouragement, support, and enthusiasm from everyone at DBC, Inc and I cannot say thank you enough for that!

Only having less than 2 weeks to read and blog about 10 books was insane! I was at a point where I literally read and blogged about a book a night. You may have noticed (especially if you’re subscribed to the blog) that the posts were coming around 1:30-2:00 AM every night. That’s when I was publishing. You would think that I have been exhausted. You would be wrong. I have been more energized than ever before in this journey! I quietly wondered if the integrity of the quality of books would be in question as the quantity of books increased. Short answer: DBC has just gotten better with time.

Through reading the first 50 books, in order of their release date (to the best of my knowledge), I have watched the transformation of DBC, Inc. I am absolutely blown away . by the fact that every. single. book compliments the Teach Like A Pirate message. These books never contradicted themselves. They built on one another in a logical manner, pulling you deeper into the PIRATE pedagogy with every page. It is abundantly clear that Dave and Shelley take great pride in their authors and they are still very much running the business, both in name and in practice. I do not believe for a second that the continuity between books would be present if they weren’t (wait for it…) steering the ship at every turn. They are clearly invested in their business through their investment in the authors they publish. Dave set out to disrupt the publishing business, and disrupt the business he did. I stand (errr, sit…) in awe of the dynasty they have created from the ground up. Dave and Shelley have kickstarted a revolution in education through their publishing business and I am so excited to see what they have coming up for us next!

Three days ago, I saw this post was pinned on Dave’s Twitter profile.

Although Dave saw this at a fitness center, this quote applies perfectly to my experience with #DBC50Summer. I believe there were times that the Captain himself even doubted that I would meet my goal of reading the first 50 of his books by the end of summer (though he never said anything about it). Heck, there were times I doubted it. When my youngest daughter was hospitalized and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in early August, when I was traveling throughout the western half of North Carolina doing four presentations each day then driving hours to our next destination for two weeks in July (I presented 32 one-hour sessions in 8 days), when I was spending late nights at the softball field with my oldest daughter, and when teachers came back to work in late August, I was certain that the first day of fall would come and go as I continued to work on #DBC50″SUMMER”. The unending encouragement from my professional learning network and the absolutely spectacular authors of DBC, Inc get full credit for inspiring me to keep going and push through these obstacles to achieve my goal of reading the first 50 books by the end of summer. Even those “without a dog in the fit” so to speak (the authors of books 51-57) have shown support through Direct Messages on Twitter, text messages and encouraging tweets. I am forever grateful.

On August 27, I experienced an hour unlike any other. I actually found Cloud 9 and hung out on it for a while… I was honored to host #tlap that night to share my experiences with #DBC50Summer and discuss the entire DBC, Inc line. This was a great celebration of the authors and the ideals shared in each book, and I hope that those who participated were able to walk away with new books on their Amazon wishlist!

Let’s check out the last ten books in #DBC50Summer!

41 – Be The One For Kids by Ryan Sheehy: This book lit me on fire to be an advocate for every student. It also reminded me that even though I can’t possibly be the one for every student, I never know which one I will inspire and motivate. Because I don’t know which one(s) will be touched the most, I should do everything in my power to be the one for them all.

42 – All 4s and 5s by Andrew Sharos: This book is advertised for Advanced Placement (AP) teachers. But ohhh the power of false advertisement. This book is actually for EVERY teacher! Why should AP students be the only ones held to high standards? That’s exactly what Andrew shares with us in his book! Don’t let the intended audience fool you. You need this one in your hands yesterday!

43 – Shake Up Learning by Kasey Bell: Static learning won’t work for students in 2018! (It also didn’t work for students in 2006 when I started my career, but I’m learning to forgive myself because I didn’t know any better.) Kasey inspired me to step out and apply to earn my Google Teacher Certification. Get her book to see what dynamic teaching is and why it’s what’s best for our kids.

44 – The Secret Solution by Todd Whitaker, Ryan Donlan, and Sam Miller: Unlike any book in the DBC, Inc line, this book takes us on a fictional journey inspired by real events. We experience the inner-workings of a typical school that could be found anywhere in the US. A principal (Roger Rookie) is trying to find the secret to being a great leader. He fails over and over again. What does he find the Secret Solution to be, or is there even a Secret Solution? Grab this book – and you don’t have to be a principal to put it on your wishlist!

45 – Let Them Speak by Rebecca Coda and Rick Jetter: The power of student voice cannot be understated. Meet students on their turf and get their opinion, but only if you’re ready for the honest feedback you’ll receive. Then, do something about what they say. They deserve to be heard. So let your students speak.

46 – The Path to Serendipity by Allyson Apsey: The big secret of #DBC50Summer can be found in this post. Allyson’s book is the real catalyst! The post for this book written weeks before #DBC50Summer started. This is one of those books that you’ll get something different out of it every time you open it. I actually deleted the majority of the first post to rewrite a new one because I was inspired by something altogether different the second time around! Allyson takes us on a journey of self-discovery that you don’t want to miss!

47 – Lead with Culture by Jay Billy: Jay is the real deal, y’all! His book has me excited to go on a treasure hunt this year for evidence of positive culture! Check out the post to play BINGO and use the link within it to purchase Jay’s book, the very first book in the Lead Like A Pirate guide book series! There are more to come!

48 – Sparks in the Dark by Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney: This. Book. Though. What do you mean, you don’t have it? Go get it. Now. It will transform your reading and writing instruction (and all other content areas) for the rest of your career! You will fall in love with reading and writing, and so will your students if you use these strategies!

48.5 – Sparks in the Dark by Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney: What happens when you’re 48 hours away from the end of #DBC50Summer and you are inspired beyond belief by a book… you write a second blog post, of course! This one had me breaking all the rules. Lucky for me, I know the lady who made the rules. We chatted… it’s okay. (HA) Check out Part 2 of Sparks in the Dark #DBC50Summer blog post!

49 – The Pepper Effect by Sean Gaillard: Why does Monday have such a bad reputation? Why can’t we celebrate a new beginning? That’s exactly what Sean did through #CelebrateMonday! Find out what inspired the movement and how Sean connects his passion for The Beatles into his own schoolhouse as principal! The author is a friend of mine… he’s as genuine as they come! You want this book, even if you’re not a fan of the music.

50 – The EduNinja Mindset by Jennifer Burdis: She competed on two seasons of American Ninja Warrior but that wasn’t the hardest thing she ever did! Find out what was the hardest thing she ever did. You’ll also discover how to set goals and get out of your own way to achieve them. This one is a book for the masses! The perfect book to end #DBC50Summer on!

My implementation plans and flipgrid links for each book are listed in a nifty spreadsheet here. I also suggest checking out each of the Recaps from earlier in the summer: Summer Recap 1, Summer Recap 2, Summer Recap 3, and Summer Recap 4.

That’s it; that’s all folks… but wait. #DBC50Summer may be over, but I’ve still got one more blog post to write! You’re going to want to see this one! I have been asked a dozen questions by coworkers, administrators, PLN members, and members of the Pirate crew (immediate and extended)! I address them all in the final #DBC50Summer post, as well as sharing a HUGE announcement!

#DBC50Summer 47/50: Lead with Culture

/ Alicia Ray / 2 Comments

I keep waiting to come across a Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc book that I don’t like… one that doesn’t inspire me as much as others. I honestly keep thinking as I begin every “new” book (one I’ve not read yet), Will this be the one? The one that I have to make a tough decision if I blog truthfully or if I sugarcoat my interest level. I know I sound like a broken record because I have literally said to purchase every single one of these books. Book 47 continues the tradition of excellence, and even raises the bar a bit.

Jay Billy is a Pirate through and through. It is evident in his tweets and his passion is even more impressive through this book. He was given a mighty task. One that I actually thought no one could achieve… be the first Lead Like A Pirate guide book released by DBC, Inc. Pave the way for future guide books related to the content in the Teach Like A Pirate leadership equivalent. That is pressure. Real pressure. Lead with Culture is the perfect way to kick off a series of guide books.

First of all, I need to put Jay Billy in my pocket and carry him around with me. I love, love, love my administrator. I’m just going to put that out there before I say this next thing…. I would work for Jay Billy in a heartbeat. I’d even teach Kindergarten if that’s what it took. (That. Is. Huge. Those that really know me – go ahead and pick your jaw up off the floor.)

His energy, enthusiasm, passion… it can’t help but to create a positive culture. I imagine that rainbows erupt from the sky every morning to await arrival of students and teachers at his school. Unicorns prance in the fields nearby allowing students to run their fingers through their mane while staring into their souls. Fairies flutter by with pixie dust to sprinkle good cheer on everyone. Students move from class to class on puffy clouds of inspiration.

Okay, so maybe not that surreal, but pretty dang close. Jay leads us on a deep-dive of what really matters in our schools. He speaks to culture, joy, kindness, intention, honesty, passion, and more. Not only does he outline why it matters, but he shares how to improve those areas in your own school through examples of things he does in his school. This is why the implementation plan is so difficult here. I could pick something from every doggone chapter to implement and then sit back and watch what happens.

One of the things I love most is that Jay makes you feel as though you can be successful in changing the culture of any school. And it doesn’t have to come at the expense of accountability scores. Dave Burgess tweets this about those false dichotomies (having either this OR that).

The school I serve is fantastic. I love that we are working every day to shatter the “traditional” educational model. Our ELA teachers are taking students to the Science Institute to make stories come to life, history teachers are allowing students to experience Ancient Egypt through virtual reality escape rooms, math teachers encourage students to apply concepts of linear, quadratic, and exponential functions to build roller coasters in Minecraft (then ride them in virtual reality, experiencing them to scale), and science teachers weave hands-on labs with context clues to decipher content vocabulary. All the while, encore classes like art, chorus, band, physical education and health, Project Lead the Way 1 and 2, and computer science discoveries are incorporating content from core subject areas and giving students opportunities to explore passions and connect the arts to all they do. It’s an amazing, inspiring place to work.

Not everyone sees it that way. Our school has been the underdog in many struggles. We were “the second” middle school built within 6 miles in a rural community. To have two middle schools that close is uncommon. Two elementary schools feed into our STEM magnet middle school. One school is 74% free and reduced lunch, while the other qualifies for free lunch for every student in the school. Mix that in with a full-inclusion magnet population. Very different socio-economics, students brought in on a shuttle bus so a shorter school day due to transportation, six classes built into the schedule per day rather than the traditional four at our other middle schools, so each staff member teaches approximately 100-110 students per day. Just a few years ago, we were a school with a NC Report Card rating of “D” and until this year we had not met growth since 2012. It was the school that people raised their eyebrows when you mentioned you worked there… often accompanied by a “ooooh, and how’s that going?”

Culture has improved by leaps and bounds in the past two years. Our administration has created a culture of yes and she encourages us to think out of the box. She sets high expectations and supports us as we strive to reach those high expectations. If a teacher has a need, she moves things around to make it happen. We still have a long way to go.

As in many schools, when the loudest voice is negative, it overshadows all of the awesome that is going on. Sometimes, our loudest voices can be negative. We’re working to shift that and change the conversation. I want to seek out the positive voices this year, even if they are quiet as mice. As I read Jay’s book, I was overwhelmed with ideas and had no idea how to incorporate them all. Because they are ALL worth bringing into #DBC50Summer implementation!

My favorite part of this book is the space for reflection after each chapter. Jay gives us three action items that correlate to the topic he just covered. These are the Leadership Treasure Hunt (Find This), Navigating the Seas (Think about This), and Charting the Course (Take Action). So to incorporate as much of Jay’s wisdom as I possibly can, I am going on a treasure hunt!

When I was a young girl, my Nanny (what I called my dad’s mom and one of my very best friends and biggest cheerleaders) and Papa had a camper in the nearby mountains of North Carolina. We would spend several weekends there throughout the year until my Papa passed away when I was ten years old. As my Nanny and I took leisurely walks on the trails nearby, we would sing a classic children’s song…

We’re goin’ on a bear hunt
(We’re goin’ on a bear hunt)
We’re going to catch a big one,
(We’re going to catch a big one,)

I’m not afraid
(I’m not afraid)
What a beautiful day!
(What a beautiful day!)

I can just substitute treasure hunt for bear hunt, and I’ve got my implementation plan! Each of the Leadership Treasure Hunt items from Lead with Culture will be found through the 2018-2019 school year and recorded! Once I find these treasures, in true Lead Like A Pirate fashion, I will drop an Anchor of Appreciation as applicable. Here’s my BINGO card to keep me accountable for appreciating and implementing something from each chapter.

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Download your own copies here.

Lead with Culture by Jay Billy is another must-have from the DBC, Inc collection! Jay’s YouTube channel can be found here. You can find more information on his book here. Jay is active on Twitter and you can follow the community using the hashtag #CultureMatters and #LeadLAP. Jay is featured on multiple podcasts. Check them out with a quick Google search. Some great options are PodcastPD, Aspire, and DisruptEDtv. Join the #LeadLAP chat on Saturday mornings at 7:30 am PST/10:30 am EST by using the #LeadLAP hashtag! It’s a terrific community and Jay is a regular there! Definitely add your thoughts to the flipgrid! This space was created by the incredible Andrea Paulakovich as a global collaboration effort on all DBC, Inc books! I’m just fortunate enough to co-pilot the space! Also, you’re going to want to see Andrea’s in-depth #DBC50Summer post on Lead with Culture! She is so impressive! Check it out here! Be sure to get a copy of the book so you can spread the awesome that Jay offers through bettering your own school culture! Even if it’s an amazing space to work and you have your own field of unicorns and puffy clouds and fairies with pixie dust, Jay reminds us that “greatness is a moving target” – keep improving & strengthening that culture!

THREE MORE BOOKS TO GO! Three more days to do it in! I sure do hope I can do this! My biggest problem is that my blogs are posted incredibly late at night because that’s my quiet time. Everyone’s asleep and I’m able to think more clearly. I will have to interrupt this pattern in order to finish by 9:54 pm EST, which is the official beginning of Autumn! Book 48 is by an author we know and love for Kids Deserve It and Stories from Webb! Todd Nesloney is back and this time we get to meet Travis Crowder; these two educators co-authored Sparks in the Dark! This will kick my brain into high gear for literacy and encouraging a life-long love of reading and learning! I’m excited to get to it!

 

#DBC50Summer 46/50: The Path to Serendipity

/ Alicia Ray / 5 Comments

Finding value in happenstance, an unplanned or fortunate discovery… definitions of serendipity. Choosing to be happy in the face of all that’s happening around you and to you. It’s so easy to say, and oh, so hard to do. Truth is, we all struggle here. When your world feels like it’s falling apart, keeping a smile on your face and contributing to everyone else’s great day is insanely difficult. Misery loves company.

But here’s the real truth. Happiness, joy, positivity… they’re all contagious. Spread that. Tell misery where it can go and allow positive energy to radiate from you.

Want to know a little secret? Actually… two little secrets….

Secret 1: This book is the real reason behind #DBC50Summer. This is where the idea began to form, where the realization that creative alchemy could be the answer to many of my “problems,” where I knew blogging about my reflections, connections, and implementation was the key to my professional growth.

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A DM between Allyson & me on May 16, several days after I read her book for the first time. (Consider yourself tagged, Allyson, ha!)

Secret 2: This blog post was the first one written for #DBC50Summer. I had planned to skim the book, because I practically know it by heart now, and then publish the post I wrote back in late May. I have a slight problem with that though. I deleted the post tonight. I am at a different set of circumstances now. What I wrote then isn’t what I want to share now. So I started from scratch. Well, mostly.

Allyson Apsey told the most inspiring, gut-wrenching, authentic story I had read in the Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc line. She was genuine and vulnerable. (These qualities are why I’m also excited to extend the ideals behind #DBC50Summer past book 50 because book 51 is all about this concept! Stay tuned for that. No clue what it’ll be called – still working on that.)

Allyson became one of my best friends the night I read her book for the first time and I’ve never even spoken to her other than Twitter, much less met her. However, I feel like we’ve had dinner together multiple times, we’ve sat on my couch together sharing our heart, we had a sleepover one night while I reread a few chapters, and even tonight, we hung out in the car while my oldest daughter had softball practice. In reality, I was just reading her book, but The Path to Serendipity is that good.

Here comes your nightly bedtime story that will eventually come full circle and relate to book…

I don’t have a large storage of self-confidence. The stories in my head usually end up with me not being smart enough, eloquent enough, funny enough, pretty enough, likable enough, good enough to match up to anyone. Growing up I always found it easier to get along with guys. I didn’t feel like I was compared to the boys (So what if you can dunk the basketball? I can throw girls 10 feet in the air) like I was with the girls (She looks way cuter in that cheer uniform than I do as she flies through the air… y’all, I always caught her when she came down… well, 99% of the time).

Lately I’ve struggled more so than usual. One dear friend of mine in particular has gotten the short end of the stick lately. I’m constantly comparing myself to this friend thinking there’s no way I’ll ever measure up. They are pretty spectacular; one of those people that everyone wants to be around – insanely “popular” by all middle school clique standards. For me, feeling average, at best, is a good day. Periods of prolonged quietness leads me to believe my friend has finally wised up and realized that I’m not enough. Then the stories start to form in my head and by the time I know what’s going on, I’ve put up defense mechanisms, made some snide comment to protect myself, and feel guilty and apologize. It’s a vicious cycle. Don’t get me wrong, when I get out of my own way, the friendship is definitely a positive one. I just find myself apologizing more than ever lately because my self-confidence seems to have hit a record low. Funny how that happens, isn’t it? Tell me y’all know exactly what I’m talking about, right?

This new set of circumstances compelled me to delete the original post I made about this book. Now I’m taking a closer look at quotes from the book and Glasser’s Choice Theory that Allyson discusses in the book. Apparently my gas tank for belonging is super large and rather empty at the moment. From reading (and rereading) I know I need to provide myself an environment that gives opportunities to refuel this tank.

Relating these behaviors back to Choice Theory, perhaps my aforementioned friend has larger tanks for freedom and fun, which would depersonalize the behavior of silence. Maybe just being aware of the different sized tanks will help? (If that’s the case, consider yourself told, friend. My belonging tank is large, haha!) Allyson’s third and sixth stop tonight got me.

All you need to do is move inch by inch toward the person you want to become; that is enough. You are enough.

~Allyson Apsey

The only person who has control over our behavior is us…I cannot blame my behavior on how someone else is making me feel.

~Allyson Apsey

So yeah… I read that second quote tonight and immediately contacted my friend to apologize for my erratic behavior lately. I have to work to make myself feel better. My friend is not responsible for my actions and there are things I can do to make myself feel better, like listening to music, having my own dance party, organizing (yes, that’s a real coping mechanism for me). I can “peel the onion” as Allyson says to discover what’s really at the heart of my irritation and struggle in self-confidence.

Here’s where it comes full circle…

Keeping all of this in mind, realizing that I am 33 years old and I struggle with this, don’t I realize my middle school students and all of their pubescent hormonal teen brains are dealing with this times 100?!?! When they lash out at school, it’s not against me. They are showing that they need something. They need a tank filled – whether it’s belonging, fun, power, survival, or freedom. I need to create that environment for them.

One of our students who is already notorious for trouble (less than a month into school) saw me in the hall this morning and gave me the biggest hug. He is looking for a balance between belonging, freedom, and power. I am doing all I can to provide that for him. Rather than accusatory remarks, I ask questions. I give him extra trust and relay that I expect him to live up to that trust. I speak to him like he’s an equal. He respects that and responds to it positively.

My implementation plan for this book is a bit sneaky… hopefully those I work with will just skip right over this blog post (if they’re even reading them, HA – hey friends). I plan to use Glasser’s Choice Theory and the idea of depersonalizing behavior and choosing to be joyful in each day and weave it into digital learning professional development. How in the world can that be done, you ask? Well… I need content to share when showcasing a tool like PearDeck or EdPuzzle. Why not find a video or require a response while watching in EdPuzzle, or read a short article and respond on PearDeck? Boom – digital tool shared and Glasser’s Choice Theory continually popping up this year. Shhh… don’t tell them my diabolical plan! (Insert evil laugh here.)

I can’t begin to tell you how incredible this book is. It’s not just an educational book, it’s an everybody book. If you’re an adult, with life experience, you will relate to this book. (Pssst… that means you.) So go get yourself a copy. In fact, I’d go ahead and get one for a friend, partner, spouse, coworker, whomever so you’ve got a reading buddy. You’ll need to talk this one out.

I didn’t have a reading buddy. Instead, I tweeted. Like crazy. I read this one in one sitting and tweeted the entire time I read. Here’s a few of the highlights. (Oh, and spoiler… acronym alert! Naturally – it was published by Dave and Shelley Burgess, right?)

I also love this tweet from my #EduHero, Cristina Dajero! By the way, you should go follow her, right now.

Allyson is totally getting big hugs when I finally get to meet her!

So here’s your checklist of sorts for the night, friends.

  1. Go buy The Path to Serendipity.
  2. Go follow Allyson Apsey on Twitter.
  3. Put a column in TweetDeck for #Path2Serendipity
  4. Visit Allyson’s website here and sign up for her newsletter. More great stuff coming from her soon! You can also see her podcasts and interviews here.
  5. Subscribe to her YouTube channel and definitely check out her Book Talk on each stop! (These air live around 7:00 pm on Sunday evenings – watch her tweets for updates and notifications when she goes live)
  6. Finally, you must go read my friend Andrea Paulakovich‘s (creator of global collaborative space on flipgrid for every DBC, Inc book) #DBC50Summer post on The Path to Serendipity. It is beautiful!
  7. Did you do number 1 yet? Go… now.

Once you’ve read, cried (if you’ve not, you may have more in common with the Grinch than you first thought…just saying), and reflected, join us over in the flipgrid space (Andrea lets me co-pilot, oh em gee! She’s super-awesome!) and share your thoughts there.

Allyson, I cannot end this post without saying thank you. Thank you for exposing your heart, sharing your very personal story, and pulling me into every word you wrote. I appreciate you and am so thankful for your friendship! You rock, sweet lady! I’d work for you any day of the week!

Y’all… we’re getting so close. It’s like I can hear a mash-up of the Theme from Rocky and It’s the Final Countdown (which also aired in a Rocky movie) playing in the background. Book 47 is coming up and I’m so pumped to finally read it! This one was released just one day after the seeds of #DBC50Summer were planted, so I’ve waited to read it until now. I am so, so, so very excited to finally dig into Jay Billy‘s Lead with Culture – the first of the Lead Like A Pirate Guide Books! I’m guessing that with the level of incredible from Shelley Burgess and Beth Houf in their book, the guides have got to be amazing!