I was very honoured to present for the first time at this year’s TESOL Greece Convention. Here is my presentation, as well as the notes the participants received at the end. Many thanks to those who were there and everyone for their support!
Tag Archives: students
Observe and Be Observed – PD in Focus 4
(Image taken from http://www.storyline-scotland.com)
What comes to your mind when you hear the word observation? Does it make you nervous, think really carefully about your lesson plan, or even worse, think this might be the end of your teaching career? We have all thought those thoughts and even experienced teachers say it makes them feel nervous. I used to get very stressed over them, but after starting to think of them as a constructive experience that can benefit both sides, the observer and the observed, it has become much better.
It can also be your choice.
If you want to be observed and my advice is to do it with your own initiative from time to time, choose a colleague that you can trust. Trust as in someone who can be honest with you and sit with you afterwards to go into what went well and what didn’t. When I do this, it is great because I can see where I need to work on and what I can keep doing well. Additionally, the person observing can get ideas for their own lessons, or see something you do and adopt it. For instance, a colleague of mine who came into a class to observe me said that he liked the constant feedback I give my students during the lesson. He found it helpful for the students because at that moment they were motivated and if they made a mistake they said for example, Ah ok, if I want to say that…I have to use that tense then?
If you are going to be observed but cannot choose the person who will be the observer, then keep seeing it as a constructive experience. The person who is there (your Director of Studies, someone from the Ministry of Education) might come up with negative comments, which can be hard for the person observed to get over. If you feel that the negative feedback is something you could really fix in your teaching, then use it to your own and your students’ benefit. If the feedback is negative because the person is a negative personality as well (and it happens quite often), then see it as a learning experience again – things that you will never do when you observe someone!
That last point is also one to keep in mind – ask your colleagues whether you can observe them. It is something I enjoy doing as I can see different teaching styles and get ideas for my own teaching. I love the feedback sessions afterwards too.
Observations need not be stressful or make educators feel bad about their teaching. We are all in this together and why not help each other? It can have great results both for us and for our students as well.
Note: Remember to ask your school for permission to observe or get someone to observe you, as in many schools unfortunately it is not practised. The same goes if you choose to go into another school, even if you know the teacher already – speak to the principal or Director of Studies before you go in and explain your plans.
Observation should be a learning experience, either way – a bridge between observer and observed.
My Learning in 2012 – A Post for @iTDipro #iTDi
(image from http://www.flero.net)
The great educators at iTDi, The International Teachers’ Development Institute, have been writing post on the website about what they have learnt in 2012.
This year has been a great year in learning for me, not only for my profession but for myself in general.
- Once again, I have attended amazing conferences and workshops, where I have learnt a great deal and networked with amazing educators.
- A very important thing I learned – pretty late, but better late than never! Facebook rocks for teachers! I absolutely love it. I had only been on Twitter for three years and my great friend James Taylor and Ania Musielak managed to get me to take the plunge – I really wonder why I hadn’t done it earlier. It is much more visual for me and I can learn a lot from various groups I have joined. It is truly a buzzing community of educators. Plus when I joined, I really felt like I opened a door to a house full of friends!
- I am really trying to improve my German – both for myself and out of respect to this wonderful country. I am trying to learn it the way I can best, the way I learn other things as well – by looking and listening. Not through traditional methods and I completely refuse to follow them. For me they just don’t work, as I feel I am running into a wall. For that reason, I observe and try to speak with people and friends around me as much as possible. I also listen to lots of podcasts and that has improved it quite a lot.
- I have started learning Turkish for the past three weeks, ever since I returned from lovely Istanbul. I have been learning on an online programme and will start lessons very soon! I love how it sounds. I would love to be able to communicate next time I go there again!
- I have learned to make time for myself, for things I like – be it a simple thing that makes me feel good. It can be reading a book, having a nice cup of coffee or eating cake. If I feel okay, I am healthy and then I am feeling fine for my students as well!
- Most importantly, after fifteen years of teaching, I have learned (and I am actually applying it much better than I thought) not to self-flagellate when something goes wrong, either in my teaching or in life in general. I see every mistake, every mishap as just one more thing ahead and that I will try no matter what to correct it or not repeat it.
I hope 2013 is full of health, happiness and even more learning for all of us! I wish everybody a Happy New Year!
My Favourite Posts for 2012 – A Response to @yearinthelifeof’s Challenge
Best of 2012 (Photo from http://blog.photoshelter.com)
Adam Simpson, aka @yearinthelifeof on Twitter, teaches English at Sabancı University, on the outskirts of beautiful Istanbul. He has a great blog called Teach Them English. He has recently invited all blogging educators to pick out twelve of their favourite posts for 2012 and share them.
I will choose three I like – for my three years of blogging : )
1. Using Advertising in the Business English Classroom I wrote this after a great class we had with one of my groups. My students made it into one of the best ever! They really took ownership of their learning and showed the whole class commercials they liked and made the best mini-presentations ever! Next year I will incorporate it with other groups as well, not only Business English ones.
2. Back to … the Future I have mentioned many times how much we loved The Loras English Academy, the school we had in Greece and how connected we were and still are with a lot of our students – we see them when we go back to Greece, we talk on Skype, via messages, I have connected to most of them via Facebook and Twitter…I wrote this post after I went to Greece in July and saw lots of our kids. How much they have grown, how many dreams they have…we love each and every one of you!
3. IATEFL BESIG Summer Symposium 2012 – Word of the Week and Other Ideas for Business English (Updated) This is a write-up of a presentation I did in June. It includes ideas I use in my Business English classes. Allow me to be very proud of a card my students wrote and is super – and of a particular photo in this post, with a person I have admired tremendously since university 
Interviews with Three New Bloggers for My Three Years of Blogging – Number Three: Carol Goodey
Carol Goodey
My third guest for this special celebration is Carol Goodey, an educator from Scotland who was one of the first people I connected to on Twitter. I admire her work immensely and there were times when I wished she would start blogging – and she did! You can read her great blog at http://cgoodey.wordpress.com/
Vicky: Carol, welcome to my blog with this interview for the celebration of three new bloggers and the third birthday of my blog! I am so happy as you have been one of the first people I ever connected to online three years ago, and we have been in close connection ever since.
Carol: Thank you for asking me to be part of this celebration, Vicky. It’s a real honour to be featured on your blog. Congratulations on your blog’s third birthday!
Vicky: For those of our readers who meet you for the first time, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your work in education as well?
Carol: I live in Scotland and work with the local authority in community learning and development as an adult literacies and ESOL worker. I get to work with a range of people who want to improve their literacies, numeracy and English language for use in the different contexts of their lives. I work with people who have moved to the area from around the world and people who have lived here for much longer, including people with learning disabilities. I really enjoy the variety.
Vicky: How did you decide to become involved in education?
Carol: I first started as a volunteer literacies tutor and, working with ESOL learners, decided I wanted to find out more about language learning. I had already done studies in the English language and was happy to have an excuse to do more! While I was pursuing further studies, a paid literacies post became available. I applied and got it. I worked there for a few years before moving on to work with university students but quickly realized that I missed the community learning and development approach and was fortunate to be able to get my job back.
Vicky: You have chosen social media to connect with many teachers around the world. How did you start out? What are the benefits and challenges, if any?
Carol: I was following an English Language Teaching discussion group. Some of the contributors mentioned Twitter and so, out of curiosity, I investigated. It took me three tries to finally get the hang of it. I’m glad I did because, through it, I’ve got to know some really interesting practitioners and learned a huge amount. More recently, I’ve been using Facebook to connect with other educators but I’m still getting used to that.
Vicky: There are several educators who are not connected to others on social media. What would you like to tell them?
Carol: Give it a go! It can be overwhelming at times, particularly when you first start but if you build up the people you follow slowly, get to know them, add the people they are chatting to, and don’t try to read everything, it can be a very worthwhile and enjoyable experience.
Vicky: Can you share one of the best moments in your teaching so far?
Carol: I’m really excited about a project I’ve been working on with a Community Learning and Development colleague which aims to bring people from different parts of the community together to learn about, with and from each other. We wanted to promote social inclusion and increase awareness of different people’s abilities, backgrounds and beliefs. We started with big engagement events – a ceilidh, food night, singing workshop and beetle drive – and are hoping to continue with similar events alongside more regular and sustainable activities such as sporting groups, international coffee mornings, etc. It’s been really enjoyable and we’ve had a lot of really positive feedback. While not teaching exactly, there have been lots of valuable learning opportunities. ESOL learners have had the opportunities to use English and get to know more local people. Other community members have learned more about people from other countries and have developed their own skills in communicating with speakers of other languages, making integration and inclusion that wee bit easier.
Vicky: You have recently started a blog. How did you decide to set up your own?
Carol: It’s taken me a while to set up my own, but I’ve been enjoying and learning from others for so long I felt I should make a contribution too. I had put it off because, with so many great blogs out there, I didn’t see what I would have to add. I was also a bit nervous about the time commitment, or spam, or other unforeseen hassles. But now that I’ve started, I’ve found that I really enjoy the process of writing. I find it absorbing and relaxing. It’s good to have a space whenever I feel I have something to share.
Vicky: Can you close with a wish to all educators, with the holidays getting closer?
Carol: If you do have holidays over the next few weeks, I hope you get the chance to have some space for yourself and take time to enjoy the small pleasures in life – whatever they might be for you.
Vicky: A huge thank you, Carol! I hope to meet you in person sometime next year!
Carol: It’s been a real pleasure, Vicky. Thank you for having me and I look forward to meeting you soon!
Interviews with Three New Bloggers for My Three Years of Blogging – Number Two: Güven Çağdaş Gündoğdu
Güven Çağdaş Gündoğdu
My second special guest for this three-year celebration is another educator from Turkey, Güven Çağdaş Gündoğdu, who has an amazing blog where he does a lot of reflecting and always makes me think. Visit his blog TeachersReflect at http://teachersreflect.wordpress.com/ Congratulations to Güven, who has been nominated for an Edublog award in his first year of blogging!
Vicky: Güven, thanks so much for accepting to give me this interview for the celebration of three new bloggers and the third birthday of my blog!
Güven: It is an honour for me to be presented with this opportunity, Vicky. You have always been a source of inspiration for me; I’m so glad that I am interviewed by you for such a special occasion.
Vicky: Thank you so much, Güven! It goes both ways, I am happy to have you on the blog. Can you tell our readers a few things about yourself and what you do?
Güven: Well, it has been 11 years since I got my BA in English Language Teaching and I have been working at Anadolu University School of Foreign Languages for the past 8 years. I had a chance to work at Middle East Technical University for some time when I first finished university before I got a job at my current institution. I must say I also worked in the exports division of an international firm as a representative after leaving Middle East Technical University.
Vicky: How did you decide to become an educator?
Güven: Honestly, I had never thought I would be a teacher even though I studied ELT. However, I began to like it as I taught my first group of students in a language school before graduation. They were a class of very young learners, and they made me decide to be a teacher because I really loved it when I saw the joy and excitement of learning in their eyes.
Vicky: You teach in university. What department do you teach in? What do you enjoy the most working in academia?
Güven: I teach in the Basic English Department, which means I work with young adults at a range of levels from A to B 2.2. It is quite a challenge because students come straight to our school prior to their actual departments, and they must reach B 2.2 level even if they mostly come as complete beginners before they can study their majors.
Although it is a big challenge, I love it because I meet new students every 8 weeks. Each new group teaches me something new, and I do my best to adapt myself to teaching at changing levels. It may sound strange, but I feel it helps me develop more as a teacher for each group has different needs.
Besides, I am in charge of a unit of 10 teachers, and I am responsible for organizing their classes, materials, and maintaining their motivation at times. I sometimes feel tired, but it is amazing to exchange ideas and tips with my unit. It surely teaches me a load of things.
And the best thing about working in a university is I have access to any source that I need. Anadolu University really has it all from software to hardware available for use, which is something every language teacher dreams about. We are also supported extensively by the board of management for professional development.
Vicky: You are active on Twitter, connecting to many educators. How does this reflect in your work?
Güven in action
Güven: My Twitter experience keeps me up to date with latest information about teaching. This is an important factor for self-development for me. Whenever I learn something new, I try to put it into practice, and I can create a difference in my classes. Doing it helps my students grow more enthusiastic about learning, which in the end gets them to like English.
Secondly, I have known many new people thanks to Twitter, and this has given me a good range of personal learning network. It is due to my PLN that I can always seek advice from great professionals and find solutions to problems that I might encounter.
Most importantly, I have you as one of those great people whose work always inspires me. It was made possible by Twitter.
Vicky: Thank you so much for your kind words, Güven! I really appreciate it. We are connected, but there are many people in education who would like to move beyond the staffroom and are a bit wary of social media. What would you advise them?
Güven: I would say there is nothing to worry about. Social media is magical and it makes wonders in one’s life. Personal experience is the evidence that social media transforms teachers into facilitators and sharers.
Any teacher who wishes to be a part of this magical medium can do it easily. All they need to have is the desire to exchange ideas. It is also good to see that nobody judges nobody, and everybody feels responsible for the learning of others. It should be clear to those who are wary of the social media that once they are in, they will never want to be out because it is a whole different world with countless opportunities for professional development.
Above all, what is there to lose?
Vicky: I completely agree! Let’s go back to your teaching. Can you share one of the highlights in your teaching so far?
Güven: Last year, I volunteered to teach a group of students who were to repeat A level for the fourth time. A lot of colleagues thought I was crazy because they believed those students kept failing due to lack of interest or laziness. However, I believed that those students lacked motivation and guidance.
There were 21 students in the class, and they had lost all hope to pass to the next level. At least they said so. But I told them that we could change things around if they put aside their prejudice and retain that last bit of hope they had as they were there for another try. I also promised them that they would never walk alone, and I would always be ready for assistance outside class hours as well.
By the end of the module (after 8 weeks), those students were able to communicate in English. Even the director of the school witnessed that when she visited one of our lessons on special request from the students. The word she used to describe the class was Impressive.
18 of those 21 students sat for the end of module exam because 3 of them had decided to go to another university, and all those who took the exam passed. This is one thing I will always remember with a smile on my face, and my colleagues now think that I was not crazy when I volunteered to teach those students. They understand that impossible is nothing.
Vicky: That’s amazing! We can see your enthusiasm in your blog posts as well. You are a new blogger with new and fresh ideas. What inspired you to enter the world of blogging?
Güven: A master of teacher education and motivation, Tony Gurr, got me into the world of blogging. One day I was lucky enough to attend a presentation about reflective teaching by him, and I was fascinated. The very next day, I wrote my first reflection ever on the lesson of the day and shared it Tony. He loved it and encouraged me to write more.
As I did that, I became more aware of myself, thus revising and changing certain points about my teaching practices. That being the case, I decided to share my experiences with the world as was advised by Tony and Aysun Güneş, already well-established bloggers.
Do I regret that? Definitely not!
Vicky: In your first year of blogging, you have been nominated for an Edublog award! Congratulations! Can you describe how you felt when you found out?
Güven: When I first found out, I felt over the moon! It was both surprising and exciting. I had never imagined it could happen because I know there is some really serious stuff out there on the blogosphere. Being one of the nominees is great news for it shows that my work is recognized and appreciated, which means that I am doing a good job as a blogger, too. It is also an extra responsibility as it means that I have to improve my style more and more, and I love that responsibility!
Thank you so much for this interview, Güven and my warmest wishes to you!
Interviews with Three New Bloggers for My Three Years of Blogging – Number One: Dinçer Demir
Dinçer Demir in Bartın, his hometown
December 10th is my third blog birthday! I decided to pay a tribute to three new bloggers, to celebrate my three years of blogging! First of the three, Dinçer Demir – an educator from Turkey, that I was fortunate to meet in person last weekend at the YTU 1st ELT Conference.
Dinçer blogs at: http://www.dincerdemir.com/
Vicky: Dinçer, thanks so much for accepting to give me this interview for the celebration of three new bloggers and the third birthday of my blog!
Dinçer: You are welcome Vicky. Actually I want to thank you because it is an honor for me to have an interview on the special anniversary of your blog.
Vicky: It’s an honour to have you on the blog. Can you tell us a few things about yourself and your work?
Dinçer: I am a 27-year-old teacher, who has been teaching for more than 5 years. I am from Turkey and I live and work in İstanbul. I am teaching English to both young learners and teenagers. In addition to these, I have had experiences of teaching English for communication to adult learners.
Vicky: How did you decide to pursue a career in education?
Dinçer: At the very early stages of my education career, I was not so sure if I wanted to be an educator. During university, I started to discover myself and my skills and I thought that this was my job. Today I see that I was right. I feel like I was born to be an educator, because I enjoy teaching, I like being part of a changing process, I like learning. So I can easily say that I don’t work, I do my hobby.
Vicky: That is great! You teach primary school children. What do you enjoy the most working with these ages?
Dinçer: In my opinion, teaching young learners is more difficult than teaching adults. What makes a teacher tired is classroom management and keeping students engaged. However, my experience shows that young learners learn easier and faster. As a teacher, you can be more motivated with them when you get results quickly.
Vicky: You are active both on Twitter and Facebook, connecting to many educators. How does this reflect in your work?
Presenting in İstanbul
Dinçer: You are right. I am an active social media user. At the beginning of my social media life, I used to use it just to socialize. However, I use these tools to learn and share, especially Twitter. Thanks to Twitter, I have broadened my vision, I have realized different points of views, I have seen many best practices. To sum up, it has changed my way of teaching and learning.
Vicky: There are several educators who would like to connect with other educators, but are a bit wary of social media. What would you advise them?
Dinçer: It is impossible not to grant them right. But every field may be a bit risky if it is not used accordingly. I want to highlight that especially Twitter (not Facebook, because it may include much private content) is a great tool to refresh themselves and enter into a huge sharing world. Maybe they can be more careful about who they follow and who follows them and they had better not share private information about themselves.
Vicky: Can you share one of the best moments in your teaching so far?
Dinçer’s students in the play, in the town of Şanlıurfa
Dinçer: There are lots of them, of course. It is hard to choose. If I have to choose one, I prefer a theatre event in Şanlıurfa (in the south east of Turkey). I was doing my military service in Şanlıurfa as a teacher. I was teaching 4th grade. The city is not one of the most developed cities of Turkey. But we, me and my students, managed to perform Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (in English) in spite of inadequate opportunities. Their effort was unforgettable for me.
Vicky: You are a new blogger with new and fresh ideas. What inspired you to enter the world of blogging?
Dinçer: My first serious attempt at e-learning was an online TESOL Certificate Course. After I had completed the course, I liked e-learning. Afterwards, I have started to search about this and I have found lots of great inspiring blogs. So I have been a blog reader and follower for a long while. Finally I thought that I was ready to make a start on blogging and I did.
As long as you keep blogging, that means you keep learning. The idea of learning forever inspired me for this.
Vicky: Thank you so much for sharing your insights, Dinçer and I wish you all the best!
Dinçer: Happy for this, thanks a lot, dear Vicky.
Using Advertising in the Business English Classroom
The Ideal Classroom – My Post for Tyson Seburn’s (@seburnt) Blog Challenge
A snap of the chalkboard I used last week
A couple of days ago, Tyson Seburn wrote about his experiences in his teaching environment in his post What classroom is perfect?
I decided to take up his blog challenge – here it is!
When we had our school in Greece, we had 11 classrooms – not to blow our own horn, but in each classroom the teachers had all the equipment they needed. The school also had a computer lab and a room with an interactive whiteboard. Therefore, the equipment could be moved easily if needed, or the teachers and their students could easily be moved to the room they wanted to use, easily. We did this out of respect to our teachers and students, to make everyone feel comfortable and content to teach and learn.
When I moved here in Switzerland, I started teaching at various places until I could get enough work – in schools, companies, banks – you name it. Some places, had the works as far as equipment was concerned, some were okay in some I had to teach in my coat and gloves (yes, you read correctly). Thankfully, only a couple of places match the last description.
An example of an excellent teaching environment is the public college I started teaching at here last year, the Kaufmännisches Bildungszentrum Zug – the admin people, secretaries and teachers are amazing to work with and the classrooms…wow, the classrooms!
- Whiteboards (three or four of them that you can shift on the walls)
- Chalkboards
- Poster paper (huge rolls of them!)
- Sinks
- Computers
….wait till you hear this…
- 3D projectors!!! I LOVE THEM!
A great place to teach – a place that respects its educators and students. Shouldn’t all schools be like this? Some aren’t, understandably due to their restricted budgets, some because the people who own them do not care.
Let’s hope we see lots of great working environments in this blog challenge set by Tyson!
Inspirational as a Principal, Educator, Parent – Interviewing Tony Sinanis (@Cantiague_Lead)
Tony Sinanis, Principal of Cantiague Elementary (Photo: by Tony Sinanis)
It is my absolute pleasure and honour to introduce you to Tony Sinanis, a great educator I have connected to recently on Twitter and admire for his passion and excellent work with his staff and students. Tony is Principal at Cantiague Elementary School, in Jericho, New York which has been nominated for a Blue Ribbon, about which he will be talking about in this interview.
He blogs about his school experiences at:
http://leadingmotivatedlearners.blogspot.com/
Tony is married to Kelly – they are both first generation Americans of Greek origin and have a seven-year-old son, Paul.
- I asked Tony about his favourite book on education. The book that Tony finds inspirational is What Great Principals Do Differently by Todd Whitaker .
- Here are some videos that inspire him:
- The motto that inspires Tony:
If it is in the best interest of children, then it is the right thing to do!
Vicky: Tony, you have been in education for fifteen years. Can you give us some background as to how you chose to pursue a career in education?
Tony: Initially I went to college to become a pediatrician but after a few science courses I realized that it was not for me – dealing with sick kids seemed depressing to me so I switched majors and became a theater major (talk about switching gears). As a member of the theater program I had to complete a certain number of community service hours so I decided to do volunteer tutoring at the local elementary school in their after school program. Within a few weeks all I could focus on was these kids and the whole theater thing became unimportant. I looked forward to my tutoring sessions each week and making a difference in the lives of the children was so important to me. So after discussing it with my family and friends, I realized I could put this passion to good work by switching my major yet again and devoting myself to the field of education. My focus was Early Childhood and Elementary Education, where I was one of only a few men in the program.
Vicky: Very interesting! I did not know the turn your studies took. One thing is for sure: education is happy to have you! Moving on to you role, this is your fifth year being an administrator. What do you like the best about your work?
Tony: The highlight of my work as an administrator are my many opportunities to interact with my kids, staff and the community at large. I often say that I am not the best administrator because I am not always timely with “administrative” tasks but I am 1000% devoted to the instructional end of my work because if we can implement the best and most current instructional approaches in our school than we are doing what is best for kids and that is my main goal each and every day. Additionally, I think the social/emotional well being of our kids and staff are of the highest priority – if people feel good about themselves and feel supported they can accomplish ANYTHING! So my goal is to serve and support the Cantiague Elementary School community.
Vicky: Each job comes with its own challenges. What are the challenges for a school administrator?
Tony: Yes, there are many challenges I face as a school administrator. There are budget issues, federal and state mandates and standardized testing requirements just to name a few. With that being said, I think my greatest challenge is time… finding the time to accomplish everything I want to accomplish for our kids, staff and school in general. There are so many things I want to do.. and so many things I need to do that finding the time to get through it all is such a challenge! And then consider my family and the doctoral program I recently began, I might have to find a way to invent the 48-hour day!
Vicky: I would love for that type of day to be invented as well! I am sure educators who are also parents need a lot of time to balance family and schedule. You are a dad to Paul who is seven – how does being a parent tie in with being an educator?
Tony: I can honestly say that being Paul’s dad has redefined me as an educator. My son is my heart and soul outside of my body – everything I do in life is for and about him. So, when I see my students in school, I know that someone at home feels just as strongly about them as I do about Paul and that is so important to remember as an educator. Every decision I make is one that I consider as the building administrator but also as a dad. The bottom line is this… if it is not good enough for Paul, then it is not good enough for our kids at Cantiague. I want Cantiague to be the most amazing elementary school in the world because that is what I want for my own son! Layer on top of that the fact that my son has various medical issues and requires additional support in school and I am extremely sensitive to the needs of our special education students. I strive to make sure that every child in our school has whatever they need to provide them with a level playing field because I know that has made a difference for my son.
Vicky: Your school has received a great honour, Tony – it has been nominated for a Blue Ribbon. Can you tell us more about that?
Tony: Our Blue Ribbon nomination is such an exciting opportunity! The state of New York nominated 19 schools to the United States Department of Education for the national Blue Ribbon award. The nomination is based on the fact that our school has performed extremely well on standardized assessments over the last few years. Although I don’t put much stock in these test scores, I know that our kids do well because our teachers are amazing – their instructional approaches and techniques go far beyond preparing our kids for a test and the results support this idea! In regards to the Blue Ribbon, we find out in the next month or so if we won it, which would be so exciting because the entire community – staff, kids and parents – were apart of the application process we completed after being nominated.
Vicky: You told me during a short discussion that your school has integrated the Bucket Filler philosophy – I would love to know more about that and I am sure our readers would too.
Tony: The Bucket Filling philosophy we have adopted at Cantiague is anchored in the text Have You Filled a Bucket Today by Carole McCloud. The idea behind the whole philosophy of Bucket Filling is that people carry around imaginary buckets with them all day, every day. And when we are good to other people not only do we fill their buckets but we fill our own, which feels great. On the other hand, when we are not nice to others, we are being bucket dippers because we are taking out of someone else’s bucket, which is not nice! Our Bucket Filling philosophy is rooted in the idea of the Big Five… we must always remember to Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Safe, Be Positive and Be Kind because if we follow the Big Five, we ensure that we are filling our own buckets and those of the people around us. Each week at Cantiague we celebrate Bucket Fillers of the Week who are nominated by teachers or other kids – and Bucket Fillers of the Week are kids who do something that fills the bucket of another person. I can honestly say that the Bucket Filling philosophy has changed our way of life at Cantiague. Bullying issues have decreased, incidents of harassment are down and our kids are using a common language, which is very child-friendly, about what it means to be a positive and successful kid in our school. I highly recommend reading this book and thinking about the importance of adopting this way of life at any school!
Vicky: I love the idea and the values that it creates for children! I believe it is a great idea for other administartors to incorporate in their school culture. Moving on to your newer colleagues, what would you advise an administrator starting now?
Tony: For any educator considering entering the world of administration at this point, they need to be in this for the kids. Being an administrator is not about being the boss or a figure head. It is about advocating for the needs of the entire community – kids, staff and the community at large. You need to understand that you are there to serve others and be their voice when needs are not being met. You have to be passionate about learning and teaching – a building administrator must be the lead learner of a school – not just a paper pusher. We have to model and espouse what we expect from those around us.
Vicky: You have a very busy, but pleasant and creative day. What does your day look like when you are not busy in school?
Tony: I am usually in the building by 7am each day where I spend about an hour checking email, checking out what’s going on in the Twitterverse, assigning subs and chatting with staff who are in early. By 8am I am connecting with the Main Office staff to review what needs to get done that day. Then at 8:15 our kids arrive and the day just moves in fast forward from there. I try and spend the morning in the classrooms and then I am in the lunchroom on most days and outside at recess playing games with my kids as much as possible. Spending time out of my office is always my goal during the school day. After recess I usually have some minor issues to address and then before I know it, it is almost 2pm and we begin getting ready for the dismissal process. After all our kids are safely on their buses, at about 3pm, I spend some time checking phone messages and getting back to parents. I also usually meet with teachers and staff after school because that is when it is quiet. Then after everyone is gone, at about 4:30pm, I go into my office and get all my administrative stuff done – emails, memos, etc. I usually leave school around 6pm on any given night.
This was such an interesting interview! It gave us a great insight into you as a personality and an educator. Tony, thank you so much for this interview! I hope to meet you in person some day.
