Read it again. Can we talk about this statement for a second? This is a capture from Intentional Innovation by A.J. Juliani and THIS is why I do what I do. All the data and all the technology and all the innovation in the world doesn't mean squat if we don't have the relationships in place. This is my 16th year in education. Kind of hard to believe knowing that I almost lost my full scholarship after just one semester of college. (That's another story for another time...) I've never wanted to be anything else. Then why do I find myself doubting my work so much this year? Last night in my own home I spent hours talking to my husband about how I feel lost and frustrated with what I'm doing. I questioned if I was making a difference, how I could make a bigger difference, talked about how I was wrestling with what I'm doing and why. He offered no real advice but did at least listen. But, where is the advice? Where is the someone telling me what to do with
Well, I had some processing to do after that last post. Wow. As much as I run my mouth pretty much constantly and work really hard to tell people exactly how I feel, that was a hard one. It doesn't feel good to feel vulnerable. Especially about my personal thoughts and feelings, which I pretty much hide all the time. I used the second part of my week last week differently than the first part and I think it was good. But it's going to take some time for me to get the hang of it. I didn't make it to every grade level like I wanted to because other things got in the way. Could I have just not done the other things to be able to actually coach and do my job? That's another post for another day... Today - Feedback vs. Advice. That's what it all boils down to this time. Recently I read an article ( Seven Keys to Effective Feedback by Grant Wiggins ) about providing feedback. It was mostly about providing feedback to students, but there were also quite a few state