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I guess they are more like reminder lessons than brand new lessons, but through my students' eyes it became clear that these values are more important than ever. As educators and learners, we are always moving, connecting, sharing, and experiencing the world around us thanks to this Renaissance of innovation, thanks to this digital age. It is important to stay grounded, even when we are feeling like we are in a whirlwind of progress. Here are the clear focused reminders from my students of the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Leadership Institute , which occurred in Walt Disney World last week. We are all in this together. As the week started, the students entered the orientation room together. They chatted amongst themselves and even partnered quickly when asked to tackle their first leadership task. I was impressed that, even though they were thrown into unfamiliar circumstances and were being directed by unfamiliar educators, they shared resources and ideas and encouragemen...

Perhaps the most important thing leaders in any area of expertise can do is communicate. They must clearly express certain messages to the people they lead and the people they hope to impact: brand of the organization personal brand of the leader mission and purpose of the organization how the organization will accomplish the mission This past week I had the privilege of working with some high school student leaders from all across the country as part of the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Student Leadership Institute  in Walt Disney World. The institute is called Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT). From the outset at the evening kickoff event, I told the students we would be communicating their week-long journey of leadership to the world on social media. Communication is not just something we should be doing in the classroom, at faculty meetings, or at conferences. If education is to move forward in a meaningful way that includes the perspectives of educators, ...

As part of the student-driven pilot program we've been building this year, Rockets Help Desk , I've worked to connect my students with technology professionals from all over the country.  Up until now this was done primarily  via video chats . Little did I know, we had a technology leader right in our back yard. Thanks to some connections I made at the Blue Ribbon National Conference in December 2014, I found out that NaviSite 's flagship facility is only two towns away from our school.  Thanks to people from both Blue Ribbon and NaviSite, 17 of my tech-enthusiast students were able to get an insider's look at cloud storage, security, and strategy from the pros.  Here's a peek at the Andover, Massachusetts facility we visited.  Click to watch. Inside NaviSite's Andover, MA Data Center from NaviSite on Vimeo . First, the students were brought to a professional board room with professional presentation technology. They felt special and respected by lea...

I had the amazing opportunity to attend and present at the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence National Institute in Walt Disney World last week.  The thing is, I'm still a teacher and my students were still going to be in my classroom.  They also still need to be having valuable collaborative experiences, even in the absence of their teacher. I wasn't willing to cook up filler activities.  So I asked myself, "How can I teach without being present?" Step 1:  I set up the necessary resources online so that all students could access them.  Students were going to study the rise of democracy in early 19th century America and the controversial presidency of Andrew Jackson .  I also made sure to post QR codes that bring kids to those resources throughout the classroom. Step 2:  Of course, while I'm being inspired by other educators and experience the Disney Magic, I don't want my students to have a miserable week.  It made sense to let the...

During our final day of the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Student Leadership Institute , BOLT students learned about the importance of communication, planning, and working with others. A leader does not have to be the smartest person in the room, just the person that can recognize others' talents and figure out how those talents will help everyone reach their goals. On Thursday afternoon one of our last activities, facilitated by  Christian Huizenga , was aimed at teaching the kids to communicate and plan before attacking a problem.  Their hands were tied together with yarn and then intertwined with someone else. They had to find a way out. We kicked off Friday morning with MouseQuest in Epcot.  Continuing the theme of thinking and acting together, students worked in groups of 6-7 to solve clues, find answers, complete tasks, and answer challenges all morning. They had to take on roles within their groups based on their strengths. We celebrated with a group...

Our BOLT student leaders embarked on a new adventure with the YES program in the Magic Kingdom this morning.  They visited the Hall of Presidents and learned about how leaders have helped shaped the American Spirit.  Four core sources of the American Spirit were the focus: optimism determination rugged individualism courage After a day full of investigations, brainstorming, and creating, I put together this video about their latest ideas of leadership.

Our first full day of the Blue Ribbon BOLT program was all about perspective .  We asked students to consider how people of differing perspectives might look as community/global issues. Example 1: Scientists We started the day with the Disney YES Properties of Motion program in the Magic Kingdom.  Kids learned about how gravity, inertia, centripetal force, hydraulics, and pneumonics all play a role in what make rides and roller coasters fun. Disney YES guide Rick has the kids help him demonstrate pneumonic valves. We got to ride Space Mountain twice before the park even opened to the public to learn about potential and kinetic energy.  Then we check out Buzz Lightyear to learn about how hydraulic valves create a different effect in moving attractions than pneumonic valves. The kids pose with Zerg after the Buzz Lightyear ride. Finally, they rode Thunder Mountain to feel centripetal force around those tight curves and while being thrown up and down. Th...

I have the privilege of working with 24 young leaders this week in Walt Disney World as part of the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Student Leadership Institute .  These leaders are from Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina, and many other states all over the country.  I have no doubt that, with their combined talents, they will create something powerful to bring home to their communities. As part of our short kick-off session this evening each young leader defined what the word leadership means to him/her. The result is this powerful podcast . Click that link, download from Google, listen, and have hope for our future when these young leaders are taking action and making positive change. I encourage you to leave comments below for them and check back here each evening this week for more of their phenomenal work!

I had the opportunity to have education professionals from all over the country visit my classroom through the Blueprint for Educational Excellence National Institute yesterday morning.  The conference is sponsored in part and run in part by the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence organization. Conference attendees who arrived from around the country were touring our school, Reading Memorial High School , to check out our teaching practice and technology integration.  I had visitors in an out of my classroom all morning.  The students, teenagers who LOVE to show off, were their animated, out spoken, fun loving selves in front of our guests.  (I'm sure the fact that those morning classes were the last in-school hours they would spend before a nice week long April Vacation was a factor in their restlessness.)  Teachers, administrators, and education leaders from as far away as Houston, Texas were walking in and out of my classroom at about 10...