The Phone is for You!

I was on the phone at work. It was one of those not so pleasant, but important phone calls following up on a challenging situation that I had been dealing with on an ongoing basis. Feeling frustrated I was about to go back to my office to complete some additional evaluations and reports that I had been working on when my secretary indicated I had a call on the other line. “It’s Adam Welcome… He says he’s calling from California.”

I have been following the #kidsdeserveit hashtag on twitter and had enjoyed reading the Kids Deserve It book a few months ago. Adam Welcome and Todd Nesloney are the authors of “Kids Deserve it.” Much of the book resonated with me. I have shared it with my staff and advocated for so many of the ideals in the book in my school and district. To know he was on the phone made my day. When I answered the phone, Adam indicated he had been seeing my posts on twitter and reading my blog! (I thought to myself People actually read that?!?) He just wanted to take a couple minutes to encourage me and celebrate the great things he was seeing. I am an adult. I know the work we do as educators is important, but to feel validated and recognized meant a lot… and with a phone call… even more. Adam could have tweeted or messaged a simple message, but the phone call resonates more loudly.

So, my discouraged attitude from earlier events of the day quickly evaporated and I was immediately recharged and motivated to choose to be joyful and positive for the rest of my day. His phone call resulted in a ripple effect. My mood obviously improved, but I recognized how good it felt to be validated that I decided I needed to do that for the people around me as well. The power of a phone call instead of an email resulted in:

• I called several spouses of staff members on my team just to share out how much I appreciated them and their work at school.
• I dropped notes of appreciation in mailboxes for a few staff members and a regular volunteer.
• I sat at a table of boys at lunch and listened to the reflection of their day thus far
• I went into a classroom where a teacher was eating lunch with a student for reaching a goal and called her mom on my cell phone and put her on speaker phone to share the good news (squeals all around)
• I sang “Part of Your World” from Little Mermaid to a set of siblings as they were waiting to be the last to be picked up at dismissal.
• I helped a fellow administrator set up his school twitter account.
• I added specific tasks on my calendar to keep me accountable and to remember to continue these actions.

and why… because Kids Deserve It!

So if you haven’t read the book, grab it! Some of the ideas that stuck with me:

• Create that spark and get off the island: I can’t imagine my life as an administrator without my PLN. I’ve connected with educators and leaders across the country that I wouldn’t have otherwise without the power of twitter! I am able to surround myself with like minded individuals that have a passion for empowering themselves as lifelong learners for the sole purpose of making schools better places to teach and learn!
• Lead by Example. If you expect it from staff and students, do it yourself. That includes modeling best practices, taking risks, opening yourself up for failure, and demonstrating open and clear communication!
• Make that phone call: I know the power of a call makes a difference. To hear the joy in the voice of a parent and see the happiness in the face of a student when I call a parent builds respect and rapport! Make the calls to parents, staff members, and other administrators. Don’t underestimate the power of a written note or phone call.
• Be courageous and don’t fret the alien look: My #oneword2017 is courage. Courage to do hard things. Courage to do things that are innovative. Courage to push forward with ideas and the courage to keep going! I have told my staff that often times innovators and risk takers are looked at with curious eyes. My favorite quote about this topic is “First they laugh and you, then they ask you how?” The alien look is part of the process of growing. It never hurts to take a risk and fail forward! 

So think about how you can be the stone that adds a ripple into the pond of positivity? How can you be strategic and focused on developing strategies and relationships that will spread through your culture and community? Go Get Them! Kids Deserve It!