Sunday, February 11, 2018

School Culture - Choose Positive

2018.2.11

School Culture - Choose Positive

“Outtakes”. A snippet of thoughts to kick off this blog post:
The life we live is typically impacted by the lens we choose to view it through.

Perspective: a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.


What I am looking forward to putting into practice, or continuing:
Highlighting positive events, activities, or actions around NCHS.


Quote(s) that resonated with me this week:
We can write our own story, or let someone else write it for us.


Each week, I consider a topic that would best represent how the week went or highlight something exceptional that took place. This was no exception this week, except this week was chock-full of activities and events. Instead of a particular occurrence, I wanted to put a spotlight on perspective and positive school culture. In addition to the regular agenda of meetings, visiting classes, and daily business, there were extracurricular activities, concerts, an evening budget meeting, a parent informational session, and more... Our schools in NCPS have SO MUCH “good” going on, every day. People do an amazing job of sharing through newsletters, twitter, blog posts, tv shows, and more, but we all have a choice as to how we perceive these messages.

A friend of mine, who does not work in education, sent me the below message. We share similar views as to what makes a successful, positive environment and often send/share messages that include such content. I found the one below to be particularly accurate when considering how we see the world around us. Are we seeing what is most important to us, or are we seeing things from many different perspectives?

What do you see?
By, Seth Godin

A better question might be, "what do you choose to see?"
If I take four professionals to the Whitney:
The architect sees the building, the sight lines, the way the people and the light flow.
The framer notices the craftsmanship and taste in the way the paintings are framed and hung.
The lighting designer can't help but comment on the new LEDs.
And the art dealer sees the names of each artist and marvels over career arcs.
When you read a blog post, or see a successful project or read about an innovation, what do you see?
Do you see the emotions and the fear and the grit of the people behind it?
Do you see the strategy and high-level analysis that went into it?
Or do you see the execution and technique?
Some people are willingly blind to metaphor, viewing each example as a special case. Others manage to connect the dots and find what they need just about anywhere.
You might not need more exposure to the new. Instead, it might pay to re-see what's already around you.

To be realistic, it is not always roses and there are trying times to work through as well. This is when it is important to remember the big picture and each component that makes up our great NCPS system. The below parable can be dated back thousands of years. I first heard it at a conference several years ago, and it has always stuck with me. If we only consider what we see in our own particular silos, we miss the sum of all of its parts. The fact that each person is “correct” in their observation, but “incorrect” from an overall viewpoint shows the importance of perspective. We should all do our best to listen and try to truly understand where someone is coming from before making a judgment call, or even trying to help.

The blind men and the elephant:






From: wikipediaThe parable of the blind men and an elephant originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent, from where it has been widely diffused. It is a story of a group of blind men, who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their partial experience and their descriptions are in complete disagreement on what an elephant is. In some versions, they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest and they come to blows. The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to project their partial experiences as the whole truth, ignore other people's partial experiences, and one should consider that one may be partially right and may have partial information.

Looking ahead, this will be a topic that I will revisit. I am looking forward to attending RULER Training at Yale next month! It will focus on emotional intelligence, and ultimately overall positive school culture. Stay tuned for more positivity...

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Have a great week!


Tags: #ChoosePositive, @mrmcateer, @Hernbergler, @cveets117, NCHS Band, NCHS Orchestra, NCHS Chorus, NCHS Athletics, @ThisIsSethsBlog, @NCHS_CT, #perspective


Please feel free to contact or follow me:
Twitter: @DavidGusitsch
Blog: https://davidgusitsch.blogspot.com/
Email: david.gusitsch@ncps-k12.org


Here are a few pics, and a video, to support positive perspective and all the “good” that goes on around us, all the time:

Definitely one of my favorite displays at NCHS. Celebrating positivity!:






One Second Everyday (1SE) from NCHS, August - February:
Check out the youtube clip, here.



Students in action comparing evaporation rates in a lab with Mr. Hague:




Students get creative in Mr. Honohan’s Woodworking class:




Mr. McAteer’s flexible learning environment:





Ms. Martinich’s class discussing perspective by making observations from a “busy” scene:





The NCHS chorus and orchestra join forces for an amazing rendition of Carmina Burana:





The NCHS band kicks off the “All Ensemble” concert:





There is something for everyone at NCHS! Here is a nice, large group of parents attending a parent workshop on standardized testing:





It may have been a rainy/snowy morning, but Mrs. Vita caught/shared a great sunrise:





Lots of NCHS sporting events took place this week. Here are a few:








Ms. Hernberg shared some creative learning in her classes this week:



Instead of “first”, I prefer “Frequent Attempts In Learning”:



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