Team is Larger Than Me

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to work with and coach and an amazing group of young ladies. I am not sure who designed the tee shirt our team that year, but the message on it had the word TEAM in large print. Just below the word TEAM was the word me. The meaning of the two words: TEAM is larger than me.  This group of young ladies believed strongly in the TEAM. For them it wasn't about how they did, it was't about individual stats, or playing time, for them it was about how they did has a TEAM.

Three years ago I arrived at Cardston Junior High School and became part of a TEAM. Under the direction of our central office we began the work of Professional Learning Communities (PLC's). All of our staff as had the opportunity to see Rick Defour and his team present on Professional Learning Communities. We have worked to improve our understanding of PLC's. We are not perfect in our execution of  PLC's - however our teachers are working in a collaborative environment to improve practice, impact teaching and learning.

As we have spent time working and sharing as a staff we have witnessed our own growth and have discovered that we as a collaborative group can have a powerful impact on learning.  We invite you to be part of our journey as we explore, understand, and develop as a staff.

Like the young ladies I had the opportunity to coach, who understood TEAM, as a school leader I hope to lead a staff and school who know TEAM is larger than me.

The Courage to Fail

Recently I have been encouraged to start a blog as a tool to educate the community about our school  and the progress we are making to improve, change and become better at the job we are doing. As a first post, I thought it appropriate to start with a video I recently viewed titled, Courage to Fail.

In writing this blog and sharing information about myself and our school's growth, I am concerned that my failures will reflect poorly on our great school. I have failed a number of times in my life. I have a fear of failure. I fear exposing weakness in public. So, I need to let you know up front that any errors in this blog I claim as mine, and mine alone. The title of this blog comes partly from my failures and weaknesses.

Early in my elementary school years I was removed from the regular classroom setting because I was not learning like other students. Later in my school career it was decided that I had a learning disability known as Dyslexia. So, when it comes to failing I know all about it. As the title also indicates, I have a deep passion for horses and the work of a cowboy. I know this may seem strange to share but has you follow my blog this will help you understand some of my thinking and who I am. Please enjoy the learning process as I share my thinking and own learning. I hope that you grow and we all lose the fear of failure . Enjoy the following video.