Hey team!
Happy Monday! Can't wait to hear your thoughts about the mottos that we have to choose from so far and your feedback about the 100% strategy and why it's a useful strategy to use.
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This blog was created as a communication tool for the Bradwell School of Excellence teachers and staff as we begin this journey to reclaim Bradwell! Join us as we share the joys, triumphs and challenges of building excellence together in an inner city school in Chicago. At Bradwell we NEVER blame the lettuce!
Never Blame the Lettuce!
We never blame the lettuce. If a lettuce fails to grow we look for the reasons it is not growing. We check to see if it needs more water, more sun, or more fertilizer. But we NEVER blame the lettuce!
Principal Kimberly Henderson
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- Kimberly Henderson
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- My name is Kimberly Henderson and I am the principal for Bradwell School of Excellence, a turnaround school for 2010-2011 in Chicago. I am excited to begin this journey of giving our students the world class education they deserve with a staff that has been handpicked to lead this challenge! Anyone can lead a school, I seek to transform the lives of our students who in turn will transform the lives of our staff forever!
100% is a must for everyone. You can't teach them if they are distracted and wild. I love that there are different ways to get 100% attention. It could be a hand up, a bell, etc. I prefer "It's time" and then dead silence along "I'll wait." My silence is heavy and weighs on them. It works.
ReplyDeleteScholars College Bound for Success is good. Let me put my brain to work and I'll see what I can offer the team as well.
Great input Tony! I totally agree and I too love the first one. But I also love the 2nd one as well. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Tony, 100% is an absolute must. It sets a standard and tone of who is in charge and what is expected in and out of the classroom, and it doesn't give any room for noncompliant behavior.
ReplyDeleteI really like this week's motto, "Academic Excellence, No Exceptions, No Excuses" because it sounds Strong, Powerful and Affirmative. If someone was to say that to me I would feel motivated and feel that I have no other choice but to academically succeed.
I agree with Efuru. I like "Academic Excellence, No Exceptions, No Excuses" because it holds students accountable while also expressing that we, the staff, are there supporting and helping them to reach their full potential.
ReplyDeleteWhile I like Scholars College Bound, I do believe that College is not for all students and that may need an alternative route to success like a trade school or cosmetology school, etc. Excellence can come in many shapes and forms and students need to be pushed and cultivated to learn what their passions and gifts are and how they can express that fully.
After reading the 100% strategy, there were a few that stood out most to me, but one of those were:
ReplyDelete"Ultimately the most sustainable form of compliance is one that is clear to both the students and to the teacher herself. It is an exercise in doing what helps students achieve, not an empty exercise in power."
This quote was so true to me because when certain students see a rule or exercise as merely one of power there is more resistance from the more challenging and non-compliant students. But when they know it is done for their own good, they can reason with it better.
I thought this was a very good article and an excellent reminder of how lack of control and even how behavior issues in the class tends to emerge.
Thank you very much for sharing.
"Academic Excellence. No exceptions, no excuses!” seems to capture the essence of what we all will strive for with our students and our team beginning now. I am so excited to be a part of such an inspired and inspiring group of professionals. While we will all bring our own unique gifts to the Bradwell Team, sending a solid and consistent message that excuses are not an option is a MUST from the very beginning.
ReplyDeleteHey all! I am so inspired and geeked (yes the principal is geeked!)by what I am reading on this blog! I too agree with Efuru and Melaan about the power of the 100% strategy. I know you all are loving the last motto- Tony you out there on your own so far- but wait till you get a load of next week's motto. Don't choose too soon!
ReplyDeleteI like the whole idea of 100%. The thing that stood out to me the most was that most teachers do proceed when "most" of the students have complied. I have implemented the 100% this week just to see the difference, and I can honestly say that even this late in the year there is a difference. I must admit that I am sometimes guilty of proceeding without 100% compliance. It is a much bigger issue than compliance; it also boils down to respecting the learning environment and the process of learning.
ReplyDeleteI think this week's motto is direct and sets a high expectation.
I think both motto's speak powerfully to our school mission. However, I am holding out for more options to say that I have a favorite. I think that "academic excellence" is too narrow for the hope I think we are aiming to build in our communities, and I think that "college bound" doesn't include all the other options for success and fulfillment that are available to our students. Let's keep digging!
ReplyDeleteIn my experience in the classroom, 100% has come to represent the collective effort. Students need to practice not just compliance, but focus and all the skills of self-regulation and attention. 100%, to me, is a tool box for teachers to direct students' habits of mind toward the learning goal. These are life-long skills. They can be used to positively redirect students whose minds have strayed away from the fold, and bring them back to join the class in its purposeful learning and routines.
I adore the motto "Academic Excellence, No Exceptions, No Excuses." I think it truly speaks to our current mission at Bradwell, and I agree that it is an empowering statement. Students thrive on stated expectations, and I think this serves to set our expectations up front.
ReplyDeleteI truly appreciated the way the 100% expectations was described. Far too often, people mistake moderate compliance for engagement (ex. the incorrect belief that none of the students are talking, so they all must be listening). I feel that the article did a great job of stressing active involvement in complying with requests in opposition to doing just enough to fly under the radar. This helps all students to feel that the they are active and invested members of their learning community.
Charlie, I was thinking the same thing in regard to the motto!
ReplyDeleteHey all! How great to see the conversation still swirling about the 100% strategy. Big ups to Naamonde for being so daring as to put it to use in her class even! Excellent points about the mottos, new one coming on Monday!
ReplyDeleteSo far I like this past week's motto, "Academic Excellence, No Exceptions, No Excuses.". But I have to agree with Charlie and Linsey, I'm holding out for next week's!
ReplyDeleteAs for 100%... It is an amazing standard that should be used in all classrooms! As a music teacher, I especially love this strategy because many people/students believe that music class is the "easy A" class. 100% helps me let students know that what I'm teaching is very important... and once I have them... they never want to stop learning! I use this in my classroom at NTA right now... and having the standard that I need 100% of the class focused and on task has made my teaching so much more fun! I now have a strategy and phrases to use when students are checking out... bofore all I had was, "hey you, look up and listen" and now I have so much more because of my training in 100%!
Man, 100% is a crucial part of my toolbox. ESPECIALLY at the beginning of the year, (and of course throughout). One thing I like is that it's delivery allows for some flexibility. I'm talking about the tone I use when I'm asking for everyone's attention. I don't want students to feel like its a punishment. I've been trying to position it as just a simple standard of behavior and attention I (try to) calmly expect from all my students. It's also been helping me a lot to reinforce the behavior when I see it through direct acknowledgment, (a nod, a thumbs-up). I continue to try to actively notice when kids are doing just what they're supposed to be doing.
ReplyDeleteI love the way Charles described 100% as a collective effort. I think it's really important to recognize that 100% is not just a tool by which to manage your classroom as a teacher, but also an important lesson for students as learners. By insisting on 100% we are, as Charles said, fostering positive habits of mind for our students that will come in handy as lifelong learners. Insisting on 100% sets a standard of respect and high expectations for academics for each and every student in the classroom, no exceptions.
ReplyDeleteVery well said Norah!Love how you incorporated part of the motto in your statement. :-)
ReplyDelete