Kelly Brennan

Mom, Educator, Gator, just trying to keep it all together and flying by the seat of my pants. Living the dream. It's all good.

[National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) @NCSSNetwork]

🍎If you are a social studies educator, administrator, or professional in the D.C. area, you won't want to miss the hands-on learning at this year's IDM Institute! Starting this Monday, July 22.

➡️ Save your seat: https://t.co/rNN8hClJee #washingtondc #edchat #teachertwitter

[National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) @NCSSNetwork]

💡This new free ebook can help teachers utilize primary sources and provide opportunities for authentic inquiry in the classroom!

➡️ View or Download: https://t.co/9YseglNHXn #educators #teacherresources #edchat #inquirybasedlearning #edutwitter #socialstudies

[National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) @NCSSNetwork]

ICYMI, the IDM Summer Institute is back for another go around! Learn about inquiry-based teaching and the Inquiry Design Model with NCSS and @C3Teachers this July in Washington DC.

➡️ Register Now: https://t.co/eZhKPOXw3i #inquirybasedlearning #edchat #summer2024 #edutwitter

[Cherry-Anne Gildharry @chemelnalis]

Here is my "Final for Now" infographic on Releasing Innovative Learning to Learners. “Learning is about the learners!"
#innovativelearning #learners #phenomenonbasedlearning #inquirybasedlearning #projectbasedlearning
https://t.co/q8Wjs3ONGo

[EducatingAllLearners.org @educateall_org]

Want to create a student-centered school? Explore effective strategies to foster leadership and empower students with @dkrausewb, principal of Willowbrook High School, in @educateall_org's latest case study. https://t.co/yyFmrDn6q8

[National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) @NCSSNetwork]

💡Our C3 Framework Inquiry Showcase series kicks off this Tuesday at 7PM ET!

➡️ Register now: https://t.co/NlxxTViWjb #curriculum #inquiry #history #professionaldevelopment @StreetLawInc @historyed @AHAhistorians

[National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) @NCSSNetwork]

🍎 Start your 2024 professional learning strong with our C3 Framework Showcase series, free to all NCSS members! This webinar series starts January 23.

➡️ Sign up now: https://t.co/JOMCOvRofk #inquiry #c3 #professionaldevelopment #teaching #education

[Kelly Brennan @brennke]

Great collection of FREE Office Calendar Templates:

[Marlene Sokol @Marlenesokol]

This state I live in ... https://t.co/Xd8QFDEMk4

[Emily Paschall @EmilyAPaschall]

Servant Leadership:

🔺Don’t ask anyone to do anything you aren’t willing to do yourself.
🔹See a need, fill a need.
🔸Be the hardest working person in the building.

Get in the trenches and stay there.

Servant leadership 🟰 Support

#multiplyexcellence

[Kyle Hamstra @KyleHamstra]

"Because of that one zero, it will take that student 14 more 85s just to get their grade back to an 80." Alexis Tamony in: "The Case Against Zeros in Grading” @edutopia https://t.co/FzjyzFrTa9

[Teacher2Teacher @teacher2teacher]

Wish ➡️ Outcome ➡️ Obstacle ➡️ Plan!

With this worksheet, T @ekinginspired's Ss are empowered to think through pitfalls on their journey to #StudentSuccess:

[Jason Kennedy | Stop Teaching & Design Learning! @letsquitteachin]

As many return back to school, here's a reminder to put:

Relationships before rigor
Grace before grades
Kindness before content
Patience before punishment
Bonds before books
Compassion before compliance
Meaning before mandates.

Education is about people first after all.

[Dr. Bryan Pearlman #MaslowBeforeBloom @DrP_Principal]

I met Albert before the school year started. I was moving some things into my office and I saw him shooting hoops by himself on our playground. He approached me and asked if I was the new assistant principal. I introduced myself and shook his hand. He then asked if I would play HORSE. I thought about the long list of things I had to get done and how far behind I was already, but I quickly decided that HORSE with a student trumped everything on that list.

While playing basketball, he asked me several questions and literally spoke for 20 minutes straight without taking a breath. He was funny, interesting, and seemed very intelligent. When we finished playing, he thanked me for spending the time with him and he walked home. I went back in the building and started to tackle the many items that were on my long list of things to do.

A few weeks later we had some back to school IEP meetings. One of them was for a student named Albert. I pulled the file so that I would be prepared for the meeting. To my surprise, this was the same Albert that I played basketball with a few weeks prior. He had a list of a dozen school suspensions, at least six DSM diagnosis listed, and was assigned to the self-contained classroom for 85% of the day. Something did not add up.

The parents did not show up for the meeting but gave permission to conduct the meeting in their absence. This was the first IEP that I had ever attended where there was not one positive word spoken about this student. Even when they asked for any strengths, nobody around the table could share any. I spoke up and said that based on my 20 minute encounter with him I felt he had several strengths: a good outside jump shot, excellent communication skills, an inquisitive nature, and a big smile. I looked around the table and everyone stared at me like I was either crazy or talking about another student.

The school year started with a bang. Albert became upset in class and ran down the hall and straight out of the building towards his home. I managed to catch-up to him before he crossed a major street and I convinced him to walk back to the school and into my office. Albert was crying and obviously frustrated. He said that everyone in the school was mean to him and that they all thought he was a bad kid. In my head, I thought that he was exactly right—certainly based on the IEP meeting participants. We had a nice talk and Albert seemed to calm down. I asked if he would like to join me outside for a game of HORSE. He gave me a strange look, but then said, “Are you sure?” I told him definitely and he enthusiastically agreed to play. Once we were outside, Albert asked if he was going to be suspended. I told him that we would forget about this one, but that if there was a next one, he would be sent home. We discussed some better choices for next time, as running out of the room and building was a real safety issue. I stressed that I wanted him to be safe, because I liked him, cared about him, and did not want anything to happen to the school’s best basketball player. He smiled at me and asked if it would be okay if he could come to my office when he got upset, instead of running out of the building. I told him that was a great idea.

We played basketball for a bit and decided that it was time to go back inside to prepare for lunch. Albert turned his head, looked me in the eyes and said that this was the nicest thing that anyone at school had ever done for him.

Albert kept to his word. There were several other times that he got upset and frustrated, but instead of running out of the building, he ran to my office, sat in a corner, and cooled off. Each time it would take a few minutes before he was ready to talk and process what happened.

Albert never got suspended that year and staff regularly shared some positives about him. Amazing what one small act of kindness can do to help a student be successful.

Join us at the “Maslow Before Bloom” Facebook group; https://t.co/015cLKjJ1m

[Jason Kennedy | Stop Teaching & Design Learning! @letsquitteachin]

Leaders:

Mingle before you mandate
Listen before you lead
Interact before you implement
Connect before you comment
Feel before you fix
Know before you notate
Ask before you act
Belong before you begin
Relate before you resolve

It's not about you, it's about others.

[Jonathan Alsheimer @mr_Alsheimer]

Leadership isn’t about micro management. So much of leadership is providing an access path for others to develop and realize their potential.

Amplify the greatness around you.

[ISTE+ASCD @ISTE_ASCD]

What happened when an 8th-grade geography teacher introduced #ChatGPT to his class?

Students broadly fell into these three categories. 👇
https://t.co/LqgL0gD7FW

[John Almarode @jtalmarode]

Study shows that students learn more when taking part in classrooms that employ active-learning strategies https://t.co/XZ1VSV7OA2 via @Harvard @VisibleLearning @JMUCoE