Month in Review

Here are the top posts everyone's talking about - Did you miss any?

An Interview with Todd Whitaker

In this interview, also my first podcast, Todd talks about his book, Shifting the Monkey: The Art of Protecting Good People From Liars, Criers, and Other Slackers.  Well worth a listen.

Great App for Conducting Teacher Observations

Are you adapting apps to make your work as an administrator easier? Here I talk about using the iPad app inClass for conducting teacher observations.

The #1 Twitter Tip for Teachers, Administrators and Other Educators

Short version - you're not in any videos.

Are We Missing the Mark? Three Ways to Get Beyond BYOD Fears

Districts are adopting BYOD policies but are devices being used in classrooms?

Sometimes You're the Jackass

'Nough said.  

Photo Credit: rosmary

HR For Principals - The Americans With Disabilities Act

For a while now I have been planing to write about the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) to give principals an overview of the Act and potential impact on managing the workplace.  The ADAAA can be highly technical and writing a good synopsis was a tough task - the post never really got out of the planning stage.

Fortunately, the Emily Douglas over at Education Week recently posted a guide for K12 talent mangers.  The post begins:

Most Americans have heard about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the importance of being ADA compliant. But, what does that mean for employees and organizations, and how does the law impact school districts? Following is information about the ADA that all K-12 talent managers should know. 

The post is well worth your time - click through to read more.

Photo credit: Rachel Groves

Sometimes You're the Jackass

KKy

The other night I was driving down a two lane, tree covered road.  No streetlights, no moon, it was dark.  Because there was occasional traffic coming from the other direction I kept switching between my high and low beams. 

Someone comes around a sharp bend and blinds me with his high beams.  You’ve been there – completely blinded by the light (I hear a song there) trying to navigate the turn at 45 MPH. 

Jackass! Alone in the car, I direct the name toward my window knowing full-well that he can’t hear me but the utterance makes me feel better.  As I continue on down the road, I switch the high beams back on … or so I thought.

Turns out I had my high beams on the entire time.  I realize that I was the jackass. 

It happens.

Happens on the road, happens at home, and happens at work.

Can’t do anything about when it happens on the road but at home or at work I can admit my ‘jackassedness,’ apologize, and attempt to do better in the future.

Photo credit- Kyle Martin