This conference was memorable because I co-presented with my superintendent, Pat Adkins. Our presentation highlighted the great work our district’s staff is doing at Port Clinton Schools. Pat led the presentation and absolutely inspired our audience with the amazing initiatives happening in our district. Our title was “Safe, Healthy and Learning! How Leaders Can Prioritize and Implement Solutions to Improve the Safety and Wellness of Students, Staff and Family as a Crucial Component of On-Going Learning.” Click to Read More
In this presentation we highlighted the amazing work being led by our teachers, guidance counselors, nurses, SROs, principals, assistant principals, administration, board, leadership teams, and truly EVERYONE in our district. We believe everyone in our district is a leader and has the opportunity to lead. We highlighted leadership examples from our custodial, busing, and maintenance teams as well.
We are a district that embraces the lifelong journey of learning and improving. We know we don’t have all of the solutions, but we are proud of what we are doing and the journey we are on! We are on a mission of continuous improvement of culture, care, academics, and service to all. We love opportunities like COSSBA to share and celebrate our staff and accomplishments.
The COSSBA conference was also an amazing opportunity to learn from others!
I really enjoyed listening and learning from speaker Chuck Underwood on Generational Studies that can help us work better with colleagues and help us teach and learn among different generations. He shared his four truths and lots of research and examples to help us develop strategies when working with people from other generations. I am going to read his book, America’s Generations in the Workplace, Marketplace, and Living Room! The focus is learning people’s values and how they make decisions. Good stuff. You can see my sketch note of his presentation over on my Instagram post about the conference. (I shared the animated sketch notes out via Twitter during the conference, and I was propositioned by a representative of a corporation at the conference to sketch note their upcoming conference. Hmmmm.)
I also enjoyed Amy Blankson’s presentation on Fearless Positivity. She addressed the misuse and tackled the accurate definition of ‘toxic positivity.’ (In short ‘toxic positivity’ is malicious in intent or woefully unempathetic. It is not the accidental byproduct of someone trying to do well and help others.) I really liked her research supporting that positivity leads to greater success for individuals, families, organizations and, well… anyone! Positivity even makes you live longer. I am adding her book, The Future of Happiness, to my reading list.
I also learned a great deal from breakout sessions on a variety of initiatives schools across the country are implementing. It is great to hear about the most innovative implementations from schools across America. I am leaving very inspired and with lots of ideas to share with my colleagues.
Even though we were in doors a lot, it was great to experience some nice weather too. Always a challenge to be away from family, especially during spring break, but we are passionate about teaching and learning.
I am blessed and thankful for opportunities to learn and to speak and share!
Prioritize this takeaway: I believe every single person in education has something awesome to share with others at a conference or on a podcast, or a blog, and I think they should be doing it! If not outside their organization, then in it. We are better when we get together, share and collaborate! Education is not going to accidentally improve; education gets better when better ideas are shared, prioritized, and executed. I hope this post inspires YOU to share at a conference the great things going on in your school or organization!
Always forward,
Kelly
I am a professional speaker, and I would like to speak at your event.
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Educator, Author, Keynote Speaker
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National Conferences are particularly inspiring because of the opportunity for people across the nation to share, inspire and network solutions to our greatest challenges.