Wow, today was full of activities! Some of our more athletic teachers started out the day with a jog or a brisk walk; others enjoyed the coffee in the common room here in the newly renovated Coast Guard Station. Breakfast was delicious - you gotta love grits in the South! We began the day with a team building activity that involved tennis balls and tarp with holes in it. Those balls had to make it to what all teachers recognize as some paper boxes (not boxes made of paper, but boxes that reams of paper come in.) Let's just say that one team performed better than the other; however, there was an obstacle placed strategically that hampered the performance of some team members (a table.) Hmmm....I guess all is fair in teacher competition.
We then participated in an Affinity activity where we determined what we believe to be the characteristics of leadership. As each group reported out, we realized that we have many common ideas about what a leader is.
Next we took a Parker Team Survey to determine who we are as team members - Communicators, Collaborators, Contributors, or Challengers. Then we broke into groups according to our survey results. We enjoyed hearing each group tell the others how they felt about them - all in good fun, of course!
After a break that included cake (a cake break - the BEST kind) we got into the meat of the day. Teachers of the Year had previously read Lincoln on Leadership by Donald Phillips, a study of one of our greatest Presidents and his leadership skills. The back cover shares: "Only ten days before Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office in 1861, the Confederate States of America seceded from the Union taking all Federal agencies, forts, and arsenals within their territory. To make matters worse, Lincoln, who was elected by a minority of the popular vote, was viewed by his own advisors as nothing more than a gawky, second-rate country lawyer with no leadership experience." However, we have learned that Lincoln was indeed a great leader by focusing on four components - People, Character, Endeavor, and Communication. Breaking into four groups, we completed a Fishbone diagram, depicting Lincoln's principles of leadership.
After a group photo so that we can prove to our principals that we really are here, we went to a scrumptious lunch and then off to a much needed reflection time. Some teachers read, others wrote, and it was rumored that some reflected by swimming in the good old Atlantic! There were some pink noses in the afternoon session...
The afternoon was for reflection in another way, too. Our "artistic reflection" focused on the history, optical principles, and geometry of kaleidoscope construction. This was a beautiful activity, led by Scott Cole of Laughing Eye Studios. We each now have an heirloom brass kaleidoscope to show off! But we also have the metaphor of kaleidoscopes - the way different people see different things, the many colors representing our different cultures and our students' differences. We're excited about continuing this activity tomorrow and adding our "magic" to our kaleidoscopes.
We then participated in an Affinity activity where we determined what we believe to be the characteristics of leadership. As each group reported out, we realized that we have many common ideas about what a leader is.
Next we took a Parker Team Survey to determine who we are as team members - Communicators, Collaborators, Contributors, or Challengers. Then we broke into groups according to our survey results. We enjoyed hearing each group tell the others how they felt about them - all in good fun, of course!
After a break that included cake (a cake break - the BEST kind) we got into the meat of the day. Teachers of the Year had previously read Lincoln on Leadership by Donald Phillips, a study of one of our greatest Presidents and his leadership skills. The back cover shares: "Only ten days before Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office in 1861, the Confederate States of America seceded from the Union taking all Federal agencies, forts, and arsenals within their territory. To make matters worse, Lincoln, who was elected by a minority of the popular vote, was viewed by his own advisors as nothing more than a gawky, second-rate country lawyer with no leadership experience." However, we have learned that Lincoln was indeed a great leader by focusing on four components - People, Character, Endeavor, and Communication. Breaking into four groups, we completed a Fishbone diagram, depicting Lincoln's principles of leadership.
After a group photo so that we can prove to our principals that we really are here, we went to a scrumptious lunch and then off to a much needed reflection time. Some teachers read, others wrote, and it was rumored that some reflected by swimming in the good old Atlantic! There were some pink noses in the afternoon session...
The afternoon was for reflection in another way, too. Our "artistic reflection" focused on the history, optical principles, and geometry of kaleidoscope construction. This was a beautiful activity, led by Scott Cole of Laughing Eye Studios. We each now have an heirloom brass kaleidoscope to show off! But we also have the metaphor of kaleidoscopes - the way different people see different things, the many colors representing our different cultures and our students' differences. We're excited about continuing this activity tomorrow and adding our "magic" to our kaleidoscopes.
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