Reflections by Estillette

Picture this... 10:07 am - John Monitor notices smoke in the forest behind his house. 10:10 am - John walks into the forest and sees fire, about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide. He snaps a picture on his phone and goes back inside. 10:20 am - John goes back into the forest and sees the fire, which has gotten a little bit larger and snaps another picture of it. He even tells the fire, "You are getting bigger. You shouldn't do that." Then he goes back inside. 10:45 am - John goes back to the fire and sees that it's about 15 feet by 5 feet. In awe, he uses his phone to take a video and tells the fire once again how big it is and that it really needs to snuff itself out. 11:00 am - The fire is in John's backyard. John records the fire, providing of a narrative of what is happening and why it should stop spreading. Now Consider This ... This scenario reminds me of what happens when campus and district leaders spend so much time monitoring that very lit

Advocating for the  Active Learning Cycle  by Jessica Estillette  Recently, I've embarked on one of the most surprisingly  stressful, important tasks I have encountered in my entire life... choosing a school for my daughter. My sweet, sassy, super-smart girl will be entering the amazing world of Kindergarten this Fall and I am really fretting over where to send her! Having been in the field education for 19 years, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to what happens in classrooms and I am determined to find, or create, an environment in which Layla will thrive. Although the bottom line for most schools is meeting the mark for a basic standard of achievement on set standards, I want so much more Layla. First, I want her to have fun and to be inspired in a loving, nurturing environment.  Second, since she is a bright kid and I have no doubt she'll pick up content pretty easily, I am much more concerned about building her soft skills which will