Let's KILL It This Week In The Classroom

You may not be a fan of former NFL coach Rex Ryan...or of any sport for that matter. His approach to working with players though is worth noting.

In current Mississippi State head football coach, Mike Leach's book Swing Your Sword, Leach explained that he would visit Ryan's practices as often as he could because of the simple way he approached all activities he asked his players to do.

While still in the NFL, Ryan worked off of the acronym "KILL", short for "Keep it likable and learnable." He believed that people achieve more when they are enjoying what they are doing and new things are presented in ways that promote their understanding.

I think that is a pretty good way to creating experiences for our students.

Keep Rowing | The Players' Tribune #RTB

Whether you're into College Football or not, the infectious PJ Fleck and his "Row The Boat" philosophy translate well to any school or classroom culture. Having earned my Masters degree from Western, it is great to see the amazing things Fleck and the team are doing on the field, but it's what's happening behind the scenes that is the most inspiring.

The Players Tribune is easily my favorite sports publication, probably because it speaks to the life experiences and not just to the box scores. Give it a read.

You see, I don’t ask my players for their very best only on game day. I push them to hold themselves to that standard every single day.

Article: Keep Rowing | The Players' Tribune

All of the motivation you need for a great school year

Whether you have been "back at it" for weeks or if you have removed all months and weeks from your calendar after next in hopes of preventing the inevitable, here is a little motivation from the genius of Michael Mills at the University of Central Arkansas to get the juices flowing for a great school year.



Michael and a panel of other educators want to continue their mission of hacking professional development. If you liked the video, give them a vote to present at South by Southwest this Spring in Austin, TX.

Dean Shareski: What ever happened to joy in Education?

Last summer I had to pleasure to finally meet Dean Shareski, someone whose tweets have informed me and entertained me for years and whose "EdTech Posse" show was one of the first podcasts I ever listened to.

In addition to his duties teaching at the University of Saskatchewan, Dean is also the Canadian community manager for Discovery Education. Dean capped a fabulous week for me at the  Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute with a version of the following talk. As those of in most of North America slug through this endless winter it is important to reflect on Dean's essential question: "Whatever happened to joy in Education?"  I think most of us could use a little joy right now.

I am excited that Dean will be here in Michigan next month sharing this presentation at MACUL.


Enjoy and spread a little joy today as well.