Jump In! Leadership Day 2012

Leadership Day 2012 issued a challenge......blog about effective school technology leadership: successes, challenges, reflections, needs, wants, resources, etc. Although I am not a school administrator nor do I face their challenges, I still consider myself a school leader. Through the school counseling office, I lead teams, facilitate groups and create interventions to empower students, teachers, and families. I also lead the Nebraska School Counseling Association.
Last weekend at the Nebraska School Counseling Leadership Development Workshop, I addressed the committee chairs and the board members on the power of technology and how it could move our organization forward. Telling them that Twitter was a great way to grow professionally, they wanted to know more.....they were intrigued. Then, the conversation turned to blogging, Pinterest, QR codes, and Facebook.
Today, I asked my building principal and my superintendent if they used Twitter. They both had accounts, but neither felt they had much to say on Twitter. They were just learning about the power of PLN. We discussed the possibilities of training staff on the limitless opportunities of jumping into a whole new world of professional development.
Leadership Day challenges me to jump in! With only three blog entries, it is time to jump......I need to step up and show how powerful the world of technology is for school counseling and for my district.
So making this blog public, setting up introductory sessions on social media and creating a PLN, and sparking a technology buzz is exciting yet a little frightening. Hopefully because I agreed to jump in, a ripple effect will create big waves for other professionals who will embracing the promises of technology! 

24 Hour Rule

   I wanted to scream. I wanted to inform him how stupid, how idiotic, how irrational he was being. I wanted to tell him how it should be done and how much chaos and pain he had caused. I wanted to fix the situation, but I didn't scream, inform, tell, or fix....I applied the 24 hour rule.
   A few years ago, I started waiting 24 hours in emotionally charged situations before I responded. It has saved me from sending off fiery emails, picking up the phone, or rushing into an office. Sometimes I still write the emails, but I never send them....I wait 24 hours. Usually, those emails, phone calls, or office visits never occur. Once the emotions calm down, I find a better, calmer way to handle the situation.
   Teaching the 24 hour rule to students is important. Learning to control emotions so rational thoughts can dictate actions is a tough thing for adults to do. If a student can learn to wait 24 hours, it will serve him/her well throughout life. Getting the students to blog or to vent to someone safe is a much healthier alternative than burning bridges by screaming, informing, telling, or fixing.