When asked, "What are you most proud of this year?" Kelley Boyd, a first grade teacher at Buffalo School 33 wrote the following... What am I most proud of...?

How transformed I've become this school year. Here are a few examples.

I felt very displaced when I learned that I could not use the borders that I'd invested in and the bulletin board paper that I'd purchased to match my borders. I did not want to take away the color that I've become so accustomed to in an elementary classroom. Now, I am excited to create a welcoming, comfortable, well-designed environment that features beautiful student work instead of commercial school decorations.

I was resistant to the philosophy behind projects and inquiry-based teaching as well as the Reggio Approach. I only wanted to do it for one hour. I thought to myself... "OK, I can just get through the hour." My prep was during our Reggio "time" and I loved that until half way through the year. Then, I stopped taking my preps because I became so engaged in the projects with the students.

I was terrified of writing with first graders. Now, I can't wait to do more next year. I made my first book with my students about a field study to the zoo, and I want to do so many more.

I'm not very artistic, or at least haven't been properly trained to be artistic. Now, because I am learning too, I find myself helping my students to look closely, to see different lines and to find new ways to portray their drawing.

All year, I have been looking for my assistant principal's approval. I now realize that when I became engaged and excited about learning, design, authentic experiences and meaningful student work, I also became proud of myself and my students. That my colleagues and my assistant principal are proud of me too is no surprise and such a confirmation.

I've come so far. I want this kind of learning to spread and happen all day long.

This is the kind of transformation that we would all love to see. It is the kind of dramatic change in persepctive that makes teaching and learning and work in schools worth it. When we see this kind of turn around in teachers or in students, everyone wants to shout for joy. Think of all the other transformations that come with this...lack of happiness to joy, resistance to taking on a challenge and working through it, discomfort to risk-taking, boredom to excitement, individuals to teams, hum drum to beating the drum....

Ashley and I are so fortunate to work with all kinds of schools and all kinds of teachers who are willing to take risks and to change...who are willing to grow and improve for the benefit of all the children they teach and all the colleagues with whom they work. There is a ripple effect created in this kind of transformation, in people and in school cultures. This is the kind of momentum we all could use.

Every week, and sometimes more often, I receive a newsletter from Exchange Press called ExchangeEveryday. My friend and colleague, Carol Hillman forwards it to me and I love getting it from her. Recently, I officially signed up which is easy to do. This newsletter is filled with thoughtful articles and references on many subjects of interest to teachers and parents of young children. The article below is one example. A few days ago, I forwarded it on to our other friends and colleagues at the Cramer Institute because it is so aligned with their work in asset-based thinking. Kathy Cramer's new book, Lead Positive, is rich with stories about what can happen if we look for assets and build on them in our lives and when we work with others.

Ashley and I have been influenced by the work of the Cramer Institute and it is now fundamental to the way we work in schools. This way of working seems to create energy and momentum in many ways, as well as a sense of possibility and reassurance and trust. Below, find a simple story from ExchangeEveryDay that illustrates the power of starting with assets rather than deficits. May we all take this way of being in the world to heart.

Supervision Advice from 1936 June 2, 2014A person can grow only as much as his horizon allows. -John Powell"Make the fault seem easy to correct." This is one of the principles from Dale Carnegie's classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Although this book was written in 1936, in 2013 it was still listed as a one of the nation's best-selling management books. As Carnegie does throughout the book, he uses stories to illustrate this principle:"A bachelor friend of mine, about forty years old, became engaged and his fiancée persuaded him to take some belated dancing lessons. 'The Lord knows I needed some dancing lessons,' he confessed as he told me the story, 'for I danced just as I did when I first started twenty years ago. The first teacher I engaged probably told me the truth. She said I was all wrong; I would just have to forget everything and begin all over again. But that took the heart out of me. I had no incentive to go on. So I quit her."'The next teacher may have been lying, but I liked it. She said nonchalantly that my dancing was a bit old-fashioned perhaps, but the fundamentals were all right, and she assured me I wouldn't have any trouble learning a few new steps. The first teacher had discouraged me by emphasizing my mistakes. The new teacher did the opposite. She kept praising the things I did right and minimizing my errors..."'Now my common sense tells me I will always be a fourth-rate dancer, yet... I know I am a better dancer than I would have been if she hadn't told me I had a natural sense of rhythm. That encouraged me. That gave me hope. That made me want to improve.'"

What Are You Most Proud Of? Transformation at Buffalo School 33

From a Wonderful Newsletter...ExchangeEveryday