Margaret Wise Brown, author of Good Night Moon, wrote a compelling and rhythmic picture book titled, The Important Book. In the book she points out the important things about everyday objects and what makes them special. Her writing is lyrical from beginning, "the important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it...", to end, "the important thing about you is that you are you, it is true that you were once a baby and that now you are a child, and that someday you will be a man or a woman, but the important thing about you is that you are you". I am amazed at how she addresses a complex topic in such a simple and kid friendly way. Being able to decipher what is important and unimportant is something that adults wrestle with everyday.
In an era of mobile devices, instant connectivity, and urgent to do lists, it is all too easy to become overwhelmed with the immediate, the “right now”. As a result it becomes harder and harder to focus on the important. Steven Covey calls this balancing the “clock and the compass”. In his book, First Things First, he says, “For many people, the dominant metaphor of life is the clock. We value the clock for its speed and efficiency. The clock has its place, efficiency has its place—but after effectiveness. The symbol of effectiveness is the compass—a sense of direction, purpose, vision, perspective and balance.”
Some have addressed this imbalance by blocking out a time during the day to focus on the important things. For instance, Piers Fawkes, founder and editor of PSFK, reserves a good chunk of his morning – from 7:00-10:00 a.m. every day – to work on his big list prior to opening his email. My friend Gary Henry, author of Diligently Seeking God, spends the first hour of every day devoted to God in prayer and reflection. For a teacher, the summer months serve as time to slow down, reflect and work on what is most important.
Since my time here at Lipscomb Academy, I have been impressed with the amount of Elementary School faculty members who are working on the important things during their “time off” from school.
To name a few:
- Becky Collins and Kay Felts attended the Tennessee State Energy Camp to keep current Lipscomb Academy’s "green school" certification and to learn more ways to involve the community in our current programs.
- Michelle Seal attended several professional development workshops including one on Cooperative Learning and another on Fostering a Positive Classroom Climate
- The Kindergarten and Pre-K teams are excited about the 24 new iPads going into the classrooms and investigating ways use them as instructional tools.
- The fourth grade team is looking into using Edmodo as a secure place to connect and collaborate, share content and educational applications.
- Ginger Reasonover, the Science Lab Coordinator, is attending and presenting at Harpeth Hall’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) conference in July.
- Penny Seay, Kathy Musick and Kay Felts were trained in Backwards Design, a method of designing educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessment.
- Jennifer Green attended S.A.L.T. (Service and Learning Together), a workshop that focuses on ways to intentionally join academic learning and community outreach.
- Kathy Musick invested a significant amount of time preparing for Summer Celebration, where she was in charge of all of the kid related activities.
- Melanie Gaw taught the first graders at her church’s VBS and participated in church camp.
- The third grade team continues to promote their “Don’t Rush to Flush” awareness campaign and working on a bill to be put before the state legislators.
- Chuck Chism helped direct Antioch Church Encampment, an outreach serving families in Nashville, and led Mid-Ohio Valley Work Camp where he and 30 teenagers painted over 40 homes in Ohio.
- Suzanne Howell is rewriting the Bible curriculum for the Elementary School.
- The second grade team completed training on their new Ladibug document cameras, a real-time image capture devices for displaying an object to a large audience and are also exploring the use a WikiSpace to serve as a resource for parents and students.
- Kim Smith went a mission trip to work with the Inner City Ministry in Mobile, Alabama. She also taught fourth grade classes at VBS and coordinated arts and crafts for church camp, grades 4th-12th.
- All faculty members are taking time to reflect on their instructional practices and how they can be improved.
That is a pretty amazing group of educators!
Jonathan Sheahen
Elementary School Principal
Lipscomb Academy
