Move Your Bus: #D100BloggerPD with Ginny Burdett

MOVE YOUR BUS #D100BloggerPD BOOK STUDY: CH. 6 & 7

This post in the #D100BloggerPD series is written by the wonderful Ginny Burdett.  

She is a 4th grade teacher at Hiawatha School.  

@MissBurdettHIA

Click on the circles as they appear to go to all the posts in our book study!

  Welcome back to the Move Your Bus book study, hosted by the #D100bloggerPD clan! Being a part of the innovative district that I am, I have welcomed the opportunity to be part of the #D100BloggerPD book study. Here’s how it works: every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in February, a different #D100bloggerPD member will post a new blog reflection from Ron Clark’s “Move Your Bus.” You have a couple of options; you can choose to follow the above schedule and click on the circles, search the #D100bloggerPD hashtag on Twitter, or keep up with Colleen’s blog for the newest link. We encourage you to jump right in and come along for the ride!

  Within the introduction to Part II: How to Accelerate, it states, “Are you a runner? Do you want to be? No matter how fast you’re currently moving, I believe unequivocally that the desire to run in within us all.” Clark then goes on to say that if you want to accelerate, regardless of whatever role you play, start HERE. Both Chapter 6 “Get There Early,” and Chapter 7 “Wear Your Good Clothes” mention consistent habits or behaviors that most runners have in common. Essentially, this next section of Move Your Bus is a road map for your acceleration journey. 

Chapter 6- Get There Early

  Mr. Clark began the chapter by mentioning that if you aren’t quite a runner (YET #growthmindset), the last thing you want to do is get in the way of those who are. He suggests that whenever you are committed to attending a meeting, (my teacher mind immediately thinks 1:1, team planning, RTI, building, leadership and/or district meetings), you want to attempt to be one of the first attendees present. He goes on to say that those runners will most likely already be there early. It is imperative to avoid showing up late, because it shows that you 1. don’t respect the purpose of the meeting, and 2. don’t value your colleagues’ time. 

  Think about it. If you know that a meeting won’t actually get started until 15 minutes after it’s designated time, you may be tempted to show up 5-10 minutes late. I certainly have had that mindset before…as Clark says, a runner’s time is valuable. Why show up on time, knowing that you’re only going to sit around waiting for the rest of the attendees to trickle in when you could be doing something more productive with that time? Ron says “Don’t do it. Don’t become one of those people who are stealing valuable minutes from other team members.”

Now let’s shift this discussion from arriving to meetings early… to arriving to school early.

     I happen to be the epitome of Cinderella in the above picture. I easily wake up at 4:45 a.m and am in my classroom by 6:45 a.m. Every day. With a genuine smile smacked on my face. In my old district, I was given the nickname “Ginny Sunshine” because I was one of those annoying morning people. I get it. Ron Clark gets it. Some of us are just not morning people. If you find yourself managing to make it to work on time, but know that it would be impossible to get there any earlier, you need to make an obligation to stay past your expected time if you want to see any sign of acceleration. Clark feels that you need to show that you have a solid work ethic and that you are willing and capable of putting in the extra time in order to increase performance. Deliberately planning to arrive before or stay after your expected time will allow you to develop a reputation as someone who hits the ground running.

Chapter 7- Wear Your Good Clothes

  Chapter 7 brought me right back onto UIC’s quad, my freshmen year of college. I can remember one of my good friends trying to calm down my nerves about my upcoming final exam. He looked at me and said, “Ginny, listen. My teacher used to tell us this: Look good, feel good. feel good, do good. Just dress the part, elude confidence, and the rest will come.”

  Look good, feel good. Feel good, do good essentially sums up Mr. Clark’s Chapter 7 “Wear Your Good Clothes” in 8 short words. As the driver of RCA, he requires all staff members to wear suits or business attire every single day of the school year. His theory behind “no dress down days” is simply stated…RCA staff members’ performance is never dressed down. Don’t allow your work ethic to run, while your outfit rides. If you want to run, you have to look and dress the part. If you look good, you will feel good. When you feel good, you will perform better. It’s all about what you do and how you look doing it. 

  This next part of Chapter 7 though…you guys. I couldn’t have been assigned a more perfect chapter. Along the same lines of wearing your good clothes, comes presenting your work space well. MY FAVORITE (if you know me, you can probably hear me singing “my favoriteeeee!”). Mr. Clark feels that keeping your workplace clean is something that contributes to an overall successful environment. Whether you realize it or not, the neatness of your classroom means a lot to those around you. You may not mind a messy desk, scraps of paper left on the floor, or out-dated documents hanging on the wall…but trust me, it bothers others. Keep it clean (and if you need help getting started, find me. Organizing and cleaning spaces gives me a natural high). After all, no one wants to ride on a messy bus. 

  I saw this while blog-hopping, and felt the need to repost for giggles. You can thank me by joining #D100bloggerPD on Monday, February 8th. Michelle, over at Big Time Literacy, will be hosting chapters 8 - 10! Enjoy!