Silent Notification - February 10, 2021

 Silent Notification

By, Michael Earnshaw

February 8, 2021

@MikeREarnshaw

@PunkClassrooms

Last week a catastrophic event stormed my professional life. This event was so Earth shattering, rocking my world to its core, that it didn’t just creep in and affect my personal life also, but charged it like elite athletes sprinting the last feet before the finish line of the finals of the 100 Meter Yard Dash. I’m not quite sure when the events I’m about to discuss started sprouting, but I noticed it on a Thursday, scrambled to find a solution on Friday, and come Saturday I had embraced and accepted my fate and future. 

The day I realized that my life, both professionally and personally, would change forever was Thursday, February 4, 2021. It was Parent/Teacher Conferences. My work hours were flexed a little bit this day, so I took advantage of the open morning. Coffee, reading, and a workout were how I spent my hours alone while my wife was at work and our kids were enthralled in their own remote learning. I finished a killer weight session, ferociously shook up a banana protein shake, when it dawned on me that I had not gotten any work emails all morning. Now I know I said that my hours were flexed, and that’s true, but not everyone’s hours were. We still had one of our secretaries in the office since 8:00 AM, the typical opening hours. District Office secretaries and Admin were working their normal hours. Even some teachers were taking advantage of the open morning and getting extra conferences in, copies made, or team planning done. So, being an elementary principal, I should have had a handful, maybe two handfuls, of emails at this point of the day. 

To say I was frightened is an understatement. I was terrified. Palms and brow sweating, heavy breathing, and none of it was the result from the workout I just crushed. I had no clue what horrors I was about to unlock. I I had spent my morning practicing my own self-care, something we stress to our staff more than ever right now, and I felt so free. But now, when I realized that something had happened, that I hadn’t been reached out to once, everything I did for myself was wiped away. I knew I was about to open a portal that should have remained closed.

I put the protein shaker cup on the kitchen counter, took six deep breaths, closed my eyes for a brief prayer, and placed my thumb on the Microsoft Outlook Email icon on my cell phone's home screen. 

I couldn’t believe my eyes, my worst nightmare had grown to a reality. More than just a few handfuls of unopened, unread emails sat staring right back at me, in an almost sinister stance giggling, “Haha, you’re going to have some fun going through all of us!”

My Outlook email notifications somehow became disabled on my phone. There was no update, no change to my settings, the notifications just stopped popping through, the one job they had. I spent most of Thursday and Friday trying to figure out what had gone wrong and how to get the notifications back. I was unsuccessful at this and eventually gave up in defeat. 

I know many of my PLN have praised and touted the mental health benefits of not having work email notifications on their phone. There needs to be that separation. I could never do it. I always felt I needed to have that notification alert me when I was sent something. I didn’t always reply immediately, but if something came in that may need immediate attention I could address it. I felt that rather than try to fix a tech problem that was obviously out of my hands this would be a good enough time to leave my comfort zone and see how this horror story unfolds. 

After a weekend of not receiving any school email notifications, or even checking the emails on my own accord, I felt liberated, free! I had spent the entire weekend, every minute of it, taking care of myself and spending time with my family. Not one second pertained to work. I learned a lot throughout these past few days unshackled from email notifications. 

1.  Not everything is important or time-sensitive. I spent this morning, Monday, catching up on all of those emails that built up. Not one, none of them, required any attention that I was overdue on, or even near their deadline. Things can wait. 

2.  If something needs direct attention that individual will call or text. 

3.  The happiness, the freeness, that has come with filling my time away from school is exactly what I have been missing to truly “unplug.”

I’m excited for my nights and weekends, free from the ball and chain of Outlook. I can give my undivided attention to those closest in my life, my beautiful wife, energetic children, and myself. This will only make me better for our staff and students. If you are like me and have yet to learn to live without work email on your phone I highly suggest you try it out. I will never go back, and if this notification issue resolves on its own I will be sure to disable it. 

Chewing on Rocks - January 18, 2021

 Chewing on Rocks

By, Michael Earnshaw

January 18, 2021

@MikeREarnshaw

@PunkClassrooms

“Today, I had a kid eat a rock during snack.” 

“What, no way? What did you say?”

“You’re kidding, a 5th grader legit ate a rock?”

“Yeah, I told them that they will be seeing that rock again.” 

And the attendees in the virtual meeting all shared a laugh. Even those that still had themselves “Muted” were seen in their Brady Bunch-esque square shedding a tear from the hysterics. 

At our school, our students are still learning remotely and since Thanksgiving 2020 our staff has been working from home. This has both its ups and downs. This blog isn’t about delving into the never ending debate of remote vs. in-person. This blog is to remind us to laugh. 

For the first quarter and some weeks of our 2020/2021 school year our classrooms were occupied by the teacher and paraprofessionals whose names were on the placard outside the door. Teaching happened in the front of each classroom, each staff member creating their own NASA-like station to engage our students who seemed galaxies away. Things were going great, everyone was in a good groove. We were able to stop by one another’s room, socially distanced and masked up, to have those crucial, 120-second conversations that are game-changers for educators. You know what I’m talking about, that hallway banter that happens when switching classes or walking your homeroom to their Special’s Class. We were even able to start holding Tuesday Town Hall meetings. These were 30-minute informal staff meetings where our Assistant Principal and I were able to give updates and info on anything new and also for staff to ask questions or share tips and strategies that would benefit others. These were not mandatory, but we did have about 90% of our staff show up. With all of the distance we had to put between ourselves with the pandemic these weekly gatherings helped to make us feel like a staff again, united, and committed to bettering our students. 

Positive Covid-19 numbers were rampantly rising in our area. With the positivity rate on the rise in Chicagoland, our Superintendent and School Board made the decision to allow staff to work from home following Thanksgiving for one week. This was to help prevent the spreading of Covid-19 amongst our staff. There was no way to police any staff from traveling or getting together with others despite what the top doctors were recommending. One week of work from home passed and numbers did not get any better. Another week of WFH was granted, and then again until winter break, and here we are now, January 18, 2021, and we’re still working from our living rooms, kitchen tables, and home offices. 

During these remote weeks we still instituted our Town Halls, but it wasn’t the same. Nearly all of our staff showed up to these, but something was missing. Everyone logged into our Zoom at the scheduled time and our Assistant Principal and I basically read off bullet points, something we vowed to never do in a live staff meeting so why would it be acceptable now? Once we were done we asked if anyone had questions or anything else, but no one ever did. 

I’ve struggled to feel connected with our staff during this time, you can read about it here, and I began holding our Town Halls three times a week. Now you may be thinking, “Mike, if you didn’t have much info to share weekly how could you possibly fill three days?” Well, these meetings aren’t so much to deliver info but to spend time with each other. I began rephrasing how I asked if anyone had anything else. Instead of, “Does anyone have anything?” I began asking, “What’s something positive you’d like to share?” or “What’s a highlight of your day?”

The reasoning behind the change in questions was to open conversations, to get some dialogue going. I have always believed that relationships are first, not only with teachers and students but everyone, including administrator and staff as well as staff and staff. With the very bland style of meetings we were having it went against everything I believe a staff meeting should be. Being virtual we are very limited, but we can still smile and laugh. 

No matter what our situation, we can always smile and laugh. 

Being an educator is a whirlwind of emotions on a daily basis, and the climate today with the Covid-19 pandemic does not make anything easier. Educators are working harder than ever, longer days that are taking time away from their own families. If I can’t get our staff up, moving, and partaking in team building activities like we do during in-person staff meetings (more about these in my upcoming book, shameless plug) we needed to share those smiles we were lacking. Creating laughter by sharing those funny stories we always say, “We should write a book about a day in the life of a teacher, no one would ever believe what we experience!” is just what we needed. 

And that was our entire Town Hall. We talked about that 5th grader eating a rock for a snack, and then the weirdest things we have all eaten! Did this conversation have anything to do with education? No, it didn’t...but then again, it did. Education is all about relationships. 

Bedtime Stories - November 4, 2020

Bedtime Stories

By, Michael Earnshaw

@MikeREarnshaw

November 4, 2020

In the Earnshaw household, there are two camps when it comes to sleeping, heavy and light. First, my son and I are in the heavyweight division. Once our heads hit the pillow, eyelids close, we’re in a mini-hibernation until the morning hours appear. We don’t need much sleep, both of us are always the first two up in the house, but that may be because throughout the night we don’t wake. My wife and daughter, on the other hand, they’re in the light division. They fall asleep fast, but any little creak, whisper, or slight breeze electrifies their eyelids open! Unfortunately for me, I endure a lot of shakes, yells, and yes, even punches, to wake me before my natural biorhythm clock would allow. Now I know what you’re thinking, are you really complaining that your poor wife and daughter wake you when they’re scared at night? C’mon, I’m not that bad of a husband and father, so yes, yes I am complaining that I am awoken by their fears. Oh stop it, you know you would be too. Now it’s my time to redeem myself. Many nights I do get up and sleepily stumble throughout our house, checking every door and window to make sure they’re locked. I check the basement, both the finished living area and the spooky unfinished part that still has ceiling lights that come to life via a string. I check closets, underneath beds, and even behind shower curtains. I’ve learned throughout the years that they know, somehow, they just know if I lie and tell them I’ve searched everywhere. Now, I check everything and everywhere. After that, they are back to sleep and all is quiet again. There are some nights though, that instead of rising from my bed like a zombie taking their first steps, I ascend my head a few inches off my pillow, make sure my good ear is facing the doorway, and listen. I then tell them in my best Tom Waits voice that everything is fine, just go back to bed. And I do. The morning after these nights are always a hoot. My wife or daughter, or both, do the shuffle into the kitchen that I should have done a few hours earlier when they were scared. I’ll always ask, “How’d you sleep?” 10/10 times on these mornings I’m told, “Not good. I was scared, you should’ve checked for us!” Now, why am I telling you this? Do you care about what happens during the moonlit hours at our home? My guess is no, but let me explain why, if you’re an educator, you’ll want to. Those nights that I don’t check things out, I’m not helping my wife or daughter. I’m just moving on with my plans of getting 5 to 6 hours of sleep, and I get it sans the 2 minutes I said everything was fine. What about them? Do they get the same quality sleep they deserve? Nope. They are up, tossing and turning, listening for whatever originally awoke them, and many more sounds! Education is the same. Many times we reach all of our kids, checking on them, making sure they have complete comprehension of the material and concepts being taught before moving on. We do this because we know that education builds upon itself. If a student doesn’t have a grasp of the material, they will begin a spiral of being lost in lessons as the class progresses. This is why we have RTI tiered interventions, 504 plans, and IEPs. But do educators always ensure every kid has that understanding every time? Let’s be honest here, no, sometimes the world has turned and left someone there (who doesn’t love a classic Weezer reference?) I’m guilty of it. I’ve done it as a teacher and yes, I’ve done it as a principal. Why? Because it’s easier. It’s easier to move on. It’s easier for us to stay comfortable and get to where we set our plans to go. It’s easier, but it isn’t fair. I became an educator to inspire others to know their strengths, own their weaknesses, not to fear asking others for help, believe in the power of collaboration, and be determined to change our world for the better. I made this my personal mission for every student, teacher, and individual I have the honor of serving. My mission will not be met if I don’t get out of bed for every single one of them. It’s our duty to propel every student along on their educational journey. There will be times it is hard, frustrating, and uncomfortable, many times for us. We can’t make that an excuse. We must help every child, every time. The next time my wife or daughter need me to scan the house while the rest of the world is sleeping, well, I will. I made a promise to protect them long before I joined hands in marriage and brought my beautiful daughter into this world. Oh, my son? He’s sleeping.