Musings from Mrs. Galvan

I am spending July at home, with the three kids, trying to be at peace with my pact to not do work and just enjoy time with my kids... But the baby is taking a nap and the older kids are occupied, so I am breaking my pact for just a little while to write just a short blog post on advisory and Council . --- I left the math classroom last August and entered administration as a middle school dean. While deaning  gave me plenty of opportunities to counsel students and talk shop with teachers, I really missed being in the classroom. Teaching is part of my identity. Discussing ideas with a room full of 14 year olds is exciting, inspiring, challenging and incredibly fulfilling.  So while the new gig didn't afford me the chance to teach math, it did give me a mini class to take on: advisory. While not quite the same as a class that meets everyday, the weekly hour-long advisory sessions and daily attendance encounters, were my favorite parts of my daily routine. Social-emotional ...

Circle has been an incredible opportunity to connect with and learn from educators committed to caring, compassion, connection, equity, and making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and families they serve. Last week was another lovely evening of learning and sharing, hosted by Azizi Williams at Sequoyah. We started with a quick round of speed dating to share tips for effective meetings, interview questions and how we use storytelling at work. Here are the interview questions we shared: - Tell me a story about how you deal with conflict. - What are you excited about these days? - How do you create an inclusive classroom? - Why are you choosing to leave your current school? - With so many schools to choose from, why are you applying to this school? - What makes you smile? - Share a challenging moment with a student and how you handled it. - What buttons of yours do students push? - (A question for their references) If had PD money to spend, how sh...

A big thank you to Sarah Stehman for hosting our March Women in Leadership Circle gathering at Buckley. The evening was all about telling stories . While yes we had wine and cheese, it was quite a contrast to the usual experience of a work mixer. Having just attended one such mixer at NAIS, where I left feeling tired from the constant introductions and status focused chitchat, I was hungry for our circle. Circle is a place for real connection, thinking and support. There is no need to fane coolness - circle is a place for feelings, laughter, questions and trying out half ideas with nary a blue blazer in sight. Storytelling is essential for connection . Stories engage people and help people relate to us. But, how might we use our own experiences to engage our community? It seems natural to look for examples of mission and vision during the school day (Example: I saw this great lesson in 7th grade science in which kids were working collaboratively to solve a problem - this s...

Last Thursday we gathered at Echo Horizon School . A big thank you to Peggy Proctor for hosting and helping us facilitate and plan the evening. We reflected on the idea of Difficult Conversations ( see articles here ). As the evening progressed, we thought about what is gained by reframing these conversations as Powerful or Crucial. How might our language around difficult powerful conversations influence our willingness to lean into them? Overheard… Real listening is being willing, actually willing, to change your mind. Practice is failing. Finding allies, wherever you can, is key. Rarely is something actually an emergency. Take a breath and wait a day. We get upset in conversations because we are trying to please and fix. Nothing good happens at 11pm; that email can wait a day. Read Brene Brown’s new boo k and consider this: People are hard to hate close up. Move in. Recharge your mindset before a difficult conversation - that little voice is more powerful than ...