bradshreff
I’m thinking about Episode 10 as the start of Season 2, or maybe Season 1.5. Either way, I have had a blast making the first 9 episodes of this show, but I think my best stuff is definitely ahead of me.
With that in mind, I thought that the best way to start out the new year of the podcast, and my own school year starting back up, was by talking to someone who has reminded me roughly 362 times in the last two months that he doesn’t have to go back to work this week. As of July 1st, my dad, Bob Shreffler, who was an elementary school principal, assistant principal, dean, music teacher, and band director, retired. He was well respected and loved by his staff (and I’m not saying that because he’s my dad, I’m saying that because I’ve seen pictures of the swanky retirement party they threw him and the stack of presents he got from them) and not so loved by all of his bosses. With his retirement date behind him, the need to sugar-coat his responses to my questions was gone, and he gave me some honest answers.
From what he calls buying the lie to micromanaging, he talks about some of the biggest problems facing education, especially in Florida, but he also talks about the power of teachers to overcome these issues. I think we had some great conversations, and I hope you’ll agree.
Huge thank you to Sara Johnson for our new logo. It is so amazing and I love it!
If you did like what you heard, do me a favor and give me a rating on iTunes. You can go to tinyurl.com/PlanningPeriodReview to get straight to my iTunes page and make it easy for you.
Or, just reach out to me on twitter. I’m @bradshreffler and you can message me on there any time.
Music provided by:
Vicious Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Brilliant interview! I am so thankful for this podcast and the reminder that, as a teacher, I am more capable and powerful than I realize! I may not be ready (or willing) (or brave enough) to “go rogue”, but I am ready to fall in love with teaching again by getting back to the things that attracted me to the field of education in the first place. Your dad, my former principal, is so well respected and loved because he knew how to bring out the best in people by simply believing in them and trusting them to do their jobs. He allowed me to believe in myself and my abilities far more than any “boss” I’ve ever had. He made more of an impact on me than I could ever put in words. He is truly missed, truly loved, and wished all the best in his retirement!
Thank you, Brad, for this podcast and for all you are doing to keep teachers believing in themselves and in their chosen profession. WE DO make all the difference!
Wow, wow, wow!! Thank you so much Debra. I genuinely appreciate it.
And whether you have the courage to go rouge yet or not, just keep doing what’s best for your kids. At the end of the day, that should never be rogue anyways.
Great interview showing the many facets of education in Florida. I have known Bob for many years as a fellow teacher and a band mate and have always known him to be straight forward and honest. We have seen the pendulum swing back and forth many times and the most profound and innovative thing any leader can do is be aware, anticipate, communicate, trust, lead and nurture your staff. This will give them the confidence to try, fail, succeed, knowing that the building administrator will share the load and most of all support them as they teach “their” students the way that is needed. After that, we can start over from scratch with the next group, the next year, and wait for the education pendulum to swing back. One thing I can agree with and embrace is that teachers are facilitators of learning and it’s up to the students and parents to work with the facilitator to get the most out of their particular child’s education. The Cookie cutter approach does not work in teaching or expected learning growth. Let educators do their jobs. Old school methods compliment new school methods.