I made the transition from teacher to administrator in July, 2011, and since then, I’ve been accumulating lots of lessons along the way. Here are my top three:
ASKING QUESTIONS, EXPLORING OPTIONS, CHANGING THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION.
Filed Under: Best Practices From School Leaders, Management by Strengths Program, Marina Sabatini, MBS Program
Posted by: Marina Sabatini
I made the transition from teacher to administrator in July, 2011, and since then, I’ve been accumulating lots of lessons along the way. Here are my top three:
Filed Under: Marina Sabatini
Posted by: Marina Sabatini
As the first semester of another school year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on an interview from The Colbert Report that I saw back in August. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, was the special guest for the evening, and he was promoting his new book called Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. At the time, I found the topic almost too blaise to be worthy of national attention.Â
He spoke about happiness. More specifically, he presented happiness as a viable business model, including a brief discussion on the ten core values of Zappos, focusing on the number one principle: “Deliver WOW through service.”
 I remember thinking, “Well, of course people perform better when they’re happy. Who wouldn’t?” But with the holiday season upon us, Hsieh’s words seem very poignant.Â
Filed Under: Marina Sabatini
Posted by: Marina Sabatini
One of the most challenging papers I ever had to write while in college for my bachelor’s was for my Philosophy of Aesthetics class, and it dealt with proving how Robert Mapplethorpe’s artistic work was indeed “beautiful”. Considering the amount of controversy tied to his pieces, I found myself relishing the opportunity to argue for him. I dived in and typed up a flurry of arguments, laced with tremendously long multisyllabic words, driven by the spirits of Immanuel Kant and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. I was so enthusiastic that I scheduled a meeting with my advisor at the time, Dr. Begres, so I could share with her all of my hard work.
She listened intently, and after ten minutes, leaned forward across her desk and said, “Well, that’s all very nice, Marina, but if no one else can understand what the hell you’re talking about, then what good is it?”
Filed Under: Accountability, IEP, IEP Data, Marina Sabatini, Special Education, Special Needs, The Biggest Loser
Posted by: Marina Sabatini
Lately, I have received numerous questions on the subject of data collection. Does it have to be done every day? What kind of data needs to be collected? What do you do with a mountain of data? What does all of this data even mean?
The one question that continually surprises me, though, is, “Why do I even have to do this?”
So to all those in the world of special education who are asking themselves this question right now, let me tell you a story. (more…)
Filed Under: Marina Sabatini, Paulo Freire, Pedagogy, Social Justice, Special Education, Special Needs, The Freire Project
Posted by: Marina Sabatini
When I was ten years old, I had my first encounter with a person who was profoundly deaf. Her name was Jennifer, and she was a phenomenon on the local softball field. Every team was terrified of her prowess. As Jennifer would come up to bat, coaches from opposing teams could be heard yelling, “Back up!” as they waved their hands furiously at their outfielders. Jennifer would not disappoint, smacking the ball so hard that it cleared the fence nearly every time.
As I moved into the upper leagues, Jennifer and I had the privilege of being on the same team. I would diligently observe her, trying to figure out how she held her batting stance, how she brought the bat around, and how she knew to direct the ball to particular parts of the outfield. It would have been easier to ask her for myself, but I had no idea how to speak to her. Neither did anyone else on our team.
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Andrea Hodge is the Executive Director of the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program (REEP) at Rice University.
