Monday Means Leadership: Giving Thanks

By Deanna Harris on 12/01/2014 • ( 0 )

During the month of November and especially on Thanksgiving, many folks participated in days of thankfulness or mealtime rituals, naming those people, institutions, and ideals for which they were grateful. As a school librarian and a teacher leader, I’m thankful for my students, staff, administration, and parents who support our library media and instructional technology program and ultimately impact student achievement at our school.

As strong leaders, we need to make sure that we are thanking those individuals, those advocates, and those supporters on a daily basis. Here are some ways that we can inspire greatness and gratefulness among our school communities:

A quick hand-written thank you note to the teacher who collaborated and team taught with us for the first time this year.
A cup of coffee for the custodian who makes sure the library doors are unlocked and the lights are on for us to start each day.
A shout-out in our social media feeds to the teachers who reviewed the latest young adult fiction and professional books and shared with students and colleagues.
An email to the PTA board who monetarily supports of our programs.
An article in the PTA newsletter thanking our parent volunteers for shelving all those books.
A hand shake for the student leaders who promoted our book, technology, media, and/or literacy clubs.
An email to a student who lead a book discussion, shared a research project, and/or assisted in the school library.
A plant for the receptionist who always knows which sales reps to send over and from which to take messages.
A text to an administrator who empowers and accommodates us and our programs.

Leaders thank people for their hard work, their contributions, and their support. How have you thanked those folks in your school communities today?

Author: Deanna Harris

I have spent my career in education as a middle grades language arts teacher, a middle grades teacher librarian, and a coordinating teacher at the NC Department of Public Instruction. During my twenty-three years, I have focused on teaching and learning, student achievement, and teacher leadership. I have worked with beginning and veteran teachers through mentoring, internships, staff development, and professional learning teams.

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