A Baker's Dozen to Follow -- No Measurements Required For This Recipe

Over the Christmas Holidays, I might have indulged a little too much.  My mother-in-law is an outstanding baker, and so when she came a few days before Christmas, it was with half of a heart that I scolded her for the two moving boxes of baked goods that she brought in to the kitchen.  Along with these sugary delights, suddenly, the cured meats became a main staple during the day: pepperoni, pastrami, capicola, and salami with some sort of exotic cheese were not only an indulgence, they were a requirement.  Never mind the turkey dinners, perogies, waffles with strawberries for breakfast, special coffees, mostly eaten in pajamas while watching "Christmas Vacation", "Love Actually", "The Town", and every sporting event on TV--it has truly been a gastronomical perfect storm this Christmas Holiday.  Thankfully I have been running nearly every day over the holiday, but really I am only doing it to make more room for food.

However, in the spirit of the holidays and overindulgence, I felt it important to concoct just one more recipe that is not only digestible on a full stomach, but may in fact burn off even more calories in the new year.  Each ingredient is a link to an article that I have referred to a number of times, and will continue to do so in the future. If you don't follow some or any of the friends that are linked in this post, do so.  They are hard working people with great and practical ideas that have influenced me and I hope will influence you.

One caution: there are no measurements for this recipe for success, they are all equally as important, and you will know the amounts to add in your classroom, school, or district.

A Recipe to Follow For Success in Your School

Ingredient #1:  create a Personal Learning Network and become a tweep (thanks to Bill Ferriter at 'The Tempered Radical' @plugusin and Aaron Akune at 'Educating in the 21st Century' @aakune)

Ingredient #2:  be a leader by inspiring others to become leaders (thanks to George Couros at 'The Principal of Change' @gcouros)

Ingredient #3: trust your students (thanks to Jeff Delp at 'Mountains out of Molehills' @azjd)

Ingredient #4: focus on revealing that which is within your students (thanks to Chris Wejr at 'The Wejr Board' @MrWejr)

Ingredient #5: find the positive in our students  and allow them to be creative in expressing themselves and what they know (thanks to Chris Wejr at 'Connected Principals' and Johnny Bevacqua at 'Figuring it Out' @johnnybevacqua)

Ingredient #6: think carefully about assessment and the impact of grading on students (thanks to Joe Bower at 'For the Love of Learning' @joebower )

Ingredient #7: Seek out prophets in your own land (thanks to Chris Kennedy at 'The Culture of Yes' @chrkennedy)

Ingredient #8:  find promising practices and share them with others (thanks to Brian Barry at 'Against the Wind' @Nunavut_teacher)

Ingredient #9: look for innovative ways to make time for teachers to perfect their craft (thanks to Lyn Hilt at 'The Principal's Post' and Chris Wejr at 'Connected Principals' @L_Hilt and @MrWejr)

Ingredient #10: think of why before thinking of how (thanks to Gino Bondi at 'Learning the Now' @gmbondi )

Ingredient #11: find ways to put classrooms and the school first and make your office second (thanks to David Truss at 'Pair-a-Dimes' @datruss)

Ingredient #12: stay the course and love what you do (thanks to Justin Tarte at 'Life of an Educator' @justintarte)

Ingredient #13: constantly remind yourself of the reason why (ok, this one is mine from here at 'The Learning Nation' @birklearns)

Please feel free to consume this recipe over and over.  And finally, as with any good recipe, if you have other ingredients that might spice it up, please comment and share!