Category: Leadership

An Antidote to the Affliction of Mediocrity

An Antidote to the Affliction of Mediocrity

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Is there really any end to mediocrity in our schools? I’ve been really pondering this lately. Are the PYP Enhancements really going to change this?

You see, I’m a big Seth Godin fan. After reading the book Linchpin, it is hard not to look at the ways in which schools create mediocrity. status quo.jpegMediocrity in our ho-hum test scores, in our bland school lunches, in our students’ indifferent attitudes, in our top-down staff meetings, in our pithy report comments, even in the lackluster of our playground equipment. The evidence is everywhere.

Why?  I think it boils down to 3 things.

Magpie Mentality

The Challenge: Another year, another mandate. There’s something always new and shiny that we now must add to our “toolbag”. And although we must always be striving for excellence, this magpie approach wears down staff and often this term “innovation” is the repackage of a new “old thing” all the time.

Catarina Song Chen said something brilliant to me the other day: sometimes innovation isn’t about creating new things, it’s about the stuff we stop doing. I couldn’t agree more.  Which leads me to the next culprit, I believe, behind mediocrity…

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

The Challenge: I don’t know how many times the myth of more is better has been dispelled. Our physical and emotional bodies were not designed for marathons. We were made to sprint, having episodes of rest and recovery time built in. We cannot multi-task without developing cognitive wear and tear.

Leaders don’t have the luxury of shifting blame, they have to take responsibility for failure. If a team is in failure mode, ask yourself how did I create the conditions for this, and what can I do to change it?

An Antidote: We don’t have to re-create the wheel like developing new PYP planners this RED HOT MINUTE! We should have an unpacking of the Enhancements and reflect on where we are and where we would like to go, as a staff, in an All-In approach.  I love how this one district took the time to dissect the Enhancements. It is our responsibility as IB educators to be reflective and thoughtful FIRST, and then take action.

Fuzzy Goggles

Lack of clarity is the main culprit of mediocrity. There’s no focus. Sometimes that looks a lack of standards or supporting curriculum. Sometimes that looks like non-educators making educational decisions at our schools. Sometimes it looks like a top-down decision that has the best intentions but hasn’t been well-articulated.  If people in your organization are acting indifferent or uninterested, then leadership needs to ask themselves what can THEY do to navigate a course correction?  Because this attitude and behavior is a reflection of their communication approach. It’s DATA–and what is the data telling you? Floundering? Disengagement? Apathy? Then it’s time to ask stakeholders their honest opinion and then brace themselves for the truth. Be prepared to make changes because if what you were doing was effective, then you would get a different result. Fact.

An Antidote:  Priorities. Priorities. Priorities. What’s your school’s WHY? Communicate that why because it’s your compass. seth againAnd when people appreciate and understand the “bigger picture”, they can contribute to solving problems and challenges that are encountered in the learning community, rather than being obstacle makers and naysayers. It’s easy to rally individuals when they have a clear purpose, and they feel that they have “skin in the game”. We must not only inspire but incite others by bringing them into the decision-making process.

 

Mediocrity, in my mind, is a choice. When you build teams that have a purpose and vision, you need not be afflicted with it. As leaders, we need to take a hard look at ourselves and not shift the blame onto others, but rather take responsibility for the areas in our schools that are average, at best. If something is mediocre at your school, you suffer from a state of “vanilla”, then start to survey others as to what they believe may be behind it.  Once you identify troublesome areas, be candid and make a collective plan to move forward with stakeholders because average is a dangerous state to be in, as we move into the future of education.

What Can Pedagogical Leaders Do to Grease the Wheels of Innovation in Their Schools?

What Can Pedagogical Leaders Do to Grease the Wheels of Innovation in Their Schools?

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When you hear the innovative what does that mean to you as an educator?

I think for a long time we thought if we superimposed the business model upon schools, analyzing and improving our school’s mission, operations, outcomes, and personnel, we’d produce high-performance metrics and fiscal efficiency. Gains in test scores and budget expectations would be innovation in itself, but as we examine the high-stress that the high-stakes initiatives have created, it’s hard to call this improvement in education. In fact, I think this approach has been demonized rather than lauded, and countries like New Zealand are backing off standards-based approaches and beginning to embrace a competency-based model of student achievement, as personalized learning is beginning to become more of a focus. I know there a quite a few schools that question “What is school?” and are moving away from classrooms into “studios” while other schools would be better off calling themselves “resorts” in which the whole school timetable is collapsed, and children are at complete choice. Yet there are other schools such as these in America, that look at this same question, “What is school?” and has defined it differently, expanding it beyond the school campus, and look at how they can connect more to nature and their local community for an authentic experience of learning. I think several of these schools ask a more interesting question, instead of “What is school?”, “What is worth learning?” 

deweyLet me explain a bit: recently I sat down with a Grade 11 student to explain how gene therapy works for her Personal Project on cancer treatments (Previous to teaching, I aspired to get my Ph.D. in Genetics and conducted gene therapy research). But as I was chatting with her, discussing the biological mechanism of the treatment strategies, I really wanted to pull out some literature on epigenetics, an emerging field that demonstrates that we have more control over our genetics than we think–a paradigm that I know has yet to get written into the textbooks. So when I encountered this quote below, it made me think about all of the things we teach as “facts” that have contradictory evidence which would shift perspectives and approaches to solving problems in our future:

A school’s mission is to prepare children for the future by teaching them skills, knowledge, and values, which it can only do by drawing on the past—that is, by teaching them what we know now. Much of the curriculum is fixed or slow-changing (fractions, the meanings of Hamlet, the causes of the American Revolution), and many schools emphasize their commitment to enduring truths and established traditions. Education is a conservator’s work. Good teaching is always creative, but not perpetually innovative, and while it benefits from regular refreshers and occasional overhauls, it doesn’t demand the kind of continuous updating that, say, law or medicine or high technology do. Continuity is a core value in school life.

–Robert Evans, Why A School Doesn’t Run—or Change—Like A Business

With this in mind, I think as schools begin to grapple with defining innovation for their unique context, they need to look at both of these questions: What is school?, perhaps looking at this as the operational side of it, and What is worth learning?, the outcomes that we’d want to be achieved. I’d also say that we need to consider “How do we learn?” as an important question to add to our conversations, as we consider the role of technology and connecting to communities as a component of our school’s mission.

innovationThese questions aren’t answered in a 2-hour meeting, they are inquired into over time, in an institutional self-study, and requires getting teachers voice, choice, and ownership in initiatives. So often lofty goals subtract the perspective of teachers, who are the ones held accountable to many of the suggested changes. Pedagogical leaders choose efficiency over effectiveness, and often side-step the very educators who are laying the foundation of change in their learning institutions. Including teachers in all of these conversations, from the initial inquiry into “What is school?” is not only what is best practice when it comes to leadership, but it is critical to buy-in and sustainable transformation. I can’t help but reiterate this, simply because innovation doesn’t happen in closed-door meetings, it’s a community-driven mission, and it requires all stakeholders. I’ll stop my preaching here, but schools need a collaborative approach to cultivating lasting change that has a true impact on our students.

Needless to say, this is a process of probing a school’s values and traditions and asking if they are truly serving to benefit their students and preparing them for their future. All the research I’ve read suggests that when those foundational questions are asked, then a clear and compelling mission and vision can be the springboard to transforming schools. Once that comes into laser focus, the next layer to innovation, involves reflecting on the following set of questions:

  1. How can we create the conditions for a shared vision and a shared instructional language?
  2. How can we provide resources for research and development for teachers and the time to go along with deepening their understanding?
  3. How can we create conditions for team learning? How can you adopt looking at student work protocols?
  4. How can we create conditions for institutional learning?

Common ground and understanding are what creates a culture of community and self-efficacy that is organic and supportive of school goals. These 4 questions develop the glue that keeps the motivation for innovation intact. If I had to pin a job description on pedagogical leadership, it would be to do just that: to keep moving people forward, together, for the better.

I hope these questions give you a pause for reflection and make you start observing your school’s context in a new light, surveying the current values and traditions within your walls of learning. Moreover, I hope it motivates you to start these conversations and start unpacking WHO YOU ARE as a school and start designing WHO YOU CAN BECOME. In my opinion, if more schools had conversations like these, we’d move away from looking at the 1-dimensional performance metrics and expand our awareness and creativity into new territories for education.

Co-Teaching Wisdom: 4 Things That Are Worth Your Jelly Beans

Co-Teaching Wisdom: 4 Things That Are Worth Your Jelly Beans

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Do you believe in coincidence? Sometimes I feel like the universe is conspiring on my behalf as if some unseen force can hear my silent thoughts rattling around in my head, and finding ways to provide me with answers or at least some nudges towards a better version of Me. This epiphany is compliments of one of my teaching teammates, my Grade 1 partner in crime, Pam Daly. It’s the Jellybean Philosophy. If you haven’t heard of it, please watch:

Why this resonates so much for me is that, as someone who has worked in highly collaborative schools, in which co-teaching is the norm, asking: “Is this “worth my jelly bean?” is so vital to developing and sustaining relationships, as well as keeping teams on track. When teams distill what is essential to their learning culture, then so much of the shaft can be removed from the wheat.

With that in mind, I feel that there are 4 critical areas that create a sound foundation for teamwork and collaboration. Spending time on these things are absolutely worth your “jelly beans” when developing strong teacher teams.

  1. Commit to the “We”
  2. Share a common language
  3. Generate unified goals
  4. Listen for the Voice of the Students

Commit to Being a “We”

There’s a great book that I highly recommend pedagogical leaders to read: The Power of Teacher Teams by Vivian Troen and Katherine Boles. It discusses the stages and strategies for building effective teaching teams. I think when teams are made explicitly aware that they’re in a very intimate relationship with one another, and the impact they make won’t be judged by one individual alone but by their combined efforts, I think this is an important perspective that should be made front and center. In the beginning, relationships are tenuous, but the sooner teams commit to getting along and growing strong together, the easier it will be to bring out the best and loving each other, warts and all.phil jackson And I know this sounds odd, but the sooner teams experience conflict or adversity, the better off they will be at developing clear communication and trust.

Although we’d like to be at our best 365 days a year, 7 days a week, the truth is we have difficult moments. We get distressing news, or a bad night of sleep or a toothache–some emotional or physical stress which makes it hard to teach at our highest levels. And when our patience is strained, our ingenuity is diminished, this is when we need to lean on each other; supporting one another through the ups and downs is really the tell-tale sign of a true team. As a team member, you can create an oath or vow to demonstrate a commitment to becoming “WE”. Here’s my really corny one:

I do solemnly swear to not be a jerk on purpose. And if I offend you in some way, please let me know so I can work to improve my communication and develop a caring relationship with you. Likewise, if you do or say something that upsets me, it is my responsiblity to communicate this feeling in a respectful manner so that I do not habor resentment towards you. Our relationship matters to me and most important, to our students.

I think if teams are grounded in a commitment to get along and be strong, assuming positive intention becomes a staple, and then people can approach each other with curiosity vs. judgment.

Share a Common Language

Feeling that there is equity in a relationship is huge, and one thing that can divide or bring a team together is our language. Now I’m not talking about how polite or eloquent we may speak, although that might be helpful, it is having a clear idea of what different pedagogical terms mean to one another. As someone who has worked in a myriad of educational contexts, I NEVER assume that my colleagues and I define terms in the same way because we come from different cultural perspectives and pedagogical backgrounds–even if we all share the same country on our passports! Here are some just a few terms that often need to be checked for shared understanding (no right or wrong here, by the way):

  • best practice
  • play
  • good writing
  • critical thinking
  • rubric
  • running records
  • formative assessment
  • inquiry-based learning
  • transdisciplinary
  • math terminology
  • learning outcomes/learning intentions/learning objectives
  • developmentally appropriate
  • parent communication
  • home learning

I often found that unpacking these commonly used terms helps to develop an appreciation and understanding of our influences and philosophies, helping teams to come into agreement and alignment, paving the way for fruitful collaboration and respectful interactions.

Generate Unified Goals

A couple years ago I read Phil Jackson’s book, Eleven Rings. I’m not a basketball fan, but I was immensely interested in how a coach develops teams with all those egos in one room. And if there is one thing that I took away from the book is that the desire to win can be overwhelming. Although we may not be amazing at layups and scoring 3-pointers, teachers are driven to make a difference and genuinely want to make a positive impact on student outcomes. We want to “win” too. That, in a nutshell, is the goal, right?–it’s what should unite us? So just like Phil Jackson worked to make his players masters at the “triangle offense”, I’d like to quote Todd Henry, teams need to master focus, function, and fire. Here are some suggested goals:

Focus: What needs our collective attention?

Our energy is a finite resource, so asking this question can generate consensus and ensure that we are driving in the same direction. Data always helps to facilitate these conversations.

Function: How can we use our planning time efficiently?

Setting goals for a co-planning session create a sense of purpose and make a big difference to the productivity levels of teams. Having an agenda and defining whose role it is to follow-up or follow-through on something is a highly effective tool to help teams become more collaborative and synergistic.

Fire: Why are we here?

Most of us care very deeply about the impact we make in schools. The “5 Whys” suggested by Simon Sinek can help inspire teams to determine their beliefs and purpose. When we are rooted in our purpose, it’s easy to be more authentic on our teams because our shared connections and values will be revealed. And this context helps us to see beyond our different cultures or training, recognizing that the heart of what we do is ultimately similar.

It also makes it easier to develop our professional growth goals as a team and support one another in becoming our best selves.  As long as we walk in the direction of that goal or goals, we are growing together and our collaboration will naturally deepen.

Listen for the Voice of the Students

Four ears are better than two. And how about six ears or eight ears?-Wow we are bound to hear the ideas and conversations that abound from our students! When we keep our senses on alert, we are bound to capture the understandings that are evolving which can guide decision-making.

collaboration.jpegAfter I spent the weekend with Margaret Maclean, I  have come to a greater appreciation for the need to have a perspective into our classrooms. Using protocols to capture what is happening in the classroom can be highly enlightening and lowers our threat of exposing personal vulnerabilities. There are several websites that offer protocols that can reveal ways that we can engage in deeper analysis of student learning. Using tools like protocols are helpful because it documents and funnels the evidence of student learning into productive discussions. Focusing on student learning is the most worthwhile “jelly bean” there is.

 

Our time is precious. Our time with our students even more so. We have to develop strategies and use tools to help us become effective and productive teaching team–not to mention happy ones. I hope these 4 ideas will help you to sort your “jellybeans” into meaningful moments and develop greater clarity of purpose with your teaching team. Please share below any other ideas that you feel are necessary to have strong teacher collaboration–I would love to hear it!

 

#Change in Education- Leadership through Design: How Schools can Rethink and Reimagine Themselves

#Change in Education- Leadership through Design: How Schools can Rethink and Reimagine Themselves

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Four years ago I made a study of Design Thinking, taking courses, reading books and trying to figure out how I could bring it to our youngest learners. (Psst…I think it’s the Secret Ingredient to Student Agency.) My passion for it has not stopped. Beyond projects and products, however, I think schools could use this thinking approach, not just in our classrooms, but in every area of our school. Why? I think often schools make hasty decisions before really taking the time to really brainstorm possibilities and thoughtfully enact change. With a design-led approach, you can improve and amplify collaboration and innovation in schools through human-centered research, starting with empathy, considering the needs of the user or the audience of your “product”. It’s not about YOU–it’s about THEM!! I love that! It’s really the whole point of education–serving the needs of others.

Here is an overview from the d.school in which you can see how design thinking is a major departure from how school leadership might undertake challenges.

design slide

Currently, our “MakerSpace Man”, Al Gooding is utilizing this approach with a redesign of our primary playground. He is collaborating with Grade 5 and Grade 9 students to create a more interactive and engaging playground with our students. Although this project is underway, you can see how the primary students are “testing” out the materials, which included bricks, bamboo, tires, and rope. For a week, they collected data of how others used the equipment and what challenges there were to this sort of play.

As you can see in the video, there’s been immense enjoyment and creativity. It’s gorgeous to see how play has been transformed through this project. Now those Grade 5 and Grade 9 students are going back to the “drawing board” to reflect and continue to research ideas before unveiling a reworked design of what our playground could be like.

So if Design Thinking can be applied to our learning spaces, what else can it be applied to?

Hmm…..

I’ve been thinking a lot about report cards lately. It’s a topic that is near and dear to my heart, especially if you read my blog post on #ChangeInEducation: Setting a Match to the Report Card? A Couple of Questions on #Assessment in the #PYP. Naturally, I feel it’s worthwhile to take the time to analyze this entrenched assessment and reporting structure. So how might we approach a redesign of this?

  1. Define: Who is the report card for? Is its primary user students? parents? other schools?
  2. Empathy: Survey members of the community, such as students and parents FIRST. If they are the intended audience of this important document that provides feedback and articulation of a child’s intellectual and emotional growth, then we need to know their thoughts on it. What do they like and dislike about our report card? What do they wish it had on there? What do they wish we could eliminate?
  3. Brainstorm: Have staff get together and examine some of the information gathered. This can be a group of volunteers or this can be whole staff endeavor. We need a diverse group of thinkers and perspectives in the room so we could start playing What If?  This stage takes time–it’s not a 15-minute exercise. Creativity and divergent thinking require research and a touch of silliness so we can break out of the box of convention. We also need to consider how we create “teams of thinkers” so we can have groups that come up with a variety of strategies. We may even want to have students involved in this brainstorm–it’s about them, right?–they might offer some really great insights and ideas so we should value their voice.
  4. Iteration: We create mock-ups of what a re-imagined “report card” looks like. (I know in my mind right now, I’d create a more visual report card with infographics or some other visual design that would communicate better than a bunch of educational gibberish that is often put into reports.)
  5. Design Sprint: Share our best prototypes with our parents and students. What response do they have to them? What questions do they have? What needs are still not being met? (Can we meet those needs?). Then we go back to the drawing board, armed with their ideas for our staff to reflect upon to create a prototype.
  6. Unveil the Prototype (Test): Staff uses the new “report card” to communicate the learning. Teachers meet with parents to discuss the report to ensure they understand the information about their child’s learning. Students need to express their opinions as well. Do they think the report card summarizes their growth and learning well? Why or why not?
  7. Feedback and Moving Forward: We analyze various factors within the reporting process, such as how much time it took to “manufacture” the report, how well did the parents understand the report and how meaningful was the feedback system? What other challenges do we need to address? Do we still need to iterations to this or shall we continue with our re-designed report card?

Did you notice?

When we think about the “Enhanced PYP”, a design-led approach naturally cultivates formal and informal leadership within a learning community. There are voice, choice, and ownership on every level–admin, staff, students, and parents (perhaps even others outside our community). I believe that as we move forward in our quest to put “principles into practice”, we prioritize creating new ways in which we deepen our relationships within our schools and create a culture of inclusion.

I hope through these two examples of our playground and the report card, you might begin to see how design thinking can be transformative in leading change and innovation in your school.

 

Prying off the Lid to Stir the Paint: The Enhanced #PYP and Teacher Agency

Prying off the Lid to Stir the Paint: The Enhanced #PYP and Teacher Agency

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How would you like things to be different at our school? This is the fundamental question that school leaders, teachers, students, and parents (really everyone in the building) need to answer. Because that is the starting point for our journey into “enhancing” our PYP schools–getting the Learning Community involved and excited about elevating the learning and teaching.  And this is the time to do it!

But maybe some of you are wondering where do we begin? Agency! This is the “heart” of the changes.enhanced pyp

If that word agency doesn’t connect with you, then I reckon you could replace it with another word: EMPOWERMENT.

Empowering students has been a major focus on a variety of blogs and blog posts; aside from the Sharing PYP Blog some of my favorites are IB Educator Voices, What Ed Said, and Sonya Terborg because they authentically grapple with the shifting mindset about our learners that I think all of us can relate to and feel inspired by. Taryn Bond Clegg has also created a compendium of resources. So if that is where you want to begin your journey into agency, then rummage around in those posts, basking in those fabulous ideas. However, I want to talk about the other members of our Learning Community because I believe that if we empower those people, student agency begins to happen organically. Today I want to respond to this tweet by the IB:

Voice, Choice, and Ownership

As I see it, enhancing our programs means that we need to disrupt the power structures in our schools, providing more voice, choice and ownership to our teachers. There’s an interesting story shared by David Marquet, commander of the nuclear submarine Santa Fe, of a moment in which he realized during a simple drill, having one point of command was not only limiting to the efficiency of operations of the sub, it was downright dangerous. He says that these traditional leadership structures throw “cold water on” the passion, creativity, and the working knowledge of those who are working under his command. He confessed that these hierarchical military structures in which the top leader does the “thinking” and the others down the food chain act upon those commands are embedded in many organizations-schools being one of them. In fact, schools are masters at it, as it has been the institution that has created factories of workers of the future. So, if we are to take this concept of agency seriously, then our organizational structures must collapse, in which “titles” only define who has the responsibility to push the “launch button”, but everyone else is in full command, not standing around anymore, waiting for orders. Furthermore, he states that “Good leaders don’t need to give good orders. They need to create teams that don’t need to be told what to do.”

Teachers as Leaders

Technically EVERYONE is a pedagogical leader, it’s just the level of responsibility and scale that differs. I know some of us enjoy being “the boss” but powerful leaders are the ones who listen to those they serve–it’s not the other way around. (I think this is why they call this a “power struggle”. ) leaders and powerThe reason why this is such a dynamic approach is that it demonstrates that we, as leaders, have trust in our teachers, believing that they are capable of change and willing to engage professionally in transforming our schools

With that in mind, we need to ask the teachers and get their ideas and opinions. Instead of asking teachers and staff to fit them into OUR box, why don’t we meet them where teachers and staff are and find out how they can authentically contribute to our school’s evolution? Why limit our school’s potential with our own finite thinking when we could approach them with a genuine intention to understand and appreciate their perspective and experience. I think this is the 1st step into figuring out how we can access their talents and employ them into new roles. I feel that it’s our curiosity as leaders that help us to see underneath the surface and begin to discern how we might start to transform our leadership structures. Because, if we were to reframe our definition of leadership, not as the one who has CONTROL, but rather as the one who has the ability to INFLUENCE, then a wide swath of possibilities are available and more people can be invited to the party, sort of speaking.

So what can teachers influence?

Professional Development: Professional development shouldn’t something that is done TO them-it is something that is done WITH them. I think often we assume we know what teachers “need”, making stark generalizations and not delving into the recesses of their hearts and minds, learning about what they desire and what fears they have. Plus, when we impose initiatives upon them, it creates passivity. We want teachers who are self-motivated, who can run with the ball, inspiring others, not compliant robots. Perhaps it’s time to personalize their professional development, allowing them to create their own PD plans.

Personalized learning is something that I am very passionate about. I created a series of podcasts to provide some resources out there for teachers to go deeper with their professional learning goals. I think one step of breaking down the power structures is to provide some i-Time or Genius Hour for teachers. Having them design their own learning path linked to self-selected professional goals can be a powerful means to develop a passion and a strong knowledge base.  By the way, I’m not suggesting that teachers only “can” chose the theme of the flavor of their Professional Learning Community –no I think teachers should be able to choose to work alone or in a team on these goals, further enhancing their agency, and then those groups get to choose the goals of their PLCs. If we remember that everyone has different learning styles, then it would further “enhance” to give them the freedom to choose the what, how and who of their professional goals.

Evaluation and Appraisals:  Let’s be honest, when teachers hear those words, evaluation or appraisal, they feel that this is either an exercise of fault finding or a justification process for keeping their jobs. These tools are the ultimate tool for keeping teachers in “their place”, and I think we need to start challenging this process and begin to reframe it. As true professionals, teachers want to be better because they KNOW that their daily efforts are making a difference in the lives of children. We should be giving credit to them, not finding ways to tear them down. Furthermore, I think teachers are more critical of themselves than leaders will ever be but they need authentic feedback. And as a leader who rarely observes the day to day learning classroom, how could you possibly give meaningful feedback? It’s for this reason why evaluations and appraisals are often seen as a joke–an exercise in “ticking a box” for accreditation rather than a true inspiration for professional growth and development.

So instead of putting a rubric or checklist of professional behaviors in front of them (if your school even has one), why don’t they create ones that mean something to them? How about school leadership toss out these autocratic structures and turn the reigns over to them? With that in mind, the only job that school leaders have to do is to provide absolute clarity–clarity of how these enhancements can impact the learning and teaching, and clarity of what your school’s mission and values are. This creates the intention to bring them into the fold of and is the fodder for an amazing amount of transformation to take place. In fact, if I was the ruler of the universe, I would lead teachers through a design-thinking process to recreate the evaluation and appraisal system, and allow the magic to happen.  Giving them the power of What If provides the motivation and creativity to really impact the learning in our schools.

Hierarchical Structures: Titles and Teams

The longer I am education, the more I want to challenge this. I wrote a post a while ago about What If Students Ran the School? (#SOL meets #EmpowerBook), and I’d like to ask to add this question: What if Teachers Ran the School? When I pose this What If-question, it makes me wonder what ideas around leadership structures could surface when we lean in and listen to the very staff we are leading.  These are just a few of my own thoughts and opinions.

In my mind, titles only provide a guide as to who has responsibility for what. It shouldn’t denote authority–give me respect or else! That is low-level leadership thinking anyway. However, I think if we gave teachers a genuine voice, then leadership titles really begin to be meaningful. They can trust us to do the job our title says we are supposed to do and free us from micro-managing. I believe Words Matter and creating titles can throw up walls or barriers to innovation.

So needless to say, I am very wary of creating rungs of leadership teams within the staff. If people are genuine experts in something, they should be called coaches because that denotes someone who is a mentor and teacher-leader, it’s a title that denotes active responsibility. But having “Head of ….” (ex: Head of English) suggests that this is the only person doing the “thinking” on this subject. I mean, the head is where the brain is, right? And we want everyone thinking!! Likewise, having a “Leaders of Learning team” or whatever jazzy name you give an “inner circle” creates cliques and resentment on staff. It creates a culture of “us” and “them”.   I think we need to dismantle any quasi-leadership team that has a guise of distributed leadership but poisons the well of school’s culture.

With that in mind, I am more in favor of having tasks forces that have active, focused energy on developing our school’s initiative. People with passion, coming together to forge a new destiny for our schools–that’s way more powerful and meaningful than any title we can toss at them. Plus, it gives more opportunity to have an eclectic group of individuals to come together, rather than hand-picked individuals.

So, as we start to question what these “enhancements” might mean for our schools, these are 3 areas that we can start to allow teachers and staff a stake in the game that we call “our school”.  Furthermore,  taking a design-based approach to examining these areas of professional development, evaluation and appraisals, and leadership teams, can begin to unlock the invisible chains that hold teachers back.  I think this will create a cultural quake, with the feeling of freedom and creativity permeating and taking root; because people being driven by a mission, rather than restrained by the tradition of “we’ve always done it this way”, creates a revolution on its own and, an exciting one at that.

Can you think of any other What-Ifs that need to be added to this enhancement when it comes to teacher agency? Please share in the comments below and get a conversation going!

 
#EdLeadership: 3 “Bright Lines” That Help Support Co-teaching and Team Collaboration

#EdLeadership: 3 “Bright Lines” That Help Support Co-teaching and Team Collaboration

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The days of the silos in education are phasing out. Inclusivity and collaboration are in, and co-teaching is becoming more of a common feature in our 21st-century classrooms. So how can educational leaders encourage creativity and cooperation? — by making it easy for groups of teachers and teams to come together to plan, create and collaborate. And how can we mitigate the friction and build a culture of openness where everyone feels empowered, engaged and inspired? I think the answer is bright lines. 

Bright lines?-I know what you are thinking–What the heck is she talking about?  Well, most of us take for granted the white or yellow lines that are painted on our roads. However, years ago, when cars began to become popular vehicles, that innovation made a tremendous impact on road safety – And whether you drive in Omaha, Nebraska or Jakarta, Indonesia, it helps drivers to maintain lane discipline, and avoid oncoming traffic and other potential hazards.I remember thinking that students should learn the way I taught- they should adjust to me. I could not have been more wrong. A great teacher adjust to the learner, not the other way around (1) But those line markings or “bright lines” can only serve their purpose if they can easily be seen by all road users, in all conditions. Okay, so hold onto that concept while I digress a moment …..

I think we can all agree and appreciate that ideas become amplified when groups of self-motivated people with a collective vision join together and dig into challenges. But Simon Sinek really expresses the conundrum that we face in teams:

There’s a paradox with being a human being. At all times, at every moment on every day, we are both individuals and members of groups. We are both responsible for ourselves and own happiness and our own joy, but, at the same time, we are members of multiple groups at every moment. And this produces some complications, we have to make decisions. So do we put ourselves first or do we put the group first? And there’s a debate: some people say you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of the group; and some say, “No, no, no!”, you take care of the group and that’s what helps take care of you.  And the answer is YES–it’s not one of the other. The answer is both, simultaneously.

Simon Sinek, #followthereader with Jay Shetty

Can you relate to the tug and pull on our emotions when we are involved in teams? I totally do! I think-How do I do ME and yet help become a better WE?

Well, the more I consider it, the more I feel that “bright lines” can create the boundaries you just can’t cross in a team so that the “I” and “We” can co-exist in harmony. These are non-negotiables that your team articulates that put you on the road to success (pun intended).  And perhaps the best way is for teams to identify the “bright lines” around their purpose, roles and goals.

Bright Line #1: Common Purpose

How often do you jump in your car (or any form of transportation) and just start driving? I bet most of the time you have a reason why you got into your car and a have a destination in mind.

Hmmm….. But how in our “Teacher back to school” week, do we just “jump in” and start “driving”, without cultivating connection, intention, direction, with WHY we come together, to begin with. We start planning our Week 1 without really getting to know each other. Sure, some teams may be given some team norms or encouraged to make some common agreements, but then we either race through that stuff or get caught up with surface level chit chat (ie: Do you have children? Oh you have a dog? That’s nice, I like dogs!), without developing understanding and trust with each other. In my mind, that is HUGE and makes a really big impact on the effectiveness of the team. We take each other’s philosophy and passions for granted, failing to find our common ground and connect the dots between our personal values and guiding principles that impact our practice. I’m not suggesting that knowing the basic information isn’t important and necessary, but I think that’s more of a whole staff icebreaker rather than a goal of our first team meeting.

Last year we had discussed bringing our team together to co-construct a team mission statement, but because it hadn’t been encouraged in the beginning and we didn’t have a framework, it slipped way to the bottom of our team “to do list”.  However, when team members became really ill and had extended periods of absence, I could definitely feel the loss of that opportunity because it would have helped all team members to know what direction we should take, as well as helping the absent members transition back onto the team. I will definitely make it a point next year, and I think these questions can really help out sculpt our shared mission/team statement together.

Individuals reflect on these questions, write them down, then share them with the group:

Intention: What am I committed to? Why does that matter to me?

Direction:  What do I think is the best of the “best practice”? Why do I feel that way? What is the impact I hope to make?

Connection: What is something that is important for me to feel safe and valued? What is something that really hurts my feelings or annoys me? What is something that I want to improve upon that I’d like support and encouragement with?

I think the questions about intention and direction can guide the collective team statement, while the last “connection” questions help to organically shape common team agreements.

To create change that lasts, we need to know what we stand for. -Simon Sinek-

Translating those answers into creating a common purpose really draws those bright lines around your collaborative efforts while developing your “standard operating procedures” for the team. And those questions are just one way to approach developing your team’s identity and purpose. But having that in place, in my mind, is foundational. Teams can’t be successful without having high-quality professional conversations.

Bright Line #2: Roles- Driving In Your Own Lane

I’ve heard it said that when you’re driving in your own lane, there’s no traffic and no speed limit.  I’m sure from the previous conversations that the “lane” in which a team member is going to drive in is becoming more obvious, but these questions can further tease out our concerns and passions.

Individuals ask these questions:

  1. What am I good at?
  2. What do I love?
  3. What does our group of learners need?
  4. What does our school need?
  5. How can I serve the needs of these learners?
  6. Is there something that I can do to serve the needs of the larger community?

Under poor leaders we feel like we work for the company.  With good leaders we feel like we work for each other. -Simon Sinek-

Focusing in on ourselves and then widening the lens helps everyone in the group to appreciate what a team member finds joy and excitement for; also we can take notice of each other’s unique perspective and start to develop synergy around commonalities in areas in which we can intersect and elevate each other. It also is a moment in which we can be authentically vulnerable and a natural trust and closeness for one another can develop. Sharing begets caring.

A footnote here: If we really want to amplify the vulnerability then we can have team members express what they would like to work on and/or what they would like to improve upon. This opens a door to peer-coaching. But, in this instance, when we are trying to understand our roles on a team, it’s best to avoid personal/professional goal setting–that’s for another meeting time when we are not painting bright lines.

Bright Line #3: Goals- What’s The Destination?

Once you have “painted” the bright lights around passion and purpose, goals naturally develop. Now, as I see it, there are at least 2 layers to this–there are interpersonal goals with team members and then there are student learning expectations that come about as a result of our cumulative efforts. With regards to team goals, I feel that having a positive projection is critical, as well as developing optimism and motivation for team members. So questions that could support this might be…

What do I think is the “best case scenario” for our team and what am I willing to do and/or contribute to the team to make this a reality? What guideposts or milestones might I see that would indicate that we have arrived or achieved our goal? 

At our school, we often refer to our rubric/continuum for collaboration that could direct these conversations. Here is what it looks like:levels of collaboration

goals spectrumBut I really love this concept of a success spectrum from Faster than 20, and I would like to advocate for this applying this tool to our schools because I think it develops greater teacher agency. Also, because it is so broad, not only could be used for team collaboration goals but for student learning impact goals as well. Plus, teachers could use this template for their personal professional goals; so in my mind, this is a very versatile and handy dandy tool.

As for student learning outcome goals, so often we rely on standardized test scores or using our learning outcomes to define our destination. But this data, when you think about it, is really 1-Dimensional. It doesn’t really address the needs of the WHOLE child, and it doesn’t examine the powerful dynamics that happen in the learning community. Yes, it’s important to review data on math and literacy from the previous year, but I would caution that as being the only data explored. However, it is a place to start to look at the overall composition of the cohort and consider how you might elevate their progress in your own grade level.

That being said, what are the kiddos that might need additional support and whose responsibility is it to ensure they grow? (Admittedly, all of us, right?–but sometimes it’s nice to have “eyes assigned” to specific students if you have a lot of students with additional learning needs so no one falls through the cracks.) Also, bright lines need to be developed how the team is going to track their growth. What tools and methods are you going to use to examine progress?  If progress isn’t made, then what steps will members make to help those students? If progress IS made, then how are we going to celebrate it?

In summary, here are the questions that teams need to ask to define student outcome goals?

  1. What do we know about this cohort?
  2. Who might need more support?
  3. What do we know about these students beyond the test scores?
  4. What data are we going to use to track growth?
  5. Who is going to be responsible for anecdotal evidence of growth?
  6. How often are we going to evaluate the needs of students?
  7. What might we do if growth is stagnating and who is responsible to assess this?
  8. What other goals can we set for our students, outside of academic progress? For  PYP schools, I think our focus should be on ATLs and the  Learner Profile.

Personally, I think none of these questions should be skipped or overlooked, even if the answers seem obvious. The point of this is to make explicit the what, who, how and when of goals so that there is nothing implied and hidden on the team with clear and effective communication.

Bringing together eclectic groups of educators and developing synergy between them is a real challenge. What we want to avoid is a team member suffering from feeling that their ideas are being marginalized or watered down,  feeling snubbed and personalizing the rejection, rather than understanding that it is the idea that is being challenged. This can lead to members experiencing loneliness and apathy, disengaging from collaboration rather than leaning into it. However, I think developing bright lines creates understanding and empathy for one another on a team which can circumvent some of these future personality issues and conflicts.

I know these ideas around bright lines are really a “first thinking” around how teams can reflect and reveal the perspectives, purpose, and passion of its members. The questions are meant to drill down and reflect on the needs of an individual and the needs of the group so that “I” and “we” can work harmoniously and simultaneously to meet the needs of the learners. What is important and vital is having structures that express the goals, roles, and responsibilities of each member so that respect and collaboration organically develop.  That is what effective leadership does on Day 1.

As I begin to think about the start of school, I look forward to deepening my understanding of how our team can connect and communicate more openly so that our team’s combined efforts can create amplified learning.

 

Hopes and Concerns-The Power of Conversations with Parents and Caregivers

Hopes and Concerns-The Power of Conversations with Parents and Caregivers

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No one wants to be known as being at the worst school in the worst district in the country, but that was what Staton Elementary was known for a long period of a time. Back in 2005, the school district decided to “reconstitute” it because test scores were so pitiful, less than 20% proficiency in both literacy and math. They basically replaced all the administration and teaching staff to get a fresh start, so it was only the students and their parents that remained the constant. The new principal, Caroline Fisherow was really stunned by what she saw, with the level of behavioral issues and truancy. She pleaded to become a pilot school for a program that had been successful in Sacramento, California. It was designed by educational consultants from the  Flamboyan Foundation whose primary focus is to increase family engagement because they believe that “people solve problems” and schools NEEDED parents to be involved in their children’s education to overcome obstacles in learning. Flamboyan slideAt the heart of the effort were home visits, in which teachers would go to see parents before the next school year to talk about their children. Home visits aren’t uncommon in schools but what surprised me was the intention behind the visit–it wasn’t to demand support or provide information, it was just a list of simple questions that teachers asked parents, with parents doing most of the talking. Here they are:

Tell me about your child’s experience at school.

Tell me about yours.

Tell me your hopes and dreams for your child’s future.

What do you want your child to be someday?

What do I need to do to help your child learn more effectively?

Can you imagine how those parents felt? Can you imagine the instant connection and care they must have felt towards that teacher? Someone cared about their “baby”! Someone cared about their dreams for their child!

And can you imagine how that teacher felt? They were armed with a sketch of that child’s support at home, and also could understand the heart of that parent!

What a profound effect that had! Those home visits started those children on a path to success, with familiarity and trust with their teacher already established before the school year even began. Even more surprising was that there was a shift that was instant and dramatic in the school dynamic: behavior issues and truancy were seriously diminished, school events became standing-room-only, and proficiency scores that saw a significant increase (Math went from 9% to 28%, nearly tripling in the first year!). And what gives me goosebumps and watery eyes is that that the power of the home visit is sustainable; in fact, test scores and parent involvement continued to improve.

But I don’t think you need to be a “turn around” school to do this!  I think to have these types of conversations with parents BEFORE school starts should be a common fixture at schools. It’s too powerful- we shouldn’t neglect the voice of the caregiver.

I know at our school, we do a “Hopes and Concerns” meeting a day or two before the school year kicks off. Our parents do come to school–it’s not a home visit- but the intention is the same. It’s my favorite parent meeting. The questions are quite similar and the meeting lasts around 15 minutes. Before I begin the meeting I explain that I am here to listen and take notes. Parents are always eager to share stories and anecdotes about their child. The interaction is warm and friendly, and, as a parent myself, I often relate to their struggles and desires with their child. I can attest to the bonding that forms between parent and teacher, and I walk away from that day feeling confident that my parents are partners. It’s going to be a good school year.

So I hope this gorgeous story about Stanton Elementary inspires you to consider how you might connect with parents before school. I don’t know if there are any studies done between home visits vs. school meetings and their level of impact, but I firmly believe the place where the conversation takes place is less important than the quality of the conversations. However, I’m sure that developing parents as partners is MORE important than any other initiative out there.  In my opinion, because I see parents are the child’s first and longest-lasting teacher, the impact and influence those parents have on their child override mine any day of the week! Open communication with parents makes a world of difference and making it a priority on Day 0 of the school year ultimately creates a positive projection for those students.

 

The Role of the #PYP Coordinator: 3 Things that No One Wants to Learn the Hard Way

The Role of the #PYP Coordinator: 3 Things that No One Wants to Learn the Hard Way

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About a month ago, I sat having wonderful discussions with PYP coordinators from all over the world in the Hague about the Enhanced PYP. Aside from curriculum, it got me thinking about other aspects of the leadership role of the Curriculum Coordinator. It’s not an easy position to be in and no 3-Day Workshop or online course can provide adequate training for your school’s special challenges.

As coordinators, we have the responsibility for The 3Cs: Climate, Curriculum, and Culture. It’s hard to say which one of the 3Cs comes first as a priority as they are critical to the success and impact you can make at your school.  You often have to juggle them and it’s hard to keep those balls up in the air but they have to stay in motion. The impact they have on the community can help to create a contagion of positivity and goodwill if done well. Most of our professional development comes from the context of those 3Cs and they take time to develop. And no coordinator can be successful alone–they need a team, and teams develop through relationships.  I think having empathy and coming from the perspective of “the teacher” is particularly important as it relates to developing staff relationships, and there are few things that I wish someone would have advised me on when it came to the role.

People Before Paperwork

We are human beings, not human doings.  You’ve got to consider people over paperwork because people are our job–whether it’s the little people in our classrooms or the big people that make up our staff. paperworkI know we have our checklists of paperwork that we have to stay on top of, but at the end of the day, I’d rather have teachers focused on making sure the kids have engaging, authentic and impactful learning and I have rarely found that paperwork inspires them to create that. This is especially true at PYP schools in which we have to reflect often on our students’ learning so that we can determine the next steps in their inquiries

I had one coordinator who used to come in nearly weekly and, during our meetings, he would put our conversations about learning into the PYP planner or onto our scope and sequence documents so that the ideas were documented (ticked the box) and the teachers could engage in more creative thinking during collaboration time. Also, I had more time to communicate with families, look at data and plan more thoughtful provocations.

Coordinators should always look for opportunities to free up time so that teachers don’t have to be bogged down so much with paperwork and instead shift their focus to making learning impactful.

Professional Relationships: You get people ON the bus when you don’t put people UNDER the bus

A common mistake that coordinators make is that they complain to teachers about the administrators as a bid for connections. Don’t throw administration under the bus in front of teachers. As a new or aspiring leader, choosing to throw someone under the bus is one of the telling signs of your leadership capabilities.

[bctt tweet=”When you blame somebody else for something that you should be taking some responsibility for, you are communicating weakness and not strength” username=”judyimamudeen”] In most situations, you can be a change agent so you should be seeking solutions and not be projecting your frustrations onto the staff.  I know it may help you to “feel” that can connect more with the teacher’s perspective but it’s unprofessional and you will develop a culture of complaint and gossip. Who really wants that?

evalutionAnd it’s poor form to throw teachers under the bus in front of teachers. Trust is so important in your work so if you undermine others, expect staff to lose their confidence in you.

It’s the Law of Karma-what is said aloud, goes aloud. So Watch your mouth! The minute you walk away, that teacher you complained to is wondering “hmmm… I wonder what my coordinator tells others about me?” If you feel that a teacher isn’t working up to their potential, talk TO them directly (not ABOUT them) and in a non-threatening way, and seek out a mentor for them. Also, how you say what you say matters. Under your breath, if you must, repeat the mantra: Stay professional. Stay Professional. Stay Professional.

I’m not going to lie here. I have suffered from bouts of “Insert Foot into Mouth Disease” and, goodness knows, that I have had to go back to a staff member to apologize for saying something in a wrong way.  But, for me, it’s more important to have peace and understanding than lose face. However, I once worked with a vice-principal who NEVER ONCE said an unkind word about anyone. EVER. He had plenty of opportunities to humor me with grievances but he never did. Bless him. I thought of him as a saint. And if he asked me to jump, I was like “How high?” and “Would you like sprinkles with that?” He is still my inspiration today because he was always compassionate, generous, thoughtful and caring.  Now, if we all could aspire to that level of professionalism, imagine what a peaceful and productive school we’d have.

Communication: The Human Touch 

Have you ever played a game but you didn’t know the rules? You read the rule book (if there was one) but you just didn’t get the gist of the game. It was frustrating, wasn’t it? You felt like you could never win.

Often that happens with procedures and policies at school. Admin sends them policy manuals and handbooks (if you have them) and tells them to read it. And through osmosis, they are expected them to “get it” and feel successful in managing the systems and practices of your school community. New teachers need explicit explanations of the rules and norms of this “game” called At Our School We Do….. Sometimes coordinators do this through an induction program that is spread out over time. I know that I have dedicated a period of weeks to this and I found it highly successful. My staff feedback was that it mitigated the overwhelm of their transition and helped develop our personal relationship.

Another coordinator I know has staff meetings “end” early during key times in the year (like the 1st 3-way conference, or report writing time, etc..) so that she can have a Q and A sessions with teachers about expectations and protocols for important events. The staff members who already know these procedures and processes feel happy because they can “be released” to do other work, meanwhile, the teachers (mainly new teachers) who need some support can stay behind and get their needs met as well. Later, she sends a follow-up email documenting the expectations that help these teachers to remember those conversations.

Speaking of Emails vs. Meetings

emailsCall me Old Fashion, but I prefer the personal touch of staff meetings over email any day. I like connecting with colleagues and having a common understanding of the events in our community and our school’s pedagogical approaches. Also, consider the fact that if teachers are more concerned with keeping up with emails, rushing to read them then they are not examining students’ work or reflecting on the discussions they had, then the focus isn’t on improving learning. We want teachers to be spending their cognitive power on making learning for students awesome rather than your 18-bullet email about professional development goals. Let that one sink in a bit. It’s good to have a weekly newsletter to communicate important things but if you find that your staff emails began as a couple of sentences and now is evolving paragraphs, then it needs a face to face. A quick and dirty chat will be more impactful than a back and forth conversation over the internet.

And one last point about “the human touch”-Do you go into classrooms? Or do teachers have to come to you? Are you “The Boss” or are you “a colleague and mentor”? How you present and project yourself weighs heavily on the level of trust and compliance you will develop with your team.  Kindness and connection are vital to the work we do in schools. It’s how you build trust and loyalty.  Talk to you teachers-You don’t have to be charismatic and bubbly but you do have to have sincere enthusiasm for the work they are doing in classrooms. We all need encouragement sometimes and when you say it to their face, it is always more meaningful and authentic than an email blast. It’s great to give them recognition amongst their peers but to take the time to tell them in person is really powerful. Don’t underestimate the value and meaning of your words.

Perhaps you might relate to these challenges. As humans, we are all a bit flawed (except for that saintly vice-principal) and when you are in leadership your flaws are even more obvious. So I am wondering what other ideas and perspectives you might share that would help develop more positive staff relationships as we engage in their role in the curriculum. Tips and tricks welcomed in the comments below!

How to Avoid Being Napolean Bonaparte

How to Avoid Being Napolean Bonaparte

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I’ve long held a suspicion that there is a difference between an administrator and a leader, but now I know it is the truth. My current school has suffered through major changes several times since I’ve been here and now it looks to restructure again with its expanded campus. Needless to say, this has provided a lot of fodder for me to consider what is my role at the school and made me reflect on what is the distinction between someone who sees themselves as a someone who “ticks off the boxes”, my definition of an administrator,  or someone who is in fact in command of the school, my definition of a leader. As I see, you can’t lead people who don’t want to follow you, but you still can be an administrator who manages things lovelessly.

Music Genre

And the difference between the two is what are the values of the person in charge: completing paperwork or developing trust. Whether or not someone at the top is an administrator or is a leader, they influence the culture of a school, but the outcomes of their decisions permeate all areas of school life. The perspectives they hold about education plays a major part in how school policies and procedures are shaped and implemented.

Some of the fault in exercising power comes from the fact that the higher you climb in a hierarchical structure (which most schools ascribe to), the more you are the target of criticism and complaints. How you handle being the target of these remarks and gossip makes a huge difference. You have to ask yourself: Do I want to be liked or do I want to be trusted. The nuances in this perspective cannot be underscored enough. To put simply, if you think of your title like winning a popularity contest then you will always be defending your title. If you think of your title as earning a vote of confidence, then you continue to work toward maintaining and developing the strengths of your organization.  When you are in a “title”, there is hubris and then there is humility that becomes the norms of a school.  You get to decide which will define your use of power.  Douglas MacArthur said it best:

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.

As I wrap up my school year and prepare to move to another school, I will store away the memories of these experiences. Although I will not be in a leadership title next year, I have come to understand that “words without actions” are meaningless, so I feel strongly that titles without real leadership qualities are void of any value. I am a bit disenchanted with any grabs at power at the moment because I have witnesseleadershipd first hand at how detrimental it can be when people thirst to be given power or maintain control over others. I have come to feel relief in taking some time to redefine what I am and how I can best serve my new school community and the field of education at large. Alas, that will be my new focus–out beyond the 4 walls of my school–and look to how I might contribute to making a difference, not just in the International Baccalaureate, but in the larger conversation that is taking place in education: What really matters for our learners as we look to the future?

What about you? What are your thoughts about school leadership? What perspectives am I missing?
Equal is Not Fair

Equal is Not Fair

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In some ways, I am lucky to be a small school. We don’t have grade level teams that demand that we all do the “same” thing in our classrooms. However, homework and communication are areas that are fraught with disagreement, as teachers feel compelled to do what is the “norm” and may not strive to be creative. Conformity kills innovation. I’ve been in many a staff meeting in which we have to reach a consensus, and decisions may not be what’s best for their student’s needs but may be the whims of parents or what is easiest for teachers. We end up settling on “good enough” so that we can strike a “middle ground”.  As a teacher who feels that I got one shot with the kids I got this year, I cringe when we create a status quo school culture and, ultimately, I feel that makes teachers less than who they want to be.

George Couros points out why administrators impose these constraints in the Innovator’s Mindset:

The fear that drives leaders is not always about failure. Sometimes, the real fear is of success. If something works, other educators in the building would be expected to do it, thus creating more work for everyone…innovative intiatives ..might create superiour learning opportunities–opportunities  that aren’t offered in another learning environment. If what’s best for learners is our primary concern, equity of opportunities will be created at the highest levels, not the lowest.

I hope that in the future, school leaders choose to raise the bar and not lower it, in an effort to be democratic.  Because what may be equal is not fair, especially when one wants to inspire teachers and students

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