Old enough to vote

I have been reviewing and reflecting on my educational beliefs over the past few weeks. The end of the school year sometimes makes you do that.

I sat down to write my statement of educational beliefs about 18 years ago. I am truly amazed that the underlying beliefs about teaching and learning are that old, yet super relevant. Many of the words I used long ago are still very relevant today.

It is a little weird in that I feel I have grown so much as an educator during the last 18 years, but my underlying beliefs have remained the same. With just a few tweaks over the years, here is what I wrote 18 years ago:

I have a strong conviction in the inherent curiosity of the individual. Curious minds need an encouraging, enthusiastic, empathetic and stimulating community for learning to take place. I feel it is my role as an educator to encourage each student’s discovery of his or her interests and cultivate their pursuit for lifelong learning. In collaboration with teachers, parents and students, a learning community is developed where:

• Students’ individual learning needs are met
• Students pursue a variety of avenues to achieve high academic standards
• Students work collaboratively to solve complex problems
• Students draw upon personal experiences to make connections with their learning
• Students engage in meaningful learning activities that are assessed frequently
• Students express themselves proficiently in verbal and written form
• Students’ questions drive the curriculum
• Students are stimulated to think critically and creatively, and are encouraged to reflect on what they have learned
• Students take an active role in establishing a safe and supportive learning environment
• Students bring resources into the classroom
• The Educator is the facilitator of learning

Developing this community of learners will help prepare students for the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world. In this world, I believe students need to communicate their ideas in many different ways, work together to broker various solutions, and question the endless options that are available to them.    

Habits of Leadership

Reflecting on these eleven now. Thanks Michael Fullan for inspiring these habits.

Presence

Visible in classrooms, team meetings, student events
Available in time of need

Listening with empathy and seeking understanding
Seen as a listener first, and speaker second
Understands perspectives of others

Communication
Clear, concise, and frequent in written and verbal communications

Conflict Management
Able to have difficult conversations with skill
Able to say “no” or set limits to protect priorities or values of school/district
Able to mediate conflict

Dispositions
Calm under pressure
Ambiguity tolerance
Compassionate, ethical & fair
Approachable

Collaboration
Builds collaborative culture
Seeks input of others; shared decision-making
Empowers others to be active team members and to lead

Decision-Making
Shows good judgment
School mission, vision, and value-driven
Cites evidence or research on big decisions
Plans for implementation and sustainability
Removes “self” from decisions

Change Agent
Inspirational & visionary
Creates a common & shared vision
Challenges status quo
Willing to try new, potentially unpopular ideas
Shows urgency

Learning Leader
Seen as a continuous learner
Knowledgeable
Holds staff to high standards
Fosters professional learning

Student Focused
Considers students in all decisions
Utilizes data to plan and make decisions

Integrity
Inspires trust and confidence
Follows through with what they say they will do
Confidential
Character and competence 

Giving Feedback

It is tricky.... but extremely powerful if it is done "correctly".

Susan Bookhart says that we must take the long view in regards to feedback, and will be effective only if students have an opportunity to use it.

John Hatties says, "Feedback can only build on something; it is of little use when there is no initial learning or surface information."

Dylan Williams says that the relationship between the teacher and student matters a lot, and that is where I will stick my flag pole... relationships.

3 rules to spark learning

I just got finished watching this very inspiring Ted Talk.

In it chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam talks about what he learned from his heart surgeon when he asks him where he got his confidence. In the talk, Musallam recounts that his surgeon said there were three things that really sparked his learning as a heart surgeon:

He said [the surgeon] first, his curiosity drove him to ask hard questions about the procedure, about what worked and what didn't work. Second, he embraced, and didn't fear, the messy process of trial and error, the inevitable process of trial and error. And third, through intense reflection, he gathered the information that he needed to design and revise the procedure, and then, with a steady hand, he saved my life.

As an educator, listening to what Musaliam's surgeon says is so inspiring. Being curious, being comfortable with the messing process of trial and error, and reflecting and revising are all habitats we want our students to embrace. This sort of learning can be a bit chaotic, but it is what we need to do in classrooms as educators to ensure our students are prepared for the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world.

Gravity

 Seth Godin writes in a recent blog post,

Cursing Gravity
You can disdain gravity all you want, call out its unfairness, seek to have it banned.
But that's not going to help you build an airplane.

This really resonated with me when you put it into the context when building a collaborative culture in a school (or really anything that has to do with leadership).

If you just focus on the obstacles and hurdles in a building, there is little chance of moving a learning community forward. There are just some obstacles and hurdles you can't get rid of completely. You need to build on something that is already there, or help find new ways to overcome gravity.

Advice to a principal...

This is just an awesome twitter thread George Couros started by asking a simple question:

If you could give one piece of advice to a principal, what would you share?

The big takeaways are be visible, support teachers (which means sometimes get out of their way while other times coach them), listen for understanding (and not just to respond), know your students (and teachers), and most importantly relationships are the bedrock of a school.

I can see myself going back to this thread if I need some reenergizing.

Bringing people together

Getting everyone in an organization to pull their oars in the same direction is some combination of asking people where they want to go, and having steady hands on a tiller that sets a direction. 

Justin Reich explains that leadership is a dance between bringing people together around ideas they care about and pointing a light in a set direction. This is so true as schools embark on creating, strengthening or revising a school vision. A leader needs to be relentless in a pursuit to connect with stakeholders, to build relationships based on trust, and to know when to listen and when to forge ahead.