Essential
Questions
●
How can working on
relationships help me be a better change leader?
●
How can I turn
barriers into opportunities?
●
What are the
opportunities for change in my school?
The
Importance of Relationships
I found one of this week’s key points to be that we have to
go to the students, meet them where they are.
We do that well at Assets; it’s part of our regular conversation to ask,
where is that student now? What is the
next step to help him go towards the learning outcome? They may not always get all the way there,
but we help them down the path. It’s
true, too, in terms of interests of the students. I have to find ways to meet each of them
where they are in terms of personal passions.
It’s easy for me because of my diverse interests and natural curiosity,
and it makes a huge difference to let students use what they love in the
classroom. It was helpful to look at my
school’s “bright spots” after watching “Culture Based Education”[1].
Elements that resonate with me and exist in our school:
●
Awareness of who we are as a group
(learning different- all of us)
●
Openness in terms of sharing stories
and strategies, and trying to support peers with ideas for whatever their
challenges are
●
Appreciation for education in the
perspective that many students have been told they can’t learn or they aren’t
smart- they are in a place that says they can learn and are capable
●
Incorporation of varied and
authentic learning: hands-on, in and outside of the classroom, our Mentorship
program (every student 10-12th grade is in a job every Wednesday in the
community, 9th graders have on-campus “jobs”) “Makahana Kaika” and “'A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka halau
ho'okahi”
●
We have a strong legacy of Assets
alumni who come back every year (we have an Alumni luncheon the day before
winter break) and of that connection in the community
In consideration of the article, “Improving Relationships
Within the Schoolhouse,”[2]
I believe that faculty relationships are reflected in the students and the community,
but I’m not sure where the chicken is and where the eggs are in terms of how
the cycle gets started. What is true is
that having positive, collegial relationships at work makes all the difference
when the challenges arise. While my
program is congenial and collegial, mostly, we are guilty of the isolation and
withholding “craft knowledge” at times.
We are encouraged to share as we do show & tell at every faculty
meeting and regularly share strategies in our “10 O’Clocks” (20 minutes every
day- all about students), but there’s been a growing sense that it’s often just
a “show” rather than a modality for feedback or give and take. Some teachers are reluctant to have ideas
“stolen” and some need reminders about giving credit when the sharing happens
and ideas are used.
Part of my Dream Big Project includes pushing for more time
for project tuning and feedback protocols as a means to improve individualized
learning. However, as I’ve come to terms
with this idea the past few weeks, one of the biggest barriers to any change is
an unclear vision for our program. It is
part of my challenge to myself, but I’m still working on how to incorporate a
push for this with nuance. There is no
question that teachers not on the bus are let off the bus (to use Jim Collin’s
terminology) but it’s hard to have this atmosphere in teaching when it’s such a
challenging endeavor day in and day out.
We do have a “carpool vault” discussion happening that is a great
sounding board for ideas and concerns, but without the whole team being in the
conversations, we’re missing out on a cohesive and powerful force of great
minds.
In the article, “Three
Dos & Don’ts of Transformative Teacher Leadership”[3] I was struck by the idea of
“Learn How to Speak to All
Professionals Involved.” This is a
tricky area for many teacher leaders (or anyone growing in a “middle
management” position) because as the big picture becomes more revealed to
someone, the harder it becomes to be in the shoes of any one party, which can
be a deterrent for compassion. As
someone moves from peer to leadership, we have to recognize the shift in
communication as an opportunity to broaden perspectives and strengthen the
organization’s vision, or our understanding of that vision.
“Don’t
isolate yourself from the rest of the school” rang quite true for me. I’ve seen this happen repeatedly when leaders
get caught up in high priority or urgent matters that are beyond the scope of
the day to day. The tendency is to tuck
into an office and hammer out whatever’s happening, which leads to not only the
leaders being out of touch with everyone else on campus, but also perpetuates a
feeling that the leader is “too busy” for students, teachers or smaller issues. One trick for being a leader in the midst of
a “crisis” is to imagine that whatever time you have allotted to any one
meeting or situation, cut it back by 15 minutes. That means if you’re shutting your door to
address something sensitive and plan an hour to handle it, cut that time to 45
minutes. Then use the 15 minutes before
you tuck in again to go walk around, be visible, say hello. Not only does this keep the leader “in the
community,” it also helps with the stress management of tough challenges.
Hooray
for using Aristotle in consideration of leadership! It was a treat to consider credibility,
emotional connection and logic as the cornerstones of communication but through
the change leadership lens in “Three Elements of Great Communication”[4]. I am such a fan of the use of philosophy in
all teaching practices, not just in a philosophy class, that I’ve incorporated
these three elements into my writing rubrics and critique protocols in all
content I work with. Students need us to
be credible and logical, and they need a connector point of reference. I think we need to be mindful of all three as
we practice communication in the classroom and as change leaders.
[1] "Education: Culture Matters - YouTube."
2011. 4 Jul. 2015 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YAPRsDEOsU>
[2] Barth, Roland S. "Improving relationships within
the schoolhouse." Educational
Leadership 63.6 (2006): 8.
[3] "Three Dos and Don'ts of Transformative Teacher
Leadership." 2012. 4 Jul. 2015 <http://www.edutopia.org/blog/dos-and-donts-teacher-leadership-jose-vilson>
[4] "Three Elements of Great Communication,
According to ..." 2014. 4 Jul. 2015 <https://hbr.org/2013/01/three-elements-of-great-communication-according/>
Another excellent post Susannah - you are really doing such a wonderful job in connecting the takeaways from the reading to your specific context. Your posts are a joy to read. The "Donʻt Isolate Yourself" maxim is so important for both teachers and school leaders. I find some school leaders go to the extreme of being "out there" and they fall behind on the logistical part of their work. Others spend all day behind their computer. I also see that amongst teachers. Some stay locked in their rooms planning and grading and donʻt interact much at meetings. Maybe itʻs just finding that balance for both teachers and school leaders and something both groups have to work on?
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