Courage to Lead

     I was recently asked to give one word that I felt best described leadership. When asked a question like this I try to clear my mind and let the question find the answer. The word "courage" tumbled across my lips and intuitively it made sense.
  
     The dictionary defines courage as "the ability to do something that frightens one". While this definition touches on aspects of the work we do as educators, it does miss being a complete fit. I've always felt that the balance of being a confident leader is to not be inconsiderate.  It is this aspect of self-doubt that is often a hallmark of strong leadership.  It is the skill that allows for acknowledgement of the good work being done coupled with the ability to confront current realities.  We live and work in an environment that is defined by change and we have a responsibility to respond to that change.  The greatest things I did early in my teaching career have little contextual reference today.

     Positional power can be misused and set the work of a school back. Roland Barth talks about the significance of the relationship between Principal and teacher as being the greatest contributor to school success and the driver for all other relationships in a school ("Improving Relationships Within the Schoolhouse", Educational Leadership, March 2006,Volume 63, Number 6). The balance then, comes in engaging all who have a stake in the outcome in the conversation of why changes need to occur and what those changes might mean.  It's important to have all of the information at your disposal and to be prepared to have your thoughts challenged.

     Courageous leadership is not limited to the formal positions defined in school district but instead, is displayed across the system.  Recent blogs have highlighted great teacher leadership and powerful leadership lessons learned from our students. The power of two students in Nova Scotia to challenge bullying based on perceived sexual orientation spawned a wonderful celebration in schools across our country where we all don pink and think about the impact of our actions.

     Courage should not be used as a weapon to blindly charge forward. Instead, it must be balanced with the perspective that comes from walking in the shoes of others and being open to having their experiences influence the final outcome.  If I have developed any skills as a leader in my twenty-eight years of being an educator, it is because of the contributions of others that have emboldened me to be courageous in the face of significant challenges. Thanks.

Parents - A Positive Attribute of Successful Schools

     I recently had the pleasure of delivering the opening keynote at a parent conference hosted by the Simcoe County District School Board.  The "Circle of Learning" conference (http://scdsb.on.ca/parents-corner/circle-of-learning-conference/) is organized by the parent involvement committee (what a great idea for all districts to have) and part of their mission is to connect parents with student  success. This is the third year they have organized the conference and the goal is to build the participation levels each year. I also had a chance to sit on a panel and hear some interesting perspectives and some common themes that align with my daily work.



     The comments also served to remind me of the valuable role parents have played in many of the successful outcomes I've seen happen in my twenty-eight years as an educator.  Whether it was a commitment to communicating with individual parents about the positive attributes of their children I was privileged to teach or seeing a middle school PAC grow from a small core of fundraisers to a group of 50 or more that initiated change and became the strongest advocates for our school, their contributions have also been precursors to larger positive outcomes.
     Communicating with parents continues to be an important part of my work today. Often times the point of interface is the midst of a crisis where resolutions are not as quickly achieved. Still those moments provide deep insights such as this recent communique I received from a parent:

“He is not the perfect child, if there is such a child, and I'm sure he will have his moments, but I would like them handled with maturity and fairness and with the professionalism that we can expect from the school and the adults who have been trained to deal with these situations.”

The point being made is that parents generally believe that educators have skills and abilities additional to their own and this might provide a deeper insight into resolving the challenges with the child.  Ponder this question - Do you think that your communication with a parent about a problem their child has is a revelation to that parent? More often they are aware of the challenges and limitations as they spend significantly more time with the child.  They are looking for some additional assistance in managing the problem and, in my experience, are much more likely to feel part of a team when invited to co-create a solution.
     Anything we can do to include parents in the daily lives of schools and to remain active participants in the education of their children will almost certainly guarantee a positive result.

Friday - The End of the Week Stories

     Early in my career I used to gather with colleagues at the end of the week over a cold drink and share stories of the week that was. In general, these stories could be characterized as "the disasters of the week" and often referenced negative events (albeit with a humorous spin to them).  Those who had the best story to share would sit quietly and let the pretenders share their event before relaying the "mother of all stories". These longer sagas created lots of laughter and provided some release from the stress of the work we do.  I'm not here to condemn those story swaps and was a willing participant. Instead, I wonder if we should start taking a similar amount of time to share the awesome things that are percolating daily in all of our schools.

     Public education appears to be the recipient (or cause in some people's view) of bad news in society today. If the key folks in the system (teachers, parents, principals, vice-principals, administrators, and students) only share the disasters in these social gatherings, who will be the bearers of the good news?

     Today marks the end of Education Week in my locale and I want to share with you some of the tremendous events that occurred. We had fabulous displays of student work at the two malls in our larger communities and at various businesses in our smaller ones.  Students took great pride in seeing their work displayed (as in the photo) and many community members were provided insights into the work going on in schools.  We had the graduating students reading to elementary school students on one of the days, a math class being delivered on another, and a music class performing on a third. These all occurred in the mall and drew lots of positive attention. Our elementary schools took part in the district basketball tournament which was also open to the public.

     What's happened in your schools this week?  As you head into the weekend which stories will you share? If you have the time to post a comment, share something great that happened in your school. All of us have the capacity to be transmitters of good news and empower each other with many more good news stories to share.  At the very least it may cause those who believe they know our world to pause and reflect on why educators are a critical component of a healthy and sustainable future, and perhaps stop imposing challenges that impinge on our capacity to be difference makers.    

Leadership: It's in You to Give.

     I've had the pleasure of working with many school and district leaders over the last few years.  The enthusiasm shown by these folks coupled with their desire to continue their learning bodes well for the immediate future of educational leadership.  One of the questions that arose during a session has stuck with me as I was thinking of my current role.  The question was “How many leaders did you leave behind?” and it caused me to reflect on my education career.
     I thought about my first teaching position at Anne Stevenson Junior Secondary in Williams Lake.  John Dressler was the Principal and his style was one that encouraged people to take risks and explore their leadership potential.  It is not surprising to me that more than a dozen of my colleagues on that staff have moved into administrative careers.  I also thought about many of my strongest teachers and was able to find that the majority had continued to provide excellent leadership in expanded roles.
     An examination of my own administrative career at Trafalgar Middle School in Nelson and at the Distance Education School of the Kootenays provided me with a positive response to the question posed.  I am excited to see how educators who exhibited leadership at those two schools have grown and taken on new challenges.
     Grooming your replacement is never an easy task but it is one that we are in the best position to take on.  The responsibility for developing school leaders will be a major challenge over the next few years as the demographics indicate an impending shortage of good candidates. Who are the leaders in your building?  What are you doing to cultivate their skills?  How can you help in the identification, promotion, and support of these new leaders?  It is an exciting opportunity and one we cannot afford to miss.  Let’s remind everyone about the reasons we are in these cherished positions in schools and districts and promote the positive outcomes that we are able to generate.
     Talk to your school leaders and take on the challenge of nurturing and supporting their development.

The Elephant in the Room

     I am writing this at the end of two very positive sessions I led with a leadership cohort from the Western Newfoundland school district. The title of the event was "Leadership at Work" and the sessions all focussed on what skills are needed to be a leader today and for the future. My second session was about leading for learning and the group quickly developed a graphic around what the three big issues were at their school and how they were being addressed.  The activity produced a richness of conversation that we sometimes don't get to in the "busyness" of our daily work.

     The conversation then moved to the challenging aspects of the work we do and there was a palpable shift and an initial discomfort.  This happens when we confront the elephant in the room but (as is often the case) the group emerged from the conversation with a stronger sense of commitment and capacity to move forward.  

 

     There were many comments shared in the debrief and a couple that resonated with me were:

"Often we, as the adults in the system, are not representative of the kids 

we teach.  How do we connect with their realities?" 

"We had not had a high school graduate in thirteen years and needed to 

talk about this. The end result was that we produced 

two graduates and changed expectations."

The context was certainly different than any of my experiences but I was reminded of the importance of doing the right things for the right reasons.  Outcomes matter.

     Are you willing to address the elephant in the room or is it easier to turn away and find reasons to ignore the challenge? Most aspects of our work continue to change and we need to change with them to best meet the challenges and keep the focus on improving the life chances of ALL of our students. Einstein said "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" and this is a reflection of the work we do today. While the problems may not be new, the context and the other involved in the matter will be.

     My time with colleagues in Rocky Harbour reminded me of the brilliance of my fellow educators and how the more I can get contributions from others, the less fearful I become in tackling the elephant.

Thinking Outside the Box You Created.

     

     One of the pure joys in my current role comes with the opportunity to observe other teachers.  I have been so fortunate to bear witness to the magic that occurs in classrooms across our country.  I've also come to realize that how we teach is a reflection of how we were taught and what our experiences were like as students.  This is the context piece that becomes so relevant when we get before a class of eager minds. It is also the biggest piece to determining the success of a new idea or instructional strategy that you may have picked up from a colleague.

     In the absence of context (or what I would define as shaping the concept to fit your current realities), new initiatives last as long as a current events review. The topic is interesting as long as you're interested but loses relevancy when you can't make the connection to what is going on for you. It's like talking about last night's game or the weather.  I can stay engaged for a brief period of time but my mind wanders to the next exciting topic. The hook becomes the personal relevancy and how I can improve my craft by implementing the new idea or reading someone's perspective and comparing it to mine.

     The latest edition of Educational Leadership has an interesting article by Thomas Hoerr in which he suggests our past affects the way we teach, lead, and supervise today.

"If you were a teacher's dream, how does that affect your education vision
and behaviour? Does your history of success make it harder for you
to hang in with students who struggle? Do you get frustrated
with students who don't seem to care?

If you were a challenging student, how do you react to the students who
get it right the first time and every time? Is it harder for you
to appreciate that honour roll students still need to 

be pushed and challenged?"

His questions remind me of the need to adapt my approach to the needs of the people I'm working with today and to encourage others to not accept any great concept as a prescription but rather as an invitation to take the ideas and make them better by adding what you know about your students, your school, your colleagues, your parents, and your community. 

     As you look at the students before you today and reflect on how they might be different than you and your peers were at a similar time in life, can you also see that your teaching strategies reflect those differences? Or do you teach the way you were taught and in the style that worked best for you? Hoerr concludes with the notion that "our philosophy and behaviours are framed by our histories and that can be productive or problematic".

     With the school year heading towards the home stretch, are you able to step outside the box that has framed your teaching approach? Can you try one more thing to move the student who has presented the biggest challenge? Letting go of "what once was" is often the first step towards "what can be".

Why do You do What You do?

March always seems to be the month of reflection.  I'm not sure if it's because of the long stretch between holidays, the emergence from the winter darkness, or thinking about how to make the last part of the school year the best. This March has been no different as recent events provided an opportunity to reflect on my career as an educator.

Disappointment comes in many forms and occasionally distracts you from what really motivates you and what your mission is.  Integrity, honesty, and an emphasis on creating strong, positive relationships are my core values.  The work I've done with folks in various roles in education across Canada and the United States has led me to believe that holds true for most.  I've also come to realize that not having control over other people's agendas doesn't mean you can't fulfill yours. My wife asked me the question of this post and it reminded me to get back on course with my purpose.  I got into education to make a difference in the lives of students and to inspire and motivate others to want to do the same. I recognize that completion of this agenda may take my entire career bit I'm enjoying the challenge. I asked a group of workshop participants this question: "What would you try to do if you knew you would not fail?" The response to that question might fill your career agenda.

This fit well with the bucket list I read on Shannon Smith's blog (shannoninottawa.com) which had one item - why not create a learning community where each and every student, staff member, and parent discovers their passion and shares it with confidence? Pretty powerful stuff and very much aligned with the values I stated above.

So, why do you do what you do? My recent milestone birthday provided a glimpse into the progress I might be making on my agenda.  Some former students took the time to send reflections of their time with me. One particularly poignant one read (in part):

"Best of all, you instilled in us the ability to believe in ourselves and

to believe in each other - even when things looked most desperate."

Thanks Don, for the reminder that every day provides a new opportunity to exert a positive influence. Whenever I start to think about my career being about me and personal accomplishments, I'll remember it's about you and the thousands of other students I've been blessed to work with.