I Found a Documentary

If you were one of the handful that read my post Waiting for a Documentary, you will know that I was critical of the film Waiting for Superman.  Mostly because the filmmaker did what most commercially successful documentarians do and tell what people are to blame for the problem and then offer no viable solutions. Waiting for Superman painted a bleak picture of American education and pointed blame in a number of areas including teacher's unions and basically proclaimed charter schools to be the way of the future.  This is something I felt to be a bit of propaganda coming from a rural public school setting and understanding the limitations of this setting.

On December 10th, my school district hosted a screening of Most Likely to Succeed.  The film was written and directed by Greg Whiteley and predominately featured a school in San Diego called High Tech High.  Folks, this school was nothing short of fantastic.  I will admit that as I watched I was jealous of the teachers and kids in the building.  No books, no bells and really nothing that resembled a traditional school.  Students learned content but as needed to complete their project for the open house that would be held at the end of the year.  This event was the sole judgement on the school's progress.  Not state tests.  It was a pleasure watching students completely turned on to school and eager to work towards goals they set for themselves.

The key to the luster and success of High Tech High is the notion that students need to learn the soft skills and non-cognitive skills to be ready for college and careers.  Content is great but watching what these kids do with content is amazing.  Not one one student questions why they are learning something, they simply embrace it and move on towards their goals.  One student that didn't finish by the open house continued to work tirelessly over the summer until it was done.  Why can't schools be like this?  If we can see that students flourish in this environment, what is holding us back?

What holds us back is traditional thinking.  We cling to too many things that can hold kids back.  Kids are changing and at a more rapid pace.  The answer should be to change with them or try to get ahead of where they are going to be.  I was told once that Wayne Gretsky's father told him to not play where the puck is but where the puck is supposed to be.  Shouldn't this be the thinking for our kids?  There are many barriers to this but where do we start?

My only few notes on the film would be two things: we are still talking about charter schools and the student body in this school does not reflect traditional American public schools.  Yes these kids are chosen by lottery to attend.  To be fair, 50% of their population must be considered low income.  Also, there was no mention of how the needs of special education students are met.  While I think that the methods used in the school would surely benefit students with learning differences it seemed that no special education students were served by this school.

Waiting for Superman blamed teacher's unions for being a barrier all its own.  Teachers in this school take one year contracts in exchange for complete academic freedom.  I'm sure these people are not anti-union (nor am I) but they are seeing schools and teaching for something else.  People like me with a rural, traditional school model bias consider these kinds of things paramount because it is our reality.

Still, there is no excuse for taking risks as educators.  We constantly call out lawmakers for not spending money to invest in our future citizens.  Why are we not making the human investment to change the thinking around our schools and how kids learn?  Startling fact from the film: 65% of today's grade school children will work in jobs that have yet to be created.  Knowing that, why we not teaching kids to play where the puck is supposed to be?  This film inspired me to think different about my school and its possibilities.  How we look at our students has to change and how we teach them has to change.  Of course this must be done within the resources we have and in conjunction with stakeholders but now is the time.  How will you become the change you wish to see?

Developing and Understanding Self and Others

A couple of years ago we made the decision to offer exploratory classes at Central Junior High School. They had been absent from the curriculum and we were wanting to make a change that would benefit our students.  Teachers were asked to contribute courses that spoke to them and that they could get excited about teaching.  Our parent group was asked what they would like to see offered.   Many traditional suggestions flew around the room but something special emerged. Mrs. Swann, our 7th grade English teacher, suggested DUSO. The acronym stands for Developing and Understanding Self and Others.

The course is a character education class that uses the six pillars of character as its foundation. Students also take part in field trips designed to lend a helping hand to our autistic students including accompanying them to Special Olympics events.  Mrs. Swann has a unique connection to autism and brought her valuable experiences to the class and students saw her commitment right away.

This class quickly became the most requested exploratory class we offer.  Once other students got to see how special this class was and how devoted the teacher was, it became popular. The word on the street was that this class was not only about learning how to act, it became about how we should treat other people. The word spread and now kids line up to take part in learning the non-cognitive skills that create leaders and more empathetic students. 

We have been astonished at how a small idea has festered into the accepted culture of a school building. Now two other buildings in our district are slowly becoming DUSO schools. I can't tell you how proud I am of Mrs. Swann for being a change agent. She may not have set out to be but great ideas cannot be hidden. Teachers set out to do the right thing for kids. This is what makes great schools.  Relationships encourage kids to show up and meaningful classes make them want to stay.

We tend to get hung up on test scores and national issues that may not apply to to our local communities. The fact is our schools are packed with teachers like Mrs Swann and they are leading kids. This is just another thing you won't find on the state tests.  Soft skills or non-cognitive skills can't be measured but they can be greatly valued by our communities. 

I would like to salute Mrs. Swann, CJHS and our district staff that recognizes the value of the DUSO model and the value of growing kids and future leaders.  More programs like this would breathe life into many schools struggling to find their way in the fog of accountability and testing.  Maybe the spark ignited at CJHS will light fires all over the place.

Homework? We're talking about homework?

If you are any kind of sports fan you remember Allen Iverson going off about being disciplined for missing a practice.  Actually I don't remember what he was disciplined for because the speech transcended the action.  The point was he felt that a press conference was too focused on practices and not the important part, the actual game.  Sometimes I feel that the practice of homework has taken this form and the debate is on.  So why are we talking about home work?

Disclaimer: when I was teaching social studies, I rarely gave homework.  There were two reasons for this, I felt that the kind of homework I could give was not engaging enough and secondly my kids were so involved in extra curricular activities I knew I would struggle to get it and they would struggle to get it done.  After nine years in administration, my viewpoint on this has evolved and so have our kids and families.  Its time to have a real conversation about it.

I have looked at this through three lenses: parent, teacher, and administrator and folks this is the best I can do.

What homework should not be:

• Pointless repetitive tasks such as writing down definitions or word searches.  These do not engage students they only bore them.
• Homework should not be the reason a student fails a class.  Ask yourself, does your grade reflect student learning or compliance?
• Arbitrary.  Homework should be linked to a legitimate learning goal.  Don't give it just to give it.

What homework could/should be:

• An opportunity for higher order thinking skills.  Challenge your kids.  They actually want to be challenged to think.
• A time to expand upon a class project or problem to be solved.  Heaven forbid they return to a class ready to contribute to a real world learning experience.
• Time appropriate.  Your students have been at school all day.  They have families and need play time.  If a whole night is lost to homework then that is a true shame and does not encourage learning.  Finland gets credit for respecting this.  Take a look.

Let me be very clear, I am not anti-homework.  I am anti busy work that does not contribute to student growth.  I'm tired of seeing bright kids failing because they do not have homework done.  Many kids do not have what my kids have.  My wife and I both help with homework each night and it never feels like an extension of the learning experience.

I was a social studies teacher.  Here's how I would love for my kid's homework to go.  Instead of finding answers in a text book and filling in a worksheet, how about giving them one discussion task related to the learning topic.  If he/she came home and asked me to talk to her about the civil rights movement I would probably have a heart attack.  What if she could take those perspectives and add them to the ones she might find online and take them to school to enrich the class discussion while the teacher guides them though the content?  Better yet, what if the teacher had a class Twitter account that students could collaborate with their peers and share ideas.  Those things might motivate my kids to engage the boring facts and figures to gain a deeper understanding of civil rights in this country.  Hard to grade?  Yes but the engagement is invaluable.  Then maybe, just maybe we can talk about homework.

Need help getting homework done?  Take a look at this quick read.

Why am I a Star Wars fan?

Unless you live under a rock you would know that there is a new Star Wars film coming out December 18th.  For guys like me it's time to feel like a kid all over again. Except I'm not all that excited about the toys, just the continuation of the story.

I was only a few months old when Episode IV debuted in theaters so it wasn't until I was seven when I saw it. I remember how taken back I was even at that age so long ago. More than anything I remember watching Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia swing across to safety as Stormtroopers fired away at them. (Always missing of course) This was my first experience with seeing heroes and understanding the concept of good and evil, all wrapped in a visually stunning film. What more could a small boy ask for?  The fantasy section of my brain was turned on and I've never lost interest.  Even with the notorious introduction of Jar Jar Binks I have remained true. 

At 39 I'm still a huge fan. I've seen all the films front and back. I own all the films on Blu-Ray with special features and a ton of Christmas ornaments.  I'm not a mega Star Wars nerd but I still utter lines form the films in my head when comically appropriate.  The concepts of heroism, good/evil, and the choices between them have still resonated with me as the movies progressed. I never really became a sci-fi fan but I've always been a Star Wars fan.  Let's be honest, who wouldn't want to have the powers of a Sith or Jedi?  Even if it would be used to impress people at a class reunion or at best saving the day from evil doers.  

If you have yet to be immersed in a Star Wars movie, I suggest you do so.  Forget that they are most often associated with kid's toys and nerds and watch the films for what they are: tales of heroes and rebelling against oppressive powers.  They are fantasy worlds where people are choosing good over evil with the help of badass lightsabers.  Who could not want to see that?

Go see the new movie on December 18th.  Here is a great trailer video to get you motivated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gCbnwavkKc

Let's be RED!

Everyday at the end of the announcements you might hear me say, "Lets be Red."  Being RED is something that we hope defines the students in our school building but also gives them qualities to shoot for to be great students and great people.  The concept came about this past summer as we were writing a grant for teaching social skills.  These qualities were quickly identified as what we wanted our students to look like as a result of our influence on them.

Resilience is simply the ability to bounce back from adversity.  All kids must be able to experience various kinds of adversity and also be able to regroup and find ways to be successful despite it.  This may come in many forms.  Maybe after failing a test, a student changes their study and preparation habits to help ensure success for the next go around.  Maybe after a tardy detention a student changes their hallway routine to prevent another detention.  No matter how many scenarios you construct, the underlying idea is that student need to learn to fail forward.  Resilient students do not see failure as the end, they see it as an opportunity to learn, improve and move forward.

Being exceptional means being unusually good or special.  Students need to know that they are all different and its okay to be that way.  Seeing and appreciating differences makes kids more tolerant and more open to new people and their ideas.  But also students need to embrace being different themselves.  It is perfectly acceptable to be different and develop strengths based on those differences.  Kids not only need to grow to be aware of others but also aware of themselves.

To be dedicated means that you are devoted to a task or a purpose.  Students must be able to see that they are part of something bigger than them.  Dedication comes from accepting that.  This very RED acronym we are talking about needs to serve as something to be dedicated to.  Maybe a little more study time before TV time.  Maybe visiting a staff member if something is wrong.  Speaking up if you think someone is being bullied or harassed.  It is easy to show dedication when you truly care about your school and the people in it.

So parents, if you were wondering what the t-shirt design is all about and students that were wondering why I want you all to be RED this should serve as what we want our students to aspire to.  Being RED will not only help them be ready for school but ready for life.

When will data become a human right?

I have a belief that health care is a human right. So when all the Obamacare argument was taking place I really had no interest because everyone seems to be missing the mark. All people have the right to be healthy but somehow we have allowed big business to turn what should be automatic into a business venture keeping it from those who barely make a living wage and bankrupting those who do make a good living. 

So what's next?  I recently attended a conference in downtown Chicago and even helped present a session. This is an event designed for the exchange of ideas and collaboration with colleagues. A perfect place for the Internet to flow freely to enable this task. This is where our future is heading. To compete and to learn you must be connected. Many institutions are realizing this. There are stories popping up of school districts parking school buses with access points on them in neighborhoods that lack internet access. The idea is that they need to make sure all their students can keep up, regardless of their neighborhood.

At this conference you had to pay for Internet service. Even as presenters we had to pay to present ideas. Think about the world we live in. Information is now literally at our fingertips and the data rate competitions are on in full force.  Will we soon be fighting the same battles that we have over healthcare?  I realize that if people had to choose between being healthy and shopping online they would choose health (let's hope). But, could we get out in front of this before the large corporations play the same story out again?  When will we look ahead and see that data will be the next human right that is monetized and kept from the masses?

Think about what the internet is doing for us.  We use it to learn, to exchange ideas, to shop, maintain records digitally, entertainment, instant news access, and just the simple shrinking of the planet in general.  The game of life is changing and at some point we have to be the ones to demand this technological gift be a right of all people to have access to.  We need to prevent it from becoming yet another aspect of life that divides the haves form the have nots.  As a school administrator I have seen first hand the benefits of a free flow of information to students who want to learn and also need to be able to function in this transforming society that is rooted in data access.  I say now is the time to ensure access for all.

http://hechingerreport.org/kids-no-internet-home-parking-wifi-enabled-school-bus-near-trailer-park/

When Your Kid Out-Coaches You

I'm sure I'm like most parents and want to go completely insane over my kids behavior.  "Pick that up", "why did you do that", and "why didn't you tell us that" might be a few phrases overheard in my home from my wife and I at varying levels of volume.  We have known our kids every day of their lives yet they still don't get us like we get them.  Well I used to think that until the last week when my daughter truly impressed me without me having to tell her to do so.

I have the honor of coaching her in both basketball and softball.  Our basketball season has been rough.  She is a talented player and loves the game.  Last week in a losing effort, her "coach" told her coming out of halftime to "do what you have to do" in order to win a game.  She disobeyed her "coach" and went out playing team basketball.  She at no point tried to take the game over.  She looked for open teammates and tried to involve everyone.  I told her on the way home how happy I was with her.

Fast forward a few days and we are at it again.  This time a close game that actually went into overtime.  Her "coach" was busy pouting over calls and rolling his eyes while she was playing her guts out.  Again, involving everyone she could.  The game ended and we lost by a basket.  Her first response was to send this picture out on Instagram:

Trust me, I've been out-coached a bunch.  I'm not sure how to feel now that my ow kid has out-coached me.  That's why I used the term "coach".  Its hard to feel like a coach when your 11 year-old daughter shows you what its all about.  And what its about is rarely what you think is urgent.  They see the big picture when we are distracted by the little one.  Trust me parents, your kids do listen to you and when given the right opportunity, they will make you proud.  All the petty barking about the little things tends to go away when they out-coach you.  She is a great kid,  even if she doesn't always pick up her socks or throw her trash away.

The Playing Time Continuum

In my short time as a coach, athletic director or principal, the number one sports related complaint is about playing time.  Why isn’t my kid playing?  Why does that kid get to play over mine?  You could go on and on and many of us have had the experience of seeing a mad parent and maybe even trying to comfort them.  I have always been pretty good about talking parents off the ledge when it comes to this conflict but I never really organized my thoughts into an understandable model.  Here is my best attempt.

Above you see the “Playing Time Continuum” that should explain to any parent or fan why a kid is not playing or why they are playing.  For this model to work you must have a coach is that is there to help the kids win.  Wining is their reward for effort and execution.  The players deserve a winning effort for them to be able to grow as players.  Without this, my crude model is null and void.

Playing time comes in many forms but we think of it as simply getting a chance to play.  It may be a whole game or may be pinch running.  Either way a player is in the game for some amount of time and should always see this as an opportunity.

If you travel clockwise on the continuum you will see “Hard Work”.  Hard work is time off the field to improve your skills, become stronger or learn something new.  You may take lessons or simply get up and shoot 100 free throws a day.  It shows self-discipline and dedication.  No player can help a team if they do not work hard to better themselves.

Further clockwise is “Ability”.  Players develop their ability from their hard work.  Without hard work, a player may not have the skills to earn playing time.  Every player should have something to contribute in order to have a winning effort.  Some kids may not be suited for some abilities but that is where a good coach and parents can lead them in a direction that will give them a skill set to help their team.

The “Situation” may or may not demand a player’s ability.  The more abilities a player has it is likely that they get more time.  Game situation is critical if a coach is operating in a winning environment.  If a player is best suited to hot against left handed hitters, then they should get the opportunity.  There are lots of scenarios that could be created to illustrate that point.  If your child is a one trick pony then the situations they can play in become limited.

Now we are back to “Playing Time” and it’s important to note that this is a continuing cycle.  There is no destination.  Even if a player is getting playing time they should still work hard, develop their abilities so they can be ready for game situations.

My hope is that this simple idea can change a player, parents, or coach’s attitude towards playing time.  I can’t speak for every coach but I know these things are valuable for me.  Of course this doesn’t factor in team or school policies that may prevent kids from playing.  Attitude may be a factor of hard work and may keep players from playing as well.  In any event we need to communicate the right concepts to our players and parents.

Winning With What You Have

This past week Illinois Vision 20/20 announced the launch of its 21^st Century Learning Center.  It is a free resource for high school teachers that provides lesson plans, lecture and videos in a multitude of disciplines.  Through iTunes U, students and teachers can now access materials they may not have had resources for in the past or be able to enrich their current course offerings.  This is truly a step in the right direction.  Using technology to bridge gaps for teachers and students to enhance learning.  What a concept. 

Despite these breakthroughs, some schools still do not embrace the possibilities that technology can bring them.  In schools we still hold on to outdated methods and approaches in the name of routine and proven student outcomes.  Usually those outcomes are content delivery with a degree of control over the students.  But as our society, workforce and attitudes change with the times schools as a whole are slow to follow.  Don’t get me wrong, there are many schools doing this right.  But still we look at them as exceptions and not the rule.  Educators might look at innovative programs as just a show to be watched and not an example to be followed.  Or, they dismiss the possibility of replicating innovation because of a lack of resources or staff.  I say do what is within your reach.  It may not seem like much if you don’t have much but it’s far better than doing nothing.

I’ve had the opportunity to coach on and off in my career and if there is one thing I learned it’s that you survey the landscape and find a way to win with what you have.  This year my school building went back to a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach to the technology gap in our school.  We don’t have much and like most Illinois school getting more is not exactly an option.  To ensure that technology is a fixture in our school, the students bring their own devices to use.  This sparks a lot of conversation about how and what the students would use their devices for.  How do teachers control their behavior?  And certainly, how do we reach them if we are not always the experts ourselves?  This was a great session at EdCamp West Frankfort and many viewpoints were considered, all of which had merit. 

But let’s say we continue with debate and do nothing in our building.  Who are we failing?  The obvious answer is our students.  If we use my poor coaching analogy from above we could say we like talking about winning but we really don’t have the courage to be winners.  This is what a winning attitude towards BYOD looks like:

·        - Students learn far differently than we did.  They can multitask and engage on multiple levels.

·        - Mobile devices are not only their tool of choice but it will be for a long time.

·        - Students need responsible adults to teach them digital citizenship. (Teachers and Parents)

·        - Students need to be treated like the digital natives that they are.

For us, our resources are our teachers, students and their attitudes towards technology in learning.  This can have a much farther reach than money to buy gadgets.  I fully anticipate there to be bumps in the road and conflict as we move forward but the end result should be engaged learning through student owned devices.  That’s how we will win with what we have.

We Argue and the Media Cashes In

Recently we have seen a rise in the issue of image in this country. You may debate me that these topics are not about image but deep social problems.  I'm not exactly sure that we are allowed to tackle these social issues because of media coverage.  I look at social issues from as many sides as possible and some things are produced by a flawed image that is created, maintained and then destroyed by the media.

Yes the Duggar family has some problems.  Why are these people being attacked so ruthlessly?  It might possibly be that Josh Duggar did have some troubles as a young man.  The family got him some therapy so now they are qualified to be the image of religious purity on television.  I rarely and barely watch this show but it is easy to pick up that they are placed upon this pedestal and when that happens, the fall is much more dramatic.  That is what has happened causing huge rifts in philosophy between the scholars of Facebook and Twitter.  We argue and television gets to cash in.

Caitlyn Jenner is our newest famous person for just being famous.  How many lives will the Kim Kardashian sex tape actually reach.  I realize that Bruce made his own fame and in a more legitimate way than Kim but he was out of the public eye for some time and now his emergence at Caitlyn Jenner has made his gender identity issues a global concern.  Social media and television has shrunken the world so badly that nothing happens in isolation.  Again we are all subject to his struggle and it forces us to pick a side.  We argue and television cashes in.

Why is it that Ferguson spawned a million stories a day about police misconduct.  Thankfully some folks have campaigned to only share positive stories of police on social media as well.  But how is it that we can recreate Ferguson so easily in Baltimore?  Baltimore has black leadership so it can't really be about racism right?  Some of the police officers charged in the death are black.  We can't seem to play the race card but we sure can latch on to the damaged image of police.  That's the story "everyone" wants to see.  Now the image of police has been even more bruised and then we argue.  You guessed it, the media cashes in. 

By being such consumers of flawed media, we create some of the largest social rifts in this country.  I read somewhere that 2/3 of the arrests in Ferguson were people that didn't live in that area.  They were "activists" that came from other places.  This tells me that media reach made that situation worse than it might have been.  And then reporters stood in streets to show us how race is dividing our country.  Folks, I won't deny that we have real issues of race in this country but our addiction to information causes misconception and prevents meaningful change from happening.  Is that what we are looking for in our media, or are we just helping them cash in?  Wise people have always told me if you want to find out where power lies, you have to follow the money.  When it comes to the media, we are making ourselves powerless and we make it look like fun.

I know very little of the actual details of any of these examples.  So that's why I don't just latch on to every nugget that is shoved into my face.  I won't be arguing online with people who might be doing the same.  It is unfair to the people involved and issues are never truly resolved.  I hurt for these people sometimes because we make them objects to joked and debated about, They actually have to live with it.  Ask an actual Ferguson resident how this has changed their lives and you will probably hear real struggle and pain.  A pain that we can't feel a million miles away from our couch and keyboard.

Top 10 Customer Service Complaints in Schools

I would like to say upfront that I really do like my parents and families.  I am a people person and you have to be to do my job.  However, over the years it is evident that parents are using a customer service mindset to approach school concerns and for many reasons this can’t be done.  Even if I sympathize or empathize with a parent I am bound by law, liability, board policies, student safety, privacy and much more.  The following list contains some of my favorite interactions with parents who were just looking out for their kid and they didn’t realize they were getting farther away from the end goal of fairness.  And for some that wasn’t the goal at all.

Top Ten Customer Complaints in Schools:

10.  Could you follow my daughter around today and make sure nobody picks on her?

9.  Can we just modify the grading scale?  He has had a bad year.

8.  Just tell the teacher to change the grade.  She’s never had an F before.

7.  (8th grade mother) Why can’t my daughter’s boyfriend pick her up for her doctor’s appointment?

6.  If you don’t let me see the video I’m calling the Regional Superintendent.  He’ll have your job.

5.  Could you tell my son’s stepmother she can’t pick him up from school?  We don’t get along.

4. My son told me that kids bring weed to school all the time and you don’t do anything about it. (During an expulsion hearing)

3. Parent: Why didn’t my daughter make the team? Me: maybe she’s not ready for this level of play yet.  Parent: Did you know that coach is a pedophile?  Me: And you let her tryout for his team?

2. I’m not going to complain because the teacher will take it out on my kid.

1. Playing time, playing time, playing time...

Again, I’m not poking fun.  If you are a parent reading this be sure to come to the table recognizing we are taking about PUBLIC schools.  Your experience in a conflict situation will be much better if you are looking for a fair and just end, not to be treated like a customer.  If your are a school employee, stop giggling.  You may need the same advice when it’s your child we’re talking about.

It's not your fault

This time of year is one of joy and relief for school types. We are all joyed to be entering summer with it's fun and sun but relieved that we made it through another year and hopefully met all of our goals. There is also a small feeling of sadness for the kids who have failed and will be retained or have to go through summer school to get by.

That's actually not completely accurate. In my building teachers fight to the last day to get kids through. Even if they are not trying themselves. Recently I have had many conversations with teachers still worried about kids that have stopped attending or stopped trying all together. These people continue to fight forces that they can't possibly control because they care. 

It's hard to say to a teacher, "You've done all you can, you gotta let this one go" and expect them to let it go. It's like the ER doctor on any TV show that just won't stop fighting to revive a patient.  Good teachers know that there is not a finish line in education. Even if you keep a kid from failure they still have to survive the summer so you can get them through one more time.  I am very blessed to have teachers that fight an uphill battle and come right back and do it again every day and every year.

Guess what?  It's not your fault. Many of the reasons that our kids fail is way out of the school's control but feel accountable for them. We do a lot for them but ultimately at the end of the day they go home to somebody else if they go home at all. That person or persons may not be as dedicated as you and you can't help that. Some families work hard but still can't provide for our kids. Some kids know how to work their parents and know they can't get one passed you.  I know how many times you give up your lunch to work with struggling students. I know how many times you have chased them out of the building to give them the homework they are too cool to take home.  Guess what? It's not your fault. 

The fact that a teacher will take responsibility for a student's failure is what makes teachers so special. Teachers know what our kids face and stand tall with them and will shoulder their worlds if that's what it takes to help them be successful. I will admit that I miss the impact I had as a teacher though I try really hard to.  I don't always get that special feeing with administrative work but having a dedicated and relentless staff is the next best thing. 

Multiple Points of Entry

It seems all to often that when the struggles of our society come to a boiling point, we are forced to pick a side. I'm sure there is some cultural conditioning that has taken place throughout the course of our history but it is now time to recognize that there are multiple points of entry to every American problem. 

Take our governor for example. Let's be real and just say politicians. Illinois has a crippling debt problem that is hurting our middle class. While they play with numbers, real people get hurt. We are told the only way to fix the problem is to cut cut and cut. The other side just doesn't respond because they have a majority in the General Assembly. The reality is that we have to cut AND raise revenue. If your household was in this type of disarray this is what you would do. There are reasonable cuts that need to be made but there are taxes and fees that can be raised that have a minimal impact on people but a big payoff for the state. We have to do both. 

Take the events of Ferguson and Baltimore. One side says we have to fix crooked cops and other say we need to address crime in those communities. Well guess what, we have to take on both. Instead of looking for a magic bullet we have to work for it if we want meaningful change. Everyone wants peace and justice but who is really willing to work hard to make it happen. 

That's what it takes in our schools. The debate for what's best for kids rages on. Do we assess them to death or teach them to death?  Is it more important to teach social skills and grit, or do we teach more rigorous content?  I think you know where I stand in that. You have to do it all. There is research to support every way of doing it but yet schools still feel like that have to emphasize one over the others. 

Folks, meaningful change to the most important aspects of our lives cannot be solved with a single solution. It's not like taking a pill and then you are cured. With the medication you doctor usually tells you what kind of lifestyle change to make get optimal results. What changes are we willing to make?

New State Superintendent

Well I guess we should have all seen this coming.  Back in December at the Alliance Leadership Summit, Gov. Rauner was scheduled to speak.  Why not, this was a chance to speak to 600 school administrators on the eve of his budget address.  This group of people are community leaders and he would have the wonderful opportunity of reaching people who need answers in this time of financial uncertainty.  What happens instead is that he sent a staffer that had been on the job for two hours to speak to us.  I really just chalked that up to being new in town and the demand for his time being rather large but his next move confirmed my fear that he is not serious about the quality of education in Illinois.

 

On April 15th, the state board went through the difficult process of choosing Dr. Tony Smith to replace Dr. Chris Koch as the state superintendent of schools.  Difficult because the word on the street is that he was the only candidate.  Dr. Smith has never taught in a classroom.  In fact, the Oakland School District in which he last had a leadership position waived the required administrative certificate requirement for him to be hired there.  However, he did serve on the governor’s Chicago Public Education Fund's board and his transition team.  He has also been described as a stanch charter school supporter, union opponent and a poor fiscal manager.  Links below will also provide more negative aspects of his tenure in California.  One ISBE member was quoted as saying this is a poor move for the state board.

I support Vision 20/20 and public schools.  This was a purely political move that does not serve the best interests of the school districts of Illinois or their students.  If Gov. Rauner makes this move as his first big move for education, I think it is safe to say we are in for a huge storm.  To weather this storm we will need advocacy and support from school district leaders, parents, teachers and anybody that believes in common sense.  To borrow a line from my favorite fake president Andrew Shepard, “We have serious problems and need serious people to fix them.”  We need no other good reason now to grow the Vision 20/20 movement and make a stand for public schools.

 

http://www.isbe.net/news/2015/apr15.htm

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-state-board-of-education-superintendent-met-20150415-story.html#page=1

 

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_22963622/oakland-unified-chief-tony-smith-resigns-be-family

Lead with your Values

If you live in an underground bunker, you probably have not yet heard about the religious liberty law passed by the Indiana legislature and signed by Gov. Mike Pence.  Essentially, a business could refuse service to any person that practices a lifestyle that is contrary to the business owner’s religious beliefs.  Gov. Pence stood by the enacting of this law despite its controversy and did all the press appearances affirming that this is what the people of Indiana wanted.  A short time later he asked law makers to revise the bill for “clarification” purposes.  The fact is that Indiana did not want this.  The law began to urge business leaders to take action but more importantly it did not match the values of the people in the state or across the nation.

This is a problem with elected leaders.  In their pursuit to secure voting blocks, they drive an agenda to that group of people while they ignore the common good and the values of the whole.  This story line is more common in politics than anywhere else.  It’s a shame that a person that is fortunate enough to get elected by the public does not use that gift to represent the whole.  People in my profession don’t always have much choice in the matter.  School administrators work with what they have and rarely have the ability, or gift, to directly reshape the community that they serve.  Many times radical changes to a school building are met with sharp opposition.

I learned very early on from very wise people that you have to lead with your values.  I work in a school district that is nearly 70% free and reduced lunch population.  This has been a positive for my leadership style.  I work well with the disadvantaged youth because I was a disadvantaged youth.  Leading with my values is easy because I’m just like many of them.  A vast majority of educators come from middle class backgrounds and they find it difficult to have a clear vision of how these kids are raised and how they can best reach them.  Some dismiss the effort all together.

As a former poor kid working with poor kids I have gathered my leadership values into a short list of my everyday practices.  Maybe it will help some lead the kids they serve.

1       Relationships matter!  The teachers I responded for as a kid were those that treated me like I was just like them.  No better, no worse.  We were there for the same purpose, not a power struggle.

2       Give second chances.  You will get burned on this one occasionally but it reinforces your relationships with kids.  You have to show that you are willing to invest in them.

3       Punish with logic and kindness.  When assigning a consequence for a negative action they have to know how much responsibility is theirs given the situation and how they could have prevented the predicament they were in.  Always be sure to tell them what they did right and praise them for it.  Poor kids often only live for moments and never see down the road.  This is a teachable moment.

4       Smile.  Everyone likes to see this.

5       If you know something about a kid, share it with your teachers.  This will help them make better connections with at-risk kids.

I know this is not some big fancy research driven set of guidelines but it has worked for me.  These are values I have either grown up with or learned working with kids.  As it turns out, it’s relevant for all of my students not just the at-risk ones.  Imagine that, something that works for everyone and not just a few.  Maybe our elected leaders should look at their own values and discover how they can serve all of their constituents.  

Take Back the Schoolhouse

We have come a long way since the one room schoolhouses of the old days.  Society has changed, kids have changed, and learning has changed.  It is a given that these types of schools could not be effective public schools these days.  There are, however, some old charms that we could use in the present.  The old schoolhouse was a centerpiece of the community.  It had the sole purpose of producing members of that community in order to help it thrive.  Students were not grouped by age so older students could bring along younger students adding more to the community concept of the school.  People were accountable and responsible for the others in the school.  Let’s not forget that the teacher was respected and looked up to.  Not constantly questioned and belittled.  That’s a whole different kind of conversation though.

The schoolhouse is becoming more of a business than a place of community and learning.  Many of the “reforms” coming our way seek to reduce our kids and teachers to numbers.  They also would like to call school failures in hopes of creating an environment of school choice and a push for more charter schools.  Folks don’t be fooled, this is a business venture.  The schoolhouse is becoming an easy market for the “reformers” and our kids could become the next privatized cash cow.

Our biggest loss in the new “development” of schools is our sense of community when it comes to our schools.  In each locale schools face different challenges and use creative problem solving to serve their communities.  The trouble is we are now so focused on test scores, mandates and changes in teaching/curriculum that we forget how to be a school and we run the risk of being called a failure.  This will hurt our kids and communities.

A few months ago I was turned on to a new initiative called Illinois Vision 20/20.  This is a legislative initiative that seeks to, in my words, take back the schoolhouse.  It is purely a vehicle to influence change in the Illinois legislature to fulfill the promise of public schools once again.  Over time we have let changes happen to us rather than sit at the table and help design what changes can help make our schools and communities better.  One word of note: Vision 20/20 is about kids and their schools.  Nothing in their platform seeks to benefit the adults that work in schools except for the prospect of a better place for them to find their student’s fullest potential.

This week I was proud to participate in the Alliance Leadership Summit in Springfield.  Over 600 administrators, board members and parents converged on the capital to begin the process of change.  We learned about potential policy, changes in learning, and how state budgets have been constructed.  At the conclusion of Governor Rauner’s budget address we moved towards the capital and visited our legislator’s offices and promoted the four pillars of Vision 20/20.  This was truly an empowering experience to know that instead of sending a couple of lobbyists to speak, we sent 600.

This is how we will get the old school house back, in the General Assembly.  In a lot of ways this is how we were put in the situation we are in.  New laws that restrict schools to serve kids have pushed us in a direction we can no longer go.  If you would like to learn more about Vision 20/20, follow the link below and even sign the petition.  Over 300 school districts in Illinois have signed on and the Illinois PTA and their 100,000 members have endorsed the plan as well.  Let’s take the schoolhouse back.

http://illinoisvision2020.org/