Embrace Your Toby Ziegler

I am a huge West Wing fan.  Not only because I love politics and this a perfect world to get caught up in, but also there are some great leadership themes that play out in the show.  Toby Ziegler is easily my favorite West Wing character next to President Bartlet.  In this clip the staff had a $10 bet that Toby would not be able to resist taking the President to task on a bad answer to a potential debate question.  I identify with Toby quite a bit.  He loves his country and is dedicated to his president to a level that makes him look like a jerk.  This is really the only way he knows to express his dedication and patriotism.  The joke in the show illustrates that they accept him for who he is and respect his outspokenness.

There is a leadership lesson here for new building principals.  As we enter the school year, our rookies will encounter teachers and staff members like Toby Ziegler.  I took my first administrative job when I was 31.  When you are close to the youngest on the whole staff and you are in charge, this tends to invite a Toby or two.  I will never forget mine.  He took me to task in our first faculty meeting.  I survived his questions and skepticism by staying in the middle of the road on my answers.  When I had time later to regroup, I had to make a choice.

I could do one of two things with this "difficult" teacher.  I could continue to label him as difficult, avoid him by avoiding difficult subjects and in turn become a weak principal for doing so.  The other option is what I chose.  I saw his perspective as a strength that I needed to draw from.  When you are a teacher, you are always seeking the passions and strengths of your students to help them get better.  As a principal, you should be doing this with your building staff.  When I began to spend time with him, I started to understand why he was so critical.  He had been there for more than 20 years.  He has seen people come and go he would be damned if he would see another out of town principal come around and mess it all up.  He didn't dislike me at all.  He loved his school and I hadn't yet shown to him that I was a part of his school.

New and aspiring principals, embrace your Toby Zieglers.  Find the strengths in your staffs and embrace them all.  If you take the genuine position that everyone has something to contribute and actually allow it to happen, you will be amazed at what your school will do.  I work with a great teaching staff at Central Junior High.  We share ownership of our decision making and and constructively disagree.  When I have to say no, it is respected as whats good for the school and not a power move.  If I have learned anything in ten years of being a principal it is that leadership is never about the upper hand, it is about relationships and what you do with them.

So newbies, how will you set the tone with your new staffs?  Will you avoid your Toby Zieglers or will you seek him out?  Do you plan on building your relationships with your staff or making sure they who the boss is?  If you go back to the clip, the boss initiated the joke.  This wasn't to  embarrass him but to see and confirm his passion.  Yes they laughed, but they know when push comes to shove Toby is loyal and dedicated to the group and the mission.  Isn't this what you want in your school staff?  Let me tell you, your progress potential is endless when each person is committed to each other.  If you want that kind of environment, you can't run from your Toby Zieglers.

If I Could Sit in a Room with Governor Rauner

I am an educator and if you are like me, you know there has been a lot of rhetoric taking place over the last few weeks.  As always, our work as professionals is taking a back seat to political strategy.  It's okay.  We have gotten used to this kind of treatment, but that doesn't make it right.  I was very frustrated with the Governor's notion that school superintendents are afraid of Speaker Madigan and that is why they support SB1. He is now demanding that SB1 be sent to him by noon on Monday.  I think what I really want is to sit in a room with him and tell him how I feel.  I think this is what would be said.

Gov. Rauner: I have been an educator for 16 years.  There has only been one year that our opening day address from our superintendent or administrators meeting did not include how to save money and do without.  Like We Olson Tweeted; my children have went their entire school careers in underfunded schools.  This not only includes our school kids but our kids at home too.  Ho long is too long for our best investment to be set aside?

Gov. Rauner: Do you know what we have endured to this point?  Unfunded mandates, pro-ration of funds and subjection to political strategy have all been the norm in my 16 years.  There was a time that we were told our schools didn't amount to anything if we didn't do well on standardized tests.  One time we changed the school code and the very nature of our relationships with our teachers in order to capture Race to the Top money because we were so desperate.  All together, the face of the Illinois public school has changed so much in this short time.

Gov. Rauner: We have taken it on the chin for a long time and kept being humble public servants for our communities.  We had no answers for them and when that becomes exhausting, we have to develop a voice.  Vision 20/20 emerged as a voice for schools and many others followed.  That collective voice is loud and telling you and the legislature what our communities need.  Are you listening to understand or listening to respond politically?  There is a difference.

Gov. Rauner: SB1 is a chance to begin again.  Even the language you call a "Chicago bailout" is way to start over and do things right.  This bill represents the collective wisdom of so many that care about the direction of public schools in Illinois.  This bill represents ALL kids.  We have in no way declared this a political issue because it kids are not a political issue.  They are not a bargaining chip and we are not taking Speaker Madigan's position.  The legislature took our position and voted for the best interests of their districts.  Join us in starting over and making it right.  Don't issue ultimatums and play political chess with such a critical issue.

Gov. Rauner: I am thankful for the countless people that have fought for this.  The school administrators, advocacy groups, legislators and parents that have given so much time and effort to see this bill passed deserve a chance.  They represent millions of kids that they have never met and those kids deserve a chance.  I work in a district that sits in a county that is a leader in the highest unemployment rate in the state.  We have a high poverty rate, a high mobility rate and a high rate of truancy.  My kids deserve a chance.  They don't need your politics.

Gov. Rauner: Sign SB1.  Forget about a political win.  Forget about your legacy.  This bill is about our future.  This bill is about bettering our families and communities with fully funded schools for them to attend.  It gives us all a chance.  Sign SB1.

The Bill Buckner Teach-able Moment

If you are any kind of a baseball fan, you know exactly who this is and his story.  When my son found this card in a random mixed pack, he didn't understand why my wife and reacted the way we did.  He's nine and has no clue who Bill Buckner is but he has always shown a desire to learn since he began collecting baseball and basketball cards.

I know this is a dying hobby.  I loved collecting cards and I still have them from all those years ago.  I've given many to my son to help him get started.  It's a lot of fun to watch him open a pack looking for a gem just like I used to.  He is however, a typical millennial kid.  He can be found giggling with headphones on watching dumb YouTube videos on his iPad. He also plays a couple different MLB games that give him knowledge of the best players in the country.  When he watched ESPN with me, he basically knows as much as I do.  When I was his age, we didn't have the coverage on TV or the access to the internet the way he does.  If I want to learn about distant players, collecting baseball cards was how I did it.

I love telling him old stories of players past because that's how people my age learned of the legends.  This is not always the best way to reach him so when this card surfaced we had the revelation to engage in some millennial story telling.  We turned our TV to YouTube and did a search of Bill Buckner. The top result was obviously the ground ball but the depth of knowledge on the topic was staggering.  It was more than I could ever dream of knowing at that age or what I could have possibly given to him.

Yes, I am the guy who said that we need to be a safety valve for our kid's internet use.  But that doesn't mean limit them to avoid any and all danger.  I had hoped to convey that we should be models and show them how to consume the internet responsibly.  This, in my opinion, was a parenting victory.  We used the internet to tell a story that I could not hope to ever convey to him.  This is what schools are trying to do.  Use the internet to do what a textbook could never do for us.  Deep and engaging understanding of concepts, not just memorizing dates and facts is the name of the game now.

As parents it is time we embrace the fact that our kids do not learn how we did.  We have to have an open mind when it comes to how our kids consume the internet and information.  We have to learn with them no matter how uncomfortable it is.  Blowing off the idea of using the internet to learn is just like letting a win slip right through your feet.  It's okay to blend the old and the new ways to learn as long as you are engaging your children and inspiring to learn about things in depth.  I bet you Bill Buckner never thought he would be a teach-able moment.

My "Papers"

Earlier in the school year I was asked by a community member if I had my "papers for superintendent".  I was first put off by this but I knew didn't know the terminology.  He was simply asking if I had the credentials for being a superintendent.  I replied that I did and we had a nice conversation about schools and our myriad of issues in the profession.  I went home fearing that this is what some folks feel leadership is.  As if just having your "papers" means you can do it.  I have a long talk with myself about my own personal leadership style and qualities.  This continued throughout the year and I sought to define myself as a leader.  This was frustrating and too much talking to yourself can look and feel strange.

I had the opportunity to apply to be a part of the Illinois Association of School Administrators Aspiring Superintendent Academy and thankfully I was accepted.  I had no idea what I was in for and just assumed I would get more of the same training that I had for years, despite the handful of people that assured me that this was a great program and spoke highly of the facilitators.

I was completely wrong about this five minutes into the first day.  Our facilitators were Dr. Nick Polyak and Dr. Michael Lubelfeld and they were great.  It was obvious they were passionate about what they do and the purpose for doing it.  They described their mission as developing the bullpen for the superintendency and folks let me tell you, if a man uses a sports analogy for something it means he is serious.  These guys were awesome and they brought awesome people to us too.  I'm going to take the easy way out and say that I learned so much and the activities were completely worthwhile.  That's not lip service, I truly did learn many technical aspects of the superintendency and how to do them well, but that is not what the magic of the academy was for me.

Before any technical or leadership learning took place, they provided a perfect lens to look through on the very first day.  To begin the week we examined and explored our leadership story.  We focused on what made us tick and how we got to where we are.  This was huge for me.  People like us are selfless and tend to never look in the mirror.  For me its mostly because I have no time (my morning shave is about it) and I tend to attribute all the good in my life to my family and school staff.  Through metrics and exploration we learned what our strengths are and why that is.  I was floored when I returned to the hotel that night.  From that day on, I began to look at every activity through this new lens and it changed the whole experience for me.

I can tell you that I can look in a book and figure out out how to do stuff.  That my friends is simply having your "papers" and this experience was far beyond that.  This academy was about why you do stuff.  After figuring that out, I saw each learning experience totally different.  When I worked though a mock emergency scenario, I thought about my values.  When I constructed my first day of school presentation, I though about my leadership strengths and how to play to them.  When I wrote principal evaluation feedback, I put my leadership story to work.  I can't image getting the same experience if the format was any different.

I want to give a huge shout out to Dr. Polyak and Dr. Lubelfeld for such an awesome week of personal (not just professional) development.  They are truly leaders of leaders and for that I will plug their book, The Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow's Schools Today and yes you can find it on Amazon.  Yes, I have my "papers" but thanks to this experience I know why.

One final insider thought and comment: #shuttle and "I live by a levy".  I've been home less than 24 hours and that is already a source of laughter for my family and I as I tell our stories.  It was truly #ASuperWeek.

Dr. Michael Lubelfeld is the Superintendent of Schools at Deerfield Public School #109
Dr. Nick Polyak is the Superintendent of Schools at Leyden High School District #212

We Can't Have It Both Ways

These last few days has been exciting for people like me.  I have been watching the budget votes very close because after all, I'm a public school employee and my livelihood depends on what happens.  That's true but that's not why I'm watching this closely.  For the first time in a long time we are on the verge of great things.  A new and much improved school funding formula is on the table.  A revenue and spending plan that will help get us out of the mess is on the table.  Legislators are voting in a bipartisan manner to help get our state back on track.  They have turned their back on politics and opened their eyes to reality.  Something special is happening and we should all be excited about it.

During this time I have been checking social media in regular intervals for updates.  I'm sharing, re-tweeting and liking anything that makes me happy about this developing story.  It occurred to me during a scroll through Facebook that despite all the posts and official statements from politicians I wasn't really seeing any arguments about raising taxes.  My usual suspects on this topic seemed to be silent.  I started to feel good about this because maybe it meant that we are all on the same page, but then I ran into a post that made me think.

A public school teacher shared a post about how the General Assembly would be better off cutting corners than raising taxes.  I can see that side of things but you have to do a combination of both cutting and raising revenue to get out of the hole we are in.  I was simply off-put by the fact a southern Illinois school teacher is agreeable to the idea of losing more than we have already lost.  Public schools have had their butts kicked over and over during the budget crisis and I had figured some solidarity would emerge from this.  I guess not.

I will not disparage anyone for what they believe.  If you are anti-tax, then that's fine.  I will simply say that I am a tax payer too.  Yes, I technically work for the state but I also pay federal, state, property and sales taxes.  All of which support my school district.  I do not have any trouble with the idea of paying higher taxes.  In this case I know where it has to go.  To be fair, I do understand why people that work in the private sector that are not okay with the idea.  I do get it.  Let's pretend for a minute that the Governor vetoes the bills and they are overridden to become law.  Taxes are raised but schools and other vital public services are funded properly.  I think we can all agree on some things post budget crisis:

• Nobody likes the initiation of a major change but we all like whats on the back end of it.
• Taxpayers need to demand that our legislature works for the common good.  We have a very unique state but this situation has shown us that legislators are willing to work together.
• Partisan politics was a major cause of barriers that might have lead to earlier success.  To avoid another crisis, lets keep and elect people that can be bi-partisan on significant issues. 
• Don't buy into the rhetoric.  There is more than one way to skin a cat but competing interests will have you believe that there is only one way to solve our problems.  This my friends, is how you win elections not how your serve a struggling state.

Maybe I'm getting excited or just overly optimistic.  We are on the edge of something significant that could lead us out of the darkness.  We have asked our leaders to compromise and get it done but we should expect the same for ourselves.  We know that new revenue needs to be raised for any way out of this mess.  We need to suffer through it together and then do our part to prevent another embarrassing budget crisis.  It is a bitter pill for all of us to swallow but it has to be done.  We can't have it both ways.  We can't demand more out of the legislature if we are not willing to give something up too.