Tag Archives: support

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6000 Days of Teaching

GeeseI am approaching the end of my 30th year as an educator.  Let us assume that a school year is composed of 200 teaching days.  Granted, those in the profession know that does not reflect the reality, as a teacher’s school year always starts well before the first day of classes and includes significant commitment outside of the regular school calendar.  However, for the sake of keeping the Math simple, let’s consider it in this way: 200 school days per year x  30 years =  6000 days.

My 6000th day is on the horizon, and it will be my last.

It all comes down to this:

A reflection on such a journey could focus on changes that have occurred over time or enumerate the host of lessons learned.  But memory lane is a meandering path and there is little to be gained from traveling that road for very long.

I have of course given great consideration as to “what comes next”.  There is no reason to expect that the characteristics by which one was defined during the course of one’s career will suddenly change when that career comes to an end.  That indicates to me that life after day 6000 is likely to largely resemble life before day 6000.  I will remain an enthusiastic learner and continue to seize opportunities to build capacity in those around me.

And as I leave it is my hope that at least to some extent, those characteristics will have imprinted on others so that what remains is an enduring and mutually supportive learning community.

Therefore, it is with a high degree of confidence that I can honestly say that 6000 days have taught me that public education really does boil down to those simple words: enduring, mutually supportive learning.

What matters, and what doesn’t:
marble1

Shifting demands placed upon our public institutions have the potential to cause strain to the breaking point.  The above phrase can serve as an effective filter when faced with the flood of initiatives, programs and processes that attempt to find their way into schools.  That which stands up to scrutiny is worthy of inclusion in public education.  That which fails to pass the test must not impose upon the critically important work we do.

The key word of course is “learning”.  What else should schools possibly be about?  Under no circumstances should that be limited to teachers teaching students.  Terms such as “learning community” imply that we are all learning from each other. Certainly, teachers facilitate the learning of their students, but example is the best precept;  every individual concerned with public education must be grounded in a mindset that continually prompts consideration of the question:  What will I learn today?

It is imperative that no one person, group, or ideal exerts so much influence that direction is lost in their absence.  Public education must continually move forward, building on individual contributions and enthusiastically embracing new opportunities.

To that end, I hope I have contributed to creating the architecture within which people are inspired to embrace and share learning and that I have somehow impacted upon the interia that will keep it all moving forward.

If that is all that I have been able to accomplish, I consider my 6000 days well spent.

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Graduation: Not Just a Celebration of Student Achievement.

grad-capThe following is the text of my Principal’s Address to the High School Graduates of 2014.

My mother was the type of person who was cautious about throwing an item away, always thinking that someone might have a use for it someday. So when rummaging through a box of papers some time back, I was not surprised to come across something that I had thought was thrown out long ago.  It was a hand written copy the first graduation speech I ever delivered.  What I mean is that this was the speech I wrote and gave at my own high school graduation.  A speech that I delivered as a very nervous seventeen year old to a crowd much like this one.

I took it out of the dusty brown envelope, sat cross legged on the floor and began to read the words I had written many years ago.  After silently going over nearly all of the speech, I put it down and thought:  how embarrassing!

I could see that I attempted to be witty, and I guess I wrote the best speech I was capable of at that point in my life. Really, I was just glad that the speech was 37 years in the past and delivered in the days before anyone owned a video camera, so I could be certain that no one had any record or memory of those awkward words.

But the last paragraph of that speech was different.  Maybe I felt it would be appropriate for me to end on a serious note.  And as I reflected upon the closing paragraph, I realized that what I wrote then still holds true today.  In fact, it is highly appropriate to share it with you right now, since, I wrote it on the occasion of a high school graduation and I wrote it when I was as old as the people up on this stage today.  Here is what it said:

“Remember that we owe a lot to the people that are with us here today, for they have influenced us, and helped us to become who and what we are.  In a lot of ways, a school is a little world in itself, a world where we learn how to solve problems and adjust to different situations.  Sometimes we mess up, but that is kind of what school is for too.  And when we run into obstacles, we have people around us to help show us the way.”

I did not realize it at the time, but I know now that what I was referring to was a sense of community.  The importance of community is an enduring reality.  The strength that comes from a caring supportive community is as powerful now as it was then.

I look around this room and I see proud parents, grandparents, relatives and friends. I see teachers, educational assistants, secretaries, bus drivers and custodians. You are here because you care and because you want to share in this wonderful community celebration.  You are here, because you are the community.  And while we are here to celebrate the graduation of these students, we also celebrate your contribution in making this happen.

So on behalf of the person you see standing here before you as well as on behalf of my seventeen year old self who is speaking to you from across the years, I wish all the best to these young people, and extend my gratitude to all of you who have provided the support and encouragement that makes their high school graduation a reality.

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Intangible Leadership: 5 Ways to Provide “Soft Support” to School Staff

As principal, one has the potential to exert a tremendous amount of influence on the climate of the school.  An effective school administrator is keenly aware of the factors that can impact upon school climate that are too numerous to address here. Instead my  focus is on an overlooked factor to which I refer as “soft support” for school staff.

What I mean by this is that there are subtle ways that a principal can show school staff that they are valued and supported. I believe that many of these things are simply second nature for effective leaders.  Yet, there is value to taking the time to consciously reflect upon our own day to day actions with a view to improving the way we provide support to those with whom we work every day.

The best way for a school leader to provide such support depends a great deal on personal leadership style, as what works for one person may not work for the next.  However, these five would undoubtedly form a sound foundation:

  1.  Be visible. If you walk into a classroom and are noticed, that should be sign to you that you are not making anywhere near the number of informal visits that you should be making.  What should you do when you visit a classroom?  Ideally, you should go through all the steps of a “walkthrough” that is better described in other books and articles.  At the very least, you should connect with a student by asking what he or she is learning today.  Or acknowledge something that the teacher is doing and make a clear connection to student learning.  Ideally, people should be more surprised to see you in your office than in a classroom or the hallway.
  2. Listen.  If you have developed a good rapport with your teachers, you will likely find that they do not hesitate to seek you out to share something that is on their mind.  In my experience, this may be classroom related, but not necessarily.  Over the course of my long career, I have had staff members come to speak to me to discuss topics about which I never imagined they might seek my consultation.  I have always found that they don’t necessarily need answers from me, so I don’t usually offer them up.  Instead, I employ all the reflective listening strategies I have learned over the years and more often than not simply help the person answer his or her own questions.
  3. Do what’s right.  One Friday afternoon, I had a support staff member come to see me about her pay cheque.  It seems the employer miscalculated – an honest error that resulted in a cheque payable for slightly less than she had earned.  Being  late afternoon on a Friday, she meekly suggested she would wait to resolve the matter after the weekend.  I remember her reaction when I stated that this was simply not acceptable as she was entitled to the full amount right then and there. We immediately got down to the business of correcting the error.  She later told me that  making this issue my immediate priority showed her that her work was valued.  To me it was just the right thing to do.
  4. Find out what people are passionate about, then fund it.  I have had numerous conversations with teachers either beginning a new assignment or starting up a new program.  They invariably come to me full of creative ideas and a question: “What kind of a budget would I have to do this?”  My answer has always been: “Your job is to create phenomenal learning experiences for students, my job is to figure out how to help you make them happen.”  Nothing stymies passionate energy like a fixed dollar figure.  There is always a way to make the things that should happen a reality and when teachers are assured that they have your support for this, they are free to let learning, rather than budget, be the focus.  When you can channel that passionate energy into the classroom and teachers know they have your support in making things happen, everyone wins.
  5. Seize the moment.  From time to time there will arise opportunities for you to do some simple thing that speaks volumes about what you stand for.  The challenge is to recognize and act upon them.  I have always said that I will never ask anyone to do something that I myself was not prepared to do.  Whether it is recognizing how to stand by a teacher who is dealing with a classroom management issue, when to provide supervision support, or when to offer to be a silent observer at a parent-teacher meeting, experience teaches us not only what to do and when and how to do it.  Above all, never underestimate the power of the small gesture.

Leaders who believe that their role is to provide support to those around them tend to understand that they are only as effective as the people around them. It is through bringing out the best in others that we bring out the best in ourselves.