I didn't lose control ... I never had it

The older I get, the more I realize that we, as educators, cannot control students.
The only person I can control is myself. 

But in recent work with the Danielson Framework for Teaching, I find that this inability to control students is not just a realization that is supposed to dawn on us midway through our careers.  It's good teaching from Day 1.  And I could kick myself, because my first teaching position (as a high school choral director in Iowa) used the Danielson model.  We had switched from Madeline (raise your hand if you can still say "anticipatory set") to Charlotte in the waning days of the 20th century, but there wasn't much PD around the switch.  Some things never change ...

Let's think about Domain 2, called "The Classroom Environment".
The questions and reflections that follow are my own, borne out of years of study and practice using the Danielson model, first as a teacher, and now as an administrator.  The explanations are grossly simplified for the purpose of this blog post.

Component 2a - Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport
This is all about the quality of the interactions.  Interactions between teacher and students, as well as between students themselves.  It's all about relationships.  "No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship" (Comer).
Question for 2a:  To what extent do the interactions in my room impact the learning that happens?
Interactions that exist for classroom compliance are level 2.
Interactions that are respectful are level 3.
Interactions that are caring are level 4.

Component 2b - Establishing a Culture for Learning
This is all about the space a teacher creates for cognitive energy.  A wise friend once told me "The one who does the thinking does the learning."  A busy cognitive environment means students are visibly demonstrating their thinking.  It's brainy chaos.
Question for 2b:  Who owns the learning in my classroom?
If learning equates to task completion, that is level 2.
If learning equates to genuine mental effort, that is level 3.
If learning equates to ownership of learning (where students take charge), that is level 4.

The next two components both use the word "manage".
Managers (factory managers or service managers) have:
• a plan and a vision ahead of time about how something is supposed to run,
• the ability to recognize quickly when something is out of alignment,
• a predisposition towards action when something is not running correctly,
• an understanding that a smooth running operation is NOT their ultimate goal, but rather
• an understanding that a great product or great service is their ultimate goal.

Component 2c - Managing Instructional Procedures
The procedures in a classroom are endless.  A colleague of mine was incredible at developing procedures.  The year I had 90 eighth graders in choir, guess what I did?  I went to her for feedback.  We teach procedures so that they fade and disappear into the background, allowing learning to take center stage.
Question for 2c:  To what extent do the procedures in my room help (or hinder) the learning?
Inconsistent procedures are level 2.
Smooth procedures that lead to learning are level 3.
Student-led procedures are the hallmark of level 4, so that you only notice the learning.

Component 2d - Managing Student Behavior
This component is about having a standard of behavior in your room and effective responses.  That means we are clear and consistent in what we look for in student behavior and that students respond when we intervene.
Question for 2d:  Do I have a standard of behavior and do students respond effectively?
If the teacher has a standard, but the results are inconsistent, it is level 2.
If the teacher has a standard, and the results are consistent, it is level 3.
If the students monitor and reinforce each other, especially in group work, it is level 4.

As a teacher, I can't control student interactions (2a).
But I can set the tone for them and respond when they don't meet my expectations.
As a teacher, I can't make students think (2b).
But I can create a space for them to engage cognitively.
As a teacher, I can't make students organized and productive (2c).
But I can establish procedures that maximize learning time.
As a teacher, I can't make students behave (2d).
But I can create a standard of behavior and respond when I see it neglected.

So I may not be able to control students, but I can control the amount of learning that is possible in a classroom and create the conditions for learning.

Two Contrasting Articles

Educational policy doesn't get much play in the media lately, but two articles in Sunday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel caught my attention.

The first, an article that claims that the drop in suspension rates is to blame for a perceived drop in classroom safety.
The second, an article about the promises of character education in schools.

I offer two pieces of advice:
• Don't confuse correlation with causation
• A rising tide lifts all boats

The first article, about suspension rates, claims that "the increasing hesitancy of schools to utilize discipline is having a negative effect on the learning environment" and "the rapid drop in suspension rates has also raised safety concerns".  The article blames the drop in suspension rates on political structures.  Correlation is not causation.

This take on suspension rates ignores the idea that hardworking educators are finding new and better ways to build relationships and communicate with students and families on an ongoing basis.  Ideas such as culturally-responsive teaching, trauma-informed teaching, and equity have found center stage.  Does that mean we don't deal appropriately with extreme misbehavior when we see it?  Absolutely not.  But it also means we care at least as much about the antecedent as we do the behavior and the consequence.

The second article is about the need for character education in all schools.  My favorite line:
"Drilling the multiplication tables will not help lonely, desperate children or develop a world-class workforce.  What we need to do is encourage character where it exists and grow it where it is lacking".  Educators work hard to create a common language about academic outcomes.  We fall flat when trying to speak a common vocabulary about the character outcomes we expect.  But it's not impossible.  A rising tide lifts all boats!  Our efforts at character education proactively benefit every student.

We must ask ourselves:  Do we face a "character gap"?  And if so, how does it relate to the "achievement gap"?  These have become color-blind, poverty-blind, ability-blind questions.
Discipline?  Yes.  Character?  Yes.  Achievement?  Yes.
Which of those do you think is the starting point for long-term student success?

The Challenge of Change

This past week, I spent a lot of time in conversations about change.

Wednesday - a staff meeting about report cards and complex change.

Wednesday - two meetings to try and get our PTO off the ground.

Thursday - RtI meetings focused on changing the way we use data to guide interventions.

Thursday night - panel presentation on Personalizing/Project Based Learning.

Friday - PD conversations about what we want learning to look like in 3 years.

And those are just the big ones in three days last week.  Really, every conversation I have seems to be a change conversation, right down to the hallway conversations with students about behavior.  

There are people who enjoy change.  But most don't like to admit it.

I'll own up to it right now.  I enjoy change.  I thrive on change.  

Here's the problem that I've realized about enjoying change, and maybe those of you who like change have realized this about yourself as well:

People who like change see themselves as optimists, 

but most other people view them as pessimists.

Why?  Because when you like change, you see possibilities everywhere, even when things are going well.  But some others will look at you and see a person who is never satisfied.

It's something I've tried to be keenly aware of as a leader.

Being aware of ourselves and our perceptions is key to working together as a team.

~~~

Speaking of change, a new iPhone just came out.  That makes me think of a great post by David Jakes.  (Mr. Jakes is a solid voice in the area for design thinking and innovation in schools, and some of his local clients include Racine and New Berlin.)  It was an innovative process that brought the iPhone to dominance.  But the money line is this:  "No one stands in line in the rain for the process." Ultimately, innovation leads to a product.  Our product is a re-imagined learning experience.  That's what we're building, and it makes all the changes worthwhile.  

Daily Innovations

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  They've included:
• Grade level meetings about kindness and empathy
• PBIS and RtI team training days
• Some difficult student behavior issues
• Some great Educator Effectiveness meetings
• The first home football playoff game in two decades
• An engaging PD data about data
• A visit from former-NFL player LeRoy Butler about bullying
• Our first student dance of the year

But let me talk about something completely different for a moment.
In-between other craziness right now, I am a reviewer for proposals for a high-profile national conference taking place next Summer.  40 different highly innovative workshop proposals that each required close investigation and rating.  Proposals that other educators and leaders had poured their professional careers into, waiting for coveted spots based on the reviews of people they have never met.  These educators have made innovation their life's work. 

Innovation itself is an interesting concept.  In medieval times, if you were an "innovator," it meant you were a heretic because you were adding something "new" to a concept (i.e., a religious tenet).  "Innovation" meant prison or worse for the accused.  Today, we honor innovators.  Steve Jobs & Jony Ive (Apple) ~ Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt (Google) ~ Jeff Bezos (Amazon) ~ and so many more.

Two thoughts about innovation:

1.  My favorite book about innovation is entitled Better by Atul Gawande.  Mr. Gawande is a surgeon, and the main point of his book is that everyone thinks innovation is waiting for some disruptor to step in and solve our problems.  99% of the time, that's not how it happens.  Most of the time, innovation means improving daily practice, one step at a time, until our skills are just ... better.  The book is filled with examples over the past centuries that detail how small, consistent innovations have made life better.   

2.  Once, I was asked the following question:  "What does full implementation of innovation mean to you?"  This question haunts me in a good way.  This means a school where every educator is committed to trying something new and improving practice every day because our students need us to be ... better. 

Last week, LeRoy Butler told our students to work hard for their teachers because their teachers love them, are the smartest people around, and give all this knowledge and love for free.  The good news is that our students do the same for us!  Our students help us improve our practice on a daily basis (and they give us this gift for free as well).  Every time we improve our game, they grow in achievement, which in turn begs us to up our game again.  None of us can be the same educator we were yesterday.  We have to be ... better.

My Two Favorite Questions

My previous blog post was about answers to leadership questions.  This blog post will be about questions - two of my favorite questions, actually.  But first, a digression about questions in general.

A mentor of mine always said, "The person doing the talking is the person doing the learning."
The older I get, the more I find this to be true.  The student that is talking is the person most engaged.  This is true when dealing with academic issues as well as behavior issues.  Whoever talks the most owns it.  This is why technology has evened the playing field in classrooms because everyone can be "talking" at once using various tech tools.

Questions are an engaged form of talking.
One year of teaching, I focused on student-generated questions.  To encourage and celebrate quality questions, I covered my entire chalkboard (yes, a chalkboard ...) with paper and wrote student questions on it all year long.  Students were elated to get their questions on the board, and it created an environment that celebrated inquiry.  And Danielson recognizes teachers who create classrooms where students generate the questions.

End of digression.  Now to my two favorite questions.

My daughters are very used to me asking them these two questions many nights after school.  It's become somewhat of a routine over the years:
• What questions did you ask today?
• What did your teacher do or say that was funny today?

The first question, "What questions did you ask today?" tells me if my own child is engaged in the thinking that is happening in her classroom, and by extension, if the teacher is creating an environment of inquiry.  Remember - the person asking the questions is doing the learning.  Believe me, the questions they asked when they were younger were very simple (i.e., "Can I go to the bathroom?")  Did I celebrate those questions?  Absolutely!  Then we talked about what other kinds of questions they could ask.

The second question, "What did your teacher do or say that was funny today?" gets at relationship building.  Is my chid in a environment that celebrates the the joy of learning?  I tell my kids that teachers do and say funny things constantly if they pay attention to it.  But that happens because the teacher uses his/her personality to create a purposefully engaging classroom.

Any questions?

5 Questions

I recently came across an old blog post by George Couros called "5 Questions You Should Ask Your Leader".  Being a new administrator, I know that I do not have the best answers yet, but it of course made me think about my responses.

Before offering my answers, I offer this thought:
As educators, we are ALL leaders.
Students and parents see all of us as leaders.  Over time, every educator develops a "niche" area of leadership, which could be service learning, curriculum writing, developing relationships with hard-to-reach students, content-area leadership, and so on.  I encourage you to think about your own answers to these questions as I humbly offer mine.

1.  What are some ways you connect with your school community (fostering effective relationships)?
Over the years, I've realized I'm really bad at names, but I'm really good at stories.  If I just hear a name, I have a hard time remembering it.  But if I get to hear about your life, family, and interests, I remember.  I think it's the part of me that loves to ask questions.  The upside?  It's genuine interest - I really do love the stories.  The downside?  It takes a long time to do this, especially if you are in a new role.  Making yourself present is the key.  That's actually easy to do with adults.  Trying to do that with students is more difficult - as a school leader, it seems that most of the times you see students, they are always in a hurry to get somewhere else ...

2.  What are some areas of teaching and learning that you can lead in the school (Instructional Leadership)?  Every educator eventually needs to specialize in a few things.  The art and science of education is too complicated to know it all.  After my years in the classroom and in teacher leadership, here are the areas of instructional leadership that others have helped me see in myself:
• Instructional Planning & Learning Target Theory
• Curriculum Development (UbD)
• Technology Integration
• Personalizing Learning
• Student Engagement strategies
• Feedback strategies
• Formative Assessment strategies
• Finding ways for teachers to measure their own impact
• Strategies for helping students in crisis
I purposefully avoided saying anything about content-area related leadership, preferring to focus on "Instructional Leadership" that cuts across borders.

3.  What are you hoping teaching and learning looks like in your school and how do you communicate that vision (Embodying Visionary Leadership)?  
Every school needs to come together to create its own vision of high-quality instruction.  Here is my personal vision of teaching and learning:
• A teacher's vocation is to help each student find his/her "song" and sing it proudly.
• Every student deserves at least one year's growth, every year.
• Highly engaging instructional strategies produce student efficacy and motivation that leads to achievement.
How is this communicated?  The staff, parents, and students should be co-creators of this instructional vision.  Jim Knight says keep it simple - a one page instructional vision that all can agree to and be accountable for.

4.  How do you build leadership capacity in your schools?  
First, we have to identify the talents we see in each other.  As stated earlier, we can't know or do it all in this complicated vocation we call "teaching".  Recognize and name the strengths we see in one another and then match those strengths to the needs we have as a school.  People don't want to join committees?  Maybe you have the wrong types of committees, or maybe you have too many overlapping strengths.  Give people permission to run with their strengths and see what develops.

5.  What will be your "fingerprints" on this building after you leave (creating sustainable change)?
Two "I"s of education:  Innovation and Impact.
• Innovation asks the question: "Can I do this in a better way?"
• Impact asks the question: "How do I know that what I did made a difference?"
Innovation means that we become a school that studies itself, looking for better ways to teach and reach students.  Impact means that we become educators who can look back at the end of our day and say, "Here are the ways I made a difference today and here's how I know it."  We become a school that studies itself, looking for ways to increase our impact in measurable ways.

Who Teaches Us?

My daughters are very interested in my career shift.  They were used to seeing dad as a music teacher, and we have interesting conversations at home now about dad's new work as an Assistant Principal. Two things they love:
• Playing "school" with their dolls as dad observes the teachers [Hard as they try, student engagement always seems to be quite lacking.]
• Asking them real interview questions [Q: How do you build relationships with students?  Their answer: Be nice and be funny.]

They have many questions and observations of their own about my new position.  The other night, one of them asked (in a very oversimplified way) "If teachers teach the students, and principals teach the teachers, who teaches the principal?"

After a pause, my very real answer was that the teachers teach the principal.  Yes, and ...

We must consider how each of us continues our learning journey every day.  It is more important than ever to be a "connected educator".  That doesn't mean connected to the internet - it means connected to people.  People who make us think, who motivate and inspire us, who confirm our instincts, challenge our thinking, and who push us into deeper waters.

The most important connections are the personal connections in your building.  But we all need connections to people in other buildings. To books and journals.  And more than ever, to online connections such as Twitter.

I always heard people say "I don't have time for Twitter."
Until one day I heard someone say "I don't have time NOT to be on Twitter."
That was the moment of clarity for me.  Even ten minutes a day of Twitter provided more connections, inspiration, challenges, and ideas from amazing educators than I could get anywhere else in the same amount of time.  The biggest time saver in life is having a world's worth of ideas at your fingertips.

I don't have time NOT to be connected anymore.