My Personal Paradigm Shift in the Context of Inclusion...

For a period of eight years I taught within segregated special education environments designed to address the needs of socially/emotionally and behaviorally challenged middle and high school students. When my journey began I was a full-fledged believer in segregated teaching and learning. My perspective was simple... if even one child felt excluded in an "inclusive" environment, could we really call it an inclusive environment?

Ours was a highly specialized educational environment supported by massive amounts of funding designed specifically to nurture a sense of belonging and purpose for our students, but it wasn't long before I started to question the legitimacy of what we did. Don't get me wrong; we did really great work, and we had visitors every month from far and wide seeking clarity about what we did for our students and how we did it because they wanted to emulate our effort. However, as the program evolved, I started wondering why what we did couldn't be transferred to any school context. As I understand now, the awareness I was developing was regarding the fact that no matter how "included" our students felt within our environment, we simply could not deny that they were excluded simply by virtue of their enrollment in our segregated/congregated environment. 

I really started to question whether what we were doing for kids were the most advantageous and least intrusive interventions possible. I reflected on my perspective toward disabilities and challenges in learning, and I began to consider the concept that perhaps in some ways we are all disabled and challenged; that the continuum of social, emotional, cognitive and behavioral issues affects all of us- so why would we segregate particular groups of individuals? Are we not all traveling on a learning journey that is unique and personal... like our learning fingerprint?

These questions plagued me, and I lost sleep. My perspective began to change. I thought a great deal about Occam's Razor and how we could simplify the process of helping our kids so that the process could be extended to any teaching and learning environment, with some customizing for each particular context. Then I met Nan Henderson and the thoughts I was dancing around in my head began to organize. What I was looking for wasn't a strategy, a program or another source of support for these kids; it was simply a philosophy... the philosophy of resiliency. It's free and it literally touches every element of learning, and teaching. To me, resiliency is the essence of inclusion and it's all about perspective- the lens we look through everyday in our effort to provide a caring environment in our schools and classrooms.

Looking at challenge (cognitive, social, emotional, behavioral) as opportunity and celebrating strengths within as asset-based model are benchmarks of a resiliency-based school culture. Every student is challenged in his or her own individual way... it's imperative that teachers learn what these challenges are so we can re-frame them as learning opportunities to be measured against themselves, not on a curve that's externally applied. Providing appropriate and effective strategies to support the teaching and learning process addressing these challenges can take many forms, and not all of them requiring extra funds. In its simplest form, supporting a resiliency-based school culture is as easy as wrapping a layer of love and caring around a student, and it takes only one person to do that at a minimum... a person that is so often a teacher.

He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout. 

But Love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in! 

Edwin Markham- "Outwitted"

I've created a workspace addressing the philosophy of resiliency in schools, and I invite collaborative contributions to the space from anyone who has questions or wants to contribute to the positive development of this idea. I used it to present a session at this year's Alberta Teacher's Association Special Education Conference. Please visit the 'Presentations' page at http://bit.ly/sLvMuO and share your thoughts.

I feel like a first year teacher again!

Like me, my wife is a teacher. Tonight she said something that really made me think. She took a transfer to a new school this fall; a school with very exciting things happening. Her new school is a freshly re-tooled science and technology focused school, and on top of that, changed from a middle school to a newly minted kindergarten - eighth grade school. Suffice to say there is a very positive buzz surrounding these changes, and the staff are working very hard to build a new culture and put the pieces together.

Amidst all the change in her new school environment, and as she was preparing for her day tomorrow, my wife said "I feel like a first year teacher again!" ...what an awesome statement! If you are an experienced teacher and you feel like this, good on you because it means you are taking risks, trying new things and moving your practice into anxiety inducing realms, but in a good way. Not to state the obvious, but learning doesn't stand still, and neither should we as teachers. If you feel a little uneasy about what you're doing this year, I'm proud of you because you're not standing still; you're moving your teaching and learning practice forward and your students will be the benefactors of the effort.

Congratulations.

Effective Leadership- Got Humility?

Effective leadership is about people- always. Without the faith of your followers, a leader you are not.

If you fail to honor your people,

They will fail to honor you;

It is said of a good leader that

When the work is done, the aim fulfilled,

The people will say, "We did this ourselves.

Lao Tzu, , 604-531 B. C., Founder of Taoism, Tao Te Ching

I can't think of a simpler concept in leadership, or one that would be considered more practical and authentic. In the measured contexts of our everyday lives as leaders, all teachers, whether they like it or not, are called upon to serve; primarily our students, but also each other, our student's parents and the learning community we are an integral part of. In humbly putting the needs of others ahead of our own as leaders, we honor them. The appreciation we receive as a result pays dividends as our followers are empowered to feel strong and supported in their important work. I strive as a leader to let good people do their work with my full endorsement, intervening only when they seek my assistance.

A former superintendent in my district said once that as a leader, you stand in front when things need defending and in back when they need celebrating... servant leadership in a nutshell. Servant leadership requires a good dose of humility to be effective, and the humility of great leaders resonates with people and inspires them to also be humble and supportive in their own leadership; to do whatever it takes to push others upward and hold them in high regard... to choose to see what's right with people.

Ben and Rosamund-Beth Zander refer to it as "giving people an A" in their book, "The Art of Possibility;" a game changer for me professionally and personally. The authors emphasize that, "giving an A is a fundamental, paradigmatic shift toward the realization that all is invented." Alas, all is invented. The lens we look through is ours alone, and it affects the way we see every other person, and every interaction we have with them. We don't even have to know what others perspectives are to initiate an open and collaborative exchange with them; we just have to know that they all have one, and most importantly, be willing to listen to it.

The humble leader thinks deeply about perspective and how it affects the equilibrium of interdependency critical to success within any functional relationship. We have to truly listen to our followers; to put aside our bias and personal perspectives to consider that there may be other ways, perhaps better ways to move our organizations forward productively and positively. The Zander's understand that when we give people an A we can be open to a perspective different from our own, For after all, it is only to a person to whom you have granted an A that you will truly listen, and it is in that rare instance when you have ears for another person that you can truly appreciate a fresh point of view.

Even the most cynical among us are susceptible to this approach. Ben Zander explains a paradoxical element to giving people an A when he says that "a cynic, after all, is a passionate person who does not want to be disappointed again." So let's not disappoint our people; let's give them all an A and strive, as the Zander's suggest, to speak to their passion, not their cynicism.

To a person, everyone of us has been shaped and formed by the variables of time and experience, and as a result we have our own personal reality tunnels; those perspectives that guide our judgments, our actions and our relationships. Humble leaders understand this, and even more importantly they understand that the private logic within all of us will affect the dynamics of every interpersonal relationship we are challenged by.

Embrace the struggle, but don't do it alone...

flickr CC photo via Bill Brine


"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."  -Ryunosuke Sator

Teachers, you're going to struggle this year... we all do. If you don't, perhaps you need a reality check. For teachers, our contextual struggle can be positively framed as the perpetual quest toward better ways to do what we do. Teaching is as fluid and non-static an effort as any, perhaps more than any, and this is a very good thing. When viewed through the purposeful lens, the intangible nature of what we do is exactly what makes it so challenging and interesting- a craft that allows for infinite degrees of creativity and innovation.

Embrace the struggle; seize the opportunity to exist in a teaching and learning environment that welcomes change as a constant, not a variable, but by all means understand also that like many things, when compared to acting alone, collaboration is the key to unlocking creative potential that you may not individually realize.

For whatever reasons teachers have been a fairly solitude group of people for a long time. Perhaps the structure of traditional teaching and learning is to blame as we enter our classroom domains each year comfortably protected by the boundaries of the four walls that surround us... but that's changing. Interdependent networks of forward-thinking educators are discovering the immense possibilities in web-based interaction. Since discovering the power of on-line collaborative networks, my personal learning tribe has grown in the last ten months to incorporate people and their ideas I never dreamed possible.

As we move education forward I think this trend will leave behind anyone who isn't willing to at least lurk in the new paradigm of collaborative, web-based professional interaction until they are comfortable enough to be involved directly. It's ironic that the comfort we used to feel within the boundaries of our secluded classrooms of the past will be replaced by feelings of discomfort and disconnect in classrooms that remain isolated and closed. Teachers who refuse to capitulate to the new cooperative paradigm will undoubtedly find their job increasingly difficult and blocked, and this resistance to work interdependently with others will be the downfall of many teachers to the detriment of their students progress and joy of learning. The problem extends beyond the specifics of resisting the efficacy of web-based teaching connections; resistance to collaborate with others will negatively affect every aspect of the modern classroom.

Reliance on outmoded and under-stimulating pedagogy will exacerbate the problem for disconnected, solitary teachers. As connected classrooms move toward more engaging and authentic teaching and learning, they will be left with dissatisfied and bored students. To me, contemporary education provides no alternative in our professional practice to effective collaboration with progressive practitioners who routinely seek innovative and creative ways to connect every part of the teaching and learning process for kids.

Thinking differently... really?

It takes courage to truly think differently. It's our natural human tendency to want to belong to a group; we're social beings after all. We're affected in so many ways as members of the groups we belong to, and some not so good for us or the group. As the pull of the group gains strength, it becomes harder for individuals within it to think differently- enter groupthink.

I used to chuckle a few years ago when it was very popular for teens to dye their hair straw blond, you know, like Eminem did. Every time I casually asked these kids why they did that the response was identical... "I want to be different." A quick peek down the corridor of the local mall on any given day during that time revealed literally hundreds of kids with dyed blond hair. I witnessed the same phenomena during my undergrad studies when the grunge-rock scene was pumping out of Seattle at breakneck speed. A glance through any library on campus revealed dozens, if not hundreds depending on the library, of young people being "individuals" by looking exactly like Kurt Cobain in their tattered dress and knotted-up long hair, not having showered for a few days. I'm going to call this mentality fad-eology; a portmanteau meaning a fad that becomes an ideology for the masses of group-thinkers who jump on the bandwagon. We are undeniably and ironically influenced by groupthink on our quest to be "different."

Although it's easy to understand how groupthink happens, and the examples I mentioned are rather harmless to be sure, groupthink can become complex and rather dangerous. Let's say an original and good idea was the source of whatever concept the group is espousing, and it's spread like wildfire. Over time, and amidst the fervor of the growing group and it's idea, scrutiny toward the idea wanes and members cease to be individuals with their own thoughts and perspectives toward it. They are now "idea-assimilated." I'm not sure the original idea can be considered original and good (different) anymore, (in context meaning open, critical and fluid- not static and closed.)

In education we need open, critical and fluid thinking. When once radical positive ideas become mainstream as a result of groupthink influence, the scrutiny is lost and those who dare defy the inertia of the group's idea are shunned and criticized as non-reformist. Hey, let's face it, when compared to groupthink, sometimes doing things conservatively is the most innovative just because so few are willing to acknowledge within the group that their desire for change has clouded their ability to think independently about the original issue- they become "change-addicts" lost in the fervor of the group and blind to the grassroots seed of the issue needing to evolve.

I accept that I will be criticized for my stance on this. I have seldom been caught in the web of groupthink. I question, therefore I am, and that doesn't sit well among group-thinkers. However, those who are willing to receive my questions and thought contributions objectively as I intend them to be more often than not perceive that my motivation stems from a desire to contribute to the improvement of public education, a cause of great importance requiring careful thought. Public education is too important to be influenced by groupthink. Any move to improve the education system should always and without bias be open to the scrutiny of independent thinkers ready to challenge thought, even if this challenge is dare I say, the unpopular and minority point of view.

So my appeal to educators far and wide is to become more open to scrutiny of ideas, especially fad-eology ideas. We need to think differently and objectively, perhaps even more scientifically about improving education. Twitter is such a great forum for broad conversation, so in the interest of creating open dialog around the need for critical and creative thought within the education reform process, why not use the hashtag #thinkdifferently to promote dialog contrary to fad-eology. One group with a hundred thoughts is better than a group of one hundred with one thought.