Saturday, July 23, 2011

I believe in collaboration...

I believe in collaboration. Effective leaders work among their people, not above them.
flickr photo via TerryJohnston

Barry Litun, a former Superintendent in my school district taught one of my graduate school courses in leadership. Something he said has stuck with me since taking that course. In describing how an effective leader fits into a high-functioning staff of teachers and para-professionals he said,
When people need defending, good leaders stand in front of them. When people are being celebrated, good leaders stand behind them. Most of the rest of the time, visitors to the school shouldn't be able to guess who the leader is.
I really appreciate this point of view as an educational leader. I agree that good leaders in schools need to be bold enough to shoulder the responsibility for what happens in the school, especially when they don't go well. I also agree that good leaders need to be humble and willing to let others receive the credit for doing good things (a sidebar to this is that good leaders surround themselves with good people... and they believe all have potential to be leveraged.) Most of all though, I totally agree that good leaders know how to distribute the leadership within their schools by enabling others to play to their strengths and do what they well know how to do; they honor the teachers and para-professionals in their schools by letting them be their own leaders.

Great leaders want their followers to be better at what they do than they would be at doing it themselves. They serve their people without expectation of credit as just another piece of the puzzle required to make things work. I think folks appreciate these qualities in a leader; they appreciate the respect, trust and confidence that they receive, and they are motivated by these things to offer their best as well.

Effective leaders work among their people, not above them.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Kids learn now... Let's prepare teachers to teach now

flickr phot via mac.rj

I'm not fond of the term "21st Century learning." It has become a wildly referred to catchphrase in education, and as catchphrases go, I worry that the original intent of the term has been lost in translation. So often the term is equated with technological advances, and more specifically, how to utilize them in teaching and learning. I think 21st Century teaching and learning is way more involved than this.

Taken on the surface, teachers everywhere are challenged with the task of preparing kids for the 21st Century, or at least the remaining 89 years of it. A daunting task. This report commissioned by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) suggests that the teaching profession needs to think differently about how teachers are prepared to teach kids for this century; to enable, empower and engage them. The report lays out a plan to emulate a more clinical approach to teacher training similar to how doctors are trained with practical experience taking a more prominent role throughout the process. In so many ways, if done well with serious consideration for the practical value of learning how to teach in an actual school, I believe a clinical approach to teacher training is a very good idea. I have to ask though, does the medical profession attempt to prepare doctors to provide up-to-date patient care 100 years at a time? Perhaps a grounding of the term 21st Century as it applies to education is needed so we know what we mean when we say it. It has to be about more than just technology... it's a thinking thing.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Unfolding- Classrooms emerging from a platform of creativity

Friday, July 8, 2011

I believe we never stop learning...

I believe that we never stop learning, despite ourselves. Those who embrace the joy of learning, embrace the joy of life.
 flickr photo via fotologic

One thing I know about kids is that they have tremendous capacity to be resilient. Most young children are unfettered by "the world." They have a very fortunate egocentric perspective that shelters them from the sort of stress that adults deal with. They see everything anew and are mindful of it all. They see possibilities where adults see constraints. They ask "why" and "how" seeking understanding about everything they encounter. Each is a nomad on  a journey of discovery. Young children embrace the joy of life through their experiences; this is how they make sense of the world; how they learn.

Young kids do a lot of living. Their experiences are so visceral, raw and authentic... how could they not learn from them? They embrace every experience, and in turn, embrace learning; the two are synonymous in kids' minds... they believe the world is one of possibility, and they seek to be part of that possibility. They see the world they believe as opposed to believing the world they see.

Like my friend Ted, I am a sucker for sappy songs... and also for sappy videos; especially when they make a statement as simple as this one does.

Video credit with appreciation to Junior Chamber International Petaling Jaya

One of the most effective ways I can think of to help kids hold onto their dreams is to model hanging on to ours. Adults who remain connected to their child-like belief that all is possible provide effective modelling for those kids that may be vulnerable to the negative influences of the world. Adults experience the world in ways that knock us down a bit, but if we can remember that there is something to be learned from every experience, even the bad ones, perhaps we can make a bit more sense of it all, and then we'd be embracing the joy of learning and life just like we did when we were kids.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Routines vs. Rituals...

 flickr photo via -Marlith-

Another stimulating Twitter conversation had the Nemeticists comparing and contrasting the social dyanmics of routines vs. rituals. The analysis of these two words and their meanings provides insights for education for sure.

From Dictionary.com...

rou·tine [roo-teen]
noun
1. a customary or regular course of procedure.
2. commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity: the routine of an office.
3. regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

 rit·u·al [rich-oo-uhl]
noun
7. prescribed, established, or ceremonial acts or features collectively, as in religious services.
8. any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner.
9. a prescribed code of behavior regulating social conduct, as that exemplified by the raising of one's hat or the shaking of hands in greeting.

So it appears we can extrapolate meanings as applied to education that define routines as regular, procedural duties done habitually and regularly over the course of time; and rituals as prescribed, ceremonial practices of behavior done habitually over time in a set manner. There are obvious similarities in both of these interpretations, but it's the differences that I'm interested in filtering. I'm also intrigued by the notably negative tone of both interpretations.
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