Small Victories

A friend, who also happens to be a teacher, has recently had a serious decision to make - to walk out or to walk in.  It has been a gut wrenching decision for my friend to make, and it is not one that I relish.  While my friend's circumstances are very different from mine, they speak to my heart as an educator.  What we do for each and every student takes a tole on the heart and body, and like my friend I often find that I lose myself in the weeds of tasks and duties at times.  I don't think I am alone in this; most educators get mired in the muck at times.  We lose sight of our vision or mission, especially when we encounter struggle.  So, it is nice when small things seem to catch our attention.  Maybe it is that moment when a student with an IEP is moved to itinerant status or when a teacher tweets about a successful lesson.  These small victories matter; they can refocus us onto what really matters - the growth of students and staff in our buildings.  Recently, this was highlighted in my recent reflection around an inquiry cycle with a team of English language arts teachers.  Before I thoroughly studied the data we had collected about student performance, my gut interpretation of anecdotal evidence indicated that our work to improve instruction had not been effective.  However, the Star360 data we reviewed indicated that students had improved in reading comprehension since the fall.  The growth was not as consistent as I had hoped, but six of seven students scored high enough to move out of the urgent intervention zone during some point in the spring.  This is definitely a small victory to celebrate, particularly when I reflect on where these students started.  First, how does this affect me as a leader?  Well, it reminds me that I must celebrate the small victories for teachers because they are often too busy to do so.  Second, it reminds me that first impressions of data are not always accurate.  Third, my focus can be on success or on what is not going well.  Which of these outlooks is going to help me to be the most effective educator and principal?  Well, positive thinking should of course!  Maybe the key to focusing on the positive is public affirmation of the small victories.  By doing so, we honor each step in the right and positive direction.  And, that is definitely the direction in which we will want to get stuck!

Balancing Numbers

This past week I was gifted with a really fantastic connection; Principal Kafele followed me on Twitter.  Yeah, he followed ME!  Wow, right?  We are now learning from each other, and that really is something in my book.  He may garner something new from me like I like I do from him so often on Twitter.

So, why is this notification so momentous for me?  Well, Principal Kafele is known in education circles to challenge the status quo.  He fights for ALL children's access to education, and he cares deeply for the professionals with which he works.  In essence, he is kind of a big thing, and when he speaks or tweets or video posts, I listen.  And that is why I stopped and really noticed what he posted on Saturday.  His word for the day was balance, and his definition spoke to me.  Kafele challenged the reader to "...give the fulfillment of your dream your all, but also ensure that there is balance in your life."

When educating children is our dream, so much of what we do then engulfs our waking and sleeping hours.  We worry over teachers and students, we work to meet a menagerie of deadlines, and we reflect over practices and policies constantly.  We facilitate great work in our buildings, and we dedicate our hearts to the service of our students and staffs.  Untold numbers of hours are spent on this good work, and that is what we love to do.  So, when Kafele posted an article about a principal who had passed away at her desk shortly after he posted his definition of balance, I took notice.  In the article about Trish Antulov, the author quotes an alarming statistic.  “On average, 53 per cent of principals worked more than 56 hours per week during term, with 27 per cent working upwards of 61 to 65 hours per week" (Miner, 2018).  Miner (2018) proposed later in the article that principals often work so many hours that they cannot maintain a healthy lifestyle.  My understanding about the need for balance for all educators - not just principals - weighed on me in that moment, and I believe any leader and educator who leads from the heart will feel the same way.  


So in response I began to ask myself a variety of questions.  How do I lead from the heart professionally while balancing my personal needs as well?  Furthermore, how can principals help one another so that the profession is not so lonely and the work not so heavy?  I am not sure that I have an answer yet, but I know that we cannot do this work alone.  It is going to take a team to figure out how to balance the numbers so that we are ALL resilient enough to do the work ahead.   Finding the right leadership team is certainly going to be crucial, and leveraging shared leadership practices is also going to be a must.  But, I think even more important will be my ability to find that critical friend, that one person I can trust, so that I may share my worries AND my joys in a candid way.  Ultimately, as a principal I must find ways to balance the numbers - the tasks, the hours, the joys, and the hardships - so that I can truly be the servant leader I want to be.  #balancematters #resiliencematters

References

Miner, K. (2018 February 21).  Principal dies at her desk. The West Austalian. Retrieved from https://thewest.com.au/news/kalgoorlie-miner/principal-dies-at-her-desk-ng-b88751578z 

The Ten Things Challenge

Image from: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c5/61/02/c561023460b0f9ded29cc847f8f198ef.jpg

Recently on Twitter, I came across the ten things every educator should say more often.  As I read them I kept thinking, we really should be saying these every day and all day - not just more often.  For if we begin with "I believe in you" and "I won't give up on you," how different would the reaction of the listener be?  How would their response to the feedback change if we led critical conversations with these statements?  How different would my own tone, stance, and reaction to a person's response be if I led with the "you count" mindset?

My attraction to these statements should not surprise me.  See, I have been wrestling with what radical candor sounds like, particularly when you are about to have a truly tough conversation.   I think many of us in the education business tend to care personally more than we speak candidly.  We never want to hurt feelings.  But, Scott (2017) espoused in her recent book that even when we are speaking candidly, we can show that we care for others personally by being critical when work is not "up to snuff."  I think that the language, however, must be crafted in such away that the listener can hear, and this is where I slightly veer away from Scott's assertions.  I believe that we should always be radically candid, but the heart of the conversation should always come from love.  So, when I am opening even my most critical conversations, they should begin with "I believe in you" or "I care about you."  However, we must move into "and that is why I am calling you and myself to a higher standard here.  What truly is best for kids, and how can we work together to make sure that happens?"  (Notice, I am not using "But" in the statement above.  That's intentional.)  Having these kinds of conversations will always be difficult, but we still must have them.  The hearer may not "feel" my intentions; however, I still must show that I care by holding us all accountable.  In a "Radical Candor" podcast about ruinous empathy and criticism, Scott and Laraway (2017) suggested that a manager draft and practice these kinds of conversations prior to sitting down with the employee.  I cannot agree more.  Moving forward, I will prepare for the tough conversation just like I am doing my teacher observation debriefs.  I have will have a set agenda with prepared questions.  I will move into the refinement and offer help and suggestions as best I can.  We will then land on a plan of action with specific steps for myself and the employee.  This is forward thinking and forward leading, and I am excited to begin practicing it as I continue my work as an aspiring principal.

Reference

Scott, K. (2017). Radical candor: Be a kick-ass boss without losing your humanity. New York, NY: St. Martins Press.

Scott, K. & Laraway, R. (2017, January 24). Ep. 4: Ruinous empathy and criticism [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radical-candor/id1188489488?mt=2&i=1000380337619 

Happiness and Mercy

It has been quite awhile since I posted to the Oz Buzz.  This was a fairly regular practice of mine when I was a Technology Integration Specialist many years ago.  As a school leader, I essentially got out of practice sharing my learning in a public forum, but boy have I learned in the last six and a half years!  So, I wanted to begin my new journey on the Oz Buzz with a reminder about happiness and mercy.  I wish you all much learning and happiness in the new year.  Thank you for joining me on my journey!

__________________________________________________

January has been a difficult month.  It has been a month of loss and has been full of goodbyes, tears, and ample hugs from family, friends, and students.  But... even in the midst of sadness, it has been a month of laughter and love.  It is this juxtapose relationship between happiness and sadness that has taught me so much about my own personal and professional journey in resilience.  More importantly, my journey in January has taught me that mercy and happiness are the keys to taking the next step when resilience is waning.  This has particularly been poignant in the final steps I have taken with my student "B."  Those that know me well know that "B" and I have a special bond born out of struggle and caring.  It had been my ardent wish to make my school the first one "B" was enrolled in for the entire school year.  However, his needs were specific and better met in another location.   In his last two days, "B" struggled to function in our setting.  He was reeling from the news that he was to be moved once again, and he struggled to understand why.  In that last day, I had a decision to make.  Was I going to chose mercy and happiness for his sake, or was I going to take a hard line?  And in those moments when I felt the pull of mercy or consequence, I remembered my own feeling of loss, and I chose mercy.  I chose to hug him and play checkers; I chose to work on a puzzle and play legos.  Looking back on my last day with "B,"  I am thankful I chose happiness and mercy.  And, you know what?  I want my character and leadership to be remembered by these two characteristics - both happiness and mercy.  Because if they are, my discussions around consequence and expectation will be softer and more effective, and in turn the hearer will be more ready for the critical feedback.  In some cases, this is the first step, really the only step, we can take towards resilience as a team.