WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT????

In the town I live in, there's been a public awareness campain on our local radio station regarding the issue of meth use in our community.  At one point, a man with a deep, intimidating voice says, "Meth is killing our community.  WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT????"

Last week, I had the privilege of hearing Eric Jensen speak about the effects of poverty on the brain of a child and how we can better help those students in our classrooms.  I've heard Eric once before and like last time, he was excellent! 

One of the central themes that he brought out was that teachers matter!  In fact, they matter more than any other single factor, especially for our students from poverty, which where I live is about 50% of our students. 

The issue is, they matter the most...that's good news, and bad news.  The good news is, if we're doing our job well, it's a good thing.  The bad news is, if we're not, it's a bad thing.  The session was excellent.  Here were a few comments from staff posted via Twitter:

I sat at a table of administrators.  As Eric Jensen was highlighting the importance of students having great teachers and how we need make sure all teachers are doing what's best for students, I found myself thinking things like, "Man I wish "so and so" were here...they really need to hear this!"  Or, "I wish I could get "so and so" to hear this because they just don't get it."

All of a sudden it hit me...I was so focused on the wrong thing!  I was thinking about what other people needed to do instead of thinking about myself, and how I can do better.   Someone needed to ask me, "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT????"  I was perpetuating a problem, rather than helping things get better.  I was selfish and proud.  I felt convicted.  It was kind of like when you're in church and you're thinking  more about your spouse needing to apply the sermon than your own issues!  It's wasn't good! 

I got to thinking later about how natural it is for us to do what I did.  We naturally don't really like looking at our own issues, reflecting on them and considering "what we're going to do about it."  It's especially hard when we need to ask others for help. 

I would venture to say part of what needs to be "reformed" in education is this mindset.  We spend so much time looking outward; only thinking about what others need to do better.  We only consider what students, parents, administrators, teachers, politicians need to do better, instead of asking what we're going to do about the problem?  How am I going to make it better?! 

Anyway, it was a kick in the pants I needed.  Today, I'm focused on what I can do better in the position that I'm in to make things better.  No matter what your role is in education, let's spend our energies on what we can control; ourselves!  If we each do this well, things get better....

ASCD 2015--Challenging Convention

I have the privilege of spending the weekend in Houston, TX taking in my first ever ASCD conference.  I've always heard great things about this annual conference and I have to tell you I've been blown away!  I've been particularly impressed with the acute keenness of addressing timely issues in education.

Yesterday, we were blessed to hear Dr. Sarah Lewis speak about creativity, the gift of failure, and the role of grit.  One of the key takeaways was that the most successful people are almost obsessed with the "near win."  In other words, what could they have done better to "win."  We often see this with the person on the silver podium at the Olympics, but the most successful individuals are always analyzing what they could have done better even when they've won "gold."

As educators, I believe we have a moral imperative to be constantly reflecting about how we can be better.  This morning, I heard from an administrator from Mexico City speaking about the mindset we bring into our interactions with those we serve; whether students if we're teachers, or teachers if we're administrators.  This quote struck me,

"If I want my staff to change in any way, I have to change...it can't happen without relationship."  

This one hit me!  How often do I as an educator expect things out of people that I don't expect out of myself?  What about as a spouse?  Or as a parent?  Yikes! 

We're ALL leaders!  No matter what our role is within our organization, we're leaders in our arena.  If we want to be the best, and I know I do, we have to lead by example!  A great reminder of how I can be better as an educational leader...

Dave