Leadership

What makes a good leader?   This has been a question I have been exploring since I accepted a new position outside of the classroom.  I have held leadership roles throughout the school, but this takes it to the next level.  So begins my journey to identify good leadership qualities and to develop my own.  

Self-Improvement is a large part of my professional career.  Accepting a position as a Literacy Coach meant I needed to model leadership qualities.  To prepare for my new role, I spent the past four seasons reading as many texts about leadership that I could get my hands on.  Although each text had its own ideals to offer, the biggest take-away, and repeated message I observed was the importance of being a good listener. 
There is a plethora of research on what makes a strong educational leader/administrator.  This is not the topic of today's blog.  That is a topic for another discussion-stay tuned!

Below are the texts that I committed to reading as I began the new chapter in my career as a leader.  They are not in any particular order, and not all stand-out texts.  Hopefully one or two will benefit you.

1.  Coaching Conversations: Transforming Your School One Conversation At A Time by Linda M. Gross Cheliotes & Marceta A. Reilly
2.  Instructional Coaching by Jim Knight
3.  The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
4.  Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone
5.  Reading People by Mark Mazarrella
6.  The Leadership Engine by Noel Tichy
7.  Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath & Barry Conchie
8.  Leadership Mastery: How To Challenge Yourself and Others To Greatness by Dale Carnegie
9.  The 5 Essential People Skills by Dale Carnegie
10. The Quick and Easy Way To Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie
11. Raising The Bar and Closing The Gap by Richard and Rebecca DuFour
12. The 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell
13. Quiet Leadership by David Rock
14. Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else by Jon Gordon
15.  The Personality Code by Travis Bradberry
16. Unsinkable:  how to bounce back quickly when life knocks you down by Sonia Ricotti  
17.  Driven by Data :  A Practical Guide to Improve instruction by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo
18.  Leverage Leadership:  A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional School by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

Research: Impact of Parent Involvement

Children spend 70% of their time outside of school. (Michigan Dept. of Edu)

86% of the general public believes that support
from parents is the most important way to
improve the schools.  (Rose, Gallup, & Elam, 1997)

Decades of research show that when parents are
involved students have:

Higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates
Type of Involvement
Better school attendance
Increased motivation, better self-esteem 􏰀 Although most parents do not know how to help
their children with their education, with guidance
and support, they may become increasingly
Lower rates of suspension
Decreased use of drugs and alcohol (Parent Teacher Association)

When schools encourage children to practice
reading at home with parents, the children make
significant gains in reading achievement
compared to those who only practice at school.14
 Tizard, J.; Schofield, W.N.; & Hewison, J. (1982).  
                                                         
But what needs to be taken into consideration is "The strongest and most consistent predictors of
parent involvement at school and at home are the
specific school programs and teacher practices
that encourage parent involvement at school and
guide parents in how to help their children at
home." (Dauber and Epstein (11:61)

The Grass Is Always Greener?

Is the grass always greener on the other side?  Often, the case is not so.  Yet, that is not to say there are more patches of green on the other side.

I recently made a heavy decision to leave the school setting that I know and love.  I have moved to the suburbs and, according to my teachers’ contract, could no longer teach in the city.  I had to live in the city in order to teach in the city.  I saw this as a new adventure in my career and was eager to embark on it.

Leaving what one has done for a decade can be both intimidating and enticing.  I found myself eager and energized.  I was moving to a district where parents read to their children, children saw a dentist before their baby teeth rotted out, gang symbols and needles did not litter the playground, and funds were allocated smartly.  On the other hand, these are the challenges that have inspired me to wake up every morning.  These are the children who, more than ever, need an adult to show them a moral compass, or to give just a few words each day of encouragement and belief.  What I found in my new job, was not much different.

Although I do not witness the lack of concern and care for children at the degree that I did while working in the inner-city, I still work with children who have less involved parents, or children who have other emotional needs.  Luckily for me, I am able to continue to work with the most struggling readers, as that it what has always driven me in my career.

When I left my city career I worried that I would leave a part of me in it.  I now realize that I hope this is the case.  I pray that some of those children on the streets hear my voice and make a right decision when put in a tough situation, or more importantly, hear me telling them that they can achieve anything they put their mind to.  It has been an honor to have the opportunity to work in schools, struggles and all, because those are the experiences that build character.   I left a piece of me in each of the 250+ students I taught over 9 years.  More so, those children have become a piece of the teacher that I am today. 

For those of you who have read Tuesdays With Morrie, you understand the impact a teacher can have in the life of a person.  You also understand how a student can impact the life of a teacher.

So, let's take Teacher Appreciation Week to a new level; let's appreciate teachers for who they are and what they do.  As students, parents, and community members, let's understand the value of appreciation.  We all know it, crave it, and share it. 

I appreciate Cohen's insight into teacher appreciation.  It's more than getting a mug, a chocolate flower, or a card.  It's about the child's hug that comes with that mug, the love that was involved in picking out the right flower, and the parent's heartfelt message in the card thanking the teacher for taking such care with their child.

Let's make this expression of appreciation a commonality.  Not only will we foster happier teachers, but we'll grow our own hearts.  Studies of high performing countries shows that they value their teachers more than any other profession.  They foster their growth, development, and confidence by supporting them.  Cohen offers simple suggestions of showing ongoing teacher appreciation.  In case you don't read the entire article, I'm putting his words below.  Try it out today with a teacher in your life.  Until then, be kind to one another.  Appreciate one another.

The following is taken from:

Unpacking the Meaning of Appreciation

May 9, 2012

by David B. Cohen

• No more jokes about finishing our work at 3:00 and having summers off.  We work more hours per year than most people, and for less pay than similarly educated and trained professionals.  Over the years, my second shift of teaching-related work typically has started at 9:00 p.m., and it’s not unusual to send work-related emails close to midnight and get a response from a colleague that night, or before 8:00 a.m.  (Note – I actually think that’s a weakness rather than a virtue, but I’m looking for appreciation in the sense of understanding, not gratitude).
• No more missionary or martyr complexes.  Yes, we care about the future and the children.  But if accountability is a term that means anything in education, it must be reciprocated.  If teachers are accountable, so is the public.  Give us the resources to do the job you expect (or maybe you already do – which would be a rather inconvenient truth).  Appreciate that we cannot build and sustain the profession, or the education system, if we demand excessive sacrifices of our dedicated and energetic teachers, young or old or in between.  It makes a great narrative for a while, until the teacher burns out, moves on, or ends up divorced.
• No more generalizations about our failing schools.  Appreciate the complexity of the situation: while there’s much work to be done in modernizing and improving schools, simplifications make our work harder.  Failing schools are not so easy to recognize, especially from the outside.  To the extent that we attach labels and then begin ranking schools, we fail to appreciate the differences among schools, the strengths of “failing” schools and the weaknesses of our “best” schools.  The label “failing” is becoming increasingly empty of meaning as No Child Left Behind limps onwards despite its flaws.  Teachers who work in “failing” schools are unfairly stigmatized for problems mostly beyond their control, and teacher turnover becomes a cycle that harms students and is hard to break.

Read Cohen's article HERE.

NBC News: Teacher Town Hall Takes Place In Chicago

Merit pay, large class sizes, testing, frivolous programs, and much more discussed at this NBC town hall!

Watch Video HERE.

"To ask us to sacrifice what we know what's best for our students is frustrating, ridiculous, and angers us everyday."

Jennifer Johnson weighs in at minute 40:00 (there's a brief news clip prior)

In A Nutshell

Click HERE to read the article.

I do not have anything to add and have little to comment on with this article.  Is speaks what I believe.  It touches on may of the topics of blogged about.  It is refreshing to read an article that bluntly states the facts and considers all factors; the blame game, politics, reform programs, inappropriate spending, and comparison across countries.  

Enjoy the article!

Politics of Education

By Dr. Brad Johnson and Tammy Maxson McElroy

School Reform

I have an administrator who understands that educators are facing more uphill battles than ever, as well as encourages us to look past them when making students' needs priority.  Recently, my administrator made a bold statement that poverty is not the cause of our problems in the classroom, as much as we want to blame it (paraphrase).  I wholeheartedly disagree and, in juxtaposition, believe poverty is the cause of many challenges in education.  However, while reading research about the effects of poverty on education, I decided to take a different approach and reviewed research and articles discussing solutions, rather than causes, for faults in education.  Enter the Education Policy Research Unit at Arizona State University.

Because there is such emphasis on quick reform, research has yet to catch up and become available to lawmakers, therefore "School reform is, therefore, frequently debated in an environment that is long on emotion and short on hard data".  These policymaker meetings because emotional and reactionary.  Focusing not on our reactions, but on what is working in successful schools is what needs to guide new policies for reform.  I note that when comparing successful and underperforming schools, poverty will expose itself. Research that may guide policymakers' reform ideas include, but are not limited to, early education, poverty, teacher effectiveness (taking into factors outside of student test results in relation to teacher performance), and class size.  

Bottom line, our approach to thinking about what reform is needs to be reformed.  Reform is not a cookie-cutter solution and will not work for every district, or even every school.  That is precisely why education is not (yet) a corporation.  Students are individuals and they come with varying experiences which affect their educational motivation and progress.  Schools attempt to intervene positively.  So when reviewing reform strategies, whatever reform considerations taken into account, I wish to see those involved also take "(h)eeding about proposals that seem certain to waste funds".  By accepting that many factors weigh in and recognizing that reform is not a quick fix, but ongoing process, policymakers and educators can be more prepared to choose better reform routes and resources.

To read further discussion as well as specific research related to the above topics, please visit the article HERE.