In the past few years I've had the chance to hear some excellent speakers like George Couros, Todd Whitaker and Liz Murray (who many may know as the Homeless to Harvard story). They bring passion, excitement and inspire a sense of determination that can bring you back to center, that is, to remind you why you became an educator in the first place. They also have a common theme in their message despite going about it in different ways. That message is simply that learning and artificial timelines don't go together.
We continue to say that we want to innovate our schools, rewire our school culture and breakthrough boundaries to ensure that all students learn, yet we continue to live in a system that imposes timelines on learning. As I've said many times: I get it, we don't control many of these factors but I do think that far more of them are within our control than we let on. Do you use a pacing guide? This is just one of the practices we have more control over than we'd like to admit. They go by all different names but the premise is the same; spend this much time on this topic and then be sure that you move on to repeat the same archaic process over and over again. Do we ever question why 3 weeks is enough time to learn stoichiometry? Or do we fear that asking questions like that is seen as stepping out of line so we just continue to do what we've always done. There aren't many other things that work this way in life. Home builders don't build homes this way. Sure, they know about how long it will take but there are factors like weather that can allow them to finish early or run behind. Either way, the process must be completed. They don't just walk off the job after 7 months and say "I know you're we didn't get to paint or lay carpet but we have to move on because time is up. Why do you need to be in 8th Grade before you can take Algebra I? Why would you need to take it by 9th grade? Is taking Algebra in 7th or 10th grade some kind of scarlet letter that you'll wear for the rest of your life? I'm not singling out math, it just makes the easiest example as the class most often "leveled" within our current system. Who decided that these were the ages for these things to be "learned?" Apple began it's initial work as early as 2002. They even shut the project down for a little bit to focus on a tablet computer (the beginnings of the iPad) before coming back to the iPhone. Think about that. Not only was there not an artificial timeline where by if we don't do it by "x" we will never do it, they put it aside and came back to it. The iPhone launched in 2007. I mentioned Liz Murray earlier. In telling her story she discusses at length the very small amount of time she spent in school prior to being 16-17 years old. How many of us would tell a kid in that same situation that time has run out on them? That there's not much left to learn and college is certainly out of the question? Why? Why would we impose a similar artificial timeline on a person. Liz Murray went on to attend Harvard University. We have to get away from our artificial timelines if we're truly going to innovate education. It's never too late, too early or anything else regarding time when it comes to learning. We can put learning of something to the side and come back to it later because maybe today just isn't the day. We will never be too old to make it to Harvard and we shouldn't ever think that someone is to young to become something (see THIS STORY about a 7-year-old who made $11 Million on his YouTube channel). Timelines are artificial, and it feels like they're hindering authentic learning.
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5 years ago, I made the decision to accept a position as an Assistant Principal. I got the congratulations and tired jokes about joining the Dark Side you would almost undoubtedly anticipate if you were in the same position. Also, equally as predictable, I made that vow to be that administrator who never lost sight of what it was like to be a classroom teacher. But how do you do that?
After all, the volume of things any campus administrator is being held responsible for continues to grow just like a teacher does; and most of the items being put on their plates are things that can seem like they're being forced to be away from the classroom. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I can't get to every class every day or even every week. But physical presence is not the only thing being in the classroom is all about. Yes, it's a piece of the puzzle without a doubt, but there are more ways to be plugged into the classroom than just your average appraisal, walkthrough or casual visit. So, in a world that seems to force administrators to anywhere but the classroom, how can you stay connected to the classroom when it's only up and running a few short hours of the day? Twitter Chats If you follow me at all on Twitter you know that I began my journey on the Twitter Chat full force during the '17-'18 school year. It began as part of my action research project for my district leadership. While I certainly found my share of times feeling redundant, I also found something unique, I felt a greater connection to the classroom. I particularly enjoy chats that are teacher heavy. Chats like #tlap and #kidsdeserveit really have given me a lot of great perspective and insight into the classroom. What's working? What needs improving? It's opened my eyes to great things educators are doing all over the country and the globe. It's also given me some great ideas to take back to my own school. Not to implement as some sweeping reform, but more of along the lines of "I'm going to leave this here in case anyone would like to use it." Social Media Recently I've become a big proponent of following, friending (or any other term that's used) the people you work with. No, not as a gotcha for the things you post but as a way to get to know you. I'll be the first to admit that I don't go to work in order to expand my close-knit group of friends and I do enjoy some secluded moments when I'm not working as a campus administrator. However, I also know that no matter your opinion about how good, bad or indifferent it is, people live a part of their life on social media. As educators, what we do impacts so much of our lives and it comes out on social media. It might not always be in the glowing form of celebrations that we would like but there is no denying it's there. It's also a great look into a classroom. No, a post that reads as a negative or challenge is not something to be balked at, dismissed or labeled as naysaying. For starters, if one educator is feeling it odds are so are others. It can become a great opportunity to close a gap at your campus that you otherwise might not have been aware of. It can also be a great way to help bring a classroom or campus together. No matter what, I would encourage you to challenge the notion that somehow being connected on social media outside of school blurs the lines of professionalism. Office Out of a Classroom As I said earlier, physical presence isn't the end all be all but it is a piece of the puzzle. I get that there are some conversations and points of business that just have to be held in private. There are also quite a few that don't. There are also a lot of opportunities for conversations that get missed because we're in our offices. This year, I'm going to try to find some classrooms that I can office out of. I'm going to start by playing it safe and using classrooms where the teacher is on their conference period and students aren't generally present. I want to be able to talk individually with teachers about successes, failures, student struggles and student celebrations on their home field, not mine. My ambition is to eventually find a way where I can just be present in a room where learning is taking place without it being tied to something evaluative. It seems simple enough but all of us in education continue to get second helpings on our plates despite the fact that we're already full. As simple as it sounds I know it won't be that easy to make this happen, but I want to do it. The classroom is still the most important place we have on our campuses. I, as an administrator, cannot afford to lose sight of what it takes to guide students through the learning process on a daily basis. I want to see and hear about the struggles and successes first hand to ensure that all teachers, support staff and anyone else who calls a classroom home daily for 8+ hours know that I'm not too far removed from the experience of being a classroom teacher. There's been enough writing done on how change will always be a part of life and how we will need to embrace it or be conquered by it. Fair enough. In a world where the average time a company is in the S&P 500 ( a stock market measure) has shrunk from 33 years to less than 20 years, you can see that change effects, people, businesses and so much more at a pace not yet seen. Yes, those not adapting to change are often getting left behind.
But why? Why do we need to change? We get that the way we've always done it may not work anymore, but why? Honestly, I have never had a great answer for this until this week. Ironically, it's simplistic enough to write, a little bit of an oxymoron, but it sure seems to work. Credit for this idea has to go to Cordel Robinson. He is the Pastor of Leadership Development at the church my family attends and his message this past week really made me see the why behind why change is essential. "The key to growing old is living new." That's it. That's why. While Mr. Robinson was speaking to the spiritual side of things, the truth is, that's why we have to change in education, or any other industry. The key to growing old (which we'll define as becoming rooted and established as a school, district or industry) is to live new, Think about it. It's how we're designed as humans. From the time of our birth until the time of our death, our bodies spend our entire lives making us new again. You shed your entire top layer of your skin about once per month. Your body replenishes over 200 billion red blood cells per day. You shed your baby teeth for your permanent teeth. Your hair goes from... well, we won't go there. You get my point. It's our human design. We grow old by living new. Education has to do the same, we have to grow old by living new. That's why we have to continue to change, often times at a rate we're not comfortable with. While we might wish we could slow down sometimes, at least we're not responsible for rebuilding something 200 billion times a day. |
AuthorJeff Lahey Archives
January 2020
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