tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1459192573412942901.post2472097996785345743..comments2023-09-18T10:15:35.738-04:00Comments on Growing Good Schools: Where We Are: How Would You Start?Eric Julihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10465411652145052073noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1459192573412942901.post-50638461359317211752014-09-15T08:59:20.509-04:002014-09-15T08:59:20.509-04:00I hadn't thought about that Catherine...is the...I hadn't thought about that Catherine...is there somewhere that does that kind of thing then? I must go and look <a href="http://www.helpforassignment.com" rel="nofollow"> Cheap Assignment Writing</a>.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06796135212542713535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1459192573412942901.post-66065835991041709562014-01-13T16:59:10.840-05:002014-01-13T16:59:10.840-05:00Eric,
I thought of you yesterday. I was reading a...Eric,<br /><br />I thought of you yesterday. I was reading an infuriating story in The New York Post about PS106 titled “No Books, No Clue at City’s Worst School.” http://nypost.com/2014/01/12/no-space-no-books-no-leader-no-clue-at-citys-worst-elementary/ Marcella Sills, the principal, stands in absurd contrast to you and the passionate work you are doing at Design Lab. It made me consider the immense power of one.<br /><br />I personally think that’s where you have to start. You acknowledge that you have “a great staff” who “care about kids,” and “want students to learn.” Each of those teachers needs to harness the enormous power they have to change students’ lives. Encourage them to take risks, to recognize that failure will be part of the process. The safety of tradition, especially the worksheet you offer, is an illusion. <br /><br />Your central question to Bo’s December post is how you build a team of innovative, pedagogically savvy teachers. You specifically wondered, “ And what happened at school or at home to first help her (the teacher who might craft an assignment akin to Bo’s option #2) make the philosophical shift to this type of learning, and what specifically did she learn to make the pedagogical shift? “<br /><br />I’d warrant that she started with questions. She wondered why her students weren’t learning to use pronouns appropriately in their writing even after completing worksheets and listening to lectures explaining the distinction between “your” and “you’re.” She reached out to another teacher to see if they could work together to discover these answers. She built a professional learning community on Twitter. She followed blogs to better understand the world of teaching outside of the walls of her school. She recognized that to develop curiosity and passion in her students, she needed to model that same disposition. <br /><br />I know that you expressed anxiety in your December comment to Bo’s post that you’d be uncomfortable if one teacher was offering Option 2 and the rest were sticking to Option 1. I sympathize with that concern, but I think you need to empower one teacher, show your faculty that she is supported, and encourage them to follow her lead. <br /><br />I don’t know of any way to engineer the shift without adding weight to the other side.<br /><br />I’m glad you’re back to posting. Even though you often write about the challenges at your school and sometimes express how overwhelming they can be, I’m continually impressed by your resolve to keep pushing forward. You’re my hero!<br /><br />Best,<br />Holly<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1459192573412942901.post-18106439328527276142014-01-13T10:10:07.851-05:002014-01-13T10:10:07.851-05:00Eric,
As a friend and colleague of Bo's, I a...Eric,<br /> As a friend and colleague of Bo's, I am thrilled that you are taking his lead and throwing your thoughts and concerns out there for others to join you. Your situation is similar to many, where you face a reality that practically scares you away from movement because you feel as if you don't have the capacity you need to move. I would encourage you to push that aside, however, and start small. I would venture to say that you DO have some who either are desiring to move forward but are not quite sure how or also those who are incredibly creative and passionate and only need to feel the support. As a leader, I share your frustration and have "been there," but I found if I began to think about my culture and my group from a different perspective (empathy!), there was much more there than I originally perceived. So, take a step back, step in others' shoes, and seek the glimmers and sparks of creativity, flexibility, drive, and desire to have an impact.<br /><br />What reinvigorated me when I was beginning to feel as if I didn't have enough of people around me in my school was to connect with other professionals through Twitter and the blogosphere-- so again, you are ahead of the game. I was able to encourage two or three others to join me in reaching out this way and then coming back to discuss/share things we learned. We then committed together to trying something small, and then more sparks started to fly.<br /><br />The reading that is out there to inspire you and continue your reflections (and then I would say discussions, even with a small number) if immense. Your PLN can help you narrow down and take smaller steps.<br /><br />Have faith-- the amount of time this takes is not as important as the commitment to taking those steps despite the perfect environment!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240386685951176324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1459192573412942901.post-91970118306317029732014-01-13T10:05:41.702-05:002014-01-13T10:05:41.702-05:00Here are my first comments, and hope to have many ...Here are my first comments, and hope to have many more! <br /><br />First, be confident in what you are doing; it is starting to work and that is more than 99% of other schools with similar starting conditions.<br /><br />Second, leadership is the common characteristic of effectively changing organizations and you are a great natural leader. There are lots of things that leadership accomplishes and I am sure there are things you can do better in this regard, but as a natural leader your instincts are probably right more than wrong.<br /><br />Third, sure there are many things I can recommend; that is why I am writing my book! I hope it will hold many compass points for you and others. But there are no steps 1-17 for all schools; just ideas for good leaders to consider and translate into what will work for their school.<br /><br />But here is something concrete to think about. You have correctly identified that at your school there is just "you", no chief imagination officer; you are the lead visionary...and lead everything else. What if you could change that? How much does Design Innovation have to grow before you get an assistant principal? Or a counselor? Or any other staff position who is not full time in the classroom? What could you jiggle right now to create a position? What if you re-imagined leadership at your school to allow YOU to be the CIO and have someone else be the day-to-day school manager, or at least go some way down that path?<br /><br />That is what we are proposing at Design 39 Campus: the "principal" becomes the CIO, where the "I" stands for imagination, innovation, instruction, inquiry, and implementation; the assistant principal becomes the Provost responsible for keeping the lights on. For you it will be different, but the idea is that you need to be able to do what you do best, which is lead. How can we get you headed in that direction?<br /><br />Will look forward to see other comments, and work on this with you going forward!Grant Lichtmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09447982704767980293noreply@blogger.com