Watching the Grass Grow

I was sitting on the porch of my cottage the other morning, drinking coffee, and looking at my lawn, or rather, lack thereof.  More specifically, I was focused on the how the grass was coming in, having been hydroseeded a few weeks ago.  I then thought about those time-lapse science shows, where you can see a flower bloom in a few seconds, and wishing I could get my grass to grow that quickly, or at least see today’s progress. 

Now, intellectually I know the grass is actually growing, regardless of my inability to see the microscopic changes.  But my desire to see it, to make it real, persists.  Why do I need to witness immediate growth?  If I come back in a week, it will be taller, and I will see it.  Why is that not good enough for me? 

As teachers, we care and nurture our students, much as I water and fertilize my grass seeds.  We have this innate desire to know and see that what we do with our kids is making a positive difference.  By nature, we are perfectionists, and we are also our own worst critics, becoming easily frustrated.  I think that may be our disconnect between the intellectual “knowing” and the emotional need to “see” the fruits of our labor.  But we can turn this into a growing experience for ourselves.

Watching my grass grow demands patience.  Watching our students grow demands the same.  Just as certain patches of my lawn come up quicker than others, even though I initially gave equal attention to all parts, we will “see” certain kids making progress more quickly than others.  I will see stark differences across my lawn, but instead of lamenting that the whole yard doesn’t look right, I can focus on which patches need extra attention.  In that way, within a few months, I will have a nice looking lawn.  The same can be true in our classroom.  Focusing our efforts on those who need extra attention will ultimately result in growth for all students.

And in case you’re wondering how this metaphor plays out for kids who grow exponentially, I don’t advocate mowing them down, so that the grass all stays one uniform level.  Quite the opposite – continue to watch the grass grow, and nurture each individual blade.  Mowing is overrated.

The Meaning of Leadership and Influence

In our coaching office this morning, three of us had a lengthy dialogue around the meaning of “leadership,” “power,” and “authority.”  Multiple events triggered the conversation, but the central themes were school improvement and collective responsibility.  In a nutshell, many teachers have asked themselves (and others) what it means to be a school/instructional leader.

Is it about titles?  Is it about a job description?  Is it about responsibility?  Is it about vision? Is it about values and beliefs?  Is it about policy?  Is it about accountability?  Is it about fidelity?  Is it about collaboration?  I could go on and on, but the answer is both yes and no.

I found the following words on the Education Portal website:

“Remember that power is the ability to do something the specific way you want to do it by any means necessary. Leadership is painting a vision for others to follow. Authority is when a person has the right to give you an order or direction. And finally, influence is having an impact on someone's character, their development or even the way they think.”

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/differences-between-power-leadership-authority-influence.html#lesson

I like this piece, because within it, every teacher is a leader.  Certainly, within our own classrooms, we do paint the vision for our students.  But within our school, or our district, how might we paint a positive vision for others to follow?

Our School Improvement Framework tells us that school leaders can be formal or informal.  One teacher might be a member of the School Success Team, while another is not.  However, both can be leaders.  The title is not what makes the leader.  It’s about action and conviction.  For example, each time we stand up for what’s best for kids, we are painting a positive vision for others to follow.  We are leading, whether we mean to or not. 

What about leading our colleagues in other ways?  How might we paint a positive vision for others to follow?  Some ideas I have are as follows: instead of participating in negative conversations or piling on when something goes wrong, working together to construct a different way to try to achieve a goal; instead of ignoring a colleague who is struggling, offering to mentor or assist them; and instead of writing off the kids who are failing, create a one-on-one, long-term, life coaching relationship and tell your colleagues about it.

Maybe it all goes back to why we became teachers in the first place.  Certainly not for the fame, glory, or money, but because we share the fundamental belief in the inherent value of our influence – the “impact on someone’s character, their development or even the way they think.”  If we believe this about our students, why not believe this about our colleagues?

Navigating Change: Direction, Protection, and Order

“… To change before disaster demands it requires leadership. ... Many times people confuse leadership with authority, power, or influence, but true leadership involves direction, protection, and order.  Direction is the ability to have a clear and detailed vision of where the organization is going.  Protection is remaining focused on your core mission.  Order is dedicated work to achieve the common goal.”    C. Ed Massey

Direction, protection, and order.  These words resonate with me.  I found them because I was searching for quotes on the fear associated with change, and this passage by Massey is directly related to change in education.

As an Instructional Coach supporting the work that accompanies change, I am struggling to understand (and accept) resistance to change.  In this struggle, I have tried several different methods to wrap my head around it.  Sometimes I have thought of it in the five stages of grief context.  Other times, I have just lost patience and thrown my hands up.  Most of the time, I am somewhere in between those two spots.

After sitting with Massey’s words for a time, I am now thinking of resistance as a call (or maybe even a cry) for leadership.  Not in the authoritarian manner, but, as Massey writes, as a need to know and feel that there is direction (we have a clear and detailed vision of where we are going), protection (we will not get distracted), and order (we will keep working together).  Sure, we can wait until disaster strikes and change is thrust upon us, but then there will be no true leadership – just edicts.

Still, many people feel any change not of their initiation is in fact “thrust upon them.”   In educational systems, many changes are initiated at the district, rather than the building, level.  But it is vital to distinguish between those born of disaster, and those that are proactively made in the best interest of all kids. 

We are in the midst of a lot of proactive change in our district -- completing year one of the long-term implementation of the Instructional Framework, aligning curriculum to new standards and using the opportunity to make it our own, and embracing school improvement on a deeper level --  just to name a few.  The thread that binds all of our work is doing what is best for all kids.  We know that the research behind the Instructional Framework is solid and adapting our practices to align with it is best for all kids.  We know that a strong curriculum implemented with fidelity, so as to achieve college and career readiness, is best for all kids.  And, we know that school improvement is a continual cycle of goal-setting, implementation, data review, and revision, whose sole purpose is to do what is best for all kids.

So, I must continue to lead with direction, protection, and order, even when there is resistance.  The principals and teachers I support must know that we are in it for the long haul, and that I will always roll up my sleeves and join in the work, shoulder to shoulder.  Even when we feel like giving up, we have to push through.  It is what is best for all kids, and they deserve nothing less from us.

Instructional "Shift"

Our district has been working to align and reframe our ELA and math curriculum in light of the adoption of the Common Core State Standards.  While we hear or read many buzz words or phrases in the process, I think the one I see most used is “instructional shift.”

What exactly does that mean?  If you Google “instructional shift,” you will receive a very long list of articles and documents that are more than willing to explain it to you, at least from that specific author’s viewpoint.  I decided to think just about the word “shift,” which is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, in part,  as follows:

“…Move or cause to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance…Change in emphasis, direction, or focus…”

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/shift

Certainly, implementation of the CCSS with fidelity will require some degree of instructional shifting, dependent upon the starting point for each teacher, school, and district.  But when I just look at those two dictionary definitions, it strikes me that great teachers make instructional shifts all the time, and have always done so. For example, within the delivery of a given lesson, a teacher may change the direction or focus of the lesson because of an observation made while monitoring for desired effects.  Heck, just changing a student’s seat may sometimes be the best instructional shift a teacher can make in an hour.

The difference with the CCSS is that the instructional shifts are very intentional, planned, and optimally, being collaboratively learned by teachers prior to instruction.  Some teachers are embracing the shifts, some need to learn more about the shifts, and some are fearful of the shifts.  Regardless, each teacher needs to remember that “shift” happens all the time in classrooms, sometimes directed by the teacher, and sometimes directed by the students.  Sometimes “shift” happens and no one even recognizes it.

Whether you are a fan of the CCSS, withholding judgment for now, or hate it, the reality is that its adoption has given us an opportunity to reflect upon our curriculum with a different lens.  The time we are taking to be intentional is hard work, but will result in better learning for all of our kids.  We begin each curriculum meeting with a review of our working agreements, and number one is that “we are here to do what’s best for kids.”  And we need to keep that focus during implementation.  Teachers must be supported in their learning, so that they can continue to do what’s best for kids.  As long as that focus doesn’t change, we can handle all the other “shift.”

-          J. Walton

Spring Cleaning

The tradition of spring cleaning has a long history.  Back when people used wood or coal to heat their non-insulated homes, houses were closed up as tight as possible over the winter. So, the first warm day was an opportunity to empty the house of its belongings and clean.

A lesser known aspect of spring cleaning was that it was also a time to celebrate life for those who survived the winter.  Without modern day medicines and hygiene knowledge, many illnesses and deaths occurred during the winter months.  How might we use this idea in education?

I think about my own district. We’ve made it through a very tough winter.  Not only was the weather brutal (sub-zero days on end, 8 days of no school, etc.), but we navigated professional learning in our first year of work with the Instructional Framework based in The Art and Science of Teaching.  Along with this came a new teacher professional growth/evaluation tool.   The learning this year stretched us in many good ways, but it required an extraordinary amount of mental energy. 

One of the pieces we focused on this year for our students was to “celebrate success.”  While we did a great job with this as it related to our kids, I don’t think we did it nearly enough for ourselves.  As we head into our spring break, the weather is finally giving us a glimpse that the brutality of winter may be done.  With warmer temperatures and more sunshine, I think we should celebrate the success of our administrators and teachers in all of their new learning this year.  It is hard and challenging, but we know that it is best for kids. 

Every professional, no matter whether that field is business, law, or medicine (just to name a few),  must continually keep learning the new, research-based changes in their sphere.  Professional educators are no different.  To achieve and remain at a mastery level, there is always continual learning.  There is always continual risk-taking.  There is always continual growth.  At times it can feel exhausting, but there is no shortcut. 

I’m proud of my colleagues for their progress this year, and in honor of “spring cleaning,” I celebrate them.  And on a personal note, there’s always a slight chance that I might actually clean my house.  Nah….  

- J. Walton

Facing the Same Direction - A Day of Professional Learning

Today, all of the teachers in our district met in fourteen different schools to engage in a common, two-hour professional learning session.  Our principals led the learning, centered around our first year of the three-year implementation of the Instructional Framework .  In addition to the two hours of common learning, our teachers are spending an additional four hours of collaborative learning based on plans developed by individual school teams.

Sometimes, the public wonders what it is that teachers do on these professional learning days, and rightly so.  After all, we are holders of the public’s trust and engage in one of the most important responsibilities of any civilized society – teaching the next generation. So, in some ways, I write this blog entry for our stakeholders who weren’t present with us today.

The common learning session, with a focus on learning, collaborative culture, and results aids us to continue to ensure that we “face the same direction.” What this means is that we are all working toward the same overarching goal – holding true to our guiding principles while ensuring that all learners achieve individual potential.

I was fortunate to be at Northern High this morning, where all three high school faculties were meeting.  Listening to teachers engage in high level discussions, make noticings, and pose wonderings was a privilege.  Did we solve all of the challenges facing educators this morning?  Of course not – but that was never the intent.  Like any good lesson plan, we had a clear learning goal, learner-friendly targets, and measures for success.  Our learning goal continues to be a successful three-year implementation of the Instructional Framework.  Our learning targets were to deepen our understanding of how to implement clear learning goals and scales, monitoring for desired effect, and effective assessment practices.  Success in meeting those targets was measured by the intensive and productive collegial conversations around the Instructional Framework and the commitment of each teacher to implement a new piece of learning in their classrooms over the next few weeks. 

While any weekday out of the classroom is a sacrifice for immediate teaching and learning, rest assured that the learning our teachers engage in today will serve our kids in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.  We remain committed to perfecting our craft and helping our kids learn.  In this way, all learners – teachers and students alike – will achieve their individual potential.

J. Walton

"Be It Resolved..."

To my knowledge, the holiday of the new year is the only one celebrated the world over.  According to historians, making resolutions for the new year dates back to the Babylonians.  And as Borgna Brunner writes, “people all over the world have been breaking them ever since.”

Surely, when we set out to “resolve” to make a change, we do so honestly and with intent.  But why is it so hard to follow through?  I think it is because we are making them during a time of rest, when we have time to think and reflect, but then very quickly the hustle and bustle of life takes over, and we go back into survival mode.

This mimics the life of a teacher – when time is given for thought and reflection, many great ideas and practices are developed.  However, without time down the road to continue to think and reflect, the busyness of the school day takes over and many times subsumes those great ideas before they can take root and grow.  No person ever resolves to be a “bad” teacher, but many teachers I know feel like they don’t have time to be the best teacher they believe they can be.

The need to honor the processes of creativity and growth is evident, but how do we do it?  One way is to admit the need to slow down, to temporarily put the brakes on a program or policy in order to allow people time to catch their breath and process the information.  Another way is to repurpose the time we have together, by delayed starts, common planning periods, different schedules, etc.  Any way in which we can give teachers time to think and process benefits our kids.

Sometimes our admirable and lofty resolutions in education are so big and shiny, we forget that they need constant attention. If you’ve made a resolution for 2014, try taking it in digestible bites.  Where do you want to be in a week?  A month? Six months?  Carve out time each week – even just 15 minutes -- to think about it, adjust it, throw it out and start anew, or keep doing what you’re doing. 

Happy New Year,

-          J. Walton