L is for Leadership

What makes a good school leader?
I've been thinking about this question a lot over the past week or so and I've come to the conclusion that it depends on who you ask.

As a parent my view of what makes a good principal has changed over the years.  When I was the parent of a kindergartener I just wanted to know that my child was safe and happy. I wasn't so concerned with his academic achievement at the time because I knew that would eventually take care of itself. I was more concerned that the school was locked during the day and there was enough coverage at recess. As my children moved up through the grades the quality of the education they received became more important to me and I needed to know the principal was overseeing that. However when I think back on the principals in each  of the schools my children attended I realize something, there was trust between the principal and the teachers in the school. Teachers had some autonomy in their own classrooms and although the newest program or philosophy would make its way into the classrooms it was the teacher who was mostly in charge of what happened there. As a parent I was fortunate to have children with few behavior or academic issues so my relationships with the various school principals was one of collegiality. However, when an issue would arise I appreciated it when a principal could be fair and listen to all sides of an issue before making a decision. As a parent I needed to know that my children had a principal that would listen to me as a parent of a child in his school and that my opinion mattered even if we weren't in agreement.

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

~John Quincy Adams

As a teacher my view of what I believe makes a good school leader is very different. As a teacher I realize just keeping everyone in the building safe is just one part of a very complicated job. I believe that a principal should be child focused in every decision. Education has become a business and unfortunately very much about data and "moving the needle". Data of course has it's place as a valuable tool in giving children the education that best suits their needs,  but it's important to not lose sight of the fact that we are in the business of children. As a teacher I want a principal who takes the time to know the children and their families, who understands that school culture is the foundation to build upon and a good school culture and climate is why kids want to come to school and makes families feel welcome as part of the school community. A good school principal is involved in the day to day happenings of the school as a whole, but also involved in what happens in the classroom and playground and cafeteria.

"Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It's being able to take it as well as dish it out. That's the only way you're going to get respect from the players."

~Larry Bird 

As a teacher I want a principal who will be fair and who will view education as a collaborative effort between families, teachers and administration. I want a principal who holds us as teachers to a high standard of excellence but is willing to offer support when necessary. I want a principal who is open to new ideas and strategies. I want to work with a principal who shows and interest in her teachers  their interests, strengths and struggles and one who is trusting of the teachers  in his building, one who views us as experts in our understanding of how children learn. A good principal views his staff as colleagues, partners in the education of children.  A good school leader  is willing to teach and guide to help teachers improve but is also willing to learn from her staff too.

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."
~John F Kennedy 

I can't pretend to assume that it's easy to be a principal that encompasses all these qualities. I do know that any successful principal that I've worked for or have known have many of them. These were the school leaders who's vision I could believe in. It was apparent in the way they embraced the school as a collaborative community of learning. They were present leaders, present in the lives of the children they served, because when all is said and done, the kids are what matters.

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

~Dr. Seuss

 

R is for Respect

When I began teaching in my current district ten years ago I was excited at the prospect of working in the only school where I ever wanted to teach. This particular school was where I student taught and where I chose to send my children. It is my neighborhood school so when I walk down the halls I'm not only greeting parents of the kids I teach but my neighbors too. There is something to be said for working in the community in which you live. I'm vested in ways that others may not be and I feel everyday that I make a difference in the lives of children and in many ways making my community a better place to live.

In my classroom each day we talk a lot about respectful behavior, how to treat each other in the way that we would like to be treated. We talk about being bucket fillers and not bucket dippers by putting good feelings in the invisible buckets of others and not taking good feelings out by being mean or disrespectful with our words and actions.

Although sometimes it's a struggle to teach our smallest students what the word respect means, we try everyday by being good models about what it means to be respectful. They show us respect when they listen intently to a focus lesson, follow directions, are silent during a fire drill or remember to walk quietly through the hallways so as not to disturb other kids who are learning.

This past week was teacher appreciation week. We have the most wonderfully appreciative group of parents heading up our PTO. They feed us, pamper us, and generally make us feel valued by their words and actions. They appreciate what each of us does to educate their children, understanding how much time and effort goes in to planning for the lessons that will help their children grow into successful little humans. They appreciate that we are not only teaching their children how to read, write and compute but teaching them how to empathetic, how to share and to respect each other. They appreciate that we are the ones giving their child a hug when they are sad, providing a Band-aid for an invisible paper cut, washing chocolate pudding off the little faces and keeping them safe and happy when the are at school Not only do those parents make us feel appreciated, they respect us for the hard work and difficult job we have.

We teachers respect and support each other. When one of us is feeling defeated or overwhelmed we are there with a hug, with a listening ear and sometimes a shoulder to cry on. We plan together, we share ideas, we cover each other's classes when we need a breather and share a laugh or two when we most need it.

Lately however, respect from our school district is not so easily found. With all our hard work and dedication, with all our own money spent on supplies we have been made to feel that what we do is just not good enough. The words and actions of those not in the trenches are actions that are disrespectful of our time, our expertise, our wallets and our families.

We are given tasks that rarely have any direct correlation to educating young children, paperwork that bogs us down and takes time away from planning developmentally appropriate lessons that foster creativity and social well being. There is a general feeling of distrust that we are able to teach in the way we know how.  Although we hear the words, "we know you are working hard" the actions of those saying those words speak differently.

Everyday I hear of another teacher who is "getting her ducks in a row", working on his resume, gathering letters of recommendation and references, opting to find another district to work in, a district where the actions and words of the administration  are words of respect, a district that understands those of us on the front lines have a pretty good idea about how young children learn.

I don't know a single teacher who does not  believe that there is always room for improvement in our teaching practices. We are our own worst critics. We know when a lesson fails and we make mental notes about how we can make the lesson better next time.

We know and respect the children in our classrooms. We take the time to get to know them, their likes, their interests, their needs. We take the time to get to know their families and their struggles. We understand that every child in the school is ours even if they left our classroom years before and even if they never learned within the walls of our rooms.

We understand the need for data and we understand its value, but we also understand that data is only a small part of knowing how to best reach our children. We understand that we need to educate the whole child, their musical abilities, their creativity in art, their social needs. We need to respect each child for their individuality and not disregard that to concentrate solely on their latest reading level and whether they score proficient on their latest math assessment.

Just as we attempt to respect each child as individuals, teachers need to be respected for their individual teaching style and expertise. It saddens me to see the best teachers I know ready to leave our school and district because they just can't be disrespected any longer. This is not about not wanting to work hard it's about being recognized for the work we are doing.

I don't pretend to know everything about turning around a school district, but there is one thing of which I am certain, disrespecting teachers will never raise achievement, it will only drive us away.

Tt is for time.

If you ask a teacher "What do you need more of?" you might hear some say glue sticks, chart paper, crayons or pencils (pencils seem to disappear without a trace overnight!)

But more often than not, what teachers really want more of is time. I'm not talking about extending the school day, or adding more planning time, although that would be great! The kind of time I'm talking about is time to teach the things we know kids want and need to learn in an environment that has some time flexibility. 

Our schedules have become rigid and overloaded with data driven instruction. Yes, we teach the basics, math, literacy centers, reader's workshop, guided reading, writing and science. We TRY to find time within our schedules for social studies...social studies is usually the first to go to make room for the other subjects.

There is barely time for a quick snack. Lunch and recess time is shorter, and don't even get me started on making time for play...although I do my best to make sure that happens in some way everyday.

Teachers know that often times learning opportunities just present themselves, those teachable moments that you just run with. It usually happens with a question from a student, or an incident at recess or something touched upon during a read aloud. A lot of these teachable moments revolve around social issues and as a teacher I truly believe it's important to find the time to address them. It's our job as teachers to turn our children in to good citizens. Students who are socially aware, can show some empathy and who understand why it's important to apologize when we've hurt someone's feelings.

Unfortunately, many of us are afraid to run with these teachable moments because there isn't enough time. We hear all the time how important it is to stick to the schedule but what I've come to understand is that the schedule isn't necessarily about cramming as much learning into those little brains as possible, but more about being on schedule when someone walks in for an instructional round or observation...if they come in to observe math, they want to see math.

This very thing happened to me recently. My kindergarten students were in the middle of snack time when an instructional posse came into my room during math rounds (think of it like interns making rounds in a hospital). My first thought was panic that my kids were still eating snack when it was officially math time, but then (call me a rebel) I let them finish their snack. I gave them their five minute warning and let the posse wait.

Part of me was a little afraid of being caught in a "gotcha moment" as we've begun to call them, but most of me thought of those kids needing to finish their snack because I know as a teacher that they were going to be a lot more ready to learn about three-dimensional shapes if they had snack first. They finished, cleaned up their messes and sat down in the circle ready to learn. It was great interactive lesson and not once did I hear "I'm hungry, when can we have snack?"

We need the time to address the needs of our students and sometimes those needs are not determined by a schedule. We need to have the time and flexibility within our school day to run with the teachable moment whenever those moments occur and even if it's just because a child needs a break because his tummy is hungry or he needs to refocus with a few yoga poses.

Was I going to change the world by letting my kids finish snack? No, but it felt good to do what I knew was right for my kids.