My wife and I are runners. There was a time in my life when I would not have described myself as a runner. All of that changed about 10 years ago when my wife told me I should run my first marathon. Until that point I just ran as a part of “working out”. Not anymore. This morning we had a long run as a part of our training for this coming running season. The weather this morning was especially warm and humid for mid-September. To be honest, it felt more like early August outside. The humidity was so thick that it felt like we were in a bowl of soup. Not that I have ever been in a bowl of soup, but If I were, I would imagine that it would feel like it did this morning. It was not comfortable running weather at all. After we finished running, Amanda made a statement that was quite profound. She said that being a runner has made her comfortable with being uncomfortable. Think about that for a minute. Are you still thinking? I will wait. When you think about it, this totally makes sense. You have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable in life. That is just the way it is sometimes. Change happens. Your job has an unexpected change, your boss asks you to do something you think you cannot handle, you have to work through unexpected life events. It happens to us all. The people that do the best in these situations are able to be comfortable while being uncomfortable. Allow me to make some connections to how running has helped me to be comfortable while being uncomfortable. When you are running for more than an hour at a time your body begins to experience different feelings. Sometimes it is pain, sometimes it is numbness, sometimes it is euphoria, and let’s face it runners, sometimes it is pure delusion!! The point is, it can be and often is uncomfortable. As a runner you come to expect that and you know that it will not last. You learn to work through it and even use it to push you further. You use being uncomfortable to make you better. Being a runner has made her comfortable with being uncomfortable. Amanda and I both agreed that because we were so accustomed to running through discomfort we have been able to take that approach in our work, and even our lives. We know that we can work through whatever issue is brought our way. Sometimes the discomfort makes us work even harder and after struggling through the discomfort we are better for it.
We have never finished a run and said, “man, I wish we had not done that.” But we have said, “we should have gone for a run today.” Sometimes you just need that discomfort in your life. As my friend Mark McCord says, “Lean into that discomfort.” Use it, don't run from it! Make it work for you to help you become better. Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff
0 Comments
The state of Texas completed a major overhaul of its teacher evaluation system and it has been a change for the better already. The former system called “Professional Development and Appraisal System” or PDAS was developed 20 years ago and at the time was an improvement over the existing teacher evaluation tool. I am sure there is someone that can tell me that tool’s name (or I can ask the Google) because I was completing my bachelor’s degree at the time PDAS being developed and quite frankly still in denial that I was going to be an educator. That is a completely different blog post! Now, the state of Texas has developed the T-TESS (Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System) evaluation tool. There are many new and great components about T-TESS that I really like but perhaps the most critical and my most favorite of these tools are the purposeful conversations that T-TESS makes you have as educators. The goal of T-TESS is for professional growth through goal setting, achievement, reflections, conversations, and observations. The focus is on teacher growth, as it should be. One of my main purposes for becoming a principal was to support teachers. This support has been just as much for me as it has been for them, but don’t tell them that. The past two weeks I have spent much of my time having goal setting conversations with my teachers over their T-TESS aligned goals they have set for themselves. These have been two of the best two weeks of my principalship. Why have they been so great? It is because I have been intentionally listening to my teachers and working to support them as they push themselves to become better practitioners. There have been some teachers that I just needed to listen to, ask a couple of clarifying questions, and then ask them how can I support them. There have been some teachers that I needed to help create more specificity in their goals because they were not sure of how to write what they wanted to accomplish as it relates to T-TESS. And there were some teachers that I just needed to give them a confidence boost because they were not sure of what to do. I have been able to support my teachers in very real ways. I really like that. One of my main purposes for becoming a principal was to support teachers. This support has been just as much for me as it has been for them, but don’t tell them that ;o)
As the year progresses I cannot wait to see where the conversations lead us. I encourage you to take part of these purposeful conversations. Make the time for the conversations and allow them to develop. Listen without thinking of what you are going to say next. Help by asking how can I support you to achieve your goals. Be purposeful in your conversations. Teachers deserve that. Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff As I mentioned in my previous blog post I have returned back to school. So students, your principal is hitting the books this semester too. Having earned three college degrees in my life I am not a stranger to school and how to succeed in school. In the midst of my first full week of school I quickly realized that I am going to have to be able to work in ambiguity. Coming into this commitment I knew that I would be reading volumes of texts and journal articles and of course writing about what I am learning. What I did not realize until now is that I am going to have to learn how to thrive while working in ambiguity with regards to some of the different tasks I am being asked to perform and complete. It is purposeful ambiguity in that the outcome is for me to become a better questioner, researcher, and seeker of knowledge that can distinguish and differentiate between good information and great information. But it is ambiguity none the less and as an educator we do not always work well in ambiguity. Why? We want to be told what to do by our teachers. It is how we have been trained. It is what we know. But do we really grow as a learner with this approach? There are open ended assignments and then there are Open. Ended. Assignments. Don’t get me wrong, I am not out here without a life line of help and support because it is there. I am out here being expected to forge my way through my learning and being able to share that learning on a very short timeline. This is not the “normal” way we “do school” and it takes some adjustment. The assignments we are given are designed to push our thinking and help us to develop our skills. We are given choice in the areas we would like to work along with a list of preferred research journals and resources to utilize and then we complete assignments based off our own choices and selections. The ambiguity really comes in with wondering if the research I am choosing to review, analyze, and share is what the professor is looking for and, of course, am I completing the assignment the way the professor wants. And there is the source of the real uncertainty for me. What is it that the professor wants? Therein lies the trap of being asked to work in ambiguity, floundering in your own uncertainty because of the learned need to have “approval” before moving to the next stage of work. Over the last few very late nights I realized that I should be asking what is it that I want to learn about (my interests) and how can I apply that to what the professor is asking me to do (skill development). I had forgotten the most powerful option the professor provided to us, the power of choice. I had choice over the material I would be working with and when I came to that realization I was able to thrive in the ambiguity because the research I had chosen was relevant to my interests.
I had scrapped the four articles I had originally because they did not really speak to what I want to work in the next few years. They were good but when I realized that I had the power to not settle I found what spoke to me and all of a sudden the skill work became less difficult. As you design lessons for your students and staff for that matter I want you to think about ambiguity and choice. There is power in purposeful ambiguity when it is designed correctly. The power of choice made all of the difference for me when I felt as if I was not ever going to be able to complete what was being asked of me. How can you build in choice for your students? You would be surprised how big of a difference adding the element of choice will for a student! Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff The first day of school is coming for students all across America. If you live in Texas the first day of school for public schools is August 22. Teachers all across the state have been preparing for students to return for the last several days to weeks. Professional development sessions, faculty meetings, department meetings, grade level meetings, and hopefully teachers have had some time to work in their rooms. Anxiety is often high for teachers because they want everything to be in order and perfect for that first day. What about the students? Yesterday, Saturday August 20, was my first day of school. On August 20 I embarked on a learning journey that will take me several years to complete and yesterday was my first step. Along with fifteen other working professionals in my cohort I completed my first class at Texas A&M University in pursuit of a doctoral degree in school administration. Was I nervous? You bet I was nervous. And anxious. And excited. I have had many first days of schools in my life. Obviously I had the first days of school as a child going through public school in Monahans, Texas. Each first day was exciting, nerve wracking, and even a bit scary for me because I was not sure of what to expect. All I had to do was show up but when you are a child showing up to a new school with a new teacher and new classmates can seem very daunting. Of course the first day of school process became easier as I grew older and more familiar with the process but I was still nervous. Yesterday was also "Aggie Move In Day" at Texas A&M so there were Aggies all over the place along with their parents moving into the dorms. This sparked a discussion between my wife and I about our first day of college and we had two different experiences. Her parents were able to go with her and help her get settled in the dorm. For me, it was a good bye when I left town, a collect call home to say I made it with a “I will see you at Thanksgiving” in response. What difference in support do your students have on their first day? Have you accounted for those differences? Since becoming a student again yesterday I am reminded of the importance of remembering back to what it was like to that critical first day of school. Even for middle school students the first day can be a little scary and certainly full of anxiety. As you are preparing for your first day think about this:
Remember back to what it was like when you were attending your first days of school. What will you do to help reduce the anxiety and nervousness? Will your actions ease that anxiety or will they increase it? How will you account for the different levels of support given to your students from their families? Students know they need to make a good first impression but as the educators, we need to do the same as well. I do wish you a wonderful first day of school when your day does arrive! Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff I am very proud of my faculty and staff of A&M Consolidated Middle School because they have been embracing the challenge of growing as professionals issued just last Thursday. The structure of our staff development has been designed to place the teachers in situations of stretch and vulnerability through conversations around change. We grow when we allow ourselves to become uncomfortable. Today we scheduled our teachers professional learning around sessions of choice centered around best practices in teaching. All of the sessions were geared toward engagement of students, experiential learning, cultural relevant teaching, and creativity. I lead the sessions over creativity in schools and used Sir Ken Robinson’s “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” TED talk. Although this talk is now 10 years old there were many of my teachers and staff that have never viewed or even heard of Sir Ken Robinson. If you have viewed the talk you know just how critically important the message is to the conversation of the role of education today. If you have not viewed the talk I encourage you to do just that, it is worth the 18 minutes of your time I promise. The conversations that came out of today were so exciting and encouraging for me as a school leader because my teachers were sharing their thinking about what we currently do in schools and why. We recognize that we are challenging the status quo of a system that has been created to produce one expected outcome for students, a one size fits all mentality of schools. I am proud of my faculty and staff for vocalizing their thoughts, concerns, fears, ideas, and hopes for making changes for students. What I hope my staff has taken away from today is there are others in their school building that think the way they think and want the same things they want. There were many great conversations and thoughts worth building upon. For me the power of the learning today is centered around making connections through common thoughts, hopes, fears, concerns, and ideas. It does not matter if you are a teacher, administrator, board member, or a parent, I encourage you to watch the video and start up a conversation about what should education do for students and does the current education system support what you think it should do. After this type of a conversation the question becomes what will you do next? So, what will you do next?
I would love to hear your thoughts and start a dialogue. Please leave comments below! Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff As a principal I constantly push my teachers to challenge the status quo of education. We talk about what could be and what should be in education and in classrooms. I have the expectation of teachers challenging what “we have always done” in our school and keep the focus on student learning and growth. Two years ago I was given an opportunity to learn more about the Texas Public Education Visioning Institute as a principal through my attendance and participation in the Texas Principal’s Visioning Institute. As a part of the institute I was challenged and stretched based off the mindset and work of the superintendents that wrote the Visioning Document. This document outline the current issues in public education and the areas of needed change to make schools be what we need them to be instead of what they had become in the world of high stakes testing. After seeing what is possible through the visioning institute I began conversations at my intermediate campus about what we believe education should be about and what we could do in our school now to make those changes. The conversations were energizing and exciting. Teachers were excited to have a leader willing to have these types of conversations and actually act upon what was being discussed. The following school year I was promoted to the middle school from intermediate school. It did not take long before I began these conversations in my new school. The teachers that participated were very excited and energized as well. I plan on continuing these conversations and making needed changes based off the conversations this year but I also felt that we need to have this conversation on a larger scale. District wide. I spoke with my superintendent about what I would like to do and he did not hesitate to give me a green light. I was not surprised; after all he did just tell our entire school district that we will not be defined by a rating given by the state on high stakes accountability testing. Our focus as a district is about the daily teaching and learning, not a one shot test. I am proud to be a part of an education system that values daily work over a high stakes accountability system. Last week out district hosted our annual district learning “You Matter” conference where over 1,100 district educators and employees come together for a day of learning from each other. To start this district wide conversation I hosted a session along with a fellow administrator that was titled, “A conversation to shape the future.” The purpose of this session was to start a conversation with anyone from across the district that was interested in changing the current look of education. There was one session held as an “early bird session” at 7:30 am and a second session at 2:30 pm in the final sessions of the day offerings. Both of the sessions were highly successful. Passionate and caring educators from elementary and secondary classrooms and schools came to the sessions wanting to be a part of this type of a conversation. We only had 45 minutes in the sessions but in those 45 minutes it became apparent that our own educators feel like the current structure of schools need to change. The conversations were structured in an EdCamp style of conversation that was loosely moderated. The results of the conversations revealed that there are many changes and adjustments that could be made within the current system of education if we are willing to ask why we are doing what we are doing and what can we change. Perhaps a more impactful result of the conversation was those teachers were able to see that they are not alone in the types of changes they want to make in their own classrooms and as a district. Of course this is just a starting point as a district but what a great place to start, showing teachers there are others out there that realize there is a better way to “do school” in 2016. If you are a campus or district leader, I encourage you to start this type of a conversation with your campus or within your district. You will ignite a spark with your educators that will start a flame. That flame will turn into a fire and once you have that fire burning bright you will see your passionate educators change education for the better. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas, please comment below! Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff As a conclusion to the month of July I have been in attendance at the AVID Summer Institute in San Antonio. I encourage you to check out #AVIDSI16 on Instagram and Twitter to see all of the excellent learning. As a campus principal I have been attending one of the many leadership strands designed to work with campus leaders wanting to take AVID schoolwide. As a part of our study and activities today we read the following article, “Be a Cage-Buster” by Frederick M. Hess. You can read the article we read today by clicking here thanks to ASCD. You can also learn more about being a cage buster by clicking here. The basic premise of the cage busting approach is encouraging leaders to think differently and be willing to break out of the structural and procedural restrains that are holding them back from actually being able to coach, mentor, nurture, and inspire others the way they know they should. The purpose of this blog post is not to analyze or break down the aspects of the article. Instead I am going to share the conversation that was had during a Socratic Seminar with the education leaders in my particular leadership strand. At first there was hesitation with many of the members of the seminar about what they really wanted to share. As the proposed questions to discuss were read aloud to begin the seminar a common theme developed. How do we as education leaders that belong to a large, established, traditional education system become true cage busters without losing our jobs? The conversation began to take off as the participants began to share their fears and frustrations with the current restrains of the education system. Many of the leaders felt the constraints of having to meet the expectations of their supervisors and even though they knew something else could be done that would be better for kids they were afraid of repercussions from not meeting expectations. There were also many frustrations with the state assessment requirements and focus on “test prep instruction”. Unfortunately, these were the two most common themes throughout many of the comments from the various leaders. It makes me quite sad to hear so many leaders that are at a conference hosted by an organization that promotes best practices to push student learning and success to the next level have fear in doing what is best for kids. They have this fear because someone “above them” in the hierarchical structure does not think the same way and/or because politicians and bureaucrats make education policy that is not focused on true student learning. There are many excellent strategies and discussion points in the article and I am very interested in reading and learning more about being a cage buster. The main focus of cage busting is identifying a problem, name the problem, and work in specificity to solve the problem. As I reflect back on the conversation from today here is the problem that I feel needs to be solved. How do we convince education leaders that they are able to become a cage buster and do what is best for kids even within the current constraints of the current education system? I know that this problem has been around for decades and it is not special to education. What I do feel is special to education is that we have leaders today that recognize and are willing to focus their efforts on doing what is best for kids. Now we just need to cultivate and develop more leaders with a cage busting mentality so that we can create an education system that does what is best for kids.
I would love to hear your thoughts related to the questions posed here and how we can develop more cage busters in the education world. Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff I hope that this summer you were able to take the time to get in touch with your younger self. I believe that as adults it is vital to our happiness and stability to remember what it is like to be a kid and the best way to do that is to take time to do just that, go be a kid again. Kevin Carroll (@kckatalyst)has made a huge impact on my thinking related to the importance of never losing the desire to go play. Kevin does not know it but he and I have a connection through a common person and this person unknowingly introduced me to Kevin’s approach to life. Although at different times, Kevin and I were mentored by Randy Matthews as student athletic trainers at Angelo State University. Kevin had already graduated and was working for the Philadelphia 76ers when I arrived to ASU but Kevin’s story was still a part of the athletic training room. Randy would share Kevin stories and every now and then there would be a phone call between Kevin and Randy. Randy would laugh and share the stories that Kevin told and then he would talk about how proud he was of Kevin. Eventually I met Kevin when he came to Texas in the early 2000’s to share his story and his new life role as a Katalyst. You need to understand that Kevin’s approach to life was so different that he was recruited from the Philadelphia 76ers for a job that did not even exist yet. Kevin wrote his own job description with Nike. I encourage you to learn more about his story and about his inspiration by looking here and by listening to this podcast with Kevin posted on April 7, 2016. The reason I am sharing the back story about Kevin is so that you better understand my thinking. You see, ever since I met and listened to Kevin I have always been reminded to stay in touch with my inner child. I have always been reminded of the importance of play. As an educator I believe it is important to stay in touch with being a kid because it keeps you grounded on your student’s perspectives. Isn’t that what we are doing this for, to help kids? How better to help kids than to remember their perspectives through staying in touch with what it means to be a kid? How they think, what is important to them, how the world looks through their eyes. There is always time for you to go ride a bike, go for a walk, play in the sprinkler, look up at the clouds and decide what animals and creatures you see, or just sit and get lost in your thoughts for a while. Don’t forget to look up at the stars and wonder about just how big the universe really is and what will you do to make an impact. By doing these things you will make a positive impact each day for yourself and that in turn will make a positive impact for the students you serve.
Connect with what matters. Jeff Take a moment to watch this video. There is a segment where he discusses uncomfortable vs hard in the first 5 minutes. Think about that difference for you and your current professional situation. Is change knocking on your door in your current professional situation? How do you feel about that change? Are you open to the change? Why or why not? Change is not easy. I am not stating that change is easy. What I am asking you to do is to put that change into the lens of uncomfortable vs. hard. Think about the change that is on your doorstep. Is it hard or just uncomfortable? Be honest with yourself. Lean into the discomfort of change. That is a phrase that I hear often from my friend Mark McCord @MarkMcCord10 Change is uncomfortable. Think about what is really hard in life. I challenge you to keep your mindset about change in perspective of uncomfortable vs hard. Lean into the discomfort about change. You will be surprised at what you will learn about yourself and others when you keep the appropriate mindset. I would love to hear your thoughts about Uncomfortable vs hard. Please feel free to leave your thoughts below. Think. Achieve. Succeed. Jeff "Lean into the discomfort" ~Mark McCord About this time each year my wife and I embark on some type of a journey. Our journey allows us to get away from town for a few days and requires us to take a break from our everyday life. This year our journey took us up into the rocky mountains of Colorado. As you can imagine there are many adventures to be had in the rocky mountains. The adventure I am going to share with you here happened by accident. No not that kind of accident. More of a happy accident. Amanda and I were finishing up a hike with our dog on the continental divide trail when we came across a young lady that had just dismounted her bike at the sign marking the continental divide. Sidebar: Off an on during our time in the rockies we had seen cyclist churning their legs fiercely up and down the different mountain roads. Both Amanda and I were amazed at their determination and touch of craziness to ride a bike on a mountain highway with thousands of feet in elevation changes. Some of these roads would make a mountain goat blink and these cyclists are on their bikes with vehicles passing just inches from them while on a mountain side. Scary stuff man. End Sidebar. When the three of us approached our dog greeted her with a smile and she smiled back at our dog. The young lady then asked me to take a picture of her with her iPhone because she was struggling with taking a selfie that included the large sign marker. Being a selfie kind of guy myself I gladly agreed to take the photo. A conversation soon began. When we asked where she was headed she told us that she was riding her bike across America. She is from Maryland and is riding to California. We asked if she had planned stops along the way and she did somewhat but it was dependent upon her progress. Sometimes she slept outside in a tent and sometimes she slept where someone would put her up for the night. She had been on the road since June 15 and she planned to arrive in about 2 weeks to California. She wasn't riding for a cause. She wasn't trying to raise awareness. She was just pushing herself and doing what she wanted to do. My wife and I admired her spirit and her courage. We wished her the best on her journey. Before we went our separate ways I asked her if I could take a selfie with her to share her story with others. With a laugh she said "Sure thing!" Are you willing to do what needs to be done for the sake of improving education for your students? After our chance encounter I began to think about risk taking and being brave. Real change in schools will not happen unless you are brave enough take that risk. Taking a risk is scary, much like riding your bike on a mountain side. You have to be brave and perhaps you need a touch of crazy too but you must also be willing. You must be willing to take a risk to achieve what you want to achieve. So here is my question for you. Are you willing to do what needs to be done for the sake of improving education for your students? If so, you must be willing to shake things up. I am not talking about reckless abandonment or change for change sake. I am talking about being willing to look at what you are doing and make the changes you need to make in your practice because it just isn't working for your students. Be willing to ask yourself and others the hard questions. Reflect upon those answers and then make the changes you know you need to make. Your students need you to be brave. Your students need you to be willing. Be Willing. Think. Achieve. Succeed.
Jeff |
Jeff MannA lifelong learner that is committed to asking questions to seek greater understandings. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are Archives
January 2023
Images & Quotes that Inspire |