Compliance is Not the End Goal of Education

Recently, I was listening to a teacher talk about their more “traditional” view of education, and how “compliance” wasn’t a bad thing for students. Even going a step further, saying students should be “obedient”.

I cringed a little.  Okay, maybe a lot.

First off, let’s look at the definition of “obedient”:

obedient – complying or willing to comply with orders or requests; submissive to another’s will.

Is this what we really want from our students?  That they are simply submissive to the will of their teachers?  Do we want to develop generations of students that will challenge conventional ideas, think for themselves, or simply do what they are told?  I do not know many teachers who would want to be “obedient” to their principals.  We teach the “golden rule” to our students; we must follow it ourselves.

So let’s look at the word “compliant”.

compliant – inclined to agree with others or obey rules, especially to an excessive degree; acquiescent.

Is compliance a bad thing to teach in education?  Not really. In some ways, people have to be compliant.  Think of tax season.  You have to be compliant with the rules that are set out by your government.  As educators, there are times that we have to be compliant in our work as well.  You have deadlines that you have to meet (ie. report cards).  Compliance is not a bad word, but it should not be your end goal in education.  My belief is that we need to move beyond compliance, past engagement, and onto empowerment.

These ideas are not separate, but in some ways, can be seen as a continuum.

Let’s go back to the word compliance.  Has that really ever been the end goal of schools? Maybe as a system overall, but I think the best educators have always tried to empower their students.  They know that if you are truly good at your job as an educator, the students will learn to not need you eventually. That is why “lifelong learning” has been a goal in education forever.  If we truly want our students to be “compliant” when they walk out of schools, they will always need someone else’s rules to follow.  To develop the “leaders of tomorrow”, we need to develop them as leaders today.

Focusing on “empowering” students is seen by some as “fluffy”; students just show up to school to do whatever they want.  This is not my belief at all.  Empowering students teaches them to have their own voice and follow their own direction, but if they are going to be successful, they will need to truly have the discipline (using the definition, “train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way”), to make it happen.  “Empowerment” and “hard work” are not mutually exclusive; in fact, both elements are needed to make a true difference in our world.

Think about how many of our kids in school talk about becoming “YouTubers”.  If you truly want to make that happen, you do not apply to some job, but you will have to focus on creating content consistently over time while building an audience.  This might be your dream, but to make it happen, there is a lot of work to be done. Becoming a content creator allows you to follow your own path, yet to be successful, hard work is needed.

I love this quote:

“Hard work does not guarantee success, but lack of hard work guarantees that there will be no success.” Jimmy V

Helping students find their own paths, not the ones we set out for them, has always been the focus in education, yet we need to be more explicit about this path. We all want our students to be respectful to educators and peers, but hopefully, we all want them to walk out of school, become intrinsically motivated, and find their own ways to success and happiness.  Compliance is sometimes a part of this, but it is not the end goal.  Are we trying to develop students to fit into our world, or are we hoping that students feel that they have the power to create a better world, now and in the future?

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs

• June 2, 2016 Push and Support
• January 8, 2015 An Acronym Leading to Empowerment in Schools (CEE)
• August 18, 2015 “Hard Work is No Guarantee of Success”
• November 20, 2011 You Should Read… (November 20, 2011)
• January 26, 2013 5 Characteristics of a Change Agent

Source: George Couros

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2r7qpSb

Compliance is Not the End Goal of Education

Recently, I was listening to a teacher talk about their more “traditional” view of education, and how “compliance” wasn’t a bad thing for students. Even going a step further, saying students should be “obedient”.

I cringed a little.  Okay, maybe a lot.

First off, let’s look at the definition of “obedient”:

obedient – complying or willing to comply with orders or requests; submissive to another’s will.

Is this what we really want from our students?  That they are simply submissive to the will of their teachers?  Do we want to develop generations of students that will challenge conventional ideas, think for themselves, or simply do what they are told?  I do not know many teachers who would want to be “obedient” to their principals.  We teach the “golden rule” to our students; we must follow it ourselves.

So let’s look at the word “compliant”.

compliant – inclined to agree with others or obey rules, especially to an excessive degree; acquiescent.

Is compliance a bad thing to teach in education?  Not really. In some ways, people have to be compliant.  Think of tax season.  You have to be compliant with the rules that are set out by your government.  As educators, there are times that we have to be compliant in our work as well.  You have deadlines that you have to meet (ie. report cards).  Compliance is not a bad word, but it should not be your end goal in education.  My belief is that we need to move beyond compliance, past engagement, and onto empowerment.

These ideas are not separate, but in some ways, can be seen as a continuum.

Let’s go back to the word compliance.  Has that really ever been the end goal of schools? Maybe as a system overall, but I think the best educators have always tried to empower their students.  They know that if you are truly good at your job as an educator, the students will learn to not need you eventually. That is why “lifelong learning” has been a goal in education forever.  If we truly want our students to be “compliant” when they walk out of schools, they will always need someone else’s rules to follow.  To develop the “leaders of tomorrow”, we need to develop them as leaders today.

Focusing on “empowering” students is seen by some as “fluffy”; students just show up to school to do whatever they want.  This is not my belief at all.  Empowering students teaches them to have their own voice and follow their own direction, but if they are going to be successful, they will need to truly have the discipline (using the definition, “train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way”), to make it happen.  “Empowerment” and “hard work” are not mutually exclusive; in fact, both elements are needed to make a true difference in our world.

Think about how many of our kids in school talk about becoming “YouTubers”.  If you truly want to make that happen, you do not apply to some job, but you will have to focus on creating content consistently over time while building an audience.  This might be your dream, but to make it happen, there is a lot of work to be done. Becoming a content creator allows you to follow your own path, yet to be successful, hard work is needed.

I love this quote:

“Hard work does not guarantee success, but lack of hard work guarantees that there will be no success.” Jimmy V

Helping students find their own paths, not the ones we set out for them, has always been the focus in education, yet we need to be more explicit about this path. We all want our students to be respectful to educators and peers, but hopefully, we all want them to walk out of school, become intrinsically motivated, and find their own ways to success and happiness.  Compliance is sometimes a part of this, but it is not the end goal.  Are we trying to develop students to fit into our world, or are we hoping that students feel that they have the power to create a better world, now and in the future?

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs

• June 2, 2016 Push and Support
• January 8, 2015 An Acronym Leading to Empowerment in Schools (CEE)
• August 18, 2015 “Hard Work is No Guarantee of Success”
• November 20, 2011 You Should Read… (November 20, 2011)
• January 26, 2013 5 Characteristics of a Change Agent

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2qkqNtx

Building School Culture: The Importance of TRUST

Life Reimagined: The Science, Art and Opportunity of Midlife by Barbara Bradley Hagerty: An Audio Book Review

I stumbled upon this audio book perusing my local library's online catalog, and thought it would be perfect for my weekly commute.  It was perfect, and quite honestly, it woke me up a bit.  

I am in midlife.  I'm 50; childless, unmarried (but in a long term relationship), and oftentimes puzzled at how my life has turned out so far.  Where exactly did I make the turns that led me to this place?  How, quite frankly, did my life turn out so completely different than I had hoped?  Could I possibly craft the rest of my life by thoughtful planning and reflection?

Barbara Bradley Hagerty is an NPR reporter who had a few midlife crises of her own.  It led her to spend a year traveling the country, talking to experts and some every day people about what we expect from life in our 40's, 50's, and 60's.  What she found surprised her.  It seems that there is a natural dip in our happiness that begins in our 40's.  Some people think it's a midlife crisis, but when scientists actually dug into the question of midlife crisis, they found out that people weren't having a midlife crisis at all--it's all bogus. 

 We have a natural dip that occurs when we reach an age where we re-examine where we've been, where we want to go, and what hasn't worked out.  We look at our jobs, our relationships, our dreams.  We realize that we won't get that big promotion; maybe we've worked in a career for 20 years and realize the passion and love is gone; our drive calls us to seek something else.  We are seeing our parents age and pass on; we are the next generation up.  It's a big wake up call.  With luck, we'll have another healthy 25-35 years--so what are we going to do to make them the best we can make them?  

But guess what?  People in their 60's are the happiest they've ever been in their lives.  That natural dip climbs again, and by refocusing our lives around those we love, building those relationships, giving of ourselves and letting go of the material stuff, we are at our most content and most free.  We cherish those moments, small and random, where life is most sweet.  We explore our creativity; we cherish our friends and family.  And what's great about all of this is that science actually backs this up.  

I recognized myself in some of the things Barbara talks about:  I returned to graduate school at 46 after the loss of my sister; at 48 I graduated and began a new career as a librarian.  Shortly after I began my new career, my mother passed away.  My father had already passed away when I was in my late 30's; I felt a bit lost and orphaned.  My parents were gone.  What did that mean to me?  How was it going to define my life going forward?  

My partner takes care of his aging parents and I do what I can to help him.  We've discussed what we want to do next with our lives, after the inevitable happens.  With no children between us, and no one to answer to, we will be free to pursue his dreams, long put on hold.  And in doing that, I will be able to pursue my dreams alongside him.  So for now, we plan, and we cherish the moments we have together.  It is a bittersweet time, and painful moments are on the horizon.  But, as Barbara has discovered, those snapshot moments of happiness are more frequent, and even sweeter than you can imagine. 

I highly recommend this book.  I enjoyed the audio so much, I bought the paperback so I could mark it up, discuss it with my partner, and keep it on my bookshelf.  

Rating:  5/6 for a fascinating look at a second phase of life that can be just as exciting and rewarding as those heady days of our youth.  It will definitely make you think about your life; you'll find yourself in the pages of this book. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio.

 

from Bookalicious Babe Book Reviews http://ift.tt/2rcOi71

Keep Your “Eyes” on the Prize – 8 Ways to Help You Stay Focused

This past month I wrote a blog post entitled, “Leadership…The Biggest Issues in Public Education?” in which I suggested that ineffective leadership is, in my opinion, was the biggest obstacle keeping us from reaching the levels of success we all hope to achieve as leaders of any organization. The post resulted in several comments being left on my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, both publicly and privately which I genuinely appreciated.  One business woman wrote to tell me how she had been recently scolded by her supervisor via email for not following the proper protocol in her presentation and how that had made her feel like a failure even though it had been well received by her peers.  She added that she felt hurt and even somewhat devalued because the more she read the deeper the words dug in. She went on to share that her supervisor had not included a single positive comment in the two paragraph scolding that she had written to her. Her comment reminded me of a student who recently had shared with me that his teacher had automatically dropped his grade two letter grades on his speech assignment because he had gone over his allotted time by fifteen seconds even though the content of the speech once again, was well received.  I must admit I immediately pondered the number of times we as educators and employees have gone over our allotted time when given the floor or the microphone to speak. I don’t ever recall anyone ever being penalized, reprimanded or docked pay for doing so. When the student described his experience to me, my first thought was one of sadness for not only this student, but for who knows how many other countless students over the years who had experienced a similar fate.  And just last evening I heard from a former student of mine who interviewed for a position in his school as an internal candidate and was not selected. However, what he shared with me next left me speechless. He had asked his principal if she would be willing to meet with him and give him some feedback on his interview and what he could do to improve his chances in the future. According to my former student she declined and told him she did not feel comfortable having that conversation with him. My guess is she didn’t even realize how much damage she had done to her relationship with this teacher in that one single moment of refusal.

 

“We define ourselves by the best that is in us, not by the worst that has been done to us.” -Edward Lewis

 

These are some of the types of stories that others often share with me; sometimes out of frustration and bitterness, other times out of vulnerability and the hope that things will eventually be better. To be fair, I also hear many stories that warm my heart and make me proud to be an educator.  If I am being completely honest, I would guess that there have been instances in which stories have been shared about me to others about how I had wronged someone in a decision I made.  We don’t always get it right.  But if we are able to recognize that we are always evolving in our roles as leaders, then we should strive to continue to evolve to not only be better, but do better.

Almost every school leader that I have met approaches each day with one goal in mind – to bring their best and give their best to others in order to ensure that every student and every staff member experiences success and feels valued. The same could be said for most teachers. Keeping our eyes on the prize in order to accomplish this can be challenging at times, especially when the stresses of the job cause us to lose our focus and stray away from the things we know that matter when it comes to leading others. As we approach the end of another school year, here are 8 reminders to help you get your “I’s” back on target and finish the year strong with your staff.

1. Invest in your people every day. Engage them, spend time with them, listen to them, believe in them, encourage them, support them, trust them, and when they mess up, forgive them. Give them your most precious commodity, the gift of time.
2. Influence their beliefs and their behaviors. Model what you expect, shape their thinking, develop their skill sets, speak the truth, and leverage their strengths. Invite them to lead others and more importantly, allow them to determine their own pathway in order to build their capacity.
3. Inspire their work with kids. Ignite their passion, awaken their dreams, rekindle their hope, energize their spirit, and prompt them when needed. Give them permission to create and innovate without fear of judgement or negative evaluation.
4. Invite their input. Ask them what they think, what they believe and more importantly, why they think and believe what they believe. This will allow you to really get to understand their core beliefs and what drives their behavior so you can support their work with integrity and without hesitation.
5. Initiate the work that needs to be done. It begins with you. If you are feeling overwhelmed, pick one item or area and just begin. Invite others in. Get started today! When you start to feel like the work you do no longer matters, keep going and you will see that it does matter…to someone. You just didn’t recognize it at that moment.
6. Improve the work environment. Redefine your expectations. Raise the standards. Upgrade the furniture. Update the carpet, lighting and paint. Boost morale by amending outdated procedures and reducing minimal tasks. Enhance the work space by bringing in student work to remind all of us why we do the work that we do. Exceed your own expectations by helping others exceed theirs.
7. Inform your team by communicating effectively. Respond promptly when contacted. Keep your staff apprised of ongoing matters. Notify your superiors of potential conflicts. Advise others only when asked. Don’t tell others what they want to hear; tell them what you really believe in a kind and caring way. Don’t ignore or avoid obvious wrongdoings for fear of confrontation. Remember, the best form of communication is still face to face, for it gives us the opportunity to cultivate a stronger relationship.
8. Impact others by bringing meaning to their work. Don’t ask others to do what you are not willing to do yourself. Define them by the significance of their work and their imprint on others, especially kids. Take time to show the magnitude of your appreciation both in writing and verbally of something that is personal to them and that demonstrates their effect on others. Everyone wants to be memorable. Do your part to leave that lasting impression.

The job of a school leader was never meant to be a committee of one. Unfortunately, though, it can often feel that way. When it comes to leading any organization, let us not forget that our responsibility is to model to others every day that we too are learners in this journey and that we need others to support us by reminding us when we slip so that we don’t leave others feeling devalued. After all, we know those who feel valued and appreciated will always do more than what is expected.

To all school leaders out there, thank you for all that you do to be the change our students and teachers deserve. You are not alone in your journey. We are here to support you….always.

Blessings,

jimmy

 

 

 

 

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2qdd1Lt

Two Things All Parents Need To Know From Their Schools

Speaking to parent groups is always a pleasure. I truly believe that although there are many fears of technology (especially social media), the access we have to one another is a powerful opportunity to bring parents into our classrooms.  Instead of asking, “What did you learn today?”, with the standard response of “nothing”, parents are now saying, “I saw what you posted on your blog at school today…tell me more about that.” A totally different question that helps parents dig deeper into learning with their children, and reinforce what is happening in schools.

I have also talked about “Digital Parent Volunteers” (an idea from Tracey Kracht), which is an opportunity for parents to comment on student blogs when they can’t physically volunteer in classrooms.  The best way to help a community to understand the power of social media to create positive opportunities is to have them directly involved in the use of it.

Last night, when I was speaking with a parent group in Sudbury, Ontario, talking about the role of social media in the classroom, I started off with the the following thought:

There are two things that I want you to know moving forward with tonight’s presentation and I am hoping that you agree.  We are focused on keeping your children safe while ensuring they have every opportunity in the world to become successful.  Are these the two hopes for your children in their experience of school?

Everyone agreed immediately.

Although it seems simple, it is the first time that I had started a parent presentation that way, which set the tone throughout.  It not only helped frame the presentation for the parents, but it also helped me lead with this end in mind.  What parent would not want those two things?

This will hopefully squash the argument of “well this was what I did in school and I have turned out totally fine.”  People know that there are more opportunities in our world today and that some of the opportunities that have existed before are disappearing.  My parents wanted the same thing for me as I do for my daughter; every opportunity for her to be successful and happy.

Keeping kids safe while ensuring doors continue to open for them is a simple thought, while a large responsibility.  Pretending things don’t exist and closing our minds to possibilities for our children is ensuring that our fears drown out their aspirations.  We teach our children to cross the road safely, knowing that there is danger in the task, yet opportunity on the other side.  We want them to get safely to that other side. A simple metaphor that may help us move forward together as school communities.

• June 28, 2013 The Prophets In Your Land
• April 17, 2015 The Opportunity To Further Bring Parents Into the Learning
• September 4, 2010 Building Parent Knowledge; Your Thoughts?
• February 17, 2013 Moving Forward
• April 29, 2011 Untapped Resource? Engaging Parents in the Learning Process

Source: George Couros

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2puePR5

Two Things All Parents Need To Know From Their Schools

Speaking to parent groups is always a pleasure. I truly believe that although there are many fears of technology (especially social media), the access we have to one another is a powerful opportunity to bring parents into our classrooms.  Instead of asking, “What did you learn today?”, with the standard response of “nothing”, parents are now saying, “I saw what you posted on your blog at school today…tell me more about that.” A totally different question that helps parents dig deeper into learning with their children, and reinforce what is happening in schools.

I have also talked about “Digital Parent Volunteers” (an idea from Tracey Kracht), which is an opportunity for parents to comment on student blogs when they can’t physically volunteer in classrooms.  The best way to help a community to understand the power of social media to create positive opportunities is to have them directly involved in the use of it.

Last night, when I was speaking with a parent group in Sudbury, Ontario, talking about the role of social media in the classroom, I started off with the the following thought:

There are two things that I want you to know moving forward with tonight’s presentation and I am hoping that you agree.  We are focused on keeping your children safe while ensuring they have every opportunity in the world to become successful.  Are these the two hopes for your children in their experience of school?

Everyone agreed immediately.

Although it seems simple, it is the first time that I had started a parent presentation that way, which set the tone throughout.  It not only helped frame the presentation for the parents, but it also helped me lead with this end in mind.  What parent would not want those two things?

This will hopefully squash the argument of “well this was what I did in school and I have turned out totally fine.”  People know that there are more opportunities in our world today and that some of the opportunities that have existed before are disappearing.  My parents wanted the same thing for me as I do for my daughter; every opportunity for her to be successful and happy.

Keeping kids safe while ensuring doors continue to open for them is a simple thought, while a large responsibility.  Pretending things don’t exist and closing our minds to possibilities for our children is ensuring that our fears drown out their aspirations.  We teach our children to cross the road safely, knowing that there is danger in the task, yet opportunity on the other side.  We want them to get safely to that other side. A simple metaphor that may help us move forward together as school communities.

• June 28, 2013 The Prophets In Your Land
• April 17, 2015 The Opportunity To Further Bring Parents Into the Learning
• September 4, 2010 Building Parent Knowledge; Your Thoughts?
• February 17, 2013 Moving Forward
• April 29, 2011 Untapped Resource? Engaging Parents in the Learning Process

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2qAjS2k