Heart of Education

Let's Eliminate Rewards (From Our Lexicon)

2012-03-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

There is no way to achieve educational excellence in a school where purposes are blurred

(Ernest Boyer)

Some of the best conversations I've engaged in lately center around the topic of rewards. A recent blog (http://soc.li/YWFpeYO) by Dr. Richard Curwin brought the topic to the fore once again. Curwin's writing has been influential throughout my career and is reflected in my beliefs on this topic so it was refreshing to see how he frames some of the debate. More on that later in this post. His post also resonated with colleague and co-author Chris Weber (@Chi_educate). We've tried to strike the right balance in our book (http://tinyurl.com/3bxuyes) that speaks to the realities we face in schools today. Chris suggested that he is never going "to use the word 'rewards' again" because rewards are conditional (if you do this, then you'll get that). His intent is instead to "catch students being good" because that's "appreciation". The challenge posed by Boyer's quote above is that we need to have a degree of consistency across the school that is borne out of reflective dialogue amongst the educators.

These common expectations are more than just rules; they create a vision of the end we have in mind and reflect core values. They should reflect the notion that we ought to spend more time on the positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviors than on the identification of negative ones. Curwin talks about this as showing appreciation. His belief is that "we have a responsibility and obligation as teachers to evaluate students' academic performance and behavior." How we do these evaluations and what we do with the information we gain are the critical pieces. Curwin speaks to the difference "between manipulating students to behave in a certain way by giving them things when they comply, and expressing true feelings of appreciation for something well done." His views differ in this regard from other luminaries like Kohn and Glasser who suggest this is still tantamount to influencing behavior to get students to do what we want. Curwin suggests that "No one can work hard without validation, appreciation, being noticed or being thanked"and supports this type of feedback "as long as these things don't have a price tag attached." I know how hard educators work and I fully believe we deserve recognition for it. There is a difference between manipulating someone by offering rewards that are conditional and pre-determined, and appreciating someone after they have displayed appropriate behavior. Rewards are part of a system while appreciation comes from the heart.

Curwin also speaks about the importance of having appropriate levels of challenge for our students as a better option than any form of reward for increasing motivation. He poses a question that resonated with me. Given the option of engaging in a game with an opponent, would you choose the person who you routinely beat or the person to whom you have routinely lost but been close each time? Not surprisingly most people choose the latter option. And so it is with our students. It is important to find the right level of challenge as too easy builds little pride, and in some instances resentment, (think of the student who completes the assigned questions early and is given more of the same) and too hard leads to frustration and withdrawal. In our technology impacted world, video games may offer some insight. Students who engage in these go to the level that best meets their ability and continue until they master that level. Of course if we attached rewards to completing a level, many would opt for an easier level. When students are given the opportunity to make personal meaning of the expectations they are more likely to internalize them and achieve desirable outcomes.

Curwin's third point is one that really resonates with me. He speaks about the importance of getting to know your students and showing genuine care for their welfare. He suggests we think about teachers that impacted us and to recall why they did and the feelings associated with those memories. In "Pyramids of Behavior Interventions" we list both the positive and negative recollections many adults have shared with us about teachers who impacted them. Here's the list:

Positive

Cared about me as an individual

Brought learning to life, made it real

Took extra time to help me learn

Always fair, reasonable & understanding

Inspired me to do my best

Negative

Did not know me or care about me

Made the subject dry and boring

Often unfair or arbitrary

Yelled, screamed, put kids down

Seemed more interested in the subject than the kids

As Curwin states, "Can any reward or bribe come close to these feelings as motivators?" I know the genuine emotion that occurs when people share these stories with me and it reminds me of the significant impact we have day by day and minute by minute on our students. Curwin's final comment is an ideal summary. "I always remember that I teach for them, they don't learn for me." It's time to eliminate "rewards" and speak more to "acknowledging" and "appreciating" the demonstrated behaviors our students are displaying.

Glory Days (Can't Pass Us By)

2012-02-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

Glory days well they'll pass you by

Contrary to the sentiment expressed in the song by Bruce Springsteen, in our profession our glory days can't be something that has passed us by. By this I mean that the students we have today are deserving of the best educators we can be and not be saddled with someone whose best days are distant memories. The students in your classes today are new to you as you are new to them. They deserve to have the best teacher you are with all of the passion and commitment you bring to the profession.

This is not to suggest that your teaching style does not change over the years. I know that some of the best things I thought I did in my early years of teaching would not be as successful today. Similarly some of the worst things I did early on are no longer a part of what I believe. In a brilliant post (http://bit.ly/zHY61R), Chris Kennedy (@chrkennedy) talks about how his teaching has changed over time. As the context changes around us so do the strategies we employ to effectively teach students. What shouldn't change is the enthusiasm and capacity to make a difference.

And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it but I probably will

Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture a little of the glory of

Tears and Triumphs

2012-02-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is the lower jaw of a bowhead whale
and it is on display at Inuksuk High School
in Iqaluit. I got to meet two of the hunters and
was amazed by the story of the hunt.

I feel more than fortunate to be able to travel and work with educators across Canada and the United States. There is no greater profession than that of the school teacher and I try to reflect that notion in my presentations. The beauty of the role is found in the understanding that we don't just get to predict the future but instead, get to create it. This is not without a myriad of challenges, as I was recently reminded, on my journey to Iqaluit where I spent four days at the Nunavut Teacher's Conference. I was also reminded, by listening to the stories and seeing the outcomes, that teachers are in the best position to help students overcome many of these challenges.

Perhaps a little bit of context will help (and my good friend Brian Barry aka @Nunavut_Tweeter will correct any misinformation) to understand some of the challenges facing our colleagues in Nunavut. This is Canada's largest and least populated territory covering over two million square kilometers for a population of approximately 32,000. The twenty-five communities (with limited exceptions) are not connected to each other by road, leading to a high degree of isolation. The preceding is simply information and is not used by any of the educators as a crutch to prevent them from doing top quality work. As part of the push for an education that includes local context, the forty-two schools all include instruction in Inuktitut which is the language of the Inuit. Culture is an integral part of the learning experience for all students and Inuit elders work in all of the schools.

In my keynote I share a personal story to illustrate why I am passionate about the beliefs I hold. Often this leads to others sharing their personal stories with me in a private moment after my session. I am humbled by the trust these folks place in me and appreciate the growth they have experienced to allow them to move forward and be difference makers in the lives of kids as a result. The stories I heard in Nunavut were not dissimilar to those I have had shared with me in other locations but the emotion and thought behind the stories left me feeling that the full healing for some of our First Peoples will take time. The commitment to doing the best for their students, however, is beyond reproach.

Another interesting dynamic at this event was having teachers from Greenland in attendance. My afternoon session provided an insightful moment when I asked the various groups to define some key attributes they would want their school to be known for and what behaviors would indicate that those attributes were being demonstrated. One of the tables had a teacher from Greenland whose first language was Danish, a couple of teachers from Nunavut whose first language was Inuktitut, and a teacher who was a southerner (anyone from south of Nunavut) whose first language was French. While the objective of the activity was to get a common language around the attributes and behaviors, this group had to first find a common language! This reminded me of the struggles we sometimes have in schools when we think everyone is speaking a different language because they just "don't get what I am saying" or agree with my "brilliant insights".

At the conclusion of the conference most of the 600 teachers were heading back to their communities having maximized their time with colleagues and increased their skill set to be able to meet the challenges of teaching in the North and reminded of the triumphs that come with being a teacher. On a personal note I'd like to thank Heather Campbell and her fabulous conference team for a great event and wonderful hospitality, Brian Barry for taking the time to share his insights, and Terry and Barb Young for once again opening up their home and hearts to me.

Tenet #10 - First With the Heart, Then With the Head.

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

Bryce Courtenay wrote a great book called "The Power of One" which was a favorite of my son. The main character in the novel, Peekay, talks about his own battles through life and decided his approach must be "first with the head, then with the heart". He was not prepared to open himself up to the hurt that came with letting others into his life. I believe as educators we need to look at this the other way around. We need to have our students know we care about them first and the curriculum second. I have found this to be the most effective practice with all students and especially so with those who have baggage they sometimes bring to school.

As I think back on some of the biggest challenges I have faced with students in my career I can say with confidence that the potential severity of the issue was always lessened by the time and energy I had invested pre-conflict. This is not to suggest I always got it right or that my human emotions didn't sometimes get the best of me. But here's the interesting part. If I had spent any time building relationships with my students, even when I got it wrong and lost my cool, they were remarkably forgiving. In addition to helping during the tough patches, having a positive connection with students also provided me enjoyment in my role. It was an added bonus to being an educator. I know that the relationships I have with many former students today were built on a foundation established when I was their teacher, coach, or Principal/Vice-Principal. A previous post (http://umakeadiff.blogspot.com/2011/09/its-all-about-relationships.html) talked about a recent example of these connections.

Daniel Goleman’s (2006) study of students identified as being at risk found that those placed with cold or controlling teachers struggled academically—regardless of whether their teachers followed pedagogic guidelines for good instruction. But if these students had a warm and responsive teacher, they flourished and learned as well as other kids. These results show that quality of relationship, above all else, is the springboard to success.

A quote attributed to the late Chief Dan George provides an insightful reminder about the long term impact of connecting with the heart before the head:

"Always speak from the heart. When we get old, the brain forgets,

but the heart, the heart never forgets."

Tenet #9 - If We Don’t Model What We Teach, Then We are Teaching What We Model.

2012-01-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

One aspect about being a teacher is that you are always teaching. This extends beyond the classroom and often times, beyond the walls of school. Modeling the desired behaviors reminds students of the expectations for all members of the community. Contrast that with having a rule, for example no food or drink in class, that is broken regularly by the teacher arriving with their cup of coffee. What message is received in this case? Rules exist only for some members of the school community? Once you become an adult, the rules don't apply? This disconnect creates a huge challenge for educators as we try to ensure appropriate conduct but don't necessarily display it. Does your staff room operate under the same behavioral expectations and guidelines that you desire in your classroom?

The modeling can take several forms. For example, are you a "Good Morning" person? If this is your normal greeting pattern, then stick to it. Even in those moments where you don't receive a similar reply. For some of our students this is foreign territory. They aren't greeted that way at home or on the street and they aren't quite sure of the right response. If you're only doing it to control their behavior they will sniff out your insincerity and won't respond. If this type of greeting isn't your style, think about how you do acknowledge students. Is it warm and sincere? How do you greet your colleagues? No matter how alone I thought I was I quickly realized my behavior was being watched by many others. The modeling may also be in how you choose to share yourself with your class. One of the best examples I saw of this was with a teacher who brought her "Bag of Me" with her to class. In that large bag were personal items that related to various times in the teacher's life. Students could pick out an item and the teacher then shared the story of why that item was significant. This built a positive relationship and provided a method by which students could also share their stories.

It strikes me as patently unfair to expect that our students will thrive in a world of "Do as I say, not as I do.", and that we would be better served by demonstrating appropriate conduct in an authentic fashion. Remember the eyes are always on you.

Tenet #8 - Are you Looking for a Code of Conduct or a Code of Consequence?

2012-01-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

One of the areas that occupies a lot of time in staff discussion is student conduct. Often times these conversations get diverted to a discussion about consequences. About what we, the adults, need to do to them, the students, to gain compliance. I want to be clear that I am in favor of us having expectations for appropriate conduct for all members of our school community. I'm also in favor of the adults modeling those expectations. And I'm really in favor of us dealing with the behavioral miscues that occur with our students in the same way we deal with academic miscues - by providing strong remedial efforts to help students more closely approximate the desired behaviors. However, as Paul Dix argues in a blog post on the UK Guardian,

"Most behavior systems are based on the "Punishment Road". The idea

that for every behaviour there is a punishment to fit the crime; a punishment

that is severe enough to give the child a road to Damascus and change

their ways. For children who won't "do as they are told" the solution

is to punish them, in increments of severity, until they will."

The frightening aspect of this approach is that it works for those students who are afraid of the consequences. However, for our neediest learners or those who come from challenging home environments, the effects can be severe. For these children we simply become the latest adult in a long line of adults who have let them down. Rarely are these students worried about the punishment or the consequences that result from them. As Dix comments, "What they are coping with in their own lives far outweighs any threats that school can issue." These students need support not consequences. They need adults who display an understanding of who they are and demonstrate a desire to help them to meet the challenges.

I am convinced, based on numerous conversations with teachers, most recognize this but they feel stuck with a school-wide system or philosophy that weighs heavily on punishment being the answer. Students are given consequences with little regard to what they might need in order to change the negative behaviors they are demonstrating. If the student persists, we up the ante until they are asked to leave. It begins with the conversation staffs first engage in when the topic of student deportment arises. If the dialogue is all about control and "laying down the law", it will not be a surprise that more energy is spent on designing new consequences than in structuring growth opportunities to address the changes we can assist our students in making. This will also predetermine the end result for every conversation on behavior. It's like the old analogy that says if the only tool I have in my toolbox is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The health and welfare of our students demands that we have a more complete toolbox.

Tenet #7 - Every Student Represents a Success Story Waiting to be Told.

2012-01-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

Of the ten tenets that are foundational to my views as an educator, this one is the one I'm most passionate about. It has become my mantra over the last number of years and is the one belief I will really try to push on my colleagues (if they don't already believe this to be true). I also take great pride in my inability, after 29 years as an educator, to be able to accurately predict the future of any student. As a result I err on the side of "anything is possible" especially when students are engaged and passionate about their learning.

When I present this viewpoint I have been asked if it's my intent to make educators feel like they will never be successful. That if I insist on 100% of students meeting success as the target, we'll never reach that lofty goal. My reply to these queries is three-fold. First, I am not so naive as to ignore that, sometimes, the other outside influences in a student's life so overwhelms them that they cannot complete their time with us. They may leave and pursue other options but I always want them to know school will always be an option if they are willing to return. Second, I take no pride in setting the bar too low and then reaching the goal. Should we aim for a 95% success rate? If we achieve that is it cause for celebration? What about the 5% we missed? If they remain faceless and nameless we may find a way to walk away from their lack of achievement. But what if I asked you to put names and faces to that 5%. Could you do that with a clear conscience? Could you identify kids who are not entitled to a viable future? Kids for whom prisons are constructed? Third, our definition of success may not be the same. While academics are very important, not all of our students will go on to a post secondary degree. All can be contributing members to the communities we live in. If we have taught them the value of relationships, the ability to seek out knowledge, and given them confidence in themselves, we will have sent forward an individual we can all take pride in.

In a brilliant post (http://chriswejr.com/2011/07/06/its-easy/) Chris Wejr (@MrWejr) outlines the two options available to all of us as educators. We can take the easy option or we can push for the harder to achieve option. I see no value in limiting the potential of any students by denying them opportunity or shrinking their available skill set even further by denying them access to all of the richness that schools contain. Every one of our students has a gift and a talent. They may not even know its potential. They are all success stories waiting to be told. Our job is to help them unfold their story.

She contemplated for a second, searching for the right words. Then they came to her, and a smile emerged as she realized their truth.

“I’m a student. With or without your support, I am the future.”

* From the upcoming book “I Am the Future” by Tom and David Hierck (Spring release date)

Tenet #6 - What We Focus On Expands.

2012-01-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

After almost thirty years as an educator I feel I can walk in to any school and know what's important to the adults in that building within five minutes. Actually, it's got nothing to do with experience and I'm confident anyone reading this post could do the same thing. The key lies in what we choose to spend our time on. I believe our most precious resource in education today is time. Most educators will tell me they don't have enough time to accomplish the myriad of demands placed on them. I have not yet had an educator tell me they end each day with a half hour to kill and spend it pining away for more paperwork!

If this is the case, how we choose to spend the time we have is a pretty clear indicator of what's important to us. If your staff engages in the "great late debate" frequently or we spend lots of time talking about food in class or kids wearing hats, then this defines what we see as important. Particularly when those topics come at the sacrifice of engaging in great dialogue about our practice, student progress, and involving parents in our schools. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting schools ought to ignore the items around expectations and guidelines. I'm just not sure that hours spent talking about tardiness are well spent. The reality is we spend most of that time thinking about new consequences as if that might be the tonic. When I ask educator audiences to raise their hand if anyone can assure me they have never been late to a faculty meeting, I rarely get a hand raised. That doesn't mean it's not important, it just not as important as the time we devote to it and the good conversations we sacrifice because of that debate.

If I come to your school what will I notice in that first five minutes?

Tenet #5 - Dreams Should Come in Size XXXL so That We Can Grow Into Them.

2012-01-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

The fifth belief I hold dear follows very closely on the previous one (http://tinyurl.com/7wsf6sx) that speaks to the notion of hope. It's important for us to have dreams that are bigger than ourselves and to work towards those dreams. When I work with educators one of the questions I ask them to consider is this:

What would you try to do if you knew you would not fail?

It's a parallel question to the one illustrated in the cartoon above and speaks to the notion that individually we limit ourselves by creating obstacles. Sometimes it is based on past experience as articulated by this Allen Glenn quote that Brian Barry (@Nunavut_Tweeter) has on the mast of his blog:

"The biggest obstacle to school change is our memories."

Other times it is based on the brick walls we find. We start out with the intent to find out why we can't pursue the goal. Education is littered with many convenient excuses - too little time, underfunding, too many learning outcomes, socio-economics, immigrant families, single parent to name a few- that may allow us to rationalize why we couldn't achieve our goal. When these emerge I like to remind people of the words of Dr. Randy Pausch who said:

"The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show

how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to

stop the people who don’t want it badly enough."

Denying your own dream on the basis of any of these excuses is really a personal choice. Denying the dreams of your students is also a choice and one we should stay away from. Not every student in grade one will become what they think they want to at that time (the grade isn't the relevant piece here) but how do we know which ones will and which ones won't? Cody Hodgson of the Vancouver Canucks knew he would be a professional hockey player and told that to his grade one teacher Laraine Forgrave. Forgrave told Hodgson that she believed that he could play in the NHL. She also told him that if he ever did manage to reach his dream, he’d have to promise to get her tickets to a game. When the Canucks faced the Toronto Maple Leafs a month ago, Hodgson delivered with tickets for Forgrave and her husband. He also spent time with them after the game. It's much better to help kids reach their big dreams than to snuff them out.

I believe it's important to have goals that go beyond being checklists or tasks to accomplish. I also know I'd rather be the person who believed in someone's potential and saw them reach their goals rather than the person who tried to talk them out of it or negatively inspired them (they reached the goal to prove you wrong). So while you pursue your own dreams, remember you also hold the power to encourage and support your students as they strive towards theirs. Dreaming big may mean it takes your entire career to accomplish the goal but just like the elephant analogy, the road to achieving the goal starts with a first step.

Tenet #4 - When We Eliminate Hope, We Create Desperation

2012-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

I have always believed that our primary role as educators is to be merchants of hope. If every student could leave our educational system with hope, then we will have done more than we ever could by focusing on academic rigor, attendance, or standardized test results. When I think of hope in this way, it's more along the line of Fullan's definition:

"Hope is not a naive, sunny view of life. It is the capacity not to panic in tight situations, to find ways and resources to address difficult problems."

Providing every one of our students with this capacity will allow them to take on the challenges they will face regardless of what they decide to do after graduating. Granted, it's a shift from providing only tangible skills but the world they are entering isn't looking for the defined skills as was prevalent a generation ago. Seymour Papert, as referenced in Dylan Wiliam's brilliant new book "Embedded Formative Assessment" (http://tinyurl.com/7kkjoqx) talks about the skills students of today need:

"The skills that you can learn at school will not be applicable.

They will be obsolete by the time you get into the workplace

and need them, except for one skill. The one real competitive

skill is the skill of being able to learn. We need to produce

people who know how to act when they're faced with situations

for which they were not specifically prepared."

The absence of hope, created in part for some of our students through the daily reminders that they failed, serves to put those students on long term losing streaks. Streaks for which there seems to be no end point. Disappointment leads to Discouragement. Discouragement leads to Disengagement. And, sadly, Disengagement is a short step away from Disappearance. These students leave our system with minimal skills and even less hope. In these situations poor choices are often the only choice. The law of survival supersedes the laws of the land. As Martin Luther King stated: "A riot is the language of the unheard." We can lament as adults that we no longer feel safe in our communities or that we need more jail cells or more "tough on crime" politicians and judges. Or we can recognize that our time is now with the kids we have to be those merchants of hope.

Tenet #3 - It's Not About Arriving. It's About Striving.

2012-01-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

I have had the opportunity to spend time with educators in every province and territory in Canada as well as the majority of the states in the United States of America. I've worked with people in every role in the system and with folks who cover the career range from first year teachers to those about to retire. The vast majority of these people are making a difference in the lives of the students they serve.

My message in tenet #3 is simple. You have been recognized for the contributions you can, or have made which has resulted in you holding the great job you currently have. I believe we hire the best and the brightest to be educators. But here's the point of this tenet - keep making those great contributions. Don't stop pushing the envelope, leading the charge, or whatever metaphor drives what you do. Don't rest on your accomplishments but instead continue to be the inspirational educator your students and colleagues need. While it may be your twenty-fifth year as an educator, it's the first year the current students have you and they deserve the best version of you.

The low hanging fruit can be reached by anyone. It takes a special talent to get to the good stuff.

Tenet #2 - Every day provides a new opportunity to exert a positive influence.

2012-01-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

It is an unreasonable expectation that we get every aspect of our lives perfect every day. As I reflect on my time as an educator I know there were days when I was not the best teacher my students needed that particular day. What provides me solace is the notion that I tried to not let one bad day become a bad week. I tried to follow MY struggles with a much better effort the next opportunity I had with that class. I choose to emphasize my responsibility as that's all I really have control over. But here's what my reflections of those moments tell me - each time I chose to come back with a positive approach, the better the overall environment was for others. Contrast this with an approach that carries the bad vibes forward on successive days. The result of this action is a furthering of a negative environment where fear of reprisal rules the conduct of all.

We are all only human and we all have our unique buttons that can be pushed. We're also subject to the trials and tribulations that are part of our daily lives. It's a given that we'll have tough moments and they don't only schedule themselves apart from our interactions with others. I know I'm not always the best educator, best spouse, best parent, best friend or best in any of the other interactions I have. I also know that the dawn of each new day provides an opportunity to exert a positive influence and shape some of the future outcomes.

Tenet #1 - Learning Does Not Take Place in Ten Month Segments. It is Continuous.

2012-01-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

The school year runs for approximately ten months and at the end of that time teachers are charged with the responsibility to provide a mark or some form of final grade. However, the learning (or , the for some the learning loss) continues after the teacher-student relationship has ended for that school year. What are the impacts for educators in this scenario?

First, students will return after each break at different places on the learning continuum. Some will have returned from environments where their learning is enhanced and enriched by additional experiences. Others will return having lost the gains they achieved with you and may be further behind in their peer group than previously. There are numerous articles that speak to summer learning loss (http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/8057/) that impacts our neediest learners.

Second, learning is not static. Opportunities to learn exist all around our students, and the extensions they make from the information we share in our instruction, varies from student to student.

Third, we are not the only contributors to the knowledge gained by our students. This is even more pronounced with all of the advances on the technology front. A generation ago teachers held the knowledge and shared out a new packet daily. That was life B.G. - before google. Today, access to knowledge is ubiquitous.

Fourth, the end of the year (or course) can't be simply viewed as an all or nothing result. What about the gains made by the student during the time they were with you? Where do we reflect those gains made despite the standard not being achieved?

The active learning our students engage in occurs both in and out of a place called school. How we acknowledge, recognize, and validate this learning is part of the challenge. The Chinese proverb that resonates with me as I wrestle with recognizing the learning that occurs beyond my ten month window with students is this:

: The one that plants the tree rarely gets to enjoy its shade.

Tom's Ten Tenets

2012-01-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Over the course of my almost thirty years in education some themes have emerged that have guided my work over time. What's really interesting for me is that they continue to be relevant with the work I do with educators today. These ten tenets frame my beliefs and are part of the message I share today. Over the next few weeks I will write a separate post about each one and share some of the significance I think they play as we continue to refine what we do to produce the best outcomes for students and all educators. Here's my top ten list (in no priority):

1. Learning does NOT take place in ten-month segments. It is continuous.

2. Every day provides a new opportunity to exert a positive influence.

3. It’s not about arriving. It’s about striving!

4. When we eliminate hope, we create desperation.

5. Dreams should come in size XXXL so that we can grow into them.

6. What we focus on expands.

7. Every student represents a success story waiting to be told.

8. Are you looking for a Code of Conduct or a Code of Consequence?

9. If we don’t model what we teach, then we are teaching what we model.

10. First with the heart, then with the head.

I'm looking forward to sharing my thinking on these ten tenets and hope they provide a spark for you to take forward to ignite a conversation with your colleagues.

Banjo and the Beach (A Metaphor for 2012)

2011-12-31T16:59:00.000-08:00

I feel very fortunate to live where I do with the pacific ocean one hundred meters outside my front door. It's great to be able to walk along the beach and take in all that nature has to offer. Lately the high tides have mad it virtually impossible to walk along the beach forcing Banjo and I to take the greenway for our strolls. Banjo is our six month old Springer Spaniel and never was there a more aptly named breed. She has boundless energy (the photo below is a rare shot of calmness infrequently seen) and loves the beach walk replete with chasing waves and seagulls.

The walk this morning looked like it was going to be relegated to the greenway once again but Banjo was itching to get down to the beach. The other problem with the high tides of late has been the deposit of numerous logs making the beach walk more of a challenge. Banjo was not to be deterred today and about a third of the way along the path she yanked hard on the leash to draw my attention to the right and in the direction of the beach. It looked like there was enough sand for us to go down and continue the walk. The other aspect of the beach walks I enjoy is picking up pieces of beach glass. I'm not really sure what I'll do with the collection (and that is a challenge to ponder at a later time) but it's fun to find odd shapes or colors.

As we continued our walk we got to a spot where the logs and the high water suggested a return to the greenway but Banjo had other ideas. As mentioned earlier she has boundless energy and simply bounded over the logs picking a route that allowed for the walk to continue. I, with considerably less energy and enthusiasm for the route, picked my way over the logs clearly questioning where my leader was taking me. It was interesting that when I looked at the logs as a whole, it seemed impossible. Tackling each log as an individual challenge reduced it to a more manageable task. After some scrambling we got to a clear stretch and I was happy to have made it through the difficult part. I found some great pieces of glass and, at the extreme end of the walk, made the best find.

The walks always provide great thinking time and I began to wonder how often I may have missed out on something because I ended the journey a little too early or stop pushing when it got a little too hard. Further thinking led me to the point where this seemed almost too simplistic - that is I didn't want to reduce this to the naive belief that simply hanging in there would always guarantee the best piece of glass would be waiting for me at the end. Sometimes the struggle is just that and there are no tangible rewards at the end. What I did realize is that often it is just about the journey and that journey can be a fabulous reward in itself. Especially when you are taking it with a great companion.

Best wishes to all who read and follow this blog for a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2012!

Greet Them With the Gift of You!

2011-12-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

I read with great interest a recent blog post by Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher) that spoke about the concerns for some of our students as they headed off for the Christmas break. He listed some of the challenges these students might face (http://tinyurl.com/6qp72w6) and reminded educators to "remember when those students start acting out there might be a reason behind it. They might be afraid of leaving the safe, calm, and loving environment that is school." My experience tells me this is equally a challenge for students when they return to school. For all of the same reasons listed, some of our students return from a world that may function in direct opposition to many of our expectations in the classroom and they may have spent many days in a much more chaotic realm. Their return to school tends to be a bit uneven and fraught with frustration for the teacher who felt significant progress had been made prior to the break.

How best then, to make their return as positive as possible? The first few days should be devoted to reviewing routines and expectations. Not with an eye towards issuing consequences but to ensuring that all the gains realized before the break remains the focus and the foundation for future growth for all students. Teachers might want to think about planning a field trip or a classroom activity that involves a lot of visual or hands-on stimulation and student interaction during the first week after the break. This would engage all of the students in a positive and pro-social event that will allow a quick return to the old, familiar, and desirable routines. The more negative the experience the student might have had, the more effort required on the part of the educator to reconnect that student to some of the positive attributes. Many of you represent the sole positive role model your students might have in their lives, Never underestimate the difference you make. As I was watching my favorite holiday classic ("It's a Wonderful Life"), I imagined George Bailey as a teacher. The significant and profound impact that educators have for all of their students becomes even more so for those students that teeter on the edge. Not to suggest to any readers of this post to be either macabre or egotistical, but take a moment and reflect on what might be if you were not a significant adult for so many of your charges.

The Christmas holiday and New Year's celebrations produce a lot of emotion and do create many positive memories. I'm not suggesting that we avoid interacting with those students for whom this is a blessed time but merely suggesting that we recognize that some of our students come from the other extreme. Rather than getting frustrated or disappointed that there appears to be a loss of all that was gained pre-break, take a moment to realize what was achieved and recognize the path to achieving that might be a little easier to tread the second time around. The best gift we can ever give our students is the gift of ourselves. Perhaps we should all wear a bow on our first day back.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for a healthy and happy 2012.

Stepping in it Again (Rewards Redux)

2011-12-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

The discussions around rewards and motivation have produced numerous perspectives, blogs, books, and guest columns over the years I've been in education. It's a topic that can be polarizing for those who remain rigid in their views or enlightening for those who value the insights shared by colleagues. I'd like to think I fall in the latter category as I know my views on this topic continue to evolve. I'm not the same teacher I was 29 years ago; I've learned from the brilliant educators who have gone before me, beside me, and after me. Having said that, it's also important for me to state that I'm not prepared to firmly plant both feet in the camp of those who would advocate for an absolute absence of any extrinsic motivators. And here's why: I firmly believe that extrinsic motivation is a pre-cursor to intrinsic motivation for some of our students. Two examples, one quite recent and one from a lifetime ago, illustrate why I have held on to this belief.

A recent visit to the DSBN Academy (see my recent post on this school at http://tinyurl.com/7uhdr3f) and conversations with the students resulted in a student quite honestly stating to me and his peers that he hates school. I was not surprised given his experiences up to that point - a lack of success and a greater lack of engagement with future prospects looking quite dim. He is now in a new environment where the focus is on what he is capable of doing going forward with a group of adults committed to helping him achieve his potential. As I debriefed with the staff afterwards, we could all see that this youngster would need some overt efforts and some extrinsic motivators before he starts to get the sense of experiencing success and recognizing his talents. This example reinforced for me two key points; first, not all kids start with the same skill set or tool box and second, and even more troubling to me, is that we sometimes magnify the differences through ineffective practice or a deterministic view that not all will be successful.

The second example is a personal one. I grew up a child of poverty and abuse who followed five older siblings to school. School success was not a priority for any of them and the expectations for the sixth Hierck child were not high. It was not likely, nor fair to my teachers, that I was going to be intrinsically motivated or do the right things for the right reasons. In fact I probably was motivated but my motivation was towards those things that would be viewed as anti-social, and that I was well versed in. I can recall teachers who I simply wore down and pushed to the point where they had little energy left to salvage anything for me. It's not that I was unaware of the right things or didn't see what success created for my peers. I just didn't see how that was a possibility for me nor did I have any examples at home that would have made it seem attainable. The details of the changes that occurred for me are beyond the space a blog permits but one of the key pieces for me came in the form of extrinsic motivators. When my family moved across the country and I arrived in a new school, opportunities appeared that allowed for a significant change to happen. One of the first forms of extrinsic motivation came in the form of math contests that spurred a confidence level in me that allowed me to view things differently. I will remain forever grateful to Mr. Huberman for identifying a skill in me and setting up a forum that provided acknowledgement for that skill. I had not had much experience with that feeling and built on that experience. It was one of numerous external pieces that shaped a new direction for me. As is the case with many of our students, I didn't need the external forever but it was the kick-start that allowed for change to occur. This view is summarized in our recently released book:

“Over time, the goal is to move to more intrinsic and less extrinsic
reinforcement, when students make good decisions for the sake
of satisfaction it instills instead of the rewards it brings."

While I know that my practice has been enriched and improved over time, I also know that some things I did early in my career have stood the test of time. One of these that also fits my notion of external motivators is an activity I called post cards from school. Each student in my Science class was given a 4 x 6 index card and asked to draw a picture on the unlined side of any science related theme. I used this as an early indicator of what appealed to them in the course. I collected the cards and on the right half of the lined side I wrote the parent/guardian name and home address. These then became post cards that I sent home at some point during the school year. Post cards always contain only positive messages and that was the challenge for me. I needed some authentic, descriptive feedback that I could share about each student. This could have been a challenge for my struggling learners but instead focussed my attention on looking for the good news. On some levels it was a bigger challenge to create a message for my most able learners that went beyond some of the standard comments they have received throughout their school careers (a pleasure to have in class, a commendable student, outstanding achievement, excellent work) and also carried some meaning. The impact of this extrinsic reward was palpable throughout the school year as both students and parents appreciated the recognition.

Moving forward, I remain open to my thinking continuing to evolve around this topic. I do want to avoid the creation of a dependency on reward before the exhibition of expected/accepted behaviors. I also want to remain committed to helping those students who aren't connected to their intrinsic motivators make those connections. Even if it takes a little external magic to make it so.

Behavior and Habits (Another Book Excerpt)

2011-12-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks seem to have generated lots of tweets and blog posts on creating positive learning environments and achieving desired behavioral outcomes with our students. Many of the posts also speak to the need to steer clear of rewards, tokens, or awards as a means to achieving these desired outcomes. In our new book (Pyramid of Behavior Interventions: Seven Keys to a Positive Learning Environment http://tinyurl.com/3bxuyes), Hierck, Coleman, and Weber offer the following thoughts:
Behavior is learned. Repeated behavior is habit-forming. If we want to form positive habits, we need to learn, practice and repeat positive behavior. However, we do not want to leave the impression that we are so strongly behaviorist in our approach that we think kids will salivate at the sound of a bell like Pavlov’s dog. B.F. Skinner and other behaviorists make some valid points, but this clinical thinking needs to be put into the context of human inter-relationships. Alfie Kohn (1996) is also right when he says “behaviors occur in a context that teachers have helped to establish; therefore, teachers have to examine and consider modifying that context” (p.16). Kohn goes on to argue that schools should be about community, not compliance.

Covey (1989) helps us balance these two approaches and puts it into perspective when he talks about “proactivity”. To be proactive is to be in control of our lives. As Covey points out, “Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions” (p.71). It is not simply a stimulus-response formula. Between stimulus and response is choice. Our freedom to choose, and our ability to make choices and decisions on how we will respond to the stimulus, determines our behavior. Basically we behave in certain ways to either get things or to avoid things – physical, psychological, or emotional. But we have control over the behavior we choose. To be sure, behavior is learned. Thankfully, we can teach ourselves and we can teach others how to make positive choices regarding behavior. In other words, we must balance the behavioralism of B. F. Skinner with the humanism of Carl Rogers.

It is our role as parents and educators to help kids learn how to make good choices. We cannot assume they have these skills when they come to us, rather we need to teach these skills directly. We have to believe that what we do with kids does make a difference. We must believe that we have an influence on the way these kids change, grow and develop while they are in our care. At the heart of education is a positive, engaging learning environment where kids both know what is expected of them and are internally motivated to do it.

While students are learning to become intrinsically motivated, they need nurturing and support. Before students can internalize appropriate behaviours they need to learn the required skill set. They need to learn and practice the skill set in the specific context. To change behavior we need to, as Kohn (1996) suggests, modify the context in which student behavior occurs. This is not about manipulating behavior through fear or punishment. Rather, this is about creating positive, proactive systems and structures that are conducive to students learning to become self-motivated. Self-motivation is recognized as a critical self-regulatory strategy.

This should happen in middle schools and high schools, not just elementary schools. The skills taught and the language used to teach it should be age appropriate, but it must continue as kids grow and mature. Whether we call it social responsibility, citizenship, or character education, we owe it to our kids to support them as they learn to become full and active participants in our society. These are behaviors that can be learned.

When a student has trouble learning these behaviors, we cannot dismiss it as a personality problem or character flaw. We must not use excuses such as “He comes from a bad home” or “She lives in a tough neighborhood” or “Well, you should see the parents”. We need to believe that intrinsically every child has the potential to act in a positive, productive manner. Some need more instruction and support than others to get to that state of behavior. We must separate behavior from personality.

It is also important not to personalize the problem behavior. That is, we should not generalize a bad behavior choice as indication of a “bad kid”. Similarly, we should not take the poor behavior choices by students personally. As adults we should not get angry or take the student’s misbehavior as an indication of personal failure on our part. In the heat of the moment, this is sometimes difficult to remember. It’s just behavior.

Teach Them How to Swim

2011-12-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

Much has been written and even more debated in schools and at professional development sessions about the need to prepare students for the “real world”. Those who advocate that this is the role of educators speak about the need to “keep it real” or “make it similar to what they will encounter when we are no longer there to support them”. Folks speak of the real world with a fervent disposition and a passion that belies the fact that many of us educators haven’t spent much time in that world. This dawned on me when my colleague Tom Schimmer (@tomschimmer) asked a seemingly innocent question: “How much time have you spent outside the ranks of education?” and by that he meant the extended period defined in years not just my summer times. I suspect my answer is similar to many of my colleagues – none. I’ve been going to school every September for the past forty-five years. It really is the only world I know and can speak proficiently about.

Others who believe we should mirror what is out there forget that we exist in a different world. As I have moved through various leadership roles, my vacation time has decreased but my last contract still called for six weeks. Many of my teaching colleagues can easily add another four weeks to that total (even discounting busy times and the extra work all educators perform, there are still two weeks at Christmas, one week at Spring Break, and as many as ten weeks in the summer) which does not match up with any of my friends plying their various professions in the real world. I know this can easily be defended by the volume and complexity of work that educators do during the school year but it’s a fairly unique situation.

Those who cry foul about not matching with the outside world often use this as the rationale to argue against second chances or to argue for academic consequences for social misbehaviors (late assignments, truancy, cheating) as if to suggest that we must prepare students for the harsh realities by mimicking them. Yet my own practical experience (failing my driver’s license the first time) and checking into other professions (doctors, lawyers, airline pilots) indicates to me that the real world is full of second chances and remediation. When I failed my test I was provided with absolute clarity as to what I needed to improve. The natural consequences were that I had to take another lesson, wait longer to drive my car, and book another test. Upon completion I wasn’t told it was unfair to those who passed in one attempt. Nor was I given conditions on my license like no driving on weekends or bad weather. The professions listed above provide second chances. Not all of us are going to the Doctor that graduated top of their class. Some are going to the bottom achiever who may have made errors along the way. All of us can be satisfied with our medical care however because we know all who graduated have met the standard. Similarly some lawyers need more than one attempt to pass the Bar exam and some pilots spend more hours on the flight simulator. Once they have mastered the learning outcomes they are free to practice their craft.

As for the notion of consequences and the suggestion that the world is all about sink or swim (and therefore our schools should also be sink or swim), I love the response Dr. Rick DuFour gave at a recent PLC conference during his keynote address. “To prepare our students for this notion of a sink or swim world, we ought to teach them how to swim.” We are blessed to have students grace our hallways for a significant portion of their lives. While I may be convinced that the real world is different from our educational world, I think it’s critical that we take the time we have with them and arm them with as many skills and strategies to face those challenges, that we provide an environment that allows for mistakes to be made and growth to occur, and that we take them from where they are and bring them to where they can be.

During my schooling I learned how to diagram a sentence, find x, conjugate a French verb, perform a left hand lay-up and despite all of the emphasis behind each, I have not been asked to ever demonstrate any of these in the real world. I can see the skill development that might teach a student something that might be relevant moving forward. I also know it is rarely expected that both the task and the boss change every hour, and yet this is what our students face.

The push to replicate the real world only seems to occur when the discussion is focused on what and why students need to change. I appreciate the fact that our world is significantly different and value the opportunity to work with students to help make that transition smooth. The real world will have them soon enough. Let’s have them enjoy the world they are in.

DSBN Academy - A New Approach, Unlimited Possibilities

2011-11-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the newest school in the Niagara Falls school district (DSBN). The Academy was born out of the recognition that education plays a vital role in helping children to overcome the effects of life’s challenges. The comprehensive social and academic support provided by the DSBN Academy will be key to empowering students to become the first in their families to graduate from a post-secondary institution. The school opened in September with a cohort of grade 6 and 7 students and will add a grade each year until a full 6-12 student body is in place.

From the start of the day where Principal Tom Reynolds greeted every student as they came through the main doors and they, in turn, greeted me (and many of the staff members) with a firm handshake and a cheery good morning, through their recognition of me as I visited their classrooms, and concluding with their deep and meaningful questions and comments when I spent 45 minutes with them in an assembly, I was very impressed with what has happened in the first few months of the school's existence. Make no mistake about it - the students at the Academy come from a variety of backgrounds and little of their experience to date included success at school or aspirations of continuing beyond fleeting thoughts of high school graduation. You can always count on kids for the unvarnished truth and I was humbled by both their public and private comments that reflected some real struggles and some forming dreams.

I was also impressed by the creed (listed below) that formed the basis of what the collective group is striving for. It's a vision shared equally by staff (they had to apply to be a part of the school), parents (they had to endorse the move and provide volunteer hours at the school) and the students (they had to summon a courage to commit and demonstrate an ability to shed some of the negative labels and experiences that had dogged them to this point).

DSBN ACADEMY CREED

We Believe.

We are the young men and women of DSBN Academy.

We strive for excellence not because we say it but because we work hard for it.

We believe in ourselves, our teachers, and our families

To guide and teach us through our triumphs and tribulations.

We will not falter in the face of any obstacle placed before us.

We are dedicated, committed, and focused.

We never succumb to mediocrity, uncertainty, or fear.

We never fail because we never give up.

We make no excuses.

We choose to live honestly, respectfully, and optimistically.

We respect ourselves and in turn respect all people.

We have a future, for which we are accountable.

We have a responsibility to our families, our community, and our country.

We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers.

We believe in ourselves.

We believe in each other.

We believe in the DSBN Academy.

We are the Argonauts.

We Believe and We will Achieve.

After the assembly I was touched to receive an Academy T-shirt and a statement from the student leadership that I was now part of the team. I look forward to maintaining contact with the school as it continues to grow and flourish. In my short time there I was moved by many individual students and felt a strong bond with the adults as they worked together to alter outcomes. Tom and his team continue to espouse (and model) the belief that all who enter the school will be successful. I saw evidence of this when I visited a class during mentoring time. The conversation turned to getting good grades (A's and B's) and why that was important. Rather than hearing some of the traditional responses I have heard around ranking and sorting or some sort of status, it was all about putting oneself in a position to receive funding for post secondary and that this was available to all of the kids at school.

I have been fortunate as a presenter to receive some great positive feedback after a presentation. It all pales when I reflect on the grade 6 Academy student who patiently waited after the assembly and mustered the courage to address an adult he only recently met. I kneeled down so our eyes could meet as he said, in barely a whisper, "You rock! Thanks". Another one of those visits where I left richer than when I arrived.

Students Olivia and Connor with Principal Tom Reynolds
and the author who is proudly wearing his new Academy T-shirt.

Out of Africa

2011-10-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

Staff at the American International School of Abuja.
Many of the teachers in this photo will pursue
other teaching opportunities in the next 2-3
years. Their good efforts will transcend their time at AISA.

My recent trip to Nairobi and Abuja provided some wonderful travel moments, which I’ll treasure for a lifetime. They are one of the value added pieces of being an educator and a great reminder of how fortunate I’ve been in this career.

As an educator I was really keen to find out what would be different, better, worse, or common to my context. My context has been derived from 29 years as an educator in British Columbia in a variety of roles (teacher, vice-principal, principal, university sectional instructor, president of a provincial organization, Ministry of Education project manager, assistant superintendent, and executive director) and locations. But, it’s my context and it’s continually shaped by interactions with fellow educators.

The AISA conference in Nairobi, Kenya brought me in contact with educators from at least a dozen African nations. That seemed like a good sampling and I set out to ask many questions during the seven-hour sessions I facilitated. I thought the student body at these schools would preclude any of the challenges I might have encountered. That was my bias borne out of the notion that if parents were paying large sums of money to send their children, it was likely that very few serious challenges would emerge for the teacher. Here’s where context plays a role again. The teachers described similar concerns and a range that exists in most schools I’ve visited. The pyramid of behaviors we describe in our book (http://www.solution-tree.com/authors/tom-hierck/pyramid-of-behavior-interventions.html) exist just as clearly. I was also regaled with many stories of student success and breakthroughs. If I had closed my eyes for a moment, I could have imagined myself in many of the schools I have visited.

The school visit to the American International School in Abuja, Nigeria provided further evidence that schools are schools, kids are kids, and great educators practice their craft everywhere. The two days we spent on assessment practice yielded similar questions and successes to any I’ve conducted on home turf. In fact, what drove the point home of the effectiveness of pursuing the right outcomes came as a result of a relatively unique challenge the international schools face. They have a significantly high percentage of staff turnover annually. While my belief and much of the research I’ve read suggests a five to seven year window for effective leadership to emerge and take root, these schools hardly ever see anyone approach the lower end of that scale at the principal or assistant level. Teachers that stay beyond the two year initial contract are rare and those that stay beyond three are almost unique in their schools.

You might ask how the school can gain an identity or have a vision with such turnover. That’s where attaching yourself to the right things becomes the glue to hold things together. Schools that pursue effective assessment practice and engage in ongoing formative assessment while providing descriptive feedback do so not because this is the passion of certain individuals on staff but because it’s the right thing to do. Having everyone fluent in this means that there are always some individuals that bridge those entering the staff and those leaving. It becomes something that is transmitted in the effective dialogue teachers engage in as professional learning communities. Rather than answers being derived from the well of “that’s the way we’ve always done it”, the answers need to make sense to those coming in as being the best way to do things.

Despite working with numerous groups over the last few years on assessment and professional learning communities, the obvious benefits of these initiatives in an immediate way had escaped me. I was stuck in my old paradigm that it took time for these to take route and become effective and that meant having committed people stay for long periods to ensure the work survived. Thanks to my colleagues in Africa, I was reminded that these things work because they are the right pursuits for educators to follow.

Time Is On My Side (Yes it is....)

2011-10-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by a recent post by Chris Brogan (http://bit.ly/pVGHWN) "The time we're losing" that Darcy Mullin (@darcymullin) brought to my (and others) attention. In it Brogan argues that we have plenty of time to accomplish our goals but get caught up in other people’s “urgent and emergent” or get distracted by time wasters that prevent us from reaching our goals.

I’d like to take the notion a little further by suggesting that time is our most precious resource in schools today. How we use that time says a lot about our priorities and, in essence, defines what our school is all about.

Think about your last staff meeting. How much time was devoted to professional conversation compared to “administrivia”? When you get together with your colleagues is more time spent on the “great late debate” or on improving outcomes for students? It becomes apparent very early on in my visits to schools when I hear the nagging conversations focus on hats, food in class, and tardiness that a shift needs to happen if we are to move forward with the real reason we’re in the education profession. I’m not suggesting that these items should be blithely ignored but that they need to be addressed and then monitored (but less frequently than academic and social-emotional outcomes). Consider the discussion on tardiness. In essence this is a time waster focused on devising a consequence that will eradicate this problem. As if 150 years of public education and the educators over that time have never discussed the issue or found the silver bullet. Over the years the conversation is rendered moot when I ask any gathering of educators if there is anyone who has never been late to a staff meeting. It’s the rare occasion when I see a hand raised, and that individual is usually challenged by their colleagues on the veracity of the notion.

I like to start my work with groups off by asking people who or what inspired them to become teachers and to recall a positive moment in their careers. I love watching how animated the discussion becomes and how positive and alive people are during the five minutes. Inevitably I end the sharing far too early which reminds me of a couple of things. First, teachers like to talk and share good news. Second, we don’t get enough time to do that. While I agree with both these sentiments, I conclude the activity by reminding the group that, more often than not, they have not taken even five minutes nor shared with a colleague a positive experience that occurred in recent memory. Yet, most will have spent considerably more time than that on things that did not generate have the excitement the five-minute activity did.

The challenge for us is to keep the focus on “the main thing(s)” and not get distracted by all of the background noise. If the starting point is to create a five minute chunk , what’s holding you back?

Moving Forward (With a First Step Back In Time)

2011-10-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only

connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that

the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to

trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.

Steve Jobs

I made a career decision to pursue what I am most passionate about and where I might have the greatest impact as an educator. Decisions like this rarely come lightly and the first steps are always the most cautious. My inaugural step away from security was made more comfortable by a return to familiar ground.

I had a chance to return to the school district where I began my career 29 years ago. I found myself swamped by memories as the plane touched down at the Williams Lake airport and the drive to town only added further color to my recollections. Dinner with former colleagues and a quick scan of a very old yearbook brought a comfort that clearly escaped Thomas Wolfe when he remarked that one can never go home again. It felt like putting on your favorite old sweater. The one that, despite a few holes, always made you feel warm.

The success of the workshop the next day was fueled in equal parts by my desire to ensure the day was memorable for all of the participants and the support of some of my mentors from those early days as a teacher. That some retired colleagues would come out and spend time in a session spoke volumes of their dedication to their craft and of a relationship that started me on the path to where I find myself today. Words cannot adequately express my appreciation for the support I received as a “newbie” and the support I received as this next phase of my career as an educator gets established.

What I came to realize at the end of that day is that we all make a different contribution to the success of students and to the success of each other. My circle of influence has shifted considerably in the last five years and I have become a better educator because of the contributions of so many others. There is still so much to learn and my metaphorical classroom (that I sit in as a learner and lead as a teacher) has no permanent home but instead has an ever-changing construct and population.

My calendar going forward has trips to Kenya, Nigeria, Nova Scotia, Indianapolis, Niagara Falls, and Nunavut. I know there will be expectations placed on me to provide a spark to further engage the good work of colleagues in all of these locales. I also know they will all provide a spark that will ignite further passions in me to ensure that I can make a difference as an educator.

It's All About Relationships

2011-09-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

   The title of this piece may seem trite to some and a well used "catch phrase" to others but the truth is, the longer I'm in this profession the more overwhelming the evidence that speaks to this being, perhaps, the one universal truth about our role as educators. Two recent experiences brought this home once more.

   I have to admit that high school reunions are not my cup of tea - at least as far as attending with former classmates - and I have passed on being a participant at any of them. However, I am always honored to attend when former students extend an invitation to be a part of their event. The most recent one was another chance to catch up with a wide range of students and see the growth that has occurred over the last two decades. It's always a treat to hear a positive recollection or mention of support and I continue to be amazed at how a seemingly innocent and unintentional act on my part was significant for the recipient. It reminded me of the Chinese proverb that states "the one that plants the tree rarely gets to enjoy its shade", but in this case I did get to enjoy the positive outcomes.

   The second event was more personal as my youngest daughter got married to her high school boyfriend. My new son-in-law also happens to be a former student that I suspended, and the story gets better. I was honored to be asked to be the Master of Ceremonies at the reception and my first question to the assembled crowd was "How many of you spent time in my office?" More than a third of the crowd shot their hands up including most of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. The best man got a big laugh when he mentioned how shocked everyone was to hear the groom was marrying the Principal's daughter. Fortunately, grade nine is not terminal. The kids I had to spend lots of time with and work to effect changes in their lives were now adults exercising (mostly) good choices and were happy to share their updates with me. I was the beneficiary of some personal sharing and positive feedback.

   Perhaps the most fascinating story came from Travis. My recollections were that he and I didn't go much longer than a couple of days between his visits to my office during his three years at the middle school where I was Principal. Most of the time was spent trying to discern what he was interested in and what we could do to engage him more positively in school life. He had his share of baggage but also had a spark that just needed to be fanned before erupting into the flame that would add definition to his life. Travis surprised the happy couple with this painting:

He had created it from two photographs he had and the clarity of his work make it impossible to misidentify the couple. I was stunned by his creation as were most of the guests, and asked Travis about his talent. He confessed to only starting this "hobby" as he was thinking about a gift and that the completed work took him the better part of a day. I was chuckling to myself thinking how it might have been nice to know after one of our lengthy school talks that there was this brilliant light at the end of the tunnel. It was great to see him accept accolades (and orders for future paintings) with a confidence that belied any of the struggles he may have once experienced.

My mantra over the last number of years has been that every student is a success story waiting to be told. Helping them to discover and tell their story drives me forward. The rewards are numerous and the journeys incredibly satisfying.

Have a Great Day! (The Choice is Yours)

2011-07-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

   As educators I think we are all story tellers first and foremost. As a learner I find that I most connect with others who, in telling their story, also reveal some of the struggles they have dealt with. I don't relate very well to those who have an aura that indicates they have never made a mistake. I've also come to realize we are largely responsible for creating the world we live in or at least how we view that world.

   As I reflect on the school year that has concluded I know that I had way more good news than bad and yet I let the bad news consume me for a time. Not getting a job I really wanted knocked me for a loop. The time spent being disappointed detracted from enjoying other aspects of my life and that was a poor choice on my part. Especially when the end result was that I ended up having the opportunity to take on an incredible job that I would not have considered otherwise.

   I know it is easy to see what's wrong or missing but it does little to create forward progress. How we view the setbacks and respond to them is what allows for gains to be made. Research speaks of a 4:1 positive to negative ratio or the need to have four positive actions to outweigh the impact of each negative action. This is where we can exercise choice. Rather than looking at these five math statements

3 x 5 = 15

10 – 6 = 4

2 + 7 = 9

11 – 8 = 2

12 / 4 = 3

and noticing that one is wrong, perhaps it is more prudent to notice that four are right. This by no means dismisses the notion that one of the solutions is incorrect. Instead it becomes a question of where we spend the bulk of our energy. Do you notice the one student without supplies or the twenty-four with them? Is our attention drawn to disparaging the tardy or honoring those present?

I know each day I wake up and ponder the issues about to unfold, I have a choice to make. I hope I'll decide to have a great day more often than not. Seems better than the other option.

10 Questions Looking for a "Yes" Answer! (Book Excerpt)

2011-07-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

   I am thrilled to be part of an author team with Charlie Coleman and Chris Weber and happy to see the book will be out this week (http://tinyurl.com/3zj6tns). Here's an excerpt that is timely as our thoughts drift away from the recently completed school year and towards the upcoming one:

   Educators must make a commitment to approach challenges in a positive way, by helping students find their passion as they prepare for a world vastly different than the one we faced. We cannot change the students who come into our schools; rather, we must change our approach to working with them. We must commit to proactively serving students by anticipating their needs.

   We can predict that students will experience frustration, confusion, and perhaps failure in the absence of clearly articulated routines, structures, and expectations for their learning environment. Over the years, as we have worked with many staffs in a number of school districts, our repertoire of strategies for improving student behavior and overall educational effectiveness has evolved. While there can be no complete, exhaustive list of strategies for making a difference with students, we hope that those presented in our book will help you and your school community get to a place where staff, students, and community members can answer “Yes!” to the following ten questions (Hierck, 2009a):

1. Does everyone in our school agree on why we are here?

2. Does everyone really believe we can make a difference for all kids?

3. In terms of making a difference, do we have a common school-wide vision?

4. Are clear and specific school-wide systems in place to make our vision a reality?

5. Are classroom plans in place that match the school-wide systems?

6. Are individual student support options in place?

7. Do procedures in the office support the school, classroom, and individual plans?

8. Does every adult talk about these plans openly, regularly, and systematically?

9. Do we know, with measurable evidence, that the plans are making a difference?

10. If our plans are not making a difference, are we willing to try something new?

I hope you'll enjoy the book and look forward to any feedback you might want to share.

Descriptive Feedback - Life's a Beach!

2011-07-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

Summer is trying to arrive and most educators are striving to get a break and recharge their energy reserves. Therefore, posts should be short (also a nod to Twitter friend @Nunavut_Teacher who likes short posts) and specific. So here's my first attempt at a shorty....

Yesterday I was having a great time with my granddaughter on the beach and at the park when I caught myself doing what we some times do in education - giving feedback that was meaningless even to an 18 month old. I caught myself saying "good job" and "nice work" as she was putting rocks in a bucket or sliding down the slide. It reminded me of a brilliant post by Nicole Vagle (check it out at http://www.allthingsassessment.info/wordpress/?p=55) that spoke to the need to go beyond these trite phrases. I committed to trying it out with baby Isabella and gave her specific feedback about the size of the rocks she was gathering and to look for different sizes as the bucket got full. I told her she could go faster on the slide if she pulled her legs together rather than having one out to the side that caused her to slow down. Now, I am willing to admit that the sun was shining on me and I could have been a little dopey but I am convinced that she changed what she was doing based on the specific feedback I was giving. If it works for babies, what a powerful intervention it must be for our students! Just a thought before heading back out for more Grandpa time.

Alfie and Me

2011-07-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

As our Twitter (#kohnbc) book review of Alfie Kohn's "Beyond Discipline" winds up this Thursday, I am left thinking where his thoughts and mine intersect and where they diverge. I am comforted by the knowledge that they do both and here's why. It is imperative that educators read lots, talk lots, and grow lots. I am fortunate to be asked to come work with a variety of educators and my opening comments always address the notion that my experiences are just that - mine. They are neither better nor worse, more compelling or more inspirational, absolutely foolproof or considerably flawed. They work for me and continue to evolve despite my career having stretched for twenty-eight years (and counting). The important piece for anyone in the audience is the need to contextualize what you hear and read. This is where I stand with Alfie.

I can fully endorse the notion that we are not looking for mere compliance achieved through bribery or positional authority. That creating a sense of community is the ultimate objective to enhance learning for all. And that "management" in its coldest definition does little to change the view that the problems always rest with the students. However, I also know that many of our students (and I fear the number is increasing) come from structures where there is little to model their behavior after and even less to gain in an intrinsic sense, from demonstrating it. A colleague shared a recent event at graduation that helps to illustrate this:

"Fred and Damian were two of the biggest behavior problems in middle school. As their principal I had to deal with them on many occassions for minor and major offenses, including several suspensions. School was not a high priority for them. When I moved to the high school this year, Fred and Damian were in Grade 12. Once again, I had to be on them to pro-actively prevent them from getting into situations that would jeopardize their graduation. Both needed some personal attention (hounding) to get the credits required to pass Grade 12. At our Valediction Ceremony, in cap and gown, and in front of 300 grads and 2000 on-lookers, Fred and Damian got to walk across the stage and shake my hand. As I reached out my hand, spontaneously, these two tough boys rejected the hand-shake and gave me a big hug."

Ultimately, where Alfie and I come together is on our fervent belief that it all starts with a relationship. In order to move away from some of the rigid structure he chillingly portrays, educators need to invest time and energy in creating and cultivating positive relationships with their students (and with each other!). This is initially very time intensive but the benefits far outweigh the cost. My view is that some of our students need to be led out of some dark corners that may not have been made by us but heavily impact our attempts to create a community of learners. The mere act of saying "Good Morning" may not be enough to alter a morning that was headed downhill long before the student arrived but if it is delivered sincerely and because it reveals something about you (rather than being a "device" designed to get compliance as Alfie would be concerned about), the change may happen over time.

A number of posts in recent days have looked at the notion of relationship building. I love Sean Grainger's (@graingered) sharing of "Norm" schools. He talks about a colleague who suggests we need “Norm schools”… the kind where “everybody knows your name,” and not just during regular school hours. This is the powerful impact that building a relationship can have for those students who need a place to feel safe. George Couros (@gcouros) also talks about this impact when he says "the relationships that we build with our staff, our community, and especially our students are the foundation of a successful school." I firmly believe that this approach will render obsolete the need to create new consequences or engage in the never ending "late debate".

As I continue my learning journey I know that Alfie and I will intersect again. I appreciate that he pushes my thinking and equally appreciate the contributions my colleagues in education continue to make that enhance my knowledge base.

Beyond Discipline or Beyond Common Sense?

2011-06-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

I realize the title of this blog might be a little inflammatory and that's not the intent. I really enjoyed the first session of the #kohnbc book chat on Twitter last night (thanks @birklearns) and am looking forward to our conversations around the next chapters on Alfie Kohn's book "Beyond Discipline". The timing was excellent as I had just returned from a quick dash to Chicago where I had the chance to co-present with my good friend Charlie Coleman. I learn from him each time and enjoy the stories he shares from his classroom experiences. It provided a good counterpoint to some of what Kohn writes about and was part of the reason we chose to reference his work in our book.

Some of the comments shared last night resonated with me and mixed in with the Chicago event prompted this post.

"Kohn is so good when reading but in practice sometimes hard to make practical."

Dave Meister (@phsprincipal) shared that thought and it reminded me that our classrooms are not test laboratories free of all of the frailties of society. They instead consist of a wide range of kids with a wide range of talents and abilities (and yes they ALL possess both) displayed under a wide range of circumstances. Some of these factors may require us to move into those areas Kohn sees as negative and labels as controlling.

"Behavior in school must be contextualized when taught."

Tom Schimmer (@tomschimmer) shared this gem and it provided the clarity that expectations vary from place to place in schools. You can't accurately describe expected behavior at the assembly which will be held in the gymnasium from your classroom seat. "Be Safe" looks markedly different in a kindergarten classroom than it does in a grade 12 classroom.

"Too often we hold students to higher standards than we hold ourselves."

Darcy Mullin (@darcymullin) gave the third prompter to me with his comment about expectations that often times seem to only be externally employed. If we don't model what we teach then we are teaching what we model. The rule that states "No food or drink in class" doesn't have fine print excluding adults from adherence but it seems to be employed in a tiered way.

So how does this tie back to Charlie and Chicago? He shared a story that I won't do justice to in print but hope to provide enough details to connect the dots. Charlie spoke about an elementary class of his where Mikey was the student who misbehaved the most. This was widely known as Mikey had been the most challenging student in each of his previous years and his reputation was set. As the teacher Charlie was determined to make a change in that reputation and pass along a better Mikey than the one he inherited. Here's where it rubs Kohn the wrong way. He used a merit ticket as a method to try and change the behavior. Given how far to the negative the behavior had gone, it required some overt action to pull it back to acceptable and then beyond to expected. Charlie really honed in on Mikey and rewarded him more frequently than others. At the end of each week a draw was held for some other trinket or positive outcome. Mikey never won these draws and Charlie could not understand why as Mikey's odds were much higher than the other students based on the number of tickets he received. Finally on a day when Mikey was away, Charlie looked in his desk and saw, that despite the overall chaos, there was a neat pile of tickets sitting in one corner. He asked the students who sat near Mikey if they knew this was occurring and heard that Mikey proudly showed off his stack with the comment about how often Mr. Coleman had caught him being good. I cannot find a lot of problem with the approach or the outcome for the student. Would I expect to continue to have to do this? No. The approach would be to move away from the overt to more covert methods but the desired changes required something different. Here's one other outcome that I appreciated hearing from Charlie. He would start each day with 30 tickets in his pocket. If he still had lots left at the end of the day he knew that he had missed out on noticing a lot of wonderful things that happened in his class and he committed to not letting that happen often. Think about your classes. Could you really have 30 students for five hours a day and not see a myriad of great things happening?

I appreciate the views that Alfie Kohn has brought to the education world and I believe in a lot of the approach. I also know after 28 years that there are many ways to move kids forward and I'm not prepared to toss out any that might be the first spark to the fire that burns within all of our students.

This too will pass...

2011-06-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

   Lately it seems that there is a lot of dialogue about what needs to change in our education system and what might be the best way to affect these changes. It strikes me that many of these conversations have been going on in similar format throughout my 28 year career and don't progress much beyond the conversation.
   A recent study (http://tinyurl.com/44jj8rd) released by Mussio and Associates looked at the impact of birth month. Their conclusion - December babies are less likely to attain benchmark standards at grades 4 and 7 on time, and are less likely to graduate on time. I don't think I'm the only educator who already knew this. In our province the graduation rate (defined as six year completion) continues to hover around 80 percent for all students and around 50 percent for Aboriginal students. This also is not news. We know that our most disadvantaged learners struggle with a two month summer break and come back for the start of the next school year having lost much of the gain attained in the previous school year. Yet we still run a school system on the agrarian calendar and talk about how this works for the majority. We know about the impact of poverty and of children living in disadvantaged homes and still resist making substantive change to the system that will address these issues.
   Let me insert a disclaimer here before those pockets of brilliance that exist across all systems get riled up and want to highlight their outstanding work. These should be the norm and not the exception to a healthy education system. When one of the schools in our district had an incoming class of kindergarten students who screened significantly below standards for kindergarten readiness, we didn't shrug our shoulders and say "let's hope they catch up". Instead the teacher, with support from district staff, embarked on direct instruction with the intent to close the gap. By the end of the school year, the students were kindergarten ready. They could not be abandoned in grade 1 and so the process must continue.
   The point is that we have a wealth of information at our disposal and we are not using it to create the systemic change that is required for today's learners and tomorrow's community members. We cannot continue to address the needs of the future with the unmodified recipe of the past. I cringe when I hear educators say they are tired of the assessment conversation or hearing about personalized learning. My response to that is simple - you are having the wrong conversation! Instead of dismissing a topic, shift the dialogue to student success. Make it about what we collectively need to do in altering the inputs to improve the outcomes.
   Dr. Randy Pausch spoke of brick walls as indicators of how much we wanted something. If we see them as excuses to stop, we may not have really wanted to achieve the goal. I wonder if he also meant the brick walls of our schools being resistant to the winds of change.

What Wayne Said....

2011-06-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

I love this time of the school year and likely not for the reason that might seem obvious - that it's almost over! I chuckle to myself when non-educator friends talk about the year winding down as they have no idea about how the emotions of staff, students, and parents wind upwards. No, I like this time of year for the reflection that occurs. Sometimes it is at graduation and other times at retirements of beloved colleagues. But it's always a positive experience from my perspective.

It's also the time I invariably find my self thinking about those who have inspired me over the years and the mentors I have been fortunate to have. Lately, I find myself thinking a lot about my good friend Wayne Hulley. I can't escape recalling a phrase or two that he has used that provides me solace during a challenging moment or simply brings a smile to my face when I'm struggling to find my "happy place". I've created my top ten "Hulleyisms" that continue to inspire me to be the kind of educator he describes and models.

What happens to you is very often beyond your control but your response to it is what makes the difference.
Parents are sending the best kids they have.
Different isn't always better but better is always different.
Hope is the belief that all students can learn and that school staffs are capable of turning that belief into a reality.
In school improvement, no adults in the school are unimportant.
To change outcomes for students, schools need leaders who care enough and can express that caring to other people.
Our time is now if we choose to make it so.
School reform is as much an act of the heart as it is an act of the head.
Effective schools are willing to undertake not just restructuring but also reculturing to reach their goals.

And my newest favorite (simply because Wayne agreed to write the foreword to the book Coleman, Weber, and I wrote) that demonstrates the ease with which he can synthesize material and bring it to a place that educators can relate to:

School improvement will never be easy because it forces schools and teachers to change their behaviours. However, committed staff, with constructive proven strategies can make a positive difference.

I know that all of us can think of inspirational figures throughout our careers and most of us have been blessed with positive role models. Wayne has been all of that and more and I feel very fortunate to have spent time with him over the last fifteen years. If ever there was an educator for whom the Order of Canada was designed, Wayne Hulley would be that educator. Thanks for the encouragement, support, and guidance over the years my friend.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.....

2011-05-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

(Turn and face the strain)

   I read with great interest a recent post by Cale Birk (http://bit.ly/j2HaV5) that questioned if/how often school leaders should be moved. While his query was about Principals and Vice-Principals, the same question can be asked of anyone in a school district leadership role. One of the comments was posted by Johnny Bevacqua who referenced the research we heard at a previous BCPVPA conference where the optimum length of time was suggested to be five to seven years. This has generally been my experience but I think there are some exceptions to the research.

   I should also declare that part of my motivation for this post is my own upcoming move. Leaving the role of Assistant Superintendent after three and a half years to take on the challenge of being the Executive Director for the BCPVPA feels like the right move despite not meeting the optimal length of time to effect change. Part of my thought process on the topic is that sometimes a move occurs because of external factors. The time spent in my current district provided some great personal connections and insights that I felt would allow me to take the district to new heights. The final decision was not mine and this prompted a good period of reflection to determine next steps. The new Superintendent has great ideas of his own to also propel the district forward. I determined it was better to find another spot to carry forward my thoughts and continue to have a positive impact on education in my region. Although I didn't stay for five to seven years, I have been reminded often in recent weeks about the contributions I have made and the long term impact of some of the work. Change, in this case, didn't have a time constraint.

   I was also pleased to see a tweet from Justin Tarte about his new assignment as an Assistant Principal. This is another role that I feel departs from the requirement of five to seven years. I have always advocated for the role of AP (or VP) to be a learning role where having different mentors as Principal provides a rich learning environment. Generally speaking I would consider switching these folks to another school after two years unless a vacancy occurred that would allow them to become a Principal. The role of VP/AP should not be a career move but instead serve as training for future leadership challenges. Working under different leaders and at different sites provides insights that are not as readily available when familiarity settles in.

   As I start thinking about making my move to a new role (and thanks by the way to all who have sent their good wishes) I do so with the premise of being there for five to seven years and effecting the positive types of changes that will be necessary to keep the organization vibrant and forward thinking. I also know that time has a way of bringing forward new challenges, new decision makers, and new opportunities. Most importantly I want to embrace each day with the notion that today matters and positive impact doesn't have a shelf life. The last words (as did the introduction) go to David Bowie:

Time may change me

But I can't trace time

Yesterday, Today, and/or Tomorrow

2011-05-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

   Anyone with a role in education today knows that we don't work in a static environment. Despite that I still hear colleagues that appear to be trapped in one of three places - yesterday, today, or tomorrow. I'd like to suggest that our work (and more importantly the success of our students) demands that we spend time in all three.
   There are those who focus only on the past and long for "the good old days". These folks long for the "Leave it to Beaver" family unit where school was the law and parents and students never questioned a decision rendered. This notion might work if all of the other factors associated with those bygone days were also still in vogue. Pick any aspect of life today and ask yourself if it is the same as it was during your parents' time. Technology is a favorite topic of folks following this blog. Remember the first computer you saw? Compare that with today where I have a Blackberry that has more computing power than the lunar lander had. Other aspects like the social fabric are also considerably different. The great Satchel Paige once commented, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." He may not have realized he was giving advice to educators but it certainly fits and serves as a good reminder that our work, while learning from the past, requires us to face the challenges we see today.
   Paige's advice may seem to indicate that today is the most relevant place to devote our energy and I do think that is where I spend much of my time. I've also come to realize that it's not enough when I think about preparing students for what lies ahead. Today is significant in that we need to assist kids and each other with all that is fluid in our world and that appears to change daily. Arming students with a different set of three "R"s - research, resiliency, and responsibility - may connect more with the realities they face than to stick with our traditional areas of focus. The concern with focussing only on today is that it precludes us having an eye on what's coming next. The thoughts of former Secretary of Education Richard Riley that the top ten jobs in 2010 didn't exist in 2004 serve as a reminder that "today" is very transient and needs to include an eye towards the future.
   Before we rush headlong into what's next, it is important to realize that focussing only on the future is a never ending game akin to a dog chasing its' tail. The reality of the future is that it never arrives! We need to assist our students to be able to take on all that might come their way and to empower them with a sense of hope. Fullan talks about hope not as a naive, sunny view of life but instead the capacity to not panic in tight situations and to find ways and means to address challenges. This is the future facing the majority of our students. While we may help them by arming them (or familiarizing them) with some tools, it is ultimately up to them to take what we have placed before them and run with it.
   A recent conversation with my son David gave an excellent summary of this topic. He said, "I look at the past with great humor and the future with great anticipation...it's the present that is wearing me down!" The balance needed to walk in all three views is a challenge but it is essential as we continue in our various roles as educators.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

2011-05-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

   I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Seattle earlier this week. It was a refreshing change to attend as a participant and a great learning experience as I spent time with colleagues from British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Wyoming, and Tennessee. One of the more interesting conversations centered on what to do with students that have been struggling all year and seem destined for failure. Depending on the jurisdiction there was anywhere from four to eight weeks left in the current school year.

   An educator let out an exasperated sigh as she reflected on the number of strategies she had tried with the end result still being that her student was hovering around the mid 40's as his grade and only four weeks left in the year. She suggested that her energies might be better spent with those who were responding to the interventions. I asked her to tell me a little more about the particular student and she described a student many of us are encountering. Little prior academic success, no support from the home, poor socializing skills, and a big chip on his shoulder concerning adults. She then added a number of vignettes about interactions she had with the student over the course of the year. These all struck me a positive interactions and I asked her if she thought these were reflected in her assessment of the student. She did admit to the personal growth the student had demonstrated but was frustrated by the lack of comparable academic growth. We talked about the time left in the year and what else could be done to continue the progress being made. It may not result in the student meeting the standard but clearly it should not be viewed as a failure.

   While we are challenged with book ends that mark our school year and are compelled to provide a final grade on the academic achievement of students during that time, this should not be confused with measuring the growth of students. There is a Chinese proverb that states "the one who plants the tree rarely gets to enjoy its' shade", and that is so true for us as educators. Clearly we must continue to plant the seeds of knowledge and tend to the garden that is our classroom. Whether or not I, as the teacher of record, get to see the end result is not as relevant as whether or not the student experiences growth. As we collectively work to improve the life chances of all of our students we should also reflect and build on the work of those teachers who worked diligently before us to move students along the continuum of growth. As we head to graduation ceremonies let's remember the great work done by our Kindergarten teachers.

   You may recall the end to John Donne's Meditation 17 part of which is quoted in the title of this blog. The meditation ends with "it tolls for thee." Remember this as you look at the rest of the school year and contemplate who time is running out for. We are the difference makers and should continue to be just that until the final bell tolls.

Courage to Lead

2011-04-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

   I was recently asked to give one word that I felt best described leadership. When asked a question like this I try to clear my mind and let the question find the answer. The word "courage" tumbled across my lips and intuitively it made sense.

   The dictionary defines courage as "the ability to do something that frightens one". While this definition touches on aspects of the work we do as educators, it does miss being a complete fit. I've always felt that the balance of being a confident leader is to not be inconsiderate. It is this aspect of self-doubt that is often a hallmark of strong leadership. It is the skill that allows for acknowledgement of the good work being done coupled with the ability to confront current realities. We live and work in an environment that is defined by change and we have a responsibility to respond to that change. The greatest things I did early in my teaching career have little contextual reference today.

   Positional power can be misused and set the work of a school back. Roland Barth talks about the significance of the relationship between Principal and teacher as being the greatest contributor to school success and the driver for all other relationships in a school ("Improving Relationships Within the Schoolhouse", Educational Leadership, March 2006,Volume 63, Number 6). The balance then, comes in engaging all who have a stake in the outcome in the conversation of why changes need to occur and what those changes might mean. It's important to have all of the information at your disposal and to be prepared to have your thoughts challenged.

   Courageous leadership is not limited to the formal positions defined in school district but instead, is displayed across the system. Recent blogs have highlighted great teacher leadership and powerful leadership lessons learned from our students. The power of two students in Nova Scotia to challenge bullying based on perceived sexual orientation spawned a wonderful celebration in schools across our country where we all don pink and think about the impact of our actions.

   Courage should not be used as a weapon to blindly charge forward. Instead, it must be balanced with the perspective that comes from walking in the shoes of others and being open to having their experiences influence the final outcome. If I have developed any skills as a leader in my twenty-eight years of being an educator, it is because of the contributions of others that have emboldened me to be courageous in the face of significant challenges. Thanks.

Parents - A Positive Attribute of Successful Schools

2011-04-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

   I recently had the pleasure of delivering the opening keynote at a parent conference hosted by the Simcoe County District School Board. The "Circle of Learning" conference (http://scdsb.on.ca/parents-corner/circle-of-learning-conference/) is organized by the parent involvement committee (what a great idea for all districts to have) and part of their mission is to connect parents with student success. This is the third year they have organized the conference and the goal is to build the participation levels each year. I also had a chance to sit on a panel and hear some interesting perspectives and some common themes that align with my daily work.

   The comments also served to remind me of the valuable role parents have played in many of the successful outcomes I've seen happen in my twenty-eight years as an educator. Whether it was a commitment to communicating with individual parents about the positive attributes of their children I was privileged to teach or seeing a middle school PAC grow from a small core of fundraisers to a group of 50 or more that initiated change and became the strongest advocates for our school, their contributions have also been precursors to larger positive outcomes.
   Communicating with parents continues to be an important part of my work today. Often times the point of interface is the midst of a crisis where resolutions are not as quickly achieved. Still those moments provide deep insights such as this recent communique I received from a parent:

“He is not the perfect child, if there is such a child, and I'm sure he will have his moments, but I would like them handled with maturity and fairness and with the professionalism that we can expect from the school and the adults who have been trained to deal with these situations.”

The point being made is that parents generally believe that educators have skills and abilities additional to their own and this might provide a deeper insight into resolving the challenges with the child. Ponder this question - Do you think that your communication with a parent about a problem their child has is a revelation to that parent? More often they are aware of the challenges and limitations as they spend significantly more time with the child. They are looking for some additional assistance in managing the problem and, in my experience, are much more likely to feel part of a team when invited to co-create a solution.
Anything we can do to include parents in the daily lives of schools and to remain active participants in the education of their children will almost certainly guarantee a positive result.

Friday - The End of the Week Stories

2011-04-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

   Early in my career I used to gather with colleagues at the end of the week over a cold drink and share stories of the week that was. In general, these stories could be characterized as "the disasters of the week" and often referenced negative events (albeit with a humorous spin to them). Those who had the best story to share would sit quietly and let the pretenders share their event before relaying the "mother of all stories". These longer sagas created lots of laughter and provided some release from the stress of the work we do. I'm not here to condemn those story swaps and was a willing participant. Instead, I wonder if we should start taking a similar amount of time to share the awesome things that are percolating daily in all of our schools.

   Public education appears to be the recipient (or cause in some people's view) of bad news in society today. If the key folks in the system (teachers, parents, principals, vice-principals, administrators, and students) only share the disasters in these social gatherings, who will be the bearers of the good news?

   Today marks the end of Education Week in my locale and I want to share with you some of the tremendous events that occurred. We had fabulous displays of student work at the two malls in our larger communities and at various businesses in our smaller ones. Students took great pride in seeing their work displayed (as in the photo) and many community members were provided insights into the work going on in schools. We had the graduating students reading to elementary school students on one of the days, a math class being delivered on another, and a music class performing on a third. These all occurred in the mall and drew lots of positive attention. Our elementary schools took part in the district basketball tournament which was also open to the public.

   What's happened in your schools this week? As you head into the weekend which stories will you share? If you have the time to post a comment, share something great that happened in your school. All of us have the capacity to be transmitters of good news and empower each other with many more good news stories to share. At the very least it may cause those who believe they know our world to pause and reflect on why educators are a critical component of a healthy and sustainable future, and perhaps stop imposing challenges that impinge on our capacity to be difference makers.

Leadership: It's in You to Give.

2011-03-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

   I've had the pleasure of working with many school and district leaders over the last few years. The enthusiasm shown by these folks coupled with their desire to continue their learning bodes well for the immediate future of educational leadership. One of the questions that arose during a session has stuck with me as I was thinking of my current role. The question was “How many leaders did you leave behind?” and it caused me to reflect on my education career.
   I thought about my first teaching position at Anne Stevenson Junior Secondary in Williams Lake. John Dressler was the Principal and his style was one that encouraged people to take risks and explore their leadership potential. It is not surprising to me that more than a dozen of my colleagues on that staff have moved into administrative careers. I also thought about many of my strongest teachers and was able to find that the majority had continued to provide excellent leadership in expanded roles.
   An examination of my own administrative career at Trafalgar Middle School in Nelson and at the Distance Education School of the Kootenays provided me with a positive response to the question posed. I am excited to see how educators who exhibited leadership at those two schools have grown and taken on new challenges.
   Grooming your replacement is never an easy task but it is one that we are in the best position to take on. The responsibility for developing school leaders will be a major challenge over the next few years as the demographics indicate an impending shortage of good candidates. Who are the leaders in your building? What are you doing to cultivate their skills? How can you help in the identification, promotion, and support of these new leaders? It is an exciting opportunity and one we cannot afford to miss. Let’s remind everyone about the reasons we are in these cherished positions in schools and districts and promote the positive outcomes that we are able to generate.
   Talk to your school leaders and take on the challenge of nurturing and supporting their development.

The Elephant in the Room

2011-03-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

I am writing this at the end of two very positive sessions I led with a leadership cohort from the Western Newfoundland school district. The title of the event was "Leadership at Work" and the sessions all focussed on what skills are needed to be a leader today and for the future. My second session was about leading for learning and the group quickly developed a graphic around what the three big issues were at their school and how they were being addressed. The activity produced a richness of conversation that we sometimes don't get to in the "busyness" of our daily work.

The conversation then moved to the challenging aspects of the work we do and there was a palpable shift and an initial discomfort. This happens when we confront the elephant in the room but (as is often the case) the group emerged from the conversation with a stronger sense of commitment and capacity to move forward.

There were many comments shared in the debrief and a couple that resonated with me were:

"Often we, as the adults in the system, are not representative of the kids

we teach. How do we connect with their realities?"

"We had not had a high school graduate in thirteen years and needed to

talk about this. The end result was that we produced

two graduates and changed expectations."

The context was certainly different than any of my experiences but I was reminded of the importance of doing the right things for the right reasons. Outcomes matter.

Are you willing to address the elephant in the room or is it easier to turn away and find reasons to ignore the challenge? Most aspects of our work continue to change and we need to change with them to best meet the challenges and keep the focus on improving the life chances of ALL of our students. Einstein said "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" and this is a reflection of the work we do today. While the problems may not be new, the context and the other involved in the matter will be.

My time with colleagues in Rocky Harbour reminded me of the brilliance of my fellow educators and how the more I can get contributions from others, the less fearful I become in tackling the elephant.

Thinking Outside the Box You Created.

2011-03-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

   One of the pure joys in my current role comes with the opportunity to observe other teachers. I have been so fortunate to bear witness to the magic that occurs in classrooms across our country. I've also come to realize that how we teach is a reflection of how we were taught and what our experiences were like as students. This is the context piece that becomes so relevant when we get before a class of eager minds. It is also the biggest piece to determining the success of a new idea or instructional strategy that you may have picked up from a colleague.

   In the absence of context (or what I would define as shaping the concept to fit your current realities), new initiatives last as long as a current events review. The topic is interesting as long as you're interested but loses relevancy when you can't make the connection to what is going on for you. It's like talking about last night's game or the weather. I can stay engaged for a brief period of time but my mind wanders to the next exciting topic. The hook becomes the personal relevancy and how I can improve my craft by implementing the new idea or reading someone's perspective and comparing it to mine.

   The latest edition of Educational Leadership has an interesting article by Thomas Hoerr in which he suggests our past affects the way we teach, lead, and supervise today.

"If you were a teacher's dream, how does that affect your education vision
and behaviour? Does your history of success make it harder for you
to hang in with students who struggle? Do you get frustrated
with students who don't seem to care?

If you were a challenging student, how do you react to the students who
get it right the first time and every time? Is it harder for you
to appreciate that honour roll students still need to

be pushed and challenged?"

His questions remind me of the need to adapt my approach to the needs of the people I'm working with today and to encourage others to not accept any great concept as a prescription but rather as an invitation to take the ideas and make them better by adding what you know about your students, your school, your colleagues, your parents, and your community.

As you look at the students before you today and reflect on how they might be different than you and your peers were at a similar time in life, can you also see that your teaching strategies reflect those differences? Or do you teach the way you were taught and in the style that worked best for you? Hoerr concludes with the notion that "our philosophy and behaviours are framed by our histories and that can be productive or problematic".

With the school year heading towards the home stretch, are you able to step outside the box that has framed your teaching approach? Can you try one more thing to move the student who has presented the biggest challenge? Letting go of "what once was" is often the first step towards "what can be".

Why do You do What You do?

2011-03-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

March always seems to be the month of reflection. I'm not sure if it's because of the long stretch between holidays, the emergence from the winter darkness, or thinking about how to make the last part of the school year the best. This March has been no different as recent events provided an opportunity to reflect on my career as an educator.

Disappointment comes in many forms and occasionally distracts you from what really motivates you and what your mission is. Integrity, honesty, and an emphasis on creating strong, positive relationships are my core values. The work I've done with folks in various roles in education across Canada and the United States has led me to believe that holds true for most. I've also come to realize that not having control over other people's agendas doesn't mean you can't fulfill yours. My wife asked me the question of this post and it reminded me to get back on course with my purpose. I got into education to make a difference in the lives of students and to inspire and motivate others to want to do the same. I recognize that completion of this agenda may take my entire career bit I'm enjoying the challenge. I asked a group of workshop participants this question: "What would you try to do if you knew you would not fail?" The response to that question might fill your career agenda.

This fit well with the bucket list I read on Shannon Smith's blog (shannoninottawa.com) which had one item - why not create a learning community where each and every student, staff member, and parent discovers their passion and shares it with confidence? Pretty powerful stuff and very much aligned with the values I stated above.

So, why do you do what you do? My recent milestone birthday provided a glimpse into the progress I might be making on my agenda. Some former students took the time to send reflections of their time with me. One particularly poignant one read (in part):

"Best of all, you instilled in us the ability to believe in ourselves and

to believe in each other - even when things looked most desperate."

Thanks Don, for the reminder that every day provides a new opportunity to exert a positive influence. Whenever I start to think about my career being about me and personal accomplishments, I'll remember it's about you and the thousands of other students I've been blessed to work with.

If We Don't Ask They Won't Answer.

2011-03-04T18:51:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of working with a group of educators recently and we were looking at refining their assessment practice. High schools are often referred to as the last bastions of resistance when it comes to change in education. That was NOT my experience with this group and we had two days of highly engaged activities and generated lots of great dialogue and quality assessments.

At the end of the first day, I went back with one of the hosts to talk further about the outcomes of day one and plan for the most effective use of day two. We walked past one of the participants who was sitting outside the main office. He commented on the day and we left him sitting there. As we departed later that afternoon, the same individual was still there. I found that puzzling and commented in jest that it was okay for him to leave unless there was something further I could help with. He revealed that his car battery was dead (lights left on) and he was hoping for someone to have jumper cables. My host indicated that she had some and plans were quickly made to jump start his car. This took all of two minutes to get him on his way.

As we left my colleague remarked that it was a good thing I asked the question or he may have been there for quite some time. That got me thinking about the kids we teach. Are there times when a little boost is all they need to get back on track? When the information available to you indicates something is amiss do you probe to find out more? Is learning stalled while you have the capacity to get it moving in the right direction?

The next time you see a student hovering outside your class, make the first move. Ask a question and let the learning exchange begin.

Change Agent or Change Victim? The choice is yours.

2011-03-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

   "The only constant in life is change."
   Never were truer words spoken that pertain to the life of an educator. It both enrages and enlivens us and that is the beauty of the work we do. Ask yourself this question - Does the school you currently work in resemble the school you attended as a student? If the answer is yes on all counts, then continue to do what has always been done and get the same results that have always been achieved.
   However, if something's different what are you doing to reflect that difference? Take an aspect that must be familiar to you since you're reading a blog that may have come to your attention via a tweet. Technology is an inescapable facet of a students' education today. It is another literacy they must master to make a successful transition to that other world. Anybody remember the first computer they saw? You went to the computer room and it was just that. Now I have a Blackberry that has more computing power than the lunar lander had.
   How about the social fabric? The last census revealed for the first time in Canadian history that more people over the age of fifteen (the long ago standard) were unmarried than married. Does that not impact the work we do in schools today? Contacting the custodial parent is a much more time consuming matter than in the past.
   These examples are not meant as judgements or evaluations. And they certainly are not yearnings for the "good old days". They are simply illustrations of factors that are different and compel us to match our teaching strategies to meet these and many other differences.
   Hanging on to the way we've always done things and living your career as a victim of change doesn't strike me as the best response. Educators possess the broadest skill set of any profession. Combined with a passion for student success, we should always be the agents of change. We don’t get to choose the changes that come into our lives, but we do get to choose how we respond.

Paying It Forward - Always a Good Idea

2011-02-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to attend the Canucks - Bruins game last night. My intent was two-fold. One was to watch the Bruins (who are the sworn nemesis to my beloved Canadiens) lose to the Canucks. The second was to try and get a puck during the warm-up from one of the Boston players to send to a friend in Newfoundland who is afflicted with Bruins fever.

I arrived early with a buddy from work and we headed down to ice level. I had a sign with me that included the Bruins logo and a few sentences that read "Die hard Bruins fan from Botwood, Newfoundland. Please toss me a puck. Thanks." Friendship will cause you to do things you wouldn't normally do and being that close to Bruins fans and sporting their logo was a small price to pay for the imagined thrill the puck would create for Jim.

As the Bruins were winding down their warm-up, Tyler Seguin (the 2nd overall pick in the last draft) stopped to read the sign. I watched him complete his drill and then cradle the puck with his stick and skate back to my location. He pointed to me and then tossed the puck over the glass. What a classy move for that young man! The educator in me thought "he must have learned some valuable lessons in school", and the Dad in me thought "his parents must have instilled some very strong notions of selflessness". My buddy from work saw the whole scene unfold from his vantage point in the corner (we thought he could cover the end of the rink and grab a puck that went over the glass) and came over to celebrate the successful accomplishment of the task.

What he didn't realize was that after cradling the puck, I caught the eye of a young Bruins fan who was attending his first game featuring his heroes. His Dad told me how excited his five year old was and how the whole day had been the constant questioning ("Are we going now?", "Now?", "How about now?") that five year olds are great at. He was wearing his oversized Lucic jersey like a robe and was eyeing my recently acquired souvenir.

You all can predict what happened next. Really, what choice was there? His eyes just danced when I told him the puck was his. His Dad (who had the background of my quest because of my sign) tried to get the puck back to me but there was no way I was going to be the one to erase the pure joy that was written across his sons' face.

I'm sure Jim will understand and I know he would have done the same. For me? It was probably a good thing to get rid of that Bruins memorabilia as I couldn't imagine the penance I would owe to the hockey gods of Montreal.

Paying it forward always yields its own rewards.

Zero? Really, they learned nothing?

2011-02-25T22:52:00.000-08:00

The "zero debate" is alive and well despite the compelling information that leading educational thinkers like Tom Guskey, Doug Reeves, and Grant Wiggins share about the lack of accuracy that is the end product of this practice. In an excellent post recently on his blog (tomschimmer.com), Tom Schimmer notes "More often than not the zeros, and the resulting lower grades, move kids to a place of hopelessness where they would rather give up than try."

So why does the practice continue? More often than not I hear the response around fairness and/or consequences for a perceived lack of effort. "The student earned a zero", is passed off as the rationale. Recently I was talking with a group of secondary teachers and that defense was offered. I pushed back a little with the suggestion that I found it incomprehensible that, based on their skill set, training, and aptitude for teaching, any one of them could spend an instructional phase with students and not impart any knowledge. That's what a zero means! After two weeks of skilled instruction, nothing was learned. Is this even possible given the talent of the vast majority of teachers I have encountered? Absolutely Not! On some levels the zero reveals more about ineffective adult practice than student performance.

When confronted with this perspective, the tone of the conversation quickly changed. Let's focus on what's happening for students throughout the instructional phase. Let's use assessment in a formative fashion so that we know, almost immediately, where students are during the learning phase. Let's commit to bringing our entire skill set to impact the end result. Let's employ numerous strategies and share our passion for student success with all of our kids.

Once we can turn the discussion to whatever it takes in order to have students succeed, it's amazing how the zero debate has less traction. We may never completely eradicate them from our marking system but they should serve as reminders of something needing improvement rather than a rationale that creates further disillusionment and disengagement.

Highway 46: The High School Edition

2011-02-25T22:03:00.000-08:00

I was very impressed by the information our elementary students presented when we gathered a group of them to talk about technology and, specifically, cyber bullying. While anticipating something similar when we met with the high school group, I was not prepared for the total learning experience it turned out to be.

As we engaged in dialogue about the security systems in place to prevent students from accessing the internet, I quickly discovered that our attempts were all but futile. From proxies to tunnels, students would find ways around anything we might put in place. It became a bit of a game to them as to how quickly a student could get through. They discovered the passwords and quickly shared that around.

Just as my head was ready to explode from all of these revelations, the real value of engaging student voices emerged. They spoke about their values and recognition that some sites should be off limits and that they needed to manage these amongst their peers. Of significant importance to our trustees and management team was the suggestion of a committee of students who would work with adults in the school system to create guidelines for internet use.

This seems like a much better plan than the simple imposition of rules created by adults to manage kids that are largely ineffective. Thanks to the students for your participation and creative contributions!

Highway 46: Thinking Pink and Technology

2011-02-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Elementary Students, Trustees and Senior Management attended a Highway 46 Student Focused Talkback session. They are wearing Pink Anti-Bullying T-Shirts. Pink T-Shirt Day is WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd and everyone is encouraged to wear something pink to symbolize that we, as a society, will not tolerate bullying anywhere.

Today we held our latest student feedback session that we have dubbed Highway 46. The theme of today's session with students from our elementary schools (grades six and seven) was technology implications in our schools and cyber bullying. We picked up on some themes generated in the latest edition of Educational Leadership as prompts for the conversation. Here's one of the prompts we used:

Does getting a cell phone at a really young age influence kids'

writing because they are texting before their writing is fully developed?

As always happens when we invite students to the conversation and take an active listening role, many great comments were generated. The kids also had no difficulty sharing out their thoughts and the ninety minutes passed by quickly. Some of the feedback from today that struck a chord with the adults included these thoughts:

"If you want to have secure sites in the school and limit internet access,

you should change the passwords regularly. Everyone here knows the

password at their school and can get on the internet easily."

"Our teachers should give assignments through e-mail. When I'm sick

I want to be able to get to my work. Maybe a webcam connected to the

classroom might allow me to take in the lesson and still stay on track."

It was interesting to gauge the level of expectation these students had on keeping schools secure from some sites they deemed to be troublesome (Facebook, most e-mail access) as we prepare to hold a similar meeting with high school students next Wednesday. We have heard from our secondary schools that students want open access to the internet and feel they can be responsible users.

I am interested to hear what's working in other jurisdictions and what restrictions are in place.

Obstacle or Opportunity?

2011-02-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

All of us who are connected to education (and generally speaking that is all of us) know the challenges that exist daily. I have come to believe that it is not the challenges that wear us down as much as our responses to those challenges. How do you respond to the latest challenge in funding? The new student that arrived yesterday? The staff member that seems trapped in the "good old days"? Do you see the obstacle or the opportunity?

Dr. Randy Pausch, who wrote "The Last Lecture", talked about brick walls and how they might impede our progress depending on our view. "The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something", he wrote. If you find yourself up against a brick wall, will it stop you from moving forward or will you find a way around, over, under, or through?

By focussing on the opportunity, there exists the possibility that a breakthrough might occur that will promote success for that new student, reconnect that staff member to their passion and purpose, or generate a conversation about outcomes rather than financial inputs.

Look to the opportunity and look past the obstacle. Remember, "No you already have - Yes you can still achieve."

Highway 46 - A Road Less Travelled?

2011-02-07T22:48:00.000-08:00

Highway 46, the brainchild of Superintendent Deborah Palmer, began as a vehicle to encourage and elicit student views on many educational topics. Elementary and secondary students are invited to meet with management staff and trustees for a couple of hours during the school day. Schools identify students from across their population for participation in two or three of these meetings during the school year. The group always changes as does the topic for each of the meetings. Pizza for lunch ensures the body is nourished as well as the mind. This initiative has promoted strong student involvement in educational issues through participation in these Highway 46 meetings.

Our next set of meetings is coming up on February 11th and 16th and our topic will be technology with an examination of cyber bullying. The student views have served to influence the thinking of the adults who are looking to shape policy that will allow students to succeed.

What's happening in your schools and district?

Why we thank coaches...

2011-02-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

When a school receives a message like this, it's another reminder of how fortunate we are to have people who volunteer their time to coach and mold young minds.

"I just wanted to send off a quick email regarding both the coaches and players of the Elphinstone Juvenile boys basketball team. I refereed the boys game versus Argyle this past Wednesday and to say the least, I was incredibly impressed with how the team carried themselves. In a game where they clearly out matched Argyle, your coaches did a great job of mixing up playing time, forcing their team to run offense etc. to help keep the game as close as possible. Classy!!!!

Moreover, I was working with a leadership student who was new to the game and I found that your coaches and players were very supportive of her learning to referee.

Emails to the district athletic director and referee allocator are often negative feedback about referring mishaps or coaches' conduct but I wanted to make a point of pointing out a positive experience with the Elphinstone group."

Culinary Arts Dinner

2011-02-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

If you give students both the opportunity and the tools to explore their passion, you will find they often go beyond expectations. Our schools are bursting with good news and we need to be the conduits for sharing those stories. Last night I had a chance to attend a wonderful dinner prepared by six students and their instructor as a culminating activity in the culinary arts program. Dining on roasted bison, bannock, salads, yams, roasted vegetables and scrumptious desserts was its own reward but seeing the pride on the faces of the students really made the meal.