Value-Added Questions

            During my thirty years as an educator, I’ve seen many initiatives and advances in our profession. Some of the best of these are in the area of instructional design and delivery. Much of it gets expressed through professional development. We know more about the teaching and learning cycle than at any other time in education. This gets validated every time I talk with my youngest child who has just completed her teacher education program. I know that some of my best lessons and strategies would not work today, as they were heavy on teacher actions and activities and light on student learning. I don’t think I was alone in that design process. I’m also not suggesting it was an attempt to ignore the needs of my students. I’ll go so far as to say I thought I was a pretty effective teacher and I followed what other good teachers were doing.

            The shift described above combined with our increased knowledge about teaching and learning also gets validated every time I work with teachers today. Facilitating their work and witnessing their growth exposes me to different kinds of conversations than the ones I recall. The questions run deeper, reflect more layers of knowledge, and speak to the desire of teachers to keep pushing the boundaries in trying to uncover what works best for their students. They are asking value-added questions as opposed to cursory-knowledge questions. A recent opportunity to work with the four schools in Fort Leavenworth USD 201 highlighted this for me. I shared some thoughts on common formative assessments and their questions went beyond the nuts and bolts of CFAs and instead reflected their understanding of the approach and struggles with how to refine their efforts. Questions like these prompted great insights: 

➢ How often should common assessments be done?

➢ Should common assessments be used only for teachers of identical content or are there ways that teachers of similar content can use assessments to improve instruction?

➢ When looking at the results of common assessments, what is the main goal behind that data analysis? 

➢ How can the special areas support the common assessments?

            Ultimately, our work as educators gets refined and improved as we collaborate and share our best ideas and notions about what works to positively impact the learning of our students. Best practice does not always equate with the practice we are best at. Taking the time to learn more, ask more, and try more allows us to go deeper with the work and ask the kinds of questions that lead to better insights.

Maybe We Are Saving Dolphins

            One of the things I’ve always looked forward to about summers is the time to get caught up on some leisurely reading. It’s been a challenge this summer with more work than normal but I’ve managed to take advantage of time on planes and in airports. A recent book that has grabbed my attention (and spawned the title of this post) is “The Happiness Advantage” by Shawn Achor. I haven’t completed it but have been inspired by the first one hundred pages.

            Achor suggests that while there are some folks for whom positivity comes more naturally, he maintains that all can reap the numerous benefits of happiness. He states, “happiness is not just a mood – it’s a work ethic”. In the seven suggestions he provides to access the happiness advantage, three resonated with me in my current and previous work roles: commit conscious acts of kindness, infuse positivity into your surroundings, and exercise a signature strength.

            Committing conscious acts of kindness involves doing this deliberately and consciously, not recalling how your week went and recording the nice things you did. This doesn’t require grand gestures and Achor cites the research of Sonja Lyubomirsky indicating that the feeling of happiness last over many days for the initiator. I don’t often go through a drive-through for my coffee but when I do, I like to pay for the coffee of the person behind me in the line. I’ve never met the driver behind me but know it feels good to contemplate a positive moment that they might be experiencing.

            Infusing positivity into your surroundings speaks to the physical environment we create in our workspace. I know longer have an office where I can display personal mementoes that share some of who I am. I do, however, make a point of having pictures of my grandchildren on my computer screensaver that routinely get displayed in advance of my sessions and generate questions about them. They also never fail to bring a smile to my face and put me in the right frame of mind in advance of sharing with colleagues.

            Exercising a signature strength reminds me that everyone has a talent. During my recent work with teachers, I was reminded of the unique skills each person possesses as we were going through a dip in energy level on our fourth day of working together. Having teachers share their work with each other highlighted some individual strengths that went beyond curriculum design.  We’ve planned a social evening next week to further tap into aspects of individuals that don’t always get revealed in the midst of our work.

            As for the title of this post? Achor shares a story of a Fortune 500 senior level executive who introduced him and the importance of the happiness message by reminding employees that ultimately, it has to be about money and uttered the line, “We’re not saving the dolphins here.” Achor suggests that the message received was around the value of the work these employees were doing. Clearly it was not important stuff but centered on generating money. Let’s be clear here – the work you are doing as educators is significant. You are saving lives and impacting not only the lives of the students in front of you but also the lives they will lead as thriving community and family leaders. The beauty of our work lies not in our ability to predict the future but to create it. And in that realm we are doing more than saving dolphins, we're following a passion. Thanks for all you do to make the future brighter!

Is Your Focus On Kids Being Caught Or Kids Being Taught?

            A good portion of my time working with educators is spent on relationship building and creating a positive school culture. This work was really important to me during my time as a classroom teacher and building level administrator and took on even greater significance when I moved to a central office position where I could see a larger scale difference in the environments of schools and their relative success on most measures including staff and student satisfaction.

            Initially folks connected my work with discipline and dealing with challenging students. I remember quite clearly when I interviewed for the Vice-Principal job that discipline and behavior were the most oft-repeated words by the panel. After I landed the position former colleagues shared a concern about how dejected I would become after dealing with middle school behavior all day. My approach then is the same as the message I share now – it’s all in the perspective you bring and the motivation you have to build relationships.

            Let’s establish some basic premises. First, kids are going to make mistakes (and so are the adults). Second, consequences are a part of a positive learning environment (especially when they are connected to the behavior and are a natural result). Third, behavior can be changed through an instructional approach (just like we do with academics). Fourth, all kids can engage in positive relationships (although some may need more guidance from us). With that as the backdrop, the work becomes increasingly more positive, relationships get strengthened, and culture shifts as our words and actions align.

            When I work with school staffs today, we begin with identifying attributes or expectations for all (kids and adults) members of the school community. We use those in conjunction with key settings in the school to create a matrix of expectations that drive what we want to see throughout the school. When we don’t see them, we respond immediately, and with a positive re-statement of the desired expectations. Can you see the difference between this approach versus the approach that involves staff members creating an exhaustive list of “thou shalt nots” for kids? For those who think this may be another example of “going soft”, remember premise two above. Violations of the expectations may still result in a consequence – one that has a connection to the difference between what’s expected and what’s displayed. A continuum of consequences may include a suspension if there is not evidence of growth when we engage in teaching the expectations. It’s also important to remember the consequence is the consequence. It’s not that plus public humiliation in front of your peer group.

            When our focus is on kids being taught – both academically and behaviorally – and not solely on kids being caught, we shift the culture of the school to expecting the right things, modeling the right things, and acknowledging the right things. After all, isn’t that what schools are all about? 

Red Sock, Blue Sock – Does It Really Matter?

            

            I got to spend an early Father’s Day with my two granddaughters, Isabella (just over 3 years old) and Leah (just over 1 years old) and it was a very special time. As you can see from the photo, the girls pick their own socks to wear each day. After taking the picture, I asked Isabella about she and her sister’s socks and in particular why each sock was different from the other. (I purposely avoided saying it was wrong or they didn’t match). Initially she said, “I don’t know, I just like them”. I pressed a little further and she said, “Grandpa, it doesn’t matter because my feet are warm”. That really got me thinking and connecting to some of the work I’m doing in Woodridge, IL, Gustine, CA, and Stockton, CA with teacher teams on redesigning their Math curriculum in connection to the outcomes of the CCSS.

             What I have enjoyed in facilitating the work thus far (aside from the excitement I always get working around teachers during their creative phase) is the openness with which teachers at all grade levels are thinking about their math instruction in a different way. What I’m optimistic about with the CCSS and using Larry Ainsworth’s Rigorous Curriculum Design approach to prioritize the standards and use that to build quality units of study, is the freedom it’s giving teachers to be creative. The groups I’m working with have been clear on the need to move away from the algorithmic approach to math instruction (learn the rule, practice the rule through multiple questions, regurgitate the rule on the test) to teach math conceptually and for understanding. The notion that there is more than one way to add fractions is driving them to let go of the “one rule” and be open to many options. The other options often help to cement the math concepts and potentially create more able math students (or at least more comfortable math students).

            You see, just like Isabella has realized if the purpose of socks is being met, how they look doesn’t matter, these teachers are seeing that if the answers are being achieved (and the math concepts are being understood as an added and needed bonus), how they get there also doesn’t matter.

Leaving Yorkton on a High Note (Having a Great Day)

            I’m writing this as I sit in my hotel in Stockton having arrived a few minutes ago thereby completing the rare Yorkton-Stockton, same-day double. (As an aside I’d love to hear if anyone else has ever done that trip.) I had an awesome morning in Yorkton with an energetic, enthusiastic, large audience of committed educators looking to ensure the year winds down with positive outcomes for their students and themselves.

            

            I shared with them the notion of choice and how we need to take responsibility for the decisions we make. I spoke of waking up in the morning determined to have a great day and then taking the steps to make it so. Beginning with an enjoyable early morning run through the streets of Yorkton where I greeted people I met and continuing through the breakfast at the hotel where I swapped travel stories with some seniors who were also on the road, to getting to the auditorium and greeting people as they arrived.

            You can start to feel the energy that emerges from these interactions and quickly see the contrast that appears with choosing to have a bad day. I am convinced that there are folks who get up in the morning and decide to do just that – and guess what happens? They have a bad day! From the person who cuts them off in traffic, to the colleague who jams the photocopier they needed at the last minute, and on to the person who only left three sips of coffee in the pot. The world is conspiring against them (or so their mindset suggests).

            No, today was going to be a great day and I’m thankful to colleagues who made it that way. Their feedback on Twitter (follow me @thierck), via e-mail, and in person lifted me and reminded me how fortunate I am to get to do this work. The behind the scenes work of Kelly Lambert well in advance of my visit and ongoing effort during my visit was awesome. Retired Principal and current board member Richard Haake giving up time to pick me up and drop me off two hours down the road in Regina meant we had four hours to swap great stories. The ongoing Tweets buzzing off my Blackberry made arriving late for my departing flight almost inconsequential. In fact, reading some of these messages made me want to turn around and do some more work with the group:

Chad Lechner ‏‪@wmm67

"don't lower the bar, just create steps for the students to get there" ‪#heartoftheteacher

Jason Payne ‏‪@MrPayneYRHS

Really enjoyed your presentation today.  Thanks for providing some inspiration to finish the year strong.

Nicole Marie ‏‪@nicoletherrien4

Thanks for the inspiration this morning ‪@thierck as I finish up the last six weeks of my first year as a teacher! ‪#lovemyjob ‪#gssd204

            A return to Stockton was becoming an even more viable option because it was possible that the stern face at the airline counter in Regina was not going to let me board my flight. Therein lies the moment of truth in making a decision and sticking to it. My great day was not going to be sidetracked. I was clearly late and I understood the consequence of that. I would not have traded the last 20 minutes of the morning session or feedback nor speed up the drive with Richard. My choice was to continue to enjoy the day. I apologized for my lateness and let the person at the counter know how much I appreciated them extending themselves for me. I did explain that I was not a regular traveler through the Regina airport and the importance of getting to my next site that evening. I didn’t think this was the time to get negative or louder or blame someone else. My desperation must have worked as I watched a phone call occur, permission be granted, and a boarding pass printed. The folks at security were delightful and gave me a smile as I raced through to get to my gate. The people at the desk graciously accepted my apology and let me know there was still time before boarding. Off to Denver I flew.

            Clearing Customs in Denver was a breeze. The Officer asked how I was doing and when I said “fabulous” she wanted to know why. I shared with her how great my day was going, the neat people I had met, and the good friends I was going to work with. The great day was on a roll! I picked up a paper in the airport and decided it was time to get some food. I have a confession to make – I have never eaten a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich (or I had never eaten one until that moment). I saw the restaurant advertising them and a huge line so I figured they must be good. I got in line and struck up a conversation with the fellow in front of me. He told me he grew up in South Africa but now resides in Houston where he does high-level security. We swapped stories about kids and travel and then I confessed my secret. He was dumbstruck for a moment and couldn’t comprehend someone reaching my age without indulging in the Philly Cheesesteak. He motioned for me to come to the counter with him and bought me my first Philly. Awesome! We headed to our gates without ever exchanging names but both sharing a view that great days are there for the making and the taking.

            I checked in at the gate hoping to get an aisle seat but there were none available. I thanked the person for checking and waited to board. I got to my row and middle seat (ugh) but thought, “if this is the low point, it’s a great day”. The window seat person arrived as I was reading through my newspaper and she was interested in the stories. I offered her the paper and she was so happy she offered me some chocolates! Awesome again! To make it even better, our aisle seat person never arrived and we were the only row with two people in three seats. Does it get any better than this?

            As I read this over it seems like I got pretty excited over some little things and may have made more out of them than necessary in my determination to have a great day. I know I’m not always this “Pollyanna-ish” but here’s the point. How often have you let the same little things make for a bad day? On the marathon that is the road of life sometimes you just have to stop and take the pebble out of your shoe so you can enjoy each successive step. Having a bad day begins with the choices we make. So does having a great day. Which choice are you going to make today?