Have a Great Day! (The Choice is Yours)

     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)

     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!

     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

     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?

     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...

     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....

     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.

1. What happens to you is very often beyond your control but your response to it is what makes the difference.
2. Parents are sending the best kids they have.
3. Different isn't always better but better is always different.
4. Hope is the belief that all students can learn and that school staffs are capable of turning that belief into a reality. 
5. In school improvement, no adults in the school are unimportant. 
6. To change outcomes for students, schools need leaders who care enough and can express that caring to other people.
7. Our time is now if we choose to make it so.
8. School reform is as much an act of the heart as it is an act of the head.
9. 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:

1. 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.