May
15
First Year Principal – 5 Lessons Learned (Part 1: Feedback)
May 15, 2012 | Education, Leadership | 1 Comment
This year, April 17th fell on a Tuesday. The day came and went for students and staff, but for me, it marked one full year as a public school principal. A full year of growth, triumphs, bumps and bruises. I have no regrets about leaving my role as an assistant principal. I learned more in one year about education and leadership than I have ever learned, and I am certain more learning is coming my way. My rookie year is over. I’m experienced, but not a veteran. If I had to wrap my learning into 5 major themes, they would include the following:
- Good schools are fueled by purpose and meaning.
- Define the work and monitor it.
- It’s not always your work, but it is your voice.
- Feedback: Remember the “little bird story”.
- Messaging: People watch. People listen. People connect the dots to form meaning.
It’s been some time since I’ve written a series of blog posts. The timesaver in me wants to shortcut each theme, but I know brevity won’t do justice to what I learned. Normally, I like to follow a logical sequence when it comes to expounding upon my bulleted list, but I want to start with…
Feedback: Remember the “little bird story”.
During my sophomore year at East Carolina University, a friend shared with me the story of the “little bird”. I can’t remember what precipitated this story, but the meaning has remained with me for several years now. Through a little background research, I learned that variations of the story are told for management and leadership purposes. Some variations contain profanity, so being an educator, I tell the G-rated version. My variation goes as follows:
Once there was this group of birds up north. They were all friends who loved to hang out and fly around from place to place. It came time for them to fly south for the winter, but one bird wanted to remain behind to enjoy the scenery. The other birds tried hard to convince the bird to fly with them, but he wanted to do his own thing. Soon he found himself all alone. Some time later, the weather began to get cooler, so he finally decided to make the journey south. He struggled making the trip alone, and soon got caught in a severe winter storm. As he flew, the wind, rain, and ice punished him. Facing exhaustion, he could no long flap his wings. Nearly frozen, he landed with a thud in a barn. He thought to himself, “Surely my life will end here. Why didn’t I listen?” That moment a cow came by and pooped on the bird. Feeling the warmed, the bird thought for sure he was in “bird heaven”. He thought to himself, “This feels great.” Before long, his body began to thaw and he felt his heartbeat returning to normal. Suddenly, he realized he was in a pile of poop. Panicked, he struggled to free himself enough to call out. “Chirp…chirp…chirp.” His calls grew louder. A wandering cat heard the call and began pawing at the poop. The bird was freed. Shaking his wings free of the poop, he smiled at the cat. The cat ate the bird.
The lesson:
- Everyone who poops on you is not your enemy.
- Everyone who gets you out of poop is not your friend.
Most versions add a third lesson, but I choose to stay away from that one. A little research will also show that my version beams with details not featured in others.
So, what do the two lesson have to do with feedback?
As school leaders, it is our duty to provide feedback to our staff, students, parents, and other stakeholders. None is more important than the feedback given to staff. The work they do, their interactions, and their attitudes shape much of how students respond in the educational setting. Giving honest and accurate feedback is necessary to the work we do as school leaders. Likening feedback to “poop”, honest and accurate feedback is not always pleasant, but as in the story, feedback is necessary for the life of the organization.
On the other hand, as leaders we also have to play the role of the “little bird”, receiving feedback with the right attitude and mindset. How we handle honest and accurate feedback determines whether we survive as leaders. It is easy to call attention to our struggle and invite others to hear our gripes (i.e. the cat), but feedback is often for our individual growth and action.
There were times when I failed to provide feedback. There were also times when I did not adequately prepare myself to receive feedback. As I seek to make myself and my organization better, I have grown tremendously in this area.
May
12
“Sign Man” Says – Leadership Lessons
May 12, 2012 | Education, Leadership, Learning, Life, Society | Leave a Comment
Just prior to leaving for Japan in the summer of 1999, I had the opportunity to work for a friend and church member, David McDowell, who owned a sign business. He and his family ran the business from a shop behind their home in Greenville, NC. His work was a little more expensive than the competition, but he had built a steady and dedicated client base, which included the local hospital, law enforcement, and real estate agents in the area. They knew his work. When he promised to deliver, he delivered. I learned a great deal from him that summer.
Workmanship
Mr. McDowell often reminded me to, “Measure twice and cut once.”. We worked with high-grade vinyl. Inaccuracies resulted in wasted time and materials. We often worked slowly, ensuring that every bubble was pressed out, lines were sharp and straight, and the decals were firmly fixed to the surface. I did not mind the extra time, because I understood that his name was at stake. My errors would become his errors, and because I respected his work and vision, I eliminated errors.
Different Kind of Boss
Much of our work required a great deal of moving, measuring, bending, digging, and lifting. Mr. McDowell did his share and beyond. This may not seem odd, but considering his health issues, I sort of expected him to relax and attend to the non-physical areas of the business. He was careful to show us what he wanted from us. He frequently reminded me of the motto his dad taught him saying, “A man that will tell you what to do, you tell him to “Shut up.”, but a man who will show you what to do, that’s someone you listen to.”. I listened and learned.
Sacrifice
Hiring me was more of ministry work than need for Mr. McDowell. He could have easily relied on his wife and daughters to help him maintain the business, but he chose to sow into my life. I didn’t realize this at first. That summer Mr. McDowell invited me to sit down with his family and have dinner. He shared stories of how he cared for his elderly father. He also taught me the ins and outs of the business, more specifically the importance of relationships. These relationships prevented clients from leaving, even though they may have saved money using the chain sign shops.
Careful Design
Mr. McDowell named his business “Aesthetic Signs”. It was a name that fit perfectly. I’m certain that the average person who sees a decaled police car pass by has no idea how much work goes into the design. In fact, prior to working with Mr. McDowell, I never paid attention to striping, lettering, reflective vinyl, and seals. Why work that hard if no one would likely notice? To Mr. McDowell it mattered. He was an artist first and business owner second. Seeing him navigate his design program and create a signage layout was nothing short of genius. He was proud of his work. On the occasion we passed by a real estate sign he did or a vehicle he decaled, he would remark, “That’s mine.”, “I did that sign.”, or “That’s my work.”.
I often reflect on my experiences that summer. A lot of what I learned has directly influenced the way I lead.
Reflection
How much time do we spend on our craft? Do we foster relationships that make others continue to choose us? What sacrifices must we make to improve others? Can we identify our work? Are we proud of our workmanship?
Feb
8
Classroom Engagement Activity – “Un”Tweeting
February 8, 2012 | Learning, Teaching, Technology | 4 Comments
Let’s suppose you run into the following:
“My district banned Twitter! I can’t use it in class.”
Or
“I refuse to let my kids use social media. There are too many negatives and unknowns. I’m just not comfortable with it.”
Don’t fret! There are still ways that you can engage the students in higher level thinking and learning activities by “un”tweeting.
What is “un”tweeting you may ask?
In the literal sense, it means deleting a previously posted tweet, BUT in the educational sense, I define it as:
Using your Twitter-sense to offer learners a Twitter-like experience without actually using Twitter.
Say that again…
For the sake of time I won’t, however, I will describe what I mean.
If you’re in a secondary school, chances are, students have some idea of what Twitter and tweeting is. Whether they think tweeting is cool or not is irrelevant at this point. By the time you’re done “un”tweeting, I’m pretty sure you’ll convince them that tweeting is worthwhile.
Materials:
Paper
Writing Utensil
Whiteboard
Tape or Magnets
Twitter Cutouts – Retweet, Follow, Favorite (see image below)
Document Camera (optional)
*A more high tech platform for creating, displaying, and sharing may be preferred
Step One: Settle on a topic, event, or concept related to your learning objective. Ex: “Climate Change” (NCSCOS – 8th Grade Science 5.01)
Step Two: Ask students to write a comment, interesting fact, untruth, comical remark, or question using 140 characters or less related to the topic. (Some knowledge of Twitter terms, function, and symbols may be helpful.)
Step Three: Ask the students to share and display their written “tweets” on the board.
Step Four: Allow students to post their retweet, favorite, and follow (cutouts) preferences next to the “tweet” they think best encompasses the learning concept. This allows students to make judgments and evaluate the “tweets” of others.
Step Five: Tally the number of retweets, favorites, and follows. Have students defend why they made their choice to retweet, favorite, and follow. The discussion that takes place during this step is vital to learning and engagement.
This activity can be tweaked to fit your specific needs. It can be used prior to, during, or after teaching a concept or unit. As you can see, the absence of technology doesn’t mean that Twitter-like experiences can’t be used in the classroom.
Happy “un”tweeting!
