Beyond the Permanent Record

All the Names

One of the most thought provoking books that I've read over the past few years is All the Names by Jose Saragamo. Senhor José is keeper of the records for nameless people in his city. The records of the living and the dead stretch back through time and he becomes caught up in looking at records and wondering about the people that they represent. His quest to find out about an unknown woman and her life attracts the attention of the registrar and he quickly becomes suspect as he takes risks to challenge the system and find a real connection.  In the end, the record means nothing. It doesn't capture the story of that person.

Our Permanent Records

I imagine that in some dark closet in the district where I attended school, there's a file (maybe on microfiche) of my permanent record from school. Along with my GPA, class rank, and club records, is perhaps a miscellaneous accounting of my shortcomings and mistakes. The time that my first grade teacher kept us after school until someone confessed to stealing something. Even though I wasn't the guilty student, I cried buckets of tears to be wrongly accused and punished. And I missed choir practice that day. From which I didn't recover. Because I stopped singing.  I'm sure there's also a stack of records recording my failure at softball, crafts and handwriting. I was a left-handed student in a right-handed world and no one accounted for that in sports or instruction. Scissors were a challenge. I developed a horror of volleyball and was sent to the guidance counselor for some psychological evaluation. I heard "this will go on your permanent record" so many times that I stopped talking in class. One teacher commented, "Donna is so quiet. I hardly know she is there. She is a good student." And so I followed the rules.

And the permanent records don't end when we graduate from college. We get jobs and have performance evaluations that go in a file somewhere. Education, like many other professions, has an extensive set of requirements to ensure that employees are qualified for their jobs. We don't always get a redo when we've had a failure. In the worst circumstances, we get a file in our permanent record. So we follow the rules and avoid implementing new ideas that are risky.

Beyond the Permanent Record

Somehow, in spite of the permanent records on file, I've managed to get along in the world. In fact, the struggles have made me more empathetic to students and colleagues at work. It turns out that there can't be a permanent record for a person. The power of the human spirit is that we can grow, change and overcome challenges. We are in a constant state of iteration with each new experience. We learn from failures and that becomes a strength.  Ernest Hemingway said it well, "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."

There is light at the end of the stack of records. Many schools around the country are recognizing the need to allow our students to continuously progress over a continuum through competency-based education. Programs that foster growth mindset and 21st century skills are enabling students to become successful, lifelong learners.

The final step in removing the permanent record is to empower teachers to try out new ideas and protect them from adverse consequences. If we want our students to become problem solvers, we must allow educators to find and solve problems too. I encourage readers to embrace empathy and support colleagues in their continuous growth this year. By building each other up, we are building a future for our students. Our lasting record is the difference that we make in the lives of students and colleagues.

Let's Cut Out Copy/Paste in Education

#r2innovates Si Se Puede team designs for their customers

In the Sundance movie Ants on a Shrimp,  René Redzepi, chef and co-owner of Noma, a Denmark restaurant, decides to risk everything to open a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan for a five week run. He moves his entire staff to Tokyo and asks them to reimagine a 14 course menu. 

After weeks of preparation, the staff shares their new menu with Redzepi. He is a harsh critique and reflects that they have simply copied the menu structure from the Denmark restaurant and pasted it in the new restaurant. They were not able to think beyond the template that they knew. He reminds the team that they have customers with high expectations for excellence and asks that they get back to work with their customers in mind. A review of the movie states that Redzepi pushes his staff "not just to look but to see" through a different lens to come up with a unique menu to meet the needs of Japanese customers. 

As the new school year begins, I challenge each of you to cut copy/paste and templates out of your vocabulary and actions. In professional development workshops, I often hear participants asking for a template to use as they create lessons and long range plans. Our educational system has trained us to be good followers - to complete the lesson plan templates, fill out the evaluation forms, and follow the set schedules.

Old habits die hard, but we must change those habits and replace them with a design process that allows us to move outside the boundaries of what we've done in the past. We need to prepare our students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. They deserve to have the opportunity to come up with unique solutions and express their creativity. Copy/paste doesn't work if we want to develop cognitive skills in our students.

Taking another lesson from Redzepi, go outside of your school and classroom and immerse yourself in the culture of your community. Talk to business people about their hiring practices and what qualities they look for in applicants. Bring together a team of educators and brainstorm ways to bring a fresh perspective to your work. Ban the phrase "this is the way we've always done things" and make bold moves to prototype new, promising ideas that will prepare our students for the future they deserve.

I look forward to hearing your stories. Have an amazing school year!

Putting Teachers in the Driver's Seat

A few weeks ago I was honored to attend a Teacher of the Year event at the White House along with other great educators. The Teachers Guild team nominated me and I was excited to be chosen as an honored guest. I heard  Jahana Hayes, the National Teacher of the Year, speak as well as President Obama. Jahana and the other state teachers of the year are all doing amazing work in their schools to positively impact students.

Need for Teacher Agency

As I moved around the rooms and talked with other educators, I was struck by all the success stories that I heard from teachers who have clearly gone beyond challenges at their schools to implement positive change while staying in the classroom. The experience gave me time to reflect on ways that we can provide more teachers with agency to take on leadership roles in their schools. Teachers don't always feel like honored guests when they walk into their schools. In conversations, I hear frustration over all of the expectations placed on teachers that prevent them from moving beyond the systems and silos that we unintentionally put into place. These expectations become roadblocks to change. 

Many teachers who want to have more agency end up on the road to becoming school administrators. This is the clearest path available to having more influence at the school level. As school administrators, they quickly discover that expectations from school boards and state departments of education limits the autonomy that they had hoped to have in their new job role. What we really need is a way to provide teachers with a leadership pathway that allows them to have the best of both worlds. 

Developing Teacher Leaders

Nationally and locally, there are many great programs that are trying to address the need for developing teachers as leaders. Teach to Lead. a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, ASCD and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards hosts summits throughout the year to provide teams of educators with time and resources to develop action plans that they can implement in their schools. At the summit, I learned about the Teacher Leader Model Standards, created by a consortium of educators. The standards provide a good framework for schools and districts that want to development programs for teacher leadership.  The Teacher Powered Schools organization is a great place to see what works. The site has toolkits that you can use in your school to start discussions about how to provide teachers with more autonomy. 

Teacher Agency Leads to Student Agency

I attended the Baltimore Teach to Lead Summit with my R2 Innovates team, Si Se Puede,and we were able to make a lot of progress on developing next steps for our initiative to bridge the gap that exists between home and school for our Latino families. As I've continued to work with the team in my district, I've seen amazing changes happen in the lives of students. By giving the team permission and time to design and try new ideas, the district has benefited with greater parent engagement and improved student achievement. LaChe Williams, a Conder Elementary School teacher, worked with the team to create a student-led conference format that has been shared throughout the district and on the Teachers Guild. If we want students to have agency in their learning, we have to give teachers agency to put their ideas into action.

From the Backseat to the Driver's Seat

One of our R2 Innovates team leaders said it best, "You come up with an idea about something that you want to change, and then it (the process) changes you." I encourage all educators to engage in conversations about ways to make teachers the honored guests and move them from the backseat into the driver's seat. Teacher leaders hold the key to meaningful change in our schools.

The Sorting Hat

A few months ago, I took the Myers-Briggs personality test as an assignment for a school leadership course. Most educators have encountered this test at some point in their careers. The indicators are designed to give you a sense of how you experience the world with the goal of helping you to understand your strengths and weaknesses and connect with others who can fill those gaps.

With test results in hand, I found myself singled out with a very small group of people as we grouped together around each of the four categories. At one point I was in a group of two. Almost all of the district leaders fit into just a few of the 16 profiles. Very few introverts were in the group. Looking at the data for administrators, it became apparent that there was little diversity in profiles of leaders in the group. This is not a bad thing – just an indicator that school leadership attracts people who have skills which match the system needs. It could also be an indicator that people who don’t fit into those categories have a harder time staying in the profession.

A recent article in the Atlantic describes the large number of introverted educators who are burning out. Teachers cite constant meetings and initiatives as draining. These teachers and leaders need to have time to decompress and reflect and their busy lives allow little time for this. Susan Cain in Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking expands on how introverts deal with stress in the workplace and feels that we sometimes undervalue their contributions. Cain has sparked some controversy with her statements about the overemphasis on collaboration in the workplace and schools, but I don’t think we can ignore what she is saying about the need to provide educators and students with time to reflect and refuel. Education needs teachers and leaders who are empathetic and introspective.

At a recent event, I had time to connect with a group of colleagues and friends from around the world and I was reminded of the value of a diverse team. We had several conversations around the idea that our differences made our group better. No one minded that some of us were quiet, some of us were loud, and some of us were just plain tired. We’re from diverse backgrounds and have differing opinions about a lot of things including political preferences to preferred computing devices. In spite of our differences, the conversation always came back around to what we had in common. Through this six degrees of separation discussion, we connected with each other.

In thinking about how we might transform our educational system into a place that attracts and utilizes the skills of a diverse group of educators, I believe that we need to find a variety of ways to provide each other with support. There’s no substitute for time and space to meet in small groups and reflect on our journey together, but online space can also provide educators with a safe space to share and reflect. Small professional learning teams can bridge the divide between educators who have different personality traits. Everyone benefits from small group discussion and collaboration with a learning team.

I recently heard someone say, “When I go on stage with people different than me, they raise my game.” So the question becomes, how can we create an environment that allows all types of educators to connect, reflect and grow in their job roles?

Minding the Gap

On a recent trip to London, I had the opportunity to travel on the light rail and underground system. Every station had a “Mind the Gap” sign warning of the dangers when entering a train. As someone who experienced an actual fall through the gap on a train platform many years ago, I took some time to reflect on the analogous experience of students preparing for college. Students who are on a journey to and through college are like travelers entering trains to get to a final destination. They need a clear sense of direction and sure footing to reach their intended destination. If they’re unprepared, they may never understand the system to purchase a ticket or they might fall through the gap before entering the train. Having a disability that prevents them from gaining entry in the normal way is also a challenge. Once on the train, they find themselves pressed together with a diverse group of people and are sometimes hanging on tightly to stay safe. And getting off the train is just as difficult. The signs pointing in so many directions make it confusing to switch trains or find the right way out.

A current Teachers Guild challenge to find ways to support students on their journey to and through college caused me to reflect on my own journey. The story that I wrote, “Not Quite Good Enough,” is about the struggle that I had to be good enough for scholarship funding. Looking around at students today, I see the same struggles as they begin to feel beaten down by the challenge of getting grades and funding to gain entrance to college. Many succeed but others fall through the gaps because of the system of ranking students -a common practice in schools. They decide that their current circumstances are “good enough” and don’t pursue their passions beyond high school. The bar seems to be too high, the game too hard, for them to push on. They may have a destination in mind but no support and no practical way to get there.

How does this happen? If the feeling of “not good enough” doesn’t happen at home, reality hits when students walk through the school door for the first time. With good intentions, we test students to identify their strengths and weaknesses. What follows then is a practice of using the sorting hat to group students by ability and then assigning letter grades for each task that they complete. Students who start school behind are often unable to catch up because of the intense focus on achievement scores. Even students who are adept at navigating our grading system and are high scorers on college entrance exams are in for a big surprise when they reach their college of choice. Success in college depends on the ability to navigate a network of systems from social groups, to sessions with advisors, to part-time jobs in order to make it safely to the other side.

Educators in K-12 blame colleges and colleges toss the blame back to K-12. The reality is that we need to work together to help students find success in pursuing the college and career of their choice. And to do this, we have to begin exploring competency-based education and find new ways to measure student success. Colleges are also making changes. In fact, a Gartner prediction is that by 2020, up to 1/3 of colleges will support alternative ways to determine if students are college ready and will also have alternative ways of accessing student progress. The work that we do in K-12 is a driving force to change higher education.

I encourage each of you to get involved in the latest Teachers Guild challenge to answer the question,”How might we create programs, processes and tools to provide ongoing support to all students on their journey to and through college?” The current challenge is in partnership with the First Lady’s Reach Higher andBetter Make Room campaigns. Head over to the Teachers Guild, read some of the interviews and stories posted during the Discover phase, and take time to discuss the recurring themes with your colleagues. During the Ideate phase, you’ll have the opportunity to #reachwayhigher and post ideas, work with other guild members, and prototype solutions in your own school. I look forward to collaborating with you online!

A Reading Prescription for 2016

Closing out 2015, I reflected on the adventure of trying new things, the sorrow of losing things precious to me, and the determination that I have to keep moving forward in all areas of my life.  A book was always in my hand to provide me with knowledge and inspiration.

Wherever you may be right now in your career and personal life, I'm sure that you're also reflecting and beginning to plan ahead for the new year. In The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George,  Perdu the bookseller has an uncanny ability to prescribe just the right reading for everyone who walks in the door. In that spirit, here are my reading prescriptions for educators who are wanting to make change happen in 2016.

A Fresh Start
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. Clear out the clutter and the cobwebs in your office and home and you'll find that your thinking clears up too. There is a certain magic to this book if you can just believe and follow Kondo's expert advice.

Leadership Lessons
Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath provides access to an online assessment to give you a nudge in the right direction of your talents.
The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros. George has a heart for students and encourages school leaders to establish a common vision and build on the strengths of others.
The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools by Liz Wiseman, Lois Allen and Elise Foster. This book provides many great team activities to bring out the best in everyone and build a strong team.

I Have an Idea
How to Come Up With Great Ideas and Actually Make Them Happen by Ewan McIntosh. Ewan practices what he preaches and uses learning from companies and schools to show how design thinking can help your organization to innovate.
The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design by IDEO.org is a great toolkit for getting started with designing solutions that are innovative and impactful. Great workshop materials are included.
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Don't just sit there. Get moving! This book encourages you to build the plane while you're flying it.

Seeking Adventure
A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life by Brian Grazer. Brian's stories will give you ideas for seeking out answers to those curious questions.
The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Ella Luna. Sometimes you just need a little inspiration. This book will inspire you to take advantage of opportunities for adventure.
Insight Out: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World by Tina Seelig. Tina provides insights into how you can move forward with implementing your ideas with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Stuck in a Rut 
The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth. Roth, co-founder of the Stanford d.school, explores how you can use design thinking to reach your goals.
Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less by Robert Sutton. Sutton shares his expertise and discusses how successful organizations are able to effectively scale programs.
Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith will challenge you to think about re-imagining education to prepare students for success in a global economy.

Craving Creativity
The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently by Sunni Brown will unlock your artistic abilities and enable you to capture deep thinking.
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by David Kelley. Kelley believes that we all have the power to think creatively and use innovative approaches to solve problems.

Telling your Story 
Weekend Language: Presenting with More Stories and Less PowerPoint by Andy Craig and Dave Yewman will give you the tools to be a great speaker.
The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam. Learn how you can sell your idea to anyone using six types of images.
Um..: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean by Michael Erard will make you more aware of how you speak and help you to remove "um" and "you know" from your vocabulary.

Dealing with Failure
The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble and the companion book How Stella Saved the Farm explains how to navigate rough waters and build new capabilities for your organization.
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie is a fun read and helpful for educators who are navigating roadblocks and jumping over hurdles.

I hope this list will provide you with the right dose of inspiration, knowledge, and confidence as you enter into 2016. Enjoy!