From Bad to Better to Good to Great to Greater to Master

I just started reading “Never Underestimate Your Teachers” by Robyn Jackson, and through the first chapter I’ve made several notes that led to further reflection and thinking. The highlights of those highlights with my expanded thoughts are below. The central theme of the book thus far is that there are actions and mindsets any leader can adopt to help any teacher reach mastery.

1. “Why shouldn’t masterful teaching be the goal - the attainable goal - of every teacher in the profession?... Great instructional leadership means rejecting the idea of masterful teaching as a gift endowed to a select few.” - Page 3

If we as school leaders relegate great teaching to nature, then we unintentionally undermine our own position and duties; if we fancy ourselves as leaders dedicated to the concept of every student learning and making progress, then we must assume that every teacher has the capability of improving and reaching mastery with our supports. Just as it’s wrong for a math teacher to justify poor student performance by saying they just have a bunch of students who are bad at math, a school leader cannot justify poor teaching with the same logic.

2. “Our biggest leadership challenge if not that we don’t know what to do to increase student success; our biggest challenge is that we must get our teachers to do it.” - Page 5

Knowing what to do is not enough. Knowing how to communicate what you know is not enough. We need to know a lot, how to best communicate what we know depending on the audience and circumstances, and how to follow up on that communication in an infinite number of ways depending on how the initial communication is received.

 

 

 

3. “...help bad ones become good, good ones become great, and great ones become even greater.” -Page 6

I’ve been thinking about this quote for a couple of days now since I read it, and I’m thinking that it will become part of my personal mission statement. If I’m not helping people get better no matter where they are, then what am I doing? Why am I here?

4. “It is critical to provide teachers with differentiated leadership as it is to provide students with differentiated instruction.” - Page 19

Don’t just throw darts at the board and hope one hits; be intentional with what you’re doing. Know who you’re working with, and diagnose what’s needed before trying to remedy it. Know strengths and weaknesses in order to get the most return on whatever investment you’re going to make. One size fits all never lives up to its billing whether its baseball hats, leadership strategies, or learning of any kind.

Advice: Do Your Reading

It seemed endless at first, but it was the best investment I could've made

 

Photo Courtesy of Tom Belte

I’m feeling strong two weeks into my new assistant principal position at my new school largely because I’ve completed all my reading - every student file, the Program of Studies, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the student handbook, the progressive discipline guide, School Committee policies, and pretty much every page/link on the school’s website; I’m excited to come back Monday to start week 3, and I'm ready to use my new knowledge of the school’s policies, practices, and offerings in conjunction with every else I already knew.

Doing the reading never gets the attention it deserves, but isn’t that one of the clear differences between the successful and unsuccessful? I know the laws, I know how to work with and lead people, I know about blended learning and essential questions, but how much influence would I wield or how much good would I be to the organization if I don’t know what we do and don’t do/offer? Sitting down and doing the reading is the first time administrator in July's equivalent of walking the walk; it isn't glamourous and it surely won't be what I hang my hat on, but it was the critical step I needed to take to insure my own effectiveness moving forward.

Some of it was dry and some of it became redundant, but the difference between seeing myself as an outsider on Monday compared to an insider on Friday validates all the highlighter marks on the side of my left hand and time spent secluded in quiet this week. I feel prepared to take my pre-existing skills, beliefs, and knowledge and apply them in the specific context of my new school.

Before I did my reading that application would not have been possible, and as we all know it’s the application and implementation of knowledge & ideas that determines success and impact. I'm striving for both.

3 Steps to More Support

Monday’s visions don’t become Friday’s realities without the help of those around us; the status quo is built with good ideas that are never seen through because nobody else buys in, helps make it happen, and/or takes the necessary actions.

I've seen 3 steps any leader of any organization can take to better insure their envisioned outcome. If you cannot or will not do any of the 3, then the likelihood it’s going to happen diminishes rapidly.

1. Start with WHY - make it clear that the work and effort required will produce necessary and beneficial change by explaining WHY it’s happening. If you can’t, then go back to the drawing board before asking others to help you make it happen.

2. Roll up your sleeves - make it clear that you’re not above doing any task necessary to make the vision a reality; people always respond better when they’re working with you instead of for you.

3. Acknowledge & thank - start working on your next initiative by saying thank you for the work just done. A little praise and appreciation goes a long way.

Simple yet profound; these three easy steps are often overlooked at the expense of what’s trying to be done.