Week 7 -- Promoting Critical Conversations #SAVMP

Week 7 -- Promoting Critical Conversations #SAVMP

How Do You Go About Getting Honest Feedback from Your Team?

This is such a great question. I am truly grateful for the thought provoking questions that George has provided us in each week's assignments. These are not easy questions.

Here are my thoughts about promoting critical conversations: 

Critical conversations can only happen in an environment where honest feedback is honored. For the first year at my current school, I have worked diligently to provide an expectation of a positive culture. We have too much to do and too little time to do it in for the adults on campus to focus on things beyond our control or to engage in destructive conversations about our students, parents, the district OR even each other. One of my favorite quotes of all time is where Abraham Lincoln says ... "All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind."   I have ALWAYS tried to be positive in everything I do. Attitude is such a huge part of conquering any obstacle. I recall when my doctor told me I had colon cancer. He was shocked at my reaction which was ridiculously positive. I smiled at him through tear filled eyes and told him, "Okay. I've got cancer. What do I have to do to beat this?" This is how I approach every problem and all of life. So at school, I discourage negativity but.... I encourage problem-solving. I don't want the faculty to be confused that I frown on disagreement or other points of view. These are necessary to make us stronger. I have one teacher at school who is my "go-to" person for real and honest feedback. I call her my "real-talker". She alerts me to things that need to be watched, handled with care, or revamped. So, if any teacher comes to my office and says, "I don't mean to be negative...." I listen to what they have to say, and then I let them know that notifying me of problems in the system is NOT being negative. I always want to hear what they have to say. I honor everyone's opinion. AND, I also ask them to think of resolutions to the problem so that all of us have input in improving OUR school.

Next, I promote a culture of growth and learning by the students and the adults. We are currently undergoing individual data chats at school where I walk all of the teachers through a data activity that analyzes their instructional impact, their student achievement indicators, and the global data that represents our school's impact on student achievement. As all of us reflect on OUR data, we are asking questions like HOW CAN WE DO A BETTER JOB WITH OUR STUDENTS? WHAT CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE TO HELP OUR STUDENTS LEARN WITH MORE EASE AND MORE SPEED? WHAT CAN I DO TO INCREASE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? WHAT HIGH-YIELD STRATEGIES WILL INCREASE STUDENT LEARNING? HOW CAN WE QUICKLY CLOSE or ERASE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS? To answer these questions, all of us have to reflect and honestly undergo self-actualization in order to make change. These are difficult conversations to have especially in the face of raw student data. I read a book this summer that captures this process beautifully. In Peggy Hinckley's book, Monitoring, she says, "The data is not a personal indictment of you as a teacher. It is the next teaching decision."

To have such honest questions will require difficult and honest answers. If the data shows we are not meeting the needs of our students, we must make changes. We must make these changes with urgency. Accordingly, it is critical conversations and honest analysis that will move us there quickly. 

So, honoring feedback and asking even the adults to grow and learn will promote the critical conversations and reflection required to help us all improve. I will continue looking for less thistles and more flowers..... and, as a few of my previous posts will contend....I will also hug the cactus. We must look at the flawed parts of ourselves in order to repair them and make continued progress!