Critical Conversations #SAVMP

Critical Conversations #SAVMP

This week's #SAVMP assignment is actually a topic that I have BLOGged about in the past! {BIG GRIN} It was a pretty good feeling to dig into to my previous posts and locate a BLOG from a year ago. The first thing I noticed is that this review of a previous post allowed me to do some reflection.

First of all, I noticed that even a full year later, I am still engaged in these critical conversations. I have many times over the course of the last year engaged in uncomfortable conversations that pushed me to grow as a leader. I am still engaged in these conversations on a weekly basis, and that leads me to believe that they are a key element of the effective leader's responsibilities.

To reflect, I pondered how much I had grown in my abilities to have these conversations. I have determined that I have grown, and I realize that I am continuing to grow. Having had one of these conversations just last week with an employee who was considerably more mature than me, I noticed that I swallowed hard and had to steel my mind before I dove into the words that I am certain were difficult to hear. In retrospect, I would say that these talks have become, on the whole, easier to perform.

Click here: Uncomfortable Conversations-- to view my posting from a year ago. This is the first time EVER that I have been able to refer to one of my own posts to discuss my growth as a leader! Hooray for me. This is truly an epiphany as a BLOGger. The blog is a journal of my learning, and for however long it endures or I persevere, it will serve to remind me of how far I have come and how much more I have to learn!

AND....as always I learned something from #SAVMP during this process. Here is the post from Week 16's Assignment: Critical Conversations. At the original posting, @8amber8 posted a video which is quite clever (based on a Harry Potter theme) and had some awesome tips for how to provide effective "critical conversations."

Here is the video:

And here are the three steps the video recommends for providing these growth-minded talks.

1. Describe the gap between the performance and the expected behavior
2. Analyze the gap source as coming from a motivation problem or an ability problem
3. Make a follow-up plan for accountability

From my friend and mentor Paul McGuire, he posted his response for this assignment, and I felt his words were profound. He explained that the conversations we have with our teachers and staff should also be the conversations that are occurring with our teachers and our students. Feedback promotes growth, and I heartily agree that the teachers should be providing growth-minded talks for their students as well. here is Paul's post: Principal Musings.

As a member of #SAVMP, I have--in this one assignment-- reviewed, reflected, learned, connected, and shared. Thanks, #SAVMP!

What Is School For? #SAVMP

Week 14 – What is school for? #SAVMP

Week 14’s assignment for SAVMP was -- blog about some of the things that you do with your staff to help understand where they are at, and how to move them forward.

Seth Godin’s “Stop Stealing Dreams” Ted Talk is one that I hear people refer to quite frequently. I actually added it to my Favorites on my YouTube Channel, and it is #36 in my Favorites playlist. This week’s SAVMP posting suggested showing it to our faculty and having serious conversations about …What is school for?

Godin makes some provocative statements in his Talk. For example, he says things like: “…this factory we call school…textbooks make students hate school, and…..there is zero value in memorizing anything.”

The last part of the video is where Seth shares his 8 answers to the question, “What is school for?”

1. Homework during the day, lectures at night.
“Flipping the classroom” (Khan Academy) where students watch lectures at night and come to school to work out problems during the day with their teachers {coaches}.
2. Open book, open note all the time.
“There is zero value memorizing anything ever again. Anything that is worth memorizing is worth looking up.”
3. Access any course, anywhere, anytime in the world when you want to take it.
4. Precise focused education instead of mass batched stuff.
Seth really elaborates on this answer by adding:

• No more multiple choice exams: According to Seth Godin these were made because they are easier to score, and he explains how the Number Two pencil became such a prominent part of education.
• Measure experience, instead of test scores: “Experience is what we really care about.”
• Cooperation instead of isolation: Seth Godin remarks that when we finish school we go out in the world to collaborate with others so we should value collaboration and NOT isolation.

5. Teachers will transform into coach(es).
6. Lifelong learning with work happening earlier in life.
7. Death of the “famous college”. 
8. Teach students to create something interesting and ask if you need help.

He further elaborates about how our industrial model is broken by sharing some MYTHS:

1. Great performance in school leads to happiness and success. If that’s not true, we should stop telling ourselves it is.
2. Great parents have kids who produce great performance in school. If that’s not true we should stop telling ourselves it is.

Mr. Godin states…”We don’t teach students to connect the dots, but rather to collect dots and memorize facts." He also declares that passion and insight are reality, while grades are an illusion. He returns to the question “what is school for?” and if we don’t know, then we should have a conversation about it.

This provocative video reminded me of some videos I have shared with the faculty along the same lines:

For this #SAVMP BLOG assignment, I would also like to share an upcoming video I will be sharing with our faculty to help understand where they are at with student assessment and how we will move forward:

 Godby High School Tracking Student Data: Marzano The Art & Science of Teaching

Also, special thanks to the following BLOG for an awesome summary of Seth's Super 8 -- 

http://academiclifeinem.com/seth-godins-ted-talk-on-stop-stealing-dreams/

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!