Lab Rat

Sometimes I wonder if I am the lab rat. I'm involved in a couple of federal research projects where change is the subject of the day. We know that there are problems with secondary education today. The focus in these projects is to facilitate positive change in student achievement. Let's follow this through, though....

In order to change student achievement, we must focus on those who interact with the kids. In my case, we are talking about middle and high schools for the most part. The focus of our work is on content literacy and in the encouragement of high levels of thinking and problem solving in secondary classrooms. We focus on engagement of students through keeping them sufficiently challenged with lots of feedback. This is a tall order in many classrooms today. The range of abilitites among students is huge. It is not an easy assignment for a teacher - especially in urban classrooms where academic diversity is the norm.

My point is that while our focus definitely is on changing outcomes for students, we must focus on helping the teachers change and adjust. They are often stressed and feel overwhelmed. Which brings me back to the title for today's post - Lab Rat. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not the lab rat after all! I recently attended a meeting where we were given our assignments for this school year. There were several new data collection tools and additional expectations were given. I reacted because I was under stress. I must also remember to adapt to change. My reaction was typical when it comes to feeling overwhelmed. I need to keep this feeling at the forefront of my work this year. I am sure this is what teachers feel everyday because we are asking them to step out of their comfort zone and do something that they don't quite understand yet. We are asking them to trust us and live with ambiguity. I must do the same thing.

The Need for More "Tempered Radicals" in our Schools

Debra Myerson, Professor of Education at Stanford, and author of the acclaimed book "Tempered Radicals: How Everyday Leaders Inspire Changes at Work" is a very validating work for me. It provides hope and a sense of fulfillment as well. I often tell teachers to NOT underestimate their ability to influence others and make change. So often, I hear teachers' voices that sound tired and, to be honest, a bit hardened. So much of being a good teacher well into the latter years of teaching is about having some control over what happens in the environment. Having control over what happens in the classroom is easy, but what is more important is exerting a positive influence on those around us. Teachers have a huge influence on the future of the country, and it's well-being. I've known far too many excellent teachers who became passive because they didn't believe that their voice mattered.

Well, REJOICE, teachers... Dr. Myerson confirms through her research that by rocking the boat ever so slightly (and ever so kindly), we can be voices for real change. The key is to remain focused and firm in our beliefs and to have courage and compassion with our colleagues. It is difficult to swim upstream, but in many instances that is what it feels like to go against the majority in a school culture. Seniority and "years of service" often have the loudest voices in a school culture. It is the adult version of peer pressure. Young or new teachers may feel uncomfortable when speaking up, but Dr. Myerson would urge them to be brave and go ahead and rock their boat. Voicing our ideas and opinions may inspire others to do the same. She said the following in an interview with Dennis Sparks for the Journal of Staff Development [JSD, Winter 2005 (Vol. 26, No. 1)]:

"Effective agents of change at the grassroots level know who they are and what they are trying to accomplish. Effective tempered radicals hold on to their deepest goals, which enables them to push through their fears and to choose their battles effectively."

I think my dad would agree that I've always tried to gently "rock the boat." Maybe it has to do with being a child of the '60's. I don't know. I don't think so, though. What I do know is that Dr. Myerson's book validates my feelings and thoughts about this subject. Everyone knows that our secondary schools today must change, and change soon. Be a boat rocker, and stand for positive change in the schools!

Rock the boat, baby!

Resolutions in the Shower

This morning I started contemplating again several things...it always happens when I'm in the shower where I don't have pencil and paper handy! So I must rely on my memory (which many of you know is not all that good). Several thoughts came to mind that I want to write about. First, I want to put forth one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2009. On a second post for later today or tomorrow, I want to write about the four concepts identified by Cynthia Coburn and Richard Elmore that relate to moving schools. The two subjects are actually related, and one led to the other in my somewhat logical thinking process. So let me share with you the one resolution that I've decided to focus on this year. No doubt, you've seen and heard others talking about a revolution in presentation style. Books like Presentation Zen and Slideology have been bestsellers. I want to be part of that revolution! So here I am ... declaring it to the world ... down with boring presentations! I never want to be accused again of doing a boring powerpoint presentation!

I've been admiring the simplicity and appeal of some of Jim Knight's newer presentations. (Not that they haven't always been good!) He has been studying and learning from some great masters in the field. He just had a great blog post with his thoughts a few days ago (12/29) that you might want to read. The link to his last post is http://tinyurl.com/93nggd.

Anyway, one of my resolutions for this year - 2009 - is to work on improving my presentation style. I want to shift my focus in my presentations away from the "powerpoint" to the meaning and message as Garr Reynolds and Nancy Duarte speak about. It requires time and energy I am finding, but it also really helps to get to the fine points of the message. So, as I was thinking about an upcoming meeting that needs to be very focused, I am endeavoring to begin this transformation. There are practical considerations...

• Where can I get good visuals?
• What is an efficient way to organize and plan?
• How do I organize my materials?

I'm hoping that the books I'm reading and the blogs I'm frequenting will help with those questions. I'm also going to seek the help of my online communities. These are the technical aspects of this change that I can get answers for rather easily if I make the time and effort to find them.

I'm more concerned about adaptive challenges that I am going to face, which I haven't completely figured out. These will take more time, and this is where you, my readers, come in. I am convinced that this is where I need to spend my time...

• What exactly is my message?
• How can I get teachers and school personnel to buy in to this message?
• How does a presentation become a call to action?

Heifietz and Linsky talk about adaptive challenges a lot in their book, Leadership on the Line. Solving adaptive challenges takes collaboration, dialogue, deep reflection, and time. I think about one of the beginning activities we do in the Instructional Coaching Institute which is to think about a change that has been managed successfully versus one that has not. In the institute, we talk about and have a dialogue about what it takes to make real and meaningful change occur. Knowing that change is a process, and a spiraling process, I am going to focus on these questions. Because change takes time, I'm going to check in periodically with this post and reflect about either my success or lack of success. I will take stock of where I am in this process of change. I guess I could call it my own little action research project!

Happy New Year to everyone! I would love to hear about your resolutions related to change for this year. The prognosis for successful change when it comes to resolutions is really minimal according to social scientists and surveys. Keeping in mind Prochaska's model of change can help us understand why that may seem so. Thinking about January 1 as a marker in the process can help us to think logically about making a habit permanent. So let today be the first mark in the change process for me!

"I am my brothers' keeper."

Barack Obama said it last night, and he said it publicly. He said it forcefully, and he said it in front of an overpacked football stadium a mile high in the sky. He said it to all the main networks and not-so-main networks, and he said it to untold numbers across the world through satellites. The message was CHANGE. I got it, and I think that most anyone with a beating heart got the message. He definitely connected with me, and my guess is that for anyone who works in a service field, he certainly connected with them, too. I need to feel hopeful again for our country and our government. This nomination has made me feel hopeful in several ways. First and foremost, I never thought I would see the day that an African-American man would be nominated. I remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech back in the 60's. I am awed by the change that has taken place in a little over four decades. It makes me hopeful, and I believe that Americans are getting past discrimination and hate. It makes me hopeful that this man wants to lead with compassion and caring for our elderly and young. He said something to the effect that he believes government should be helping to alleviate problems and pain - not causing them. His entire speech was sincere, well-planned, and articulately delivered (in my opinion.)


Being a professional developer working in a lot of struggling schools (and many not so struggling) I get to meet and see people who believe and practice this principle of being their brothers' keeper. Almost all of these educators are spending their careers in schools in order to make a difference in the lives of our young people. However, what I have seen in the last 8 years is a beating down of educators. They have been made to feel like failures when what they are being asked to do is a Herculean task. We need to engage everyone if we are going to truly change the face of the American public educational system. Besides educators, we need to parents, community, and government to partner with us - not against us. When I see teachers who feel "on the edge" - teachers who are working well into the night because they have no technology in their classrooms - teachers who believe their school could be closed at any given moment even though they are doing everything in their power to help students achieve, I get angry. This happens more frequently than not. Good schools are being closed because the school didn't make AYP. Done deal! They must be punished! The mentality is "Let's close the school instead of assisting their efforts of improvement." What an overly simplistic view! It seems that the educational system has made the mistake that Heifitz and Linsky talk about in their book, Leadership On the Line. In fact, it is a great example of applying a technical solution (close or "reconstitute" a school) to an adaptive problem (an urban school where AYP has not been made.) Notice that I didn't say "failing school." Many schools that don't make AYP are not failing; in fact, many of them are doing great work.

This brings me back to where I started. There is a huge need for CHANGE in the public schools of America. I believe that "I am my brothers' keeper." I want my grandchildren to have the American dream if they work for it. I am supporting Barack Obama openly and publicly. Please carefully think about this upcoming election. There is so much at stake!