Strikes, Spares and Sliders: Adventures in Professional Development

Over the last few years, I've taken a particular interest in professional development for my faculty and staff. Specifically, I've gone to great lengths to move away from the stand-and-deliver, meeting-heavy, cookie-cutter professional development that seems to have been the norm for the twenty years I've been an educator. We've worked hard to move away from that model for our classrooms, so why would we want to perpetuate poor teaching and learning PD experiences for our teachers? Come to think of it, does all professional development even have to be about teaching and learning? I think not.

Our school dismisses early about once each month, which allows us to have professional development time regularly, and the responsibility to provide quality PD falls squarely on my shoulders. Some of the more successful, memorable and meaningful PD in recent memory includes professional development around the Harkness tables and a school-wide edcamp. Several weeks ago, while looking ahead to the October early dismissal, I knew I wanted to do something different, memorable and, above all, meaningful. I knew what I wanted to accomplish, what I wanted as an outcome, but I wasn't sure how to formulate and execute a plan. I collaborated with (read conspired with) two of my best team members, shared my vision and they ran with it.

Several days before the early dismissal, I sent the following email to my faculty:

US Faculty,

As you know, next Wednesday is another early dismissal day for us to focus on professional growth. I have great news: Wednesday will be another jeans day, so come casual. Those of you who have known me a while probably think I've lost my mind because we've done jeans so many times this year. Here's the deal... one more time can't hurt, right?

In other news, we're going to do something a little out of the box. We have an opportunity to be part of a pilot program for a new team building program called TEAM WORKS, which actually is an acronym for Together Everyone Achieves More When Organizations Revitalize Kindred Souls. The focus of the program, as you may have discerned from the full program title, is on team building through tearing down walls, finding common ground, becoming better friends, and even establishing intimacy among coworkers. I was skeptical at first. However, after doing some reading, I believe this is just the shot in the arm we need.

The catch is that we cannot bring facilitators here. Rather, our sessions will be off campus. Transportation will be provided and the bus will depart at 12:30 from the gym entrance on the north side of the building. If the sessions end on time, we should return by the end of the school day. Gluten-free and organic lunch options will be provided at no cost to you.

Because reservations are non-refundable, I need to know asap if for some reason you cannot be there (and coaching responsibilities are about the only good reasons I can think of at the moment).

Looking forward to bonding with you on Wednesday,

Nathan

I'm not sure how faculties at other schools would react to an email like this, but I can tell you I struck a collective nerve with my faculty. Almost immediately, my teachers moved into one of two camps: "what is he up to?" and "God help us, please do not make us do this." My creative plan was off to a perfect start. The buzz was deafening for days. Teachers huddled in classrooms and in the workroom to speculate about not only what this professional development experience would be like but also how stressful and unpleasant the experience would be. "When the initial email came out, my thought was, 'Oh no, Barber has bought into the team building thing and some group has made some money off the school," says Cal, my economics teacher. Some teachers even worked together to begin research on TEAM WORKS to see if they could catch a glimpse of what they could expect.

Not one to leave things alone, I decided to amp things up a bit. Two days before our TEAM WORKS experience, I sent a second email explaining that the facilitators had requested the following: faculty should be divided into pre-assigned teams according to pre-assigned colors; each team needed a theme song; each team needed a team name, which had to be in #hashtag format. I didn't send this info to everyone. Instead, I sent this one only to team captains. In less than 24 hours, our team captains had communicated with and organized their teams, and they had provided the requested info after their teams made their choices. Can you say communication? Collaboration?

At last, TEAM WORKS day arrived. Every single teacher and staff member arrived at school decked out in his or her team color. As the morning went by, the excitement (read tension and apprehension) moved toward a crescendo. Finally, the bell rang, the kids went home and the teams loaded the school bus waiting for them outside the gym.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, I discovered a microphone and sound system on the bus. Having never met a mic I didn't like, I seized the opportunity to go ahead push things over the top. En route to our mystery destination, I announced periodically to my captive audience, "Go ahead and take a few minutes to center yourself, focus and clear your mind;" "Grab the hand of the person seated next to you and say, 'Together, we can do this;'" "Turn to the person on your left and tell them he/she is special;" and "Put your right hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you and say, 'No matter what the kids think about you, I think you're awesome.'" One of my teachers actually leaned forward on the way and told me, "If you really make us do this today, I think I'm going to be sick."

As we approached our destination, I grabbed the mic once again much to the chagrin of most of my passengers. I reminded my teachers of a meeting we had a number of weeks ago at which I revealed that our five-year trend of rising ACT scores had continued to new heights: 2015's scores stood as the highest in school history. At that meeting, I also told them that at some point we would celebrate their hard work and their commitment to the process. As we turned into the parking lot of the bowling alley, I let them off the hook and reminded them that I hadn't forgotten about celebrating. Pandemonium ensued.

We exited the bus and entered the bowling alley where we were greeted by two of my aforementioned best team members . They had arranged for a huge buffet, competitions, awesome music and one unforgettable party. For the next two hours, we bowled. For the next two hours, we cheered for one another, high-fived, celebrated, and created a sense of team unity we'd never experienced before. And at the end of the two hours, it seemed like my faculty had just won the lottery.

You may think we just went bowling. I assure you, the TEAM WORKS experiment proved to be so much more. How, exactly? First, beginning immediately after my first email, people started having conversations - lots of them - and with people they don't always spend time with at school. Teachers were sharing ideas, asking questions and having conversations about this crazy principal and his crazy plan. I didn't really care what they were talking about... They were talking. A lot. Second, teachers from different departments and grade levels had to get themselves organized and on the same page. More conversation. Third, teachers spent two hours relaxing together, cheering and encouraging one another, building trust, forging relationships and being positive. That's powerful. Fourth, by the end of the early dismissal day, the faculty had a positive, meaningful shared experience. There's great power and value in shared experiences, especially when those experiences are positive. Finally, the faculty felt appreciated and valued. Believe it or not, feeling valued and appreciated ranks as the one thing that will keep faculty satisfied, engaged and on the team for the long haul. Feeling valued and appreciated far outweighs salary, work hours, facilities and everything else that might factor into teacher job satisfaction and retention. In fact, some of the faculty told me they have never felt so appreciated. Mission accomplished.

I'm not the only one who sensed the power of this experience. Take a look at what some of my faculty said:

• The interaction we had at the bowling alley was authentic. Not forced. Getting to spend a few hours with colleagues from other disciplines within the humanities in an authentic environment produces authentic interactions. Authentic interactions build trust. Where trust exists, collaboration can also exist. Where collaboration exists, everybody wins. I enjoyed physically leaving the confines of school with colleagues. I returned energized, motivated and more productive. Nancy
• This event was unique. Who can say the principal took them bowling? It's a credibility thing, it's a trust thing, it's an appreciation thing, and it's a bonding thing. Cal
• TEAM WORKS offered two things that will have lingering effects on the faculty.  The first being the fact that their hard work has not gone unnoticed.  Bringing up a standardized test average is proof that what they are doing is working.  As a college preparatory school, there is no greater achievement than seeing students succeed in their educational goals.  This score marked a record for the school, and as a result, the faculty.  The other takeaway that will remain with the faculty is knowing that they work for someone who encourages camaraderie.  The day was a successful surprise and it everyone worked together to have fun. Tim

We may not go bowling every term or even every semester, but I am sure we will do more of this, per faculty request and because I see the incredible value-added for my team. There will be plenty of time throughout the year stay up-to-date on best practices. After this experience, though, I will be sure that best practices will be only part of our focus during time set aside for professional development. After all, does all professional development even have to be about teaching and learning? I think not.

Excerpt from What Teachers Can Learn from Sports Coaches - The Game Has Changed

Below is an excerpt from my newest book, What Teachers Can Learn from Sports Coaches, to give readers an idea of what the book really is about. I hope you enjoy the excerpt and I hope you'll consider picking up or downloading a copy of the book.

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What Teachers Can Learn from Sports Coaches
by Nathan Barber
Copyright 2014, Routledge/Eye on Education
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“Athletes and people are happiest when they are improving… You are either getting better or you are getting worse… I find it really tough at any level, but especially with an Olympian that’s no longer getting any better and not improving… we have to deal with some tough stuff. We do whatever we can – with technology, with feedback, with multiple coaches coming from different angles – to keep them improving, because that’s when they are performing at their best.” Marv Dunphy, member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame, Five-Time NCAA National Champion as Head Coach of Pepperdine University Men’s Volleyball, and Gold Medal Winner as Head Coach of the 1988 Olympic Team

The Game Has Changed…

            The game has changed. What game, you ask? Well, virtually every game in the modern sports world has changed since its inception. For some sports, rules have changed, gameplay has changed, equipment has changed, scoring has changed and even the length of the season has changed. The three point line in basketball, the designated hitter in baseball, and the forward pass in football each have irreversibly changed their respective sports. For other sports, the players today are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before, and the very nature of those particular sports have been forever altered because of the changes in the athletes. Usain Bolt in track and field, Lionel Messi in soccer, Tiger Woods in golf, Michael Phelps in swimming, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Brittney Griner in basketball have elevated the level of “excellence” to new heights in their respective sports. Additionally, many nuances of the major sports have changed.

            To be a successful in the sports world today, a good coach must understand change. He not only must acknowledge that his sport changes but also must take measures to keep up with the changes. He must be willing to change his practice approach and his game plan. He must be willing to approach players differently. He must be willing to approach every aspect of the game differently. If there is a coach today using the same approach, same game plan and same practice plan he did twenty years ago, chances are that his program ranks somewhere other than at the top. Because rules, equipment, scoring and even players have changed through the years, no good coach would stubbornly resist change and refuse to stay current. Imagine a basketball coach running the same plays he used before the introduction of the three-point line.

A good coach works hard to stay on top of how his particular sport continues to change or he simply gets passed by. An NCAA or National Football League defensive coordinator better put in extra time to understand how the New Orleans Saints and the Baylor Bears, engineered by Sean Payton and Art Briles, respectively, have changed the game of football offensively. A National Hockey League coach better work hard to find a way to approach Ken Hitchcock’s frustrating, defense-first style of hockey. Coaches who do not keep up with other programs’ innovations will become obsolete very quickly.

            As with the world of sports, the world of education has changed. Historically, education has changed very little until very recently. The stand-and-deliver model of teaching by lecture dominated education for centuries, dating back to the advent of universities hundreds of years ago. Even late into the 20^th century and beyond, such obsolete pedagogy has managed to hang on for dear life in some schools even though the world outside the classroom walls has been changing at an incredible rate. In recent years however, the rules of education have changed, the art of teaching has changed, scoring and assessment have changed, the length of the days and years have changed, and even the students have changed. Imagine a teacher teaching science the way she taught it in the 1970s, or history, or art. Inconceivable! For a good teacher, these changes present opportunities to change with the times and explore new and exciting best practices.

            A good teacher understands that both teaching and learning have changed. Whereas classrooms once were cutting edge with one Apple IIe for students to share, many classrooms today have tablets or laptops in every student’s hands. Classrooms of days gone by used sticks of chalk with chalk boards or black boards, while today’s classrooms often boast interactive whiteboards. Blended classes, digital textbooks, state standardized testing, increasingly competitive college admissions, scores of proprietary curriculum choices, Advanced Placement courses and more have changed not only what teachers teach but how they teach. Similarly, what students learn and how they learn have changed. Research has shown repeatedly that the one-size-fits-all assembly-line method of educating students used so much throughout the 20^th century leads to disinterest and disengagement with 21^st century kids.

A good teacher recognizes that today’s students differ even from students ten years ago. Today’s students are more plugged in than ever. Today’s students have different life goals than students a generation ago. Today’s students face a future that is more uncertain than ever before and employment statistics that are far from encouraging. As a result, what students need in the classroom varies greatly from what students needed in past generations. A good teacher changes her game plan, or lesson plans, to accommodate these changing needs. Because students’ needs have changed and because the ways students’ learn best have changed, a good teacher stays current on changes in teaching and learning by reading, researching, observing others and experimenting with new approaches.

            A good teacher, unafraid to change with the times, rewrites his game plan as often as necessary in order to stay current with best practices. In terms of teaching quality, experience can be priceless. As recent research shows, however, there exists no direct correlation between teacher experience and teacher effectiveness. This largely results from career educators’ inability or desire not to change and update their game plans to give todays’ students what they need. The best teacher in any given building may or may not be the most experienced teacher. The best teacher in the building, though, will not be the one using the same yellowed notes he used three decades ago. The best teacher in the building will not be the one using the same exams he used back when mimeograph machines with purple toner were all the rage. The best teacher in the building will not be the one who has memorized all the lectures and can deliver them with no notes or outlines in front of him. As with coaches who hold on too long to the old ways of doing things, quite possibly, the game of teaching has passed some of these teachers by, thus rendering them obsolete in the 21^st century classroom. The best teacher in the building, regardless of years of experience, does what all good teachers do: he evaluates his game plan often and rewrites his game plan as often as necessary to accommodate the changing needs of the students and the changing landscape of the real world and does not cling to obsolete pedagogies.

            Perhaps baseball coach John Cohen of Mississippi State University sums this up best. Having led his Bulldogs to not only the College World Series finals in 2013 but also to the most wins in program history in a season, Cohen understands that change and evolution are crucial to continued success. He says of his own coaching and teaching journey, “… the six most dangerous words in the English language: We’ve always done it this way. That’s dangerous because the world is changing. If we were doing it the same way that I was doing it as a young coach 20 years ago, we’d be doing the program a huge disservice. It’s a challenge to make sure you’re constantly evolving.” As Cohen will testify, the challenge certainly is worth it, for you and for those you teach.

Keeping mind that the game has changed, and will continue to change, the obvious question is, “Will you?”

How Do You Know Your Professional Development Was Good?

At my school, we dismiss students early one Wednesday each month so we can spend the afternoon as a faculty immersed in professional growth activities. After our last professional development early dismissal day, I had the following conversation with my freshman son.

Son: How were your meetings today?
Me: Actually, we didn't do meetings.
Son: I thought we got out early so you could have meetings.
Me: No, we did professional development sessions.
Son: Well, were they good?
Me: Actually, yes, they were really good today. Thanks for asking.
Son: How do you know they were good?

How wise is my adolescent son? He asked the million dollar question. How did I know the professional development we just finished was good? I went on to explain that I knew the professional development was meaningful in basically the same ways I know when good things are happening during classroom visits.

Here's how I knew the professional development sessions were good:
1. Learner engagement. The learners spent their time engaged. They collaborated and discussed in small groups. They collaborated and discussed in a whole group setting. They asked one another questions. They asked the lead learner questions. They challenged one another. They remained focused and on task but energetic the entire time. Their conversation, their participation, their body language and their energy all said they were engaged.
2. Learner-centered activities. The lead learner served as facilitator only. The lead learner did not wax poetic or lecture, but rather directed the learners through meaningful activities. The lead learner avoided becoming the center of attention and focused the attention instead on the learners.
3. No lull in learning. The energy level remained high throughout. Conversation and collaboration continued even beyond the allotted time for each activity. The learners really wanted the learning to keep going.
4. Post-learning conversation. The learners continued conversation about the day's topics even after the session concluded. Learners remained in the classroom casually discussing the topic. Learners walked in pairs and small groups down the hall still engaged in conversation from the learning activities. The learning and sharing extended beyond the physical space of the classroom and beyond the time allotted for the activities.
5. Learner feedback. After the learning activities, learners provided meaningful and honest feedback (some solicited and some unsolicited) about how much they learned, how effective the sessions were, how they might make adjustments the next time, and what the takeaways were. The feedback validated conclusions drawn through observation.

The brief list of ways I knew the professional developments sessions were good mirrors a list anyone in educational leadership can use to know whether learning activities have meaning and value. After all, learning activities for adult learners should be just as meaningful and intentionally designed as learning activities for kids. Likewise, just as we want to determine whether classroom activities for students have meaning and value, we should assess learning activities for adult learners in much the same way.

Consider the 14-year-old's million dollar question: "How do you know your professional development was good?"

John Wooden's Wisdom Applied to Self-Improvement for Coaches, Teachers and School Leaders

In You Haven't Taught Until They've Learned, John Wooden talks quite a bit about how much he learned early in his career and about how important it is for a coach to continue to learn. The quote below provides a glimpse into Wooden's mind. The quote holds a great deal of relevance for educators today. In particular, the quote holds great significance for educational leaders. The best way to improve a faculty is for each teacher to improve himself or herself. A great educational leader, putting Wooden's wisdom into practice, does not lose sight of the fact that the same principle applies to school leadership. Simple but brilliant.

Anson Dorrance on the Importance of Reading for Professional Growth

In my research for What Teachers Can Learn from Sports Coaches, I heard over and over from some incredible coaches how much they value reading as a means for personal and professional growth. Perhaps none of the coaches I interviewed talked about reading more than Anson Dorrance, Women's Soccer Coach at the University of North Carolina. His list of accolades truly is too long to list, so I will just mention that he has won the NCAA national championship in women's soccer 22 times (no typo, twenty-two). He attributes is own personal growth largely to his voracious reading. If he can grow through reading, how much can you and I grow?

On Seeking Continuous Self-Improvement Through Reading

Even the best in the business - athletics or academics - seek continuous self improvement. One of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to seek self-improvement is reading. Teachers and coaches certainly should read books written specifically about their respective crafts, but often these two groups of professionals can learn from reading about each other's craft, too. Furthermore, teachers and coaches alike can benefit from reading books on leadership, management, marketing, psychology and more. Read and read voraciously. The list of better and more effective paths to self-improvement is pretty short, so grab a stack of books and get started.

3 Things Teachers MUST Do This Summer

Teachers often celebrate the advent of summer vacation as much as their students celebrate. Specifically, teachers usually celebrate the down time, the rest and relaxation, and the much-needed break from grading papers that summer brings. To each of you who finished the school year well and gave 100% all year, cheers! You deserve all those things above. After all, you’ve earned them, having navigated new principals, parent conferences, spotty Wi-Fi, state testing and the other taxing challenges in the life of a teacher. I’ll be the first to wish each of you a restful, relaxing summer. However, if you want to stay sharp over the summer and be sharp when you return next school year, I'll also be the first to say you must add these three things to your summer to-do list. Strong language, I know, but these three things are non-negotiable.

1. Books. Read, and read voraciously. You expect your students to read throughout the school year, and reading over the summer sets a terrific example for your students. What better way to model lifelong learning? Does it matter what you read? Yes and no. I challenge you to read a variety of books this summer. Grab some beach reads or get lost in a fantastic world of wizards and dragons. Curl up with a creepy horror novel or take a white-knuckled thrill ride with spies and assassins. Whatever your leisure reading of choice, read some books that represent nothing more than a fun escape. Grab some professional reading, too, either in book form, in magazine form, or online. Don’t drop your craft like a hot potato for the whole summer. Do some professional reading. Finally, read something that challenges your own personal status quo. Find something that challenges you personally, socially, spiritually, professionally or in some other way. Growth can be difficult if we read only ideas to which we subscribe. Challenge yourself and read something that will push you. The bottom line is this: you need to read, read voraciously, and read a variety of things this summer. Not a big reader? Start now.

2. PLN. If you don’t have a Personal Learning Network, you should begin building your network this summer. If you have a PLN, expand. How? Start with the planet’s largest PLN (that just happens to be free): Twitter. Need a place to start, follow me on Twitter. I’m always looking to expand my PLN. Educators have invaded Twitter and more join every day. It’s the perfect place to connect with educators from around the world. Here’s another way to expand your PLN. Remember the conference you attended this year, and remember the lists of names and email addresses everyone exchanged? You know the one. It’s in your desk drawer. Grab the list and reach out to everyone on the list. Bam! Instant PLN. Remember the session leader(s) who encouraged everyone to call, write, email or connect on Twitter? Do it. Add them to your PLN, too. Want another cool (and free) way to build your PLN? Find an edcamp in your area and make plans to attend. I promise everyone there will be looking to expand their PLN, too. There really are no good excuses not to build or expand your PLN this summer. Your PLN can be an invaluable tool for you next school year, but you have to build it first.

3. That thing you do. You know that thing you do that makes life great? that thing you do that relaxes you, refreshes you, rejuvenates you, and brings you joy? Do it. And do it often. Whether it’s gardening, running, swimming, hiking, yoga, reading poolside, writing poetry, working with your hands, playing with grandchildren, or playing Xbox, you must do that thing you do. Many teachers sacrifice that thing altogether during the school year, or at least cut back. Get back into a routine this summer of doing that thing you do. You can’t and won’t be your best for your kids if you aren’t in prime physical and emotional health when class begins again. Therefore, if you won’t do that thing you do for you, do it for your kids, who need the best possible you.

Your to-do list this summer may be a mile long already, but you owe it to yourself not only to add these to your list but also to move them to the top. I hope you enjoy the best summer ever this year!

Why the Best Teachers Are Like Jerry Rice

While I don't want to begin a debate about which athlete will be remembered as the greatest NFL player of all time, I do want to point out that Jerry Rice has been mentioned in that conversation for years. Rice put together an undeniably incredible career even though he was never the fastest or strongest athlete on the field. How did he do it?

For those who have followed sports for a number of years, particularly professional football, Jerry Rice often is remembered as the athlete who set the standard for off-season training regimens and workout discipline and intensity. Arguably no one worked harder to improve during the off-season each year than Jerry Rice. Rice certainly gave 100% every season, but he separated himself from the rest of the league during the off-season.

At the end of the last school year, as I have done at the end of each year that I've led a school, I challenged my teachers to to find something to recharge their batteries over the summer. I believe this is non-negotiable for educators. However, for the best teachers, recharging batteries does not have to be done at the exclusion of training and preparation for the upcoming school year.

The best teachers, like Jerry Rice and football, will have worked diligently to improve their content knowledge or teaching skills, to catch up on the latest technology or research in their fields, to write and contribute to the body of knowledge in their fields, to attend seminars, workshops, conferences and graduate school classes, and more. Because our busy schedules often afford us little professional development time during the school year, off-season training can be crucial. I guarantee that if you watch your teachers during inservice, during the first few weeks of school, and then throughout the year, the Jerry Rices of your school will be pretty obvious.

Caveat: I make no guarantees for the performance of these teachers during the annual student-faculty flag football game.

Online Conference Announcement: Eye On School Success

Eye on Education has just announced an exciting online conference featuring speakers including Barbara Blackburn, Larry Ferlazzo, Pam Salazar, Nancy Sulla, Todd Whitaker and Sally Zepeda, some of whom I've written about here in the past. The conference, called Eye On School Success, will be held March 20 – March 21, 2012. The conference program is divided into three tracks: The Leadership Institute, Student Motivation, and Common Core Made Easy. Participants can personalize their Online Conference experience by attending any of the 11 sessions. Below please find details about the online conference. The complete schedule can be found here and the presenter list can be found here.

Eye on Education consistently provides top-notch educational resources, so I highly recommend this conference for educational leaders from schools of any size, any level, public or private. You can bet this conference will be time well spent.

Conference Name: Eye On School Success

Date: March 20 – 21, 2012

Live Times: 3:00 PM EST

On Demand Availability: Until June 30, 2012

Brief description: Eye On School Success offers ready-to-go, field-tested strategies, presented in engaging style by noted experts. During the conference you and your colleagues will gain solutions to common challenges and learn about best practices affecting a broad range of topics shared by educators across the spectrum of schools.

Registration: www.eyeoneducation/register

https://www.eyeoneducation.com/Online-Resources/Online-Conferences/Eye-On-School-Success

TEACH - Casting a Vision for Excellence in Classrooms

The book of Proverbs says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." The same holds true for schools: Where there is no vision, teachers teach aimlessly and students perish academically.

If you are an administrator looking for a simple vision to cast regarding what should be happening daily in your classrooms, I give you TEACH. This is a simple, easy to remember mnemonic device that enables administrators to be consistent in giving teachers expectations for their classrooms and enables teachers to focus on a few important things daily.

T-Technology Integration - Teachers should use technology as often as possible to support both teaching and learning in the classroom.

E-Engaged Learners - Students should be focused, attentive but dynamic participants in the lesson, rather than sedentary recipients of information.

A-Active Teaching - Teachers should teach bell to bell, engage students, require active participation from students, dialogue with rather than present to students.

C-Consistency - Teachers should be even-keeled, not prone to mood swings, "predictable and supportive," and "fair, firm and consistent" in all aspects of teaching and managing the classroom.

H-High Expectations - Teachers should establish high expectations for student behavior, student effort and student performance, and should be consistent in holding students accountable based on those high expectations.

How do you get results? By presenting TEACH in the first faculty meeting of the year and then emphasizing TEACH throughout the year, you can get all your faculty on the same page. Post TEACH in each classroom for all to see. Finally, at each faculty meeting, department chair meeting, or grade level meeting, place TEACH below your school's mission statement on a cover sheet that covers the meeting's agenda. You can expect to see from your faculty only what you emphasize. As an administrator, your job is to help teachers become better. Cast a vision. Teach them TEACH.

Hands-Off Technology Instruction - A Revolutionary Idea

For months I’ve been envious of some of my colleagues who seem to have unlimited Microsoft Excel powers. Somehow I missed the boat on Excel skills though I see on a daily basis how useful it can be in the world of educational leadership. I decided to find an Excel training course so I, too, could be proficient with this useful application.

The day of the training finally arrived last week and, as it silly as it sounds, I looked forward to the class with much anticipation. I made my way downtown to the hotel conference center, made my way to the conference room, and signed in (of course I was the first one there). I walked into the conference room, greeted my instructor and surveyed the room. The first thing I noticed was the huge screen at the front of the room; so far so good. Next, however, I noticed the tables set up neatly throughout the room. The water glasses seemed awfully close together and the tables seemed to be conspicuously devoid of computer drops, power strips, charging stations or any other computer accessories.

I made my way to the end of a table nearest the outlet in the wall and turned to speak to my instructor. The conversation went something like this:

Me: “Will there be other places for us to charge our laptops?”
Instructor: “No. No one else will be using a computer.”
Me: “Seriously? We won’t be using computers?”
Editorial Note: Reminder - this is a Microsoft Excel training.
Instructor: “We’ll be working from a workbook. This is very hands-off.”

Stunned, I sat down to process the conversation. As I replayed the conversation in my head and came to the realization that the instructor indeed had said we’d be learning a computer application with hands-off, workbook training, I closed my gaping mouth and reached for my pen. I completed my course evaluation, dropped the form on the desk next to my instructor without saying a word, then walked out. I did take the workbook with me, by the way.

This whole episode got me thinking, though. We’ve spent a huge amount of money at school on cameras and software for our digital photography courses, and on computers and software for our technology courses. How short-sighted and fiscally irresponsible of us! Imagine the money we could have saved over the last few years; we could have spent just a fraction of those funds on workbooks for the students instead! Hands-off technology training, or technology training with no technology – now that’s out-of-the box thinking. What a revolutionary idea! Thank you, Fred Pryor Seminars, for this revolutionary paradigm shift in technology education.

Professional Development on a Budget

I'm hearing from colleagues and reading in various publications that schools and districts are cutting back professional development budgets to help ease the economic burden with which schools and districts are trying to cope. Rather than get into the reasons why this practice is a terrible idea, I thought I'd propose a viable professional development alternative for schools and districts no longer able to send teachers and administrators to conferences, seminars and traditional off-site professional development.

For the cost of one book per participant, along with perhaps a meal or two along the way, as an educational leaders you can create professional learning communities within your division, school or district. A professional learning community can be as simple as a group of educators committed to reading and discussing a common book. On the other hand, a professional learning community could be a group of teachers or administrators committed to weekly meetings to discuss a book, articles, research, teaching practices and more, over the course of a year or more.

Some of my faculty are beginning a professional learning community centered on a book called Never Work Harder Than Your Students. Elsewhere on our campus other grade-level teams and content departments will be working through Engaging Grammar and Directing the Writing Workshop. While I'm fortunate enough to be at a school where leadership values professional development to the extent that we are not being forced to cut the professional development budget, we see great value in fostering a sense of lifelong learning, gleaning wisdom and knowledge from the educators we have on campus, and generating meaningful conversation amongst our teachers.

Educational Leadership Food for Thought from Philadelphia

The ISM conference Leading the Successful Upper School has delivered in spades. I recommend this for any division head regardless of years of experience. The conference has brought together division heads from across the country with myriad backgrounds and educational experiences. The conversation among the heads has been thought provoking, challenging and highly beneficial. Additionally, the consultants from ISM have presented philosophical concepts, useful information and researched-based strategies covering a wide spectrum of topics thus far including hiring and firing, managing stress, leadership, focusing on mission statements and managing change.

Below are bullet points of information I've picked up throughout my four days here in Philadelphia. These mostly are a random collection of statements and thoughts that made me think. I am not saying I agree or disagree with anything below but rather I am listing (in no particular order) some interesting and provocative ideas presented this week.

• The Development Office should focus on the development of relationships in which fundraising in as outcome



• The job of a division head is to impact teachers and make teachers better so they, in turn, can impact students



• Over time, all schools become adult-centered institutions because the adults in the building generally are there longer (in terms of longevity) than the students



• As an educational leader, your best work should be done in a servant paradigm not in a power paradigm



• It is important for faculty to engage in meaningful, adult conversation on a regular basis



• Research on teacher mentoring says mentoring is a waste of time unless it is a component of a full induction process (which may take between six months and three years)



• Professional development should be mandatory for teachers



• Teachers who are not interested in professional development should have no place in your school

Professional Development in Philadelphia

ISM (Independent School Management) begins a week-long conference today in Philadelphia called Leading the Successful Upper School. I am fortunate to work for a school that believes strongly enough in professional development to send me to the conference. I arrived in Philadelphia on July 4, which couldn't have been more fitting for a history buff and former history teacher, and immediately set off on foot to explore the city. As I walked past Independence Hall and other incredible landmarks, I easily could imagine what it must have been like here 233+ years ago. The men who began this great experiment gathered together and drew strength and wisdom from one another in order to create something new and different and better. I can't help but think that when division heads from some of America's best independent schools come together this week in Philadelphia, we will draw from one another strength and wisdom with which we can return to our own schools and make them new and different and better. Throughout the week I'll post some new thoughts and ideas I pick up along the way at the conference.

What We Learned from Annette Breaux 1.0

This is the first post in a series of reflections on our visit with Annette Breaux.

On Friday, January 2, we were fortunate enough to have Annette Breaux, educator and author of Seven Simple Secrets, on campus with our faculty . Annette promised us at the beginning of her time with us that we would not be bored for one minute and, three hours later, she had kept her promise. She spoke to us specifically about what it means to teach effectively and how to be an effective teacher. Much of what she covered with us came from her book, Seven Simple Secrets, so I won't reinvent the wheel here and outline every teaching strategy she discussed. I will recommend, however, that every new or struggling teacher be given this book to read. Additionally, there are numerous ideas in the book that experienced teachers could revisit or perhaps try in their own classrooms. I believe administrators would do well to have and/or read this book as well. If you are an administrator and are seeking an exhaustive list of practices you should be seeing every day in your classrooms, this book is a terrific resource. Add this book to your library immediately.

One of the things Annette said really struck a chord with me. She said, "We are teachers not for the kid that gets it but we are teachers for the kid that doesn't get it." I remember from my years of coaching and teaching how easy it was to teach and to love the kids who never caused problems, who made always made the A, who always "got it," often probably in spite of me. The truth is that those kids are most probably going to be doctors, accountants, etc., and successful ones, too, no matter what we do in the classroom. The kids in the middle of the pack, admittedly where many students fall, also will be fine though they do need direction, guidance and instruction more than the first group I mentioned. The students who "don't get it," and this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with intelligence, are the ones who really need teachers. Without teachers, this last group probably will not "get it," will not be successful, at least in the short run. Annette stressed the importance of reaching those kids. Even in an independent school or magnet school setting, some kids will "get it" sooner and more easily than others. Thanks, Annette, for reminding us that we must endeavor to reach each and every one of our kids. If we (teachers) don't, who will?