CONNECTIONS: Sometimes Things Happen
“When you base your life on principles, most of your decisions are made before you ever encounter them.”
The most underlined sentence in all of Kindle is the following, from the wildly popular book, The Hunger Games:
“Because sometimes things happen to people and they are not ready for it.”
What might it look like to be ready? One way we can look forward proactively is by looking backward reflectively, learning from our past experiences, including both our successes and failures. Another way we can “be ready” even when we have no idea what is about to happen is by basing our lives on principles, as the above quote suggests. Educators are more apt to respond well to the unexpected when the way they operate professionally is guided by core values, or principles.
When our day-to-day actions as professional educators are grounded in core principles, it results in a kind of comfortable predictability that those we lead (whether students or colleagues) come to recognize and appreciate. We are not acting one way today and a totally different way tomorrow. We do not say “Yes” to one person or idea in one instance and “No” to a different person with a similar idea in another. We also are careful to not say yes to one idea and yes again to another idea that completely contradicts the first one. Indeed, principled educators are consistent in their decision-making processes and, ultimately, their decisions, ensuring a culture in which all staff and students become aware that “this is the way we do things around here.” Such a culture dictates that we base our decisions not on whimsy, nor the flavor-of-the-month, nor on the person asking; rather, we base these decisions on what is best for our students and our school as a community.
Spontaneity can be a good thing, especially in schools and classrooms. Over the course of a long school year, it is important for both teachers and administrators to find ways to break from routine and allow for spontaneous joy. Surprising our kids--or our staff members--with lessons, meetings, celebrations, and events that break with tradition or the daily grind is an excellent way to keep teaching and learning exciting and of reigniting passions. Yet, there is also something to be said for predictability. The word can carry with it connotations of boring and dull. Yet, at least in certain ways, being a ‘predictable” teacher or administrator can be quite comforting to those we teach and lead.
Schools, on the whole, are some of the most joyful places on Planet Earth. There are times, however, when our schools and classrooms are places of stressful, even tragic, situations, often when “things happen for which we are not ready.” We cannot prevent every such situation from occurring, but we can prepare for the unexpected, in part, by basing our lives on principles so that when the unexpected does happen, we can respond in the best possible way. Several years ago, clinical psychologist Meg Jay delivered an insightful TED Talk in which she discusses another event one can prepare for well before it happens: getting married. She even makes the case that, “The best time to work on Alex’s marriage is before she has one.” Just because marriage, work, and kids are happening later in life doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now. Another example that comes to mind is the infamous incident in which pilot Chesley Sullenberger (Sully) miraculously landed an airplane on the Hudson River in New York. Although he could never have fully anticipated this situation, in actuality, he had spent a lifetime preparing for it. Sully had made the decision of what to do well in advance of the 208 seconds during which he had available to him to act. Likewise, just because we can never know when something unexpected is going to happen in our classroom or school, we must still prepare for the unexpected by basing our lives on principles. Making decisions well in advance of having to actually respond to the unexpected is another way we create a positive and productive culture in our classrooms and schools.
Thanks so much to all educators reading this and for the amazing work you are doing during these challenging times. As always, Teach and Lead with Passion...
DAILY INSPIRATION EDUCATOR
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NEW RELEASE (ebook format!)
The 6 Literacy Levers: Creating a Community of Readers by Brad Gustafson (Twitter: @GustafsonBrad)
The 6 Literacy Levers has been an immediate game changer since its release in December and is now available as an ebook! We cannot wait for you to read this book by one of our favorite educators and servant leaders, Dr. Brad Gustafson, if you have not already. If you are a leader in any capacity with a desire to promote reading and literacy in your classroom, school, or district, this book is for you! The 6 Literacy Levers is designed to empower leaders in classrooms, libraries, offices, and every space in between. It includes ideas and strategies to support educators at every level because leadership isn’t reserved solely for those who hold a specific job title. There isn’t a single reader in your school who doesn’t deserve to be seen, supported, and included. This book includes levers and cautionary advice to help you respond to practices that could damage, diminish, or exclude any of the readers you serve. Literacy leaders have a responsibility to serve on behalf of all readers and this book will help you do just that.
This book is for any educator who wants to grow as a literacy leader.
This book will empower teams to initiate conversations that will take the work deeper.
This book explores six literacy levers that will help you push the field forward while creating more enriching reading experiences for the readers you serve.
This book will equip you with actionable ideas and the research needed to activate change.
Filled with inspiring stories and practical advice and strategies, The 6 Literacy Levers is a book that will transform the literacy culture wherever you serve. We are so honored to partner with Brad on this important new book. Click here for more information.
COMING SOON!
Leading with a Humble Heart: A 40-Day Devotional for Leaders by Zac Bauermaster
When it comes to leadership, we often neglect the book that can truly transform our hearts, thus transforming ourselves, our relationships, and our leadership: the bare Word of God. The Bible is filled with leaders who both triumphed when walking with the Lord and experienced significant failure for trying to lead and do things independently from Him. However, one leader stood above the rest: Jesus.
Leading with a Humble Heart is an invitation for leaders to stare the challenges of leadership in the face through humility and confidence that can only be found in God’s Word and prayer. By intentionally being in God’s Word and prayer each day, God will not only equip us to face the challenges and tests of leadership, but we will also learn to thrive in those moments and seasons as we operate from a position of humble confidence.
This devotional book is for leaders from any walk of life looking to learn, grow, and improve themselves and those they lead. Whether you are a business owner, pastor, teacher, mother, father, coach, male or female, this devotional book is for you. Leading with a Humble Heart aims to quiet ourselves as leaders, help us be still each morning, and allow us to spend 40 days with God in His word, reflecting on our leadership for transformational leadership wisdom.
We think leaders in all walks of life will enjoy this book; look for it to be available on our website and via Amazon in mid-July!
CONNECTEDD’S TAKEAWAYS:
Thought for the Day: “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die." Malachy McCourt
Teaching Technique to Try: Reader’s Theater: In an activity based on the Reader’s Theater strategy, groups of students are assigned a text excerpt to present to their peers. As opposed to presenting skits of the plot, a reader’s theater asks students to create a performance that reveals a message, theme, or conflict represented by the text. As students practice this activity, they become more proficient at using the words of the text to depict concepts and ideas. This is an effective way to help students process dilemmas experienced by characters in a text. This is also an effective activity to use with emotionally powerful texts, such as Night by Elie Wiesel. Check out this link from Facing History and Ourselves for a step-by-step process for using this technique.
Eyes On Culture: We believe that culture is a true difference maker in any classroom, school, district, or organization. As a result, we focus much of the work we do on creating and maintaining positive and productive cultures. Culture Focus: Doing What’s Best for Kids. High-performing schools with strong cultures are places in which educators consistently make decisions based on what is best for the students they serve. Of course, they never forget that although students may be their #1 priority, teachers are a close second on even #1A, so they also take into account what is best for teachers when making decisions about what to do, when to do it, and how to go about doing it. Whenever decisions are made, they intentionally ask the question: “What would be best for our kids?” Here is the difficult thing, though. In many instances, what is best for kids is not necessarily obvious and certainly not agreed upon by all. In schools with strong cultures, educators make time to hold honest and respectful conversations and even debates about what is best for kids before moving forward. We realize that virtually every educator in every school wants what is best for kids yet, at times, may have completely opposite opinions about what “best” is. Perhaps some teachers believe that unlimited re-do opportunities and a “no zero” policy are best for kids. Others may honestly believe that such practices are actually not best for kids. We must not question the hearts or motives of educators in either camp, but must, instead, simply discuss and come to a consensus (not unanimity) on what the best path forward is–using all available evidence to inform our decisions. “Doing what is best for kids” sounds like a no-brainer that we likely all would adhere to, yet sometimes, what is best for kids is not obvious or self-evident and must be studied and discussed among all involved before m making important decisions.
What are some other thoughts you have on doing what is best for kids in our classrooms and schools? Please share your thoughts about culture and gratitude via Twitter: @ConnectEDDBooks We would love to hear from you!