8 Tips for a Successful School Year
In this year’s opening address, I provided a means by which teachers could add ideas and comments as the address progressed. This blog post represents our collective thoughts.
Numbered lists of recommendations are a favorite theme of professional texts. Over the past few years I’ve read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Lencioni, 2002), The Six Secrets of Change (Fullan, 2011), and Seven Secrets of the Savvy School Leader (Evans, 2010). It makes sense that through the combined efforts of the professionals in Smithfield, we too can capitalize on this theme. As Kenneth Blanchard, a respected author of books on leadership, reminds us, “none of us is as smart as all of us.” Through technology, networks of professionals support informal learning in fields as diverse as business, engineering, and education.
During this new school year’s opening address, I shared eight tips for a successful school year and asked those present to participate through a “backchannel” chat during the presentation. As I shared my PowerPoint and ideas, individuals commented on these ideas or provided ideas of their own. We projected the chat alongside the presentation. Together, our collective thoughts will surpass those of any single one of us alone.
TIP 1: Take risks.
Not every new instructional approach we try is received well by our students but we won’t know its potential unless we experiment with a new instructional approach. Using a backchannel chat on opening day is a risk in itself.
We also open ourselves up by sharing ideas with new people, eating with a different group of co-workers, making suggestions to the principal or director or by learning and applying technology tools to solve problems. As some have uncertainty about using technology before enough training is provided and confidence is developed, it’s important to “play” with technology for learning instead of waiting for proficiency.
Many famous people achieved success only through the taking of risks. Tiger Woods writes, “As a child, the family that I had and the love that I had from my two parents allowed me … to take risks, knowing that, if I failed, I could always come home to a family of love and support.” You, too, can take risks because if you fail, you have a workplace of love and support.
Sharing her own artwork, while it is in progress and providing opportunities for critiquing and questioning is one way Kristine Straus is taking a risk. Students will learn from her creative process and will be more open, themselves, for feedback and risk-taking. Mary Grundy, likewise, is planning to investigate more ways to bring technology into the classroom.
TIP 2: Work on relationships.
Let’s face it, some relationships – with students, parents, colleagues, & family – come easy, while others take effort. Tips for working on relationships include being willing to accept others’ ideas, being kind, respecting colleagues, and instilling trust. Students don’t need their teachers to be their friend but they, as well as their parents, need to know we care about their success, their safety, and their happiness. Relationships with parents, developed through strong lines of communication, ensure trust and enable partnerships that affect student success.
Franklin Roosevelt posits, “we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to love together, in the same world at peace.”
Our teachers in Smithfield are starting the year out with new ideas to build relationships with students, parents, and colleagues. Lauren Aurecchia plans to have a sign-up posted where students can share what they are good at and when and where they are playing a game, participating in a performance, etc. that they would like her to attend. Julie Dorsey reminds us to reach out to families early with positive communication; it’s a perfect way to start building relationships. Adam Spring plans to formally invite parents to come see and participate in the culminating activities in his classes.
TIP 3: Collaborate.
Both in life and at our jobs, we too often choose to go it alone when, in fact, two heads are always better than one. There is never enough time afforded to collaborate so we must think outside the box to come up with new ways to work together. Leveraging technology, such as Google tools and Twitter, allows collaboration to extend beyond both time and geographical limitations.
And if you think you have the talent to go it alone, instead of collaborating, consider that Steven Spielberg, an award-winning filmmaker, states, “Filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people you surround yourself with and knowing you could never have made any of these films by yourself.”
Cathy Pleau reminds us to build on and grow from one another’s strengths. Katherine Young recalled the great collaboration project Sam and Megan did last year with sundials, combining art with science. Robin Behringer plans to be a supportive mentor for a new teacher and to learn from this new colleague, as well. Carlton Bradshw plans to collaborate more by listening closely to colleagues. This year, Carl Steckert will be collaborating with fellow math teachers to develop a curriculum utilizing the new math textbook and Megan Hall is “super excited” to be working with a coach through Better Lesson this year… learning, growing, receiving feedback.
TIP 4: Be a learner
We sometimes need to be reminded that modeling what we want to see in our students is an effective means to achieving our goals. If we are learners and find joy in learning, our students can see this as a desired state for themselves. Learning how to maintain a webpage, program for VEX robotics, design an effective math intervention, use Google docs, incorporate writing in science classes, and facilitate morning meetings are not simply means to an end. Find joy in the journey and share that journey with others.
It’s the learners in history whose names transcend decades and even centuries. Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
Kristen barry will model for students being a learner by continuing her education. How many students know that their teachers take courses themselves, often during the school year? Learning also need not be formal – Vin Zibelli plans to take the time after dismissal each day to reflect on the successes and challenges of the lessons and interactions then find ways to do better tomorrow.
TIP 5: Set high expectations.
Students want you to expect the best from them – to behave appropriately and meet high academic expectations; the alternative is to think poorly of their character. Questions provide a means of formatively assessing student understanding; if every student immediately knows the answer to a question posed, we need to question the question or simply move on. We also need to understand that setting high expectations is not the same as grading harshly or providing very negative feedback. There are classes that are difficult to pass yet are not very rigorous and classes that are fairly rigorous where many achieve high grades (often the disconnect occurs when expectations are not made clear).
Whether you like his politics or not, Jeb Bush once wisely said, “Our children can achieve great things when we set high expectations for them.”
Sharon Marriotti believes that students will rise to high expectations, both for behavior and academics and Carlton Bradshw believes we should maintain high expectations for perseverance in addition to achievement.
We can hold each other to high expectations as well; the alternative is to think poorly of their character. Holding each other to high expectations requires that we open ourselves up to feedback that isn’t always positive, though not necessarily negative either, which brings us to….
TIP 6: Seek feedback.
Stone and Heen’s text, Thanks for the Feedback; The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well [even when it is off base, unfair, poorly delivered and, frankly, you’re not in the mood] (2014) posits that feedback that is not squarely positive “triggers” us, potentially keeping us from its benefit. The 300+ page book then sets to provide guidance toward helping us become better receivers of feedback (I’m reading it because I can use that help myself). They remind us that “receiving feedback sits at the junction of two conflicting human desires: we want to learn and grow but we also want to be accepted and respected just as we are now.”
By valuing feedback from more than one person, even if such feedback is a bit contradictory; there is more to think about. Changes based on feedback should be made only after you’ve weighed the feedback against other things that you know.
The expectations we set for our students are revealed as we provide rich, specific feedback to our students, both positive and constructive. Likewise, the expectations our schools’ leaders set for our educators are “revealed as we provide rich, specific feedback to our [educators], both positive and constructive.
We have a robust evaluation system in Smithfield and the system is designed to provide feedback for continual growth. Too often, in the press and throughout the state, we concentrate on evaluation as a means of rating employees or collecting evidence for dismissal when this isn’t what it should be about. Let’s also seek feedback from students and parents. Meridee Goodwin plans to use Google Classroom more often to ask students for their thoughts and questions
TIP 7: Make learning relevant.
When teaching, we need to ask ourselves, “does the learner know how to put the knowledge to use or how this knowledge is put to use in the real world?” It’s not equally easy for all teaching areas, but relevance is important for engaging learners. I wish I had been introduced to The International Center for Leadership in Education’s Rigor Relevance Framework (see www.leadered.com) earlier in my career (and I’m sure my former students would have wished the same). This tool allows teachers to assess their curriculum and instruction against two dimensions – one based on Bloom’s Taxonomy and the other based on a continuum, created by Bill Daggett, in which knowledge for knowledge’s sake is at one end and application to real-world unpredictable situations is at the other. As Bill Daggert reminds us, “Relevance makes rigor possible.”
Mary Grundy, a social studies teacher, believes that today’s world benefits so much through understanding our country’s history. Let’s remind our students of that!
TIP 8: Laugh.
The advice to take joy in week days as much as in weekends and to live in the moment was perhaps the most well received tip on the list. While we all feel a little loss from the conclusion of summer, next summer will be here before we know it and we’ll simply be a year older.
Jane Ramos recalled that when she was a student teacher she was advised, “don’t smile until Christmas.” She never followed that advice because she knows that students appreciate a smile and a laugh. Robin behringer believes that she and her students learn best when they are having fun. As Karen DiSano advises, “make everyday with our students a day to remember.”
Best wishes for a productive and enjoyable school year!