Creating Culture - A Collaborative Post

A culture of celebration can be created and fostered through celebrating the little things everyday.

• Allyson (@AllysonApsey)

“Give people high fives just for getting out of bed. Being a person is hard sometimes.” Kid President

As educators, there are things that we can celebrate any day of the week. We love kids, we work to get better every day, we work through challenges, we embrace changes we never asked for, and on and on.

As a principal, my main customers are my staff members. I celebrate them in many ways:

• Positive feedback for their awesomeness, sharing specifically the amazing things they are doing for kids.
• Allow the school community to celebrate with us by posting videos on YouTube highlighting strengths. Here is an example: https://youtu.be/SQjpZIvrP0Q.
• Tweeting out the great things teachers are doing for our kids:

• Blogging about innovation, here one example of a celebration blog: https://allysonapsey.wordpress.com/2015/12/08/twas-technology-class-2/
• Writing hand-written notes is a personal gesture that means the world to the recipient.
• Send an email, call a teacher’s spouse, or ask a student in the class to share a specific complement.

Key to culture of celebration is the consistency and focusing on specific things that contribute to the culture and the success of students. When the school leader celebrates teachers and their successes, teachers will celebrate students and their successes.

Celebrating the little successes every day leads to big successes! Amazing things happen when people feel positive and strong--they celebrate each other, they are willing to take risks, they approach problems with a growth mindset, and there is joy in the air.

Developing relational culture takes time

• Tim (@Tim_McDermott1)

Developing relational culture takes time. That is why it is important for principals to celebrate the wins as teachers make changes with their instructional practices, the way they collaborate, the way they manage their classrooms, or when they take risks and try something new.  The small wins matter to people (Amabile & Kramer, 2011). They build momentum and keep people moving. A talented principal recognizes these moments and knows when to celebrate and recognize them. DuFour (2015) states, “Effective principals will not wait for monumental accomplishments before celebrating” (p. 242). A culture of celebration and recognition leads to developing further trust amongst the members of a school.  

In my first principalship I wanted to build relationships and create a culture where we would celebrate our learning and our growth. So we instituted a tradition or ceremony of “tossing dogs”, in Batavia we are all Bulldogs so I thought that would be an appropriate stuffed animal to toss.. At every staff meeting teachers could take a small stuffed animal and publicly recognize another staff member and thank them for something they did for another teacher or a student and toss a stuffed dog to them. If a staff member received the dog they were able to keep them. It was really cool to walk into a teacher’s room or a specialist's office and see a small collection of dogs sitting on a shelf or a desk. I also dedicated one staff meeting towards the end of the year where teams would get up and share a celebration from the school year.  The only rule I had was that they couldn’t do a dry and boring Powerpoint. Here is an example of the fourth grade team and their journey of implementing guided math. Teams needed to be creative in the way the wanted to celebrate their journey and growth. The final tradition I started took place at the end of the school year where we would spend time together as a staff honoring those members who were moving schools, retiriing, etc… and then we would do something to recognize and celebrate each other. The first year each person had a piece of construction paper mounted to cardstock that went over their head and hung on their back with a piece of yarn.

Every staff member had a pen and we spent 15 minutes walking around writing personal notes on each other’s paper. It was really great to provide meaningful comments to a teacher and to look around the room to see the same thing being repeated dozens of times.

Amabile, T. & Kramer, S. (2011). The progress principle: Using small wins to ignite joy, engagement, and creativity at work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Dufour, R. (2015). In praise of American educators and how they can become even better. Bloomington, IN: The Solution Tree Press.

#high5challenge

• Jodie (@jodiepierpoint)

Derek Oldfield and Paul Bailey and I were part of a Voxer book study reading Kids Deserve It. Although we were active in the book study group, the three of us often chatted in a separate voxer chat and the idea of spreading positivity throughout schools nationwide was inspired.  We brainstormed and decided we would have a high five challenge, encouraging teachers, staff and principals to give out high fives as well as write letters and make phone calls home.  We promoted our challenge through Twitter using the hashtag #high5challenge.  We were amazed at the responses, videos and pictures that we received from across the United States. Teachers were writing messages on student’s desks, writing positive notes on bracelets, dancing and high fiving in cafeterias!  Looking through the hashtag every night simply brought joy to each of us.  To celebrate the educators we sent out #high5 #KidsMatter bracelets in hopes that although the two week challenge ended that the positivity would continue.  Kids do matter, and celebrating them with such simple ways as high fives and notes home sure does go a long way!

Culture is built over time, through deliberately focusing on celebrations, whether big or small. Spread positivity, celebrate daily, and then bask in the warmth and joy that exudes from the environment. We would love to hear how you have built a culture of celebrations, share with us in the comments or tag us on Twitter!

Overwhelmed by Homework

As a dad you have so many hopes and dreams for your child. You want the best for them and give them as many opportunities as possible to explore and discover their talents and passions. As they grow you support their interests and education. You help them with their reading and math. You work with them on school projects. You beam with pride as you see them succeed. You watch as they move into the older grades in elementary school. You help with homework, especially with math as it gets a little trickier. As they move into middle school the homework increases and you watch as they try and balance homework, friendships, extra curricular activities, and family commitments. You help them with learning how to manage their time. 

I find it hard to believe that our daughter has reached high school. She is a great student and we are so proud of her. We encouraged her to get involved and make the most of her experiences. She started off her freshman year with taking some rigorous classes (Honors Geometry, Honors English II, AP Human Geography, Spanish 2, Honors Biology). She made the JV Dance Team and was asked to choreograph the crosstown game half time dance. We are so proud of her because she is a good student, dancer, daughter, and friend. Proud of her because she works hard and is a diligent student. Proud of her because she has a tremendous amount of grit. 

As the year has progressed we noticed a change. She is often tired and stressed. We chalked that up to the change with being in high school. However, we noticed that she was constantly doing homework and it always seems as if she gets more every night. She would get home from practice, eat a quick dinner, and then off to her room to do 3+ hours of homework every night. We watched as she worked harder and harder to stay above water. And then we saw her drawing. A drawing that gives you a sense of how she feels. How she is being weighed down by the amount of homework she is assigned day after day. 

We saw this picture and our hearts broke. Our hearts broke because this was not the experience we wanted her to have in high school. Sure we knew she would have to work hard to do well in class, but not at the cost of other experiences and opportunities. As parents we are upset as we watch teachers pile on the work without thinking about the impact on students. 

As an educator I see the assignments come home and I get so confused as to how these assignments are helping her grasp key concepts. Instead, the assignments are often worksheets, making flash cards, completing packets, or memorizing vocabulary. I don't understand how these assignments are helping students. 

When I was an elementary school teacher I rarely assigned homework beyond some math practice and reading. I have never been a fan of worksheets or busy work. I would tell the parents of my students that homework should never be a battle at home. If their child was stuck or confused on something to let me know so I could help them in class. 

I watch my daughter experience something totally different as a student and I ask myself how is this possible. How can teachers continue to assign work and not provide students with meaningful feedback on that work? Why are they not thinking of ways to engage students in their learning? What are they hoping to gain by giving students so much work to do at home? Why are they continuing with practices that don't impact student learning? How do they where their students are in regards to the essential questions or learning targets? How do they even know who is doing the homework? 

We need to do a better job as educators. We need to think about what we are requiring of our students  in regards to homework and how that will be meaningful for our students. We need to provide students with actionable feedback about their learning and provide support for them. We need to challenge them, but not by giving them more to do. We need to stop overwhelming them. 

That's not me...

When I was a teacher I would pride myself in building relationships with my students by eating lunch with them, playing at recess, asking questions about their interests, and attending their plays or  sporting events. I would work hard and was devoted to my students. I thought I was a good teacher. When I would see a teacher that interacted with a student in a negative way I would think that's not me. That's not the way I would treat a student.

And then I would get into a power struggle with a student about finishing their work or complying with our class guidelines. 

Being a dad of two girls is beyond awesome. I love them unconditionally. The day they both were born were two of the greatest days of my life. They make me laugh, they bring me tremendous joy, and I have truly enjoyed watching them grow into young women. In my time as a teacher and administrator I have witnessed thousands of parent-child interactions. When I would see a less than positive interaction between a child and their parent I would think that's never going to be me.  I would never treat my child that way.

And then I remember running behind as we were leaving the house for school. I was angry and frustrated with my youngest for her tardiness and not being ready to go. I felt the need to share my frustration with her as I drove her to school. It was not a positive interaction. 

I am blessed to be married for over 17 years to my best friend. She has been my number one supporter, closest confident, amazing wife, and a wonderful mother to our girls. We have been through a lot since we first got married. Starting with  moving across the country after getting married, both in graduate school while working, raising two kids, building two houses, and the both of us moving into administration. All of these things have brought us closer together. 

 Recently we witnessed two different couples  argue in public.  On the second occasion the argument took place in line at the grocery store and was about buying a box of noodles. The argument concluded with the husband storming off to go to the car and leaving his  wife behind. It was obvious that she was embarrassed and ashamed as she continued to wait in line. I thought to myself I would never do that, that's not me. I would never let an argument get to the point where I storm off.

And then I think about the times that I have argued with Jenna and how I wasn't always the best version of myself in those moments and how easily it would have been to storm off. 

Stephen Covey has this great quote - "We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior. Isn't that the truth! We see things in others and often think we wouldn't behave in such a way and yet we often do. 

My #Oneword 2017 is present. I really want to focus on being in the moment so that I can be the best version of myself. I want to take the time to reflect and think about my growth in becoming more present. Blogging has helped me reflect and think about my goals, work, leadership, teaching, friendships, and family. I know that I won't be perfect and that I will miss the mark more often than I would like. However, I do have the responsibility to get better. To learn from my failures.