Children, love, respect, dignity

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The reality that we all face as teachers and leaders, and that no one seems to be talking about, is how the demands on our schools and curricula are so vast that we are now asked to do much, much more than inspire skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic. My how times have changed. As schools are thrust into the intriguing demands of social-emotional learning (SEL), we have to wonder how we ever got here without it. We also have to ponder what the end-game of schooling will be someday if we must figure out how to navigate the pressures of covering so many content standards in so little time along with teaching our children how to manage their emotions, build strong relationships, improve their…

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student hands of hope

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The daily dance around student engagement and lesson planning has been made much too complex in recent years, and I’m not sure why. We have countless definitions of what engagement is and what it is not, and we have varied opinions on how we should rate this concept when we observe a classroom lesson. Let’s be clear that true engagement is a highly advanced instructional skill and is much easier said than done. Still, I don’t think the definition itself is as complex as we are making it out to be. For me, I prefer to think of student engagement as synonymous with “thinking” and even “learning,” with a nod to things like student interest, choice, and real-world application. The real caution here is that…

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Educational Leadership, A tribute to principals

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Along a hillside, alone and unplugged Daniel J. Evans   So I heard that cars can drive themselves, And that a metal voice will ship groceries to my door. I sit along this hillside, and I wonder if man’s machines will one day Provide me the pinch of sun I see through the crooked clouds, Or the trill of the wind along an unspoiled path, Or the shortness of fall’s first breath upon my lungs. Among the rugged weeds I spot a patch of flowers, And I hear the unbroken song of leaping waves along the shore. I am alone and unplugged, and pleased to know that there is no such machine yet That can paint a vibrant rainbow across the blue-gray sky, Nor offer…

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Student freedom

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The cheerless depictions of our public schools from the 1800s are famously etched in our minds by writers like Charles Dickens and memorialized in countless black-and-white photos of pupils staring forward, blankly, with arms folded, behind rows of wooden desks. As we fast forward a couple of centuries, these images have been replaced by a more colorful assortment of engaging lessons and student interactions more befitting a 21st Century education. Yes, yes, have no worry. It is true that across the wide landscape of public schools we have made progress in discovering greater collaboration among children, richer technologies in use, and even deeper relationships among teachers and students. The monochromatic curriculum and routines of the past are harder to find, and that is a good…

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Tribute to teachers, landscape

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There is a common refrain that is heard among most employees in most industries related to building strong resumes and the role they play in getting a promotion. That tune is often coupled with complaints from many of us that the great changes and innovations we seek would be possible “if only we were in charge.” While having a great resume is helpful, and while having a fancy title looks good on a business card, the world is full of great leaders who had neither of those. In fact, we have to wonder if a great resume and a fancy title are precursors to one’s success as a leader or the outcomes of it. No matter what you believe to be true, there is plenty…

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No matter what schools look like in the future, success will come when all decisions are made with each student’s best interests in mind and with relationships at the core. This will include deep consideration of each child’s strengths and passions and even how curricula and lessons are designed to enrich the home lives of children and families. Deeper human connections will be paramount because schools must be focused on developing students social-emotionally and not just academically. If we do this well, the entire experience of schooling will feel more organic and personal for all students, from the relationships they form with their teachers to the assignments they interact with. Creating such schools will require districts to build systems and processes from the student outward.…

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The grand experiment that we know of as public education continues to be our best hope to inspire freedom and prosperity across all races and eradicate the grim realities of economic inequality. Teachers, administrators, students and staff boldly engage in this experiment daily and continue to champion the cause that has yet to live up to its promise. In honor of our successes and in recognition of our persistent struggles, it seems only right to review what Dr. King taught us as we wrestle with the complexities of culturally relevant instruction or cultural engagement or whatever term you want to use for engaging all kids.   Lesson #1: Judge students not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. “I…

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Let me reiterate what has been said countless times. Leadership matters. This is especially true in schools and school districts where so much is at stake and where nearly everyone has an opinion about how schools should be run. Let me also reiterate my continued support for the dedicated and kindred spirits who each day stare down the awesome challenges of leadership in today’s public schools. They are heroes all. Still, despite our best efforts, academic progress in our schools is slow and we must own that. Blaming our shortcomings on politicians or public policy is not bold and is not leadership. Blaming teachers is cowardly, blaming parents naïve. What did Gandhi tell us?  “We must be the change we wish to see in the…

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advice for graduates

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Oh, the pride and privilege of our youth. I’m certain that Shakespeare and our mothers warned us about such things. Yes, let us be clear that we never knew as much as we knew when we were 17. For those of us who are a bit older now and only somewhat wiser, it really is a great honor and blessing to celebrate with young people and join in the great pomp and ceremony that accompanies graduates everywhere. If I could get their attention even for a moment (which is unlikely), I would offer a bit of advice. I would ask them to slow down, to take in these final few moments and experience them in slow motion, to imbibe the wonderful trappings around them with…

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childhood memories

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The ongoing debate in education about what we want all children to know and be able to do has raged on for decades and leaves us all to question and argue the merits of our current standards, assessments and pacing guides that seem to expect so much of our students and teachers with little regard for whether any of this is really doable. The instructional shifts required by the Common Core Standards (or whatever your state calls them) has contributed to this notion that these core competencies must required of all children and all we have to do is practice them over and over. What rarely surfaces in all this dialogue is the very real issue of foundational skills that must be mastered in order to grasp these…

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