Lincoln's Leadership - 3 Reflections

I really enjoyed Lincoln's Leadership Lessons.  There is so much we can learn from his leadership style and the way he conducted himself and his affairs.  He is described as being thoughtful, calm and deliberate in his responses - he didn't panic no matter what the situation or decision he had to make. He gathered information, processed it, took his time and made well thought out decisions. He always maintained his cool.  A great example was the discussion about "hot letters".  Sometimes the people we work with and work for can really irritate you and may sometimes write scathing emails and other documents that are very challenging to address.  Lincoln knew not to respond out of anger and passion but instead, he preferred to speak with the person face to face.  This strategy diffuses the situation, gives the other person time to cool off and ensure that words are not twisted and perceived differently than their original intent.  This is a great lesson of leadership to learn as we are often faced with angry emails and letters from teachers, community members, colleagues, supervisors, board members etc.  Being strategic in our responses is absolutely crucial especially given the speed that information travels in today's world.  

His quiet magnanimity was above reproach. He did not let ego get in the way of leadership and his sense of purpose. Ego is easily one of the worst distractors for leaders.  He was said to lead with a "gracious temperament" and his "magnanimity was almost superhuman". Lincoln was viewed as always leading with steadfast purpose - rising above competition within his cabinet, his critics and supporters.  This competition can distract the purpose of an organization and contribute to petty animosity.  What Lincoln lacked in brains, experience, statesmanship etc. he sought out in other leaders and other people.  He knew how to leverage the talents he purposefully surrounded himself with.  

Lincoln had a strong sense of self confidence. His political genius was to impress his purpose upon everyone at all times. If he yielded to one of his subordinates that was because they convinced him to change his mind and his thoughts based on plenty of empirical evidence and well thought out analysis.  He knew how to inspire people and he always learned from his mistakes. It is interesting that Goodwin states he had an inner vision of himself and what he believed could be possible and pursued that vision with persistence.   There are not many leaders who have an "inner vision" of themselves.  I found this particularly intriguing as I reflected on my own "inner vision".  He felt that people should be treated fairly no matter their "station" or situation in life.  All of these attributes gleaned the utmost respect of even his most admirable enemies.  You could not deny his character and integrity.  Lincoln was the leader that everyone flocked too and wanted to be around even in a time when these ideas were not supported or accepted.  

Lincoln was touted as being great in periods of crisis. As an educator over the last 14 years, it seems that there hasn't been anything but crisis. Educational Leaders can learn from this concept tremendously.  He was good in these situations because he led with his values and beliefs and didn't let the false crisis of other people to influence his beliefs.  He led with humility and humor and "he took his job seriously but never overestimated himself" (p. 10).  He was always willing to change and evolve.  A few great quotes that support the true Lincoln that I absolutely adore are:  "progress before pride" (p. 11); "we must think anew and act anew" (p. 11).  Both quotes showing his progressive nature and attitude toward always moving forward.    

Finally, Lincoln knew how to blow off steam and relax through entertainment and humor. He knew the importance of shaking off stress and those who worked with him enjoyed his humor.  As educational leaders in a time of extreme stress, pressure, and accountability, this could be one of the best pieces of leadership advice.  We can't take ourselves too serious and we have gotten to find ways to pursue our personal interests and hobbies in order to let our guard down in this dynamic world that is moving at an extremely fast pace.  

Communities of Practice

A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who are passionate about a specific topic or interest - they interact with each other and devise ways to do what they are passionate about in a BETTER way.  What a marvelous collaboration of ideas, thoughts, and shared investment in what is important to each other.  I feel very blessed to be a part of a CoP in Adult Ed.  I have never been a part of a CoP that has been so passionate about what they do.  This CoP extends statewide as I have had the opportunity to meet, lobby, share great ideas, have interactions and collaborations with those who foster a similar passion. 

Community:  Relationships and a sense of belonging - there is a huge sense of belonging in the CoP of Adult Ed.  The promise of new opportunities and a longing for others to finally see the value of the work the CoP does is the glue that keeps us together.  It seems to be a common thread that each member of the community truly feels is hugely important.  We believe in the practice of helping people better their lives.  We believe it is the most important work in the world.  We see those struggling to survive - many of which have escaped their native countries in hopes of building a better life and amidst these struggles, still commit to attend school.  No matter our disagreements this shared community sense of belonging is the priority in this CoP.      

Domain: Shared Inquiry - are we all seeking answers to the same questions?  How does the larger organization fit into the particular domain?  Is there a leader facilitating the growth of this work?  Is there enough time?  Is there a system already established in this domain?  Is it organic and does it foster the trust of all to participate in the domain?  These are all challenges that educational leaders struggle with.  The work cannot happen if it is a directive, rather there must be support, guidance, and compassion.    

Practice:  Body of knowledge - with so much theory surrounding education, the Adult Ed PoC seems to be all about practicalities.  There is very little "fluff" surrounding the mission, priorities, and the goals of an effective Adult Ed program.  It is simple; we all believe that teaching English speaking skills to our most vulnerable population in our society is INVALUABLE.  Additionally, we believe that teaching Career Technical Education to people who are displaced workers, need a change in their life, or who are attempting to start a career in something that will put food on the table, pay the bills and provide a better way of life,is the practical aspect of what brings us together. Our practice gives us our sense of community. 

A CoP is about the PARTICIPANTS not the YOU!  I love this!  Anyone involved in educational leadership had better understand that CoP's are larger than the ideas of one person - bigger than organization's employees - it is about the students, the growth, the development, and the participant's success.  It is the leader's job to ensure that this environment is nurtured, tended too and embraced with very gentle hands. 

I really see successful CoP's as the result of intuitive and sharp leadership.  Creating this space is touchy and extremely challenging.  There are so many constraints involved in educational leadership and understanding small nuances such as timing is crucial.  Knowing when and how to act with strategy in mind is a hugely underestimated skill. 

 My PLN right now is an excellent CoP platform.  I am able to collaborate in my different forms via email, social media, Twitter, Facebook, G-Drive, etc.  I feel part of a true community.



 

Teaching Strategies

Strategies

Throughout the quarter in the JDP program, I have been keeping track of teaching strategies that resonated in me and interested me.  I have written them down, described the strategy briefly, and I am sharing them here.  Please, if you have any unique teaching strategies that you would like to share, I would be very interested in hearing about them.  Please feel free to tweet them or post them in the comments section of my blog.   

Chalk talk:  Full class activity.  Post something (could be a word, a sentence, a picture etc.) on the whiteboard through projector and document camera or directly on the whiteboard in marker.  Tell students they are to be absolutely silent.  Students have their own markers and are to write comments, words or phrases in reaction to what the teacher has centered in the whiteboard.  Students are to comment on the central topic written by the teacher and then begin commenting on each other’s notes.  Each comment should be circled and linked to what comment they are responding too.  The facilitator ensures that students are silent and once it seems that students have completely exhausted their thoughts, the facilitator should continue to ensure that students are silent in the “space of thought”.  After several minutes of reflecting on all comments and responses silently, students may begin another round of commenting.  The key is the facilitator not rushing it.

Last word:  Group activity 4-6 members.  Reading strategy.  Students read an article or other reading silently in their group and  highlight any sections that they felt were extremely important to them.  They choose one highlight that they felt was the most important and read out-loud to the group directly from the article.  The student who read first is not allowed to talk once they read their highlighted text.  Other members in the group are to go around their group and comment on the section and why they think it was a good or bad section to highlight.  Group members should do this in approximately 2 minutes each.  When all group members have commented on the section, the student who shared the highlighted section originally, gets the last word and informs the group why he/she picked that particular section as the most important section.  Go around the group, and all group members have a chance to have “the last word”. 

Professional Share:  Students find a newish partner and share an update from their professional / personal life related in some way (no matter how tangentially).  Each partner shares something from either the class or their research (4 minutes).  Partners then share out to the class what each other shared with them.  Ice Breaker activity. 

2 Truths and a Lie.  Students write 2 truths and 1 lie (3-4 minutes).  Students go around the room saying their 2 truths and 1 lie out loud and the class has to guess by raising their hands, which one is the truth and which is the lie.  Students who share pick other students to share until the entire class has shared.   Ice Breaker activity. 

Cubing:   A great activity to have students fully dissect and analyze a topic during a lesson.  There are 6 sides to a cube, 6 aspects of a topic.  Students can actually create cubes with these prompts.  There are web resources on this strategy available if you google “Cubing”. 

1.       Describe it

2.      Compare it

3.      Associate it  (what does it make you think of)

4.      Analyze it (what are its parts)

5.      Apply it (how can it be used )

6.      Argue for/against it (why or why not is it important)

And the list will continue!!!!

90-90-90

I'm at a 90-90-90 conference and learning a lot of great information that is reaffirming what my school is currently doing.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with 90-90-90, the definition of a 90-90-90 school is approx. 90% minority students, 90% low socioeconomic status, 90% high proficiency.  The key ideas is the formation of highly effective PLC's (or what they define as Data Teams), excellent instruction that includes common formative assessment and a laser like focus on student achievement.  We are currently doing so much of this that it is comforting knowing we are on the right path!

I had the opportunity to tour Ramona High School in Riverside Unified.  What an unbelievable school and school district.  The Superintendent spent about 2 hours with us and it was apparent that he is fully vested in the technology of his schools.  It was a great experience!  They are freeing up technology in all of their schools.  It will be interesting to find out if it is working and they see student achievement results. 

http://ramonadigitalfrontier.ning.com/

I just had to share some of these direct quotes from a great article I just read.  I am extremely passionate about CTE and the benefits CTE has on underprivileged students.  The article I have drawn these exerts from is refereced below.  Happy reading!

"Our CTE "formula for success" commits us to a higher standard of learning. After the political winds shift from NCLB, and overly stressed standardized testing gives way to applied common sense, public schools will still teach everyone who walks through their doors. There are no simple solutions. But the elements of academic excellence combined with the relevance of CTE give secondary education incredible potential to build lives and inspire". 

“Career and technical education also has a profound impact in saving the youth that even No Child Left Behind (NCLB) leaves behind. Each year, tens of thousands of our kids, feeling disconnected and disenfranchised, drop out of school. Politicians and legislators seldom mention these endangered students in their rhetoric. They disappear from the political radar as if they constitute the "dark side" of education. Increased standardized testing and mandates will not likely bring them back. And, if they do not come to school, you cannot teach them”

“Passionate educators applaud, rather than fear, increased learning and accountability. However, they also understand that far more important than regimented academics and mandated over-used standardized testing delivered with factory-like precision, is the higher purpose of education-empowering people to build their own lives”

 “Healthy CTE stimulates higher achievement and results in quality education with enthusiastic community support” 

Brewer, R. L. (2004). CTE in high schools: The formula for success. Tech Directions, 64(5), 15-18.

Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csusm.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/62012599?accountid=10363; http://www.techdirections.com/

 

Visitors & Residents by David S. White

The video, Visitors and Residents by David S. White discusses some very interesting concepts surrounding digital visitors and digital residents.  In education, many of us are consumed with this misconceived notion that our students are going to eventually "pass us old folks up" because we believe they fully understand the uses of technology and have grown up in the ever expanding digital age.  The video disproves this misnomer and instead, creates a clearer concept of digital residents vs. visitors.  In fact, the concept of digital proficiency has nothing to do with age.  Digital proficiency has more to do with personal beliefs, interests and personality than it does with age.  Digital rresident's live a portion of their lives on the web and in the social media platforms in order to communicate with prexisting friends.  They thrive on the attention and communication with others and enjoy the visibility established as digital residents or "micro-celebrities".  The visitor, according to White, is much like a person with a job to do who will rummage around the tool box for a while, get the job done, and leave.  The visitor doesn't spend time getting to know people through social medias and simply doesn't see the connection to these platforms as a way of learning.  The visitor may see personal privacy as greater value than the resident and in addition, may feel content with their established friendships. 

An interesting concept that White discussed in the video was that just because someone understands the use of technology, it does not necessarily make that person any wiser or more intelligent.  This resonated with me as we oftentimes link intelligence with digital proficiency in education.  I think we do this because we are so mindful of the magical "21st Century skills" that all students need to know and if we can find someone who understands these skills, they must be smart!  In reality, most of us don't know what these "skills" look like .  Therefore, if you are technologically savoy, you must understand these hidden skills that everyone talks about which makes you much wiser than the rest of us!  This obviously is not true. 

As an educator, I believe in staying current and thrive at any opportunity to become more proficient with technology.  However, personally, I err more on the side of privacy which lends me more toward being a visitor in the digital age. A topic that did not come up during the video is how access may hinder digital residency status. I have worked with several teachers, some of which were fresh out of college, and it was brutally apparent that lack of access to technology had hindered their ability to perform simple digital functions.  I have had the same experience with students who were very proficient with technology because of their access to it growing up in comparison to those who fumble around with it due to a lack of background.  I understand that the person without access can learn to use the tools available although, how does that impact their status as a visitor vs. a resident? 

On a final note, I am glad that video discussed "Twitter for Idiots".  As I find myself fumbling around with Twitter and trying to learn it, I now understand that one just has to use it and explore it before fully learning it.  I must get better at this and hopefully I will eventually learn how to "feed the machine"!