Bringing About Change is Tricky Business #SAVMP

1. "It's just the kids and I."

After my last post in February, I set out to make some changes because I realized that the staff did not feel empowered and that change was necessary in order to move forward. As I searched for ways to empower the staff it became evident that some teacher's strengths were being overlooked. The methodology and pedagogy behind technology in the classroom are new to many teachers in my school.  It turns out that there are several staff members that can give digital literacy & pedagogy workshops to their colleagues. Their willingness to do so provided opportunities for staff to feel empowered and proved to be successful. Why did I bring this up? Well, it opened the lines of communication amongst staff members and enabled them to collaborate. Unit planning no longer takes place in isolation; collaboration is becoming more common place. If someone would have asked me if this kind of collaboration could occur two years ago I would have said, 'I'm not too sure about that. People seem too burnt out to do anything extra'. Teachers being empowered has brought about this change.

2. "It's a school, something is always wrong."

It's easy to get sucked into focusing solely on the crisis's of the moment, hour, or day. Sometimes it can feel like the floodgates open right before the first bell and that the downpour ends after the last bell of the day. During busy seasons throughout the year, we might even feel dampened from the storm the next day, only to start all over. We have two choices: constantly focus on the storms or remind ourselves that beautiful days and rainbows do exist. Our students and staff do and create so many wonderful things and those are some of the reasons why we are in the business. It's about creating a positive culture, despite the storms. There is a fantastic article by Martha Maitchoukow entitled "Turning a Negative Into a Positive: how Schools Elevate Culture by Emphasizing the Positive" that echos that sentiment.

Have you ever noticed that there are many personality tests that tell you about your strengths, along with your weaknesses? "Strength Finders 2.0" by Tom Rath is one of my favorite assessment tools, because the premise is that you figure out what your strengths are and continue to improve upon those, instead of focusing on the weaknesses. One way to encourage positive culture is to focus on what we can contribute to our community.

3. "Experience is everything!"

What does this imply about new educators (teachers or administrator)? I believe that this means experienced and new teachers can learn from one another. Great educators are lifelong learners, who self-reflect to re-evaluate on a regular basis. We all have something to offer.

Challenges and changes in education are always present. The questions we must ask ourselves:

1) Are we willing to provide opportunities for staff to feel empowered?

2) Are we willing to reflect, learn, and move forward as a community of learners?