Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts

Friday, October 6, 2017

If You Want To Be A Difference Maker, You Have To Be A Risk Taker

I recently learned of the story of John Berry Meachum, a figure in Missouri history I previously knew nothing about.

He was born into slavery in Virginia, but at the age of 21 earned enough money as a carpenter to purchase his own freedom and a short time later the freedom of his father.

Throughout his life he had an entrepreneurial spirit. He would purchase the freedom of slaves and most would pay him back. He eventually came to live in St. Louis, where he founded the African Church. 

There he taught religious and secular classes to free and enslaved black students. The location for the classes was known as "The Candle Tallow School."

In 1847, the state of Missouri banned education for all black people. Clearly, one would expect this oppressive law to have a devastating impact Meachum's school.

But Meachum was not dissuaded. In response, he moved his classes to a steamboat in the middle of the Mississippi River, beyond the reach of Missouri law.

He provided the school with a library, desks, and chairs and called it the "Floating Freedom School."

John Berry Meachum showed the determination and innovation needed from all educators. We cannot let our circumstances stand in our way. We all face challenges every day. We have to be willing to think creatively and take risks to create a better future.

What if Meachum just threw up his hands and quit?

What if he felt sorry for himself because of this terrible injustice?

What if he retreated to something safe instead of taking a risk?

He had a dream to educate blacks in his community and nothing was going to stop him. I admire his passion and commitment.

One of my favorite illustrations is from best-selling author Austin Kleon. It communicates so well the risk that is required to pursue something better. 



Most people see the difference between what is and what could be, but not everyone is willing to make the leap. Not everyone takes action. But leaders do.

You can be a leader in your school when you step out and take a risk. If you want to be a difference maker, you have to be a risk taker. 

Don't be satisfied with the status quo. Be a future-driven risk taker.

Be focused on the future, not stuck in the past. Meachum would never have taken the bold risks he took if he were filtering his actions through the past. He was doing something that was largely unheard of because he wanted a brighter future for the people he served. His dream was bigger than yesterday.

Believe there is probably a better way to do just about everything. It may seem that things are just the way they are. Our circumstances are fixed. But there are so many ways to approach a problem. Even when things are bleak, think like Meachum. Find a way. Try something new.

Learn from your setbacks but don't be defined by them. When you take risks, sometimes you are going to get knocked down. But even your failures can lead to future greatness. Many of the greatest world-changers of all-time also experienced incredible hardships and disappointments.

Are you taking risks as an educator? Or, are you settling for the status quo? You are needed as a change maker.

How can we inspire educators to take more risks? How can we overcome the obstacles that stand in the way? I want to hear from you. Leave a comment below or respond on Facebook or Twitter.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Schools Should Never Confuse Excellence and Success


The problem with success is that it usually involves comparison to others. How do I measure up? Did I win? Was I the best? Was I the smartest? When individuals, teams, or schools are focused on success, anything less than first place is disappointing. Setbacks and failures can be devastating.    

In contrast, excellence is a habit of mind. It's about being the best we can be. Excellence is giving your best effort, maximizing your talents and gifts, and reaching for your highest potential. When you seek excellence, you realize failures and successes are inevitable along the way. 

Even when you seek success, you may still find failure. But when you seek excellence, success usually finds you.

10 Thoughts on Success vs. Excellence

1. Positive culture and motivation are harmed when schools focus on success. We should take success and failure in stride and aim for excellence. Even when we fall short of the expectations of others, we can still demonstrate excellence daily.

2. It's too bad that excellent things happening in a school might be overshadowed by test scores, or other measures, that weren't as successful compared to a neighboring school or district.

3. Some of the best work happening in schools is overlooked. Quiet excellence needs to be recognized and celebrated too. 

4. Often the school or teacher that is celebrated for "success" enjoyed a distinct advantage from the start. They started at third base, but everyone thinks they hit a home run.

5. Schools seeking success play the testing game. They take actions that are not really best for student learning, hoping they might result in higher test scores. Test prep and teaching to the test are unfortunate examples of this.

6. When teachers compare themselves to others, it invites either despair or pride. The despairing teacher: "I can never be as well-liked by the students as so-and-so." The prideful teacher: "I am so glad I don't have classroom management problems like so-and-so." Excellence isn't about comparison.

7. Educators motivated by success are often seeking to elevate their own status, even climbing over the backs of others.. 

8. Educators motivated by excellence value others and are happy when others are successful. 

9. In Missouri, our state department of education has a goal, Top 10 by 20. The catchy slogan means Missouri will be one of the top 10 states for education in the nation by 2020. The idea of creating a statewide vision for improvement is a good one. But does this goal focus on success or excellence? Does this goal rely on comparison to others? 

10. To be excellent, we must focus on the actions, attitudes, and commitments that lead to excellence. As Albert Einstein noted, "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." Creating value for self and others is excellence.

Question: Are schools too focused on success over excellence? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below, or on Twitter or Facebook.



Sunday, August 17, 2014

Teachers, leaders stand firm

Our family walked together through the pasture of my grandparent's farm excited to bring back the perfect Christmas tree. It was my mom and dad, my little sister and I, all enjoying family time during a season of making family memories. But suddenly, my dad noticed something menacing. Up by the pond he spotted a bull we called Victor trotting in our direction. This animal was extremely large and capable of doing great harm, but he had never acted like this before. Now he was running straight for us.

I sensed the danger even more when my dad gave serious instructions. "Get behind me," he urged. We all quickly huddled in his shadow as the bull continued his charge. My dad threw his hands in the air and called out with several loud and authoritative words intended to let the bull know he was in charge. The bull was not deterred until he was within inches of my dad, when the creature dug his front hooves into the ground slowing his massive frame. Dad wielded the handsaw he carried to harvest the Christmas tree, and smacked the bull right across the nose, yelling again as if to remind him who was boss. Victor retreated.

Now these events, lasting a matter of seconds, have been glued in my memory ever since. I knew in that moment what courage really meant. I saw love carried out. I witnessed a lesson about leadership I would only later fully realize. My dad was my hero, standing firm in the face of a palpable threat.

As educators we are facing real threats too. Outside influences with harmful agendas are trying to force their 'reforms' on public schools. In Missouri, a billionaire named Rex Sinquefield has spent millions in his attempt to buy education reform. His narrative is that if we run education like a business, we can 'fix it.' I'm here to say education doesn't need 'fixing,' and especially not by the misguided agenda Sinquefield and his political allies are advancing.

Now Sinquefield, who has no background in education, and his political machine have gathered enough signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would require teachers to be evaluated by 'quantitative' measures and would effectively end teacher tenure. This amendment is a direct affront on local control of public schools. Similar efforts have been launched nationwide. The message inherent in these attacks is clear: education is broken and teachers are to blame.

But what I see in my school everyday is something entirely different. I witness educators who are deeply committed to students' success, educators with a vision of making the world a better place by investing in the lives of children. These teachers love their students and recognize the influence they have in building the lives of young people. We don't need external bureaucracies or billionaire reformers telling us what is best for our teachers or students.

So as the threats materialize, we must stand firm. Like my dad held his ground for his family, all educators must hold to core beliefs and persevere even in the midst of these attacks. Moreover, we must push forward with improvements that will work and tell the stories of how our schools are succeeding even in these challenging and uncertain times.

As a school leader, I hope to protect my teachers from messages that disrespect their work. I hope that my words and actions are encouraging and appreciative to each one who gives so much to helping young people reach their dreams. I feel a sense of obligation to protect and encourage. The work of a teacher is a calling, and it is complex. Your value as a teacher cannot truly be understood by standardized test scores. Stand firm.

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/constitutional-amendment-teacher-evaluation-approved-november-ballot

Amendment 3
Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
• require teachers to be evaluated by a standards based performance evaluation system for which each local school district must receive state approval to continue receiving state and local funding;
• require teachers to be dismissed, retained, demoted, promoted and paid primarily using quantifiable student performance data as part of the evaluation system;
• require teachers to enter into contracts of three years or fewer with public school districts; and
• prohibit teachers from organizing or collectively bargaining regarding the design and implementation of the teacher evaluation system?