Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance. -Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection What’s more obvious to you: Knowing you belong? Or the keen (often painful) awareness that you don’t? I can clearly recall times in my life when “belonging” escaped me. When my family moved mid-4th-grade year and I sat in a new classroom, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. My hair had been recently cropped short. I wore glasses for the first time. No one talked to me. It seemed everyone was petrified of the new girl who cried every day. In middle school, I didn't wear the trendiest clothing brands, had early 90s permed … [Read more...]

Gamechangers are few and far between. The only place they frequent is of course on our sporting fields, but metaphorically they also well describe those creative, courageous people who see a better way to do something and then they set about making it happen. Schools fit the metaphor perfectly with their protocols, rituals, rules, and penalties for breaking them as Robert L. Freid so aptly described in his book The Game of School. However as appealing as that title of "gamechanger" may be, in education it belongs to a select few, the ones who see what school could and should be and are committed to making it happen. Not all beer and skittles But it’s certainly not all beer and skittles. As much as the ego-driven celebrity Lone Rangers can ride in on their white chargers and spend tens of millions building “new schools,” nothing really changes. Meanwhile, the real gamechangers remain focused on change that is both substantial and sustainable. But you can’t change the game … [Read more...]

Two things are becoming clearer by the day when it comes to our children and our schools. First, our kids are under duress. The latest survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that 70% of 13-17 year olds see anxiety and depression as a major problem among people their age in the community they live. Second, schools in their current iteration are not working for our students. The same survey showed 61% of teens report feeling "a lot of pressure to get good grades," twice as many as said looking good or fitting in socially. Further, only 26% of our kids say they "get excited by something they study at school" every day. If you're an educator, how can you read those statistics and not feel more than concern? How can you not feel like we indeed have a crisis on our hands? And, honestly, how can you not feel anger? My anger stems from the fact that we know better. It stems from the fact that we refuse to make common sense changes that serve our students instead of clinging … [Read more...]

Despite the concern educators frequently express about the challenges of time in the scheduled life of school, most do still find time for conversations with colleagues. It might be over a morning or lunch break, or at either end of the school day, nonetheless they all value being able to connect with colleagues and share what’s on their minds. The irony of this is that so much of what is shared can be reflections of life outside school over the watercooler, or what might be called transactional conversations: a scheduling or room change, a search for a resource or a student discipline matter that needs attention. The result is that school schedules unfortunately rarely provide enough space or time for genuine professional reflection and conversation. Fortunately, this appears to be changing slowly and we are seeing more of the Elmore-style instructional rounds, peer observation and peer coaching in formats such as “triads”. In Leadership for Powerful Learning (2015), authors … [Read more...]

Head over to Google or Amazon and do a search for "difficult conversations" and you'll quickly get the sense that people need a lot of help having them. Especially today when we are so fractured politically in the US and elsewhere. These days, it feels harder and harder to have an even somewhat congenial conversation about things that matter with your "loved ones" much less your boss or your co-workers. For a lot of people, avoidance seems to be the go-to strategy, as in let's just not talk about all of those things that ail us. Let's just pretend that they'll solve themselves without requiring us to have some tough dialogue or, with any luck, without requiring us to change our practice or lifestyles much if at all. (Read: climate change.) Avoiding difficult conversations assumes, of course, that we acknowledge and accept that there are difficult conversations to be had. And I continue to get the sense in education circles that we either haven't gotten to that point yet or that … [Read more...]

As the year kicks off in earnest, maybe you are one of the many who have made great resolutions about your physical health, but have you given any thought to the health of your learning?  Seriously, how focused are you on your learning? Have you done your professional learning checkup? It’s one thing to be getting yourself in great physical shape, but surely it’s just as important for you to be confident about making well-informed decisions in the year ahead? Just as physical well-being allows you to lead a better life, knowing you are on top of the key decisions in your life lowers your stress levels, gives you more time for the things that matter most in your life, and, above all, allows you to make better choices. Learning is one of those things that most people take for granted, almost like breathing. We’re conscious of it when we learn formally, as in school or on a required course or workshop, but for the most part we barely pay any attention to what is possibly one of … [Read more...]