Mahalo for a Wonderful Morning!

Earlier this week, I was invited to a Kau Kea`au Pahoa Complex Principals Meeting to share about my book Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office as well as my experiences as a principal. I wasn’t sure what to expect. During a phone conference with Complex Area Staff, I shared that I preferred that it be a conversation rather than a presentation. My husband Randy and I got up early for the plane ride and arrived at the meeting at about 8:30 a.m. We were greeted warmly with music, hugs, lei, and food. I immediately felt at-ease.

I shared a bit about why I wrote my book, and principals had an opportunity to ask questions or to participate in discussions about issues like Early Learning and Project-Based Learning. I have strong opinions about these issues, and I encouraged the principals to share their thoughts with others. After I had completed my book-signing and Randy and I were ready to leave, the KKP Complex Area Team stood and together, they sang an Oli Mahalo to us. It was so touching; I cannot adequately put into words how that made us feel. The KKP Complex Area went through a challenging time in recent years due to the lava flow which threatened homes and schools and forced students and staff to relocate. From our comfortable homes on Oahu, we read or heard about how the Complex and the Department came up with a plan that ensured the safety of the 1,700 students and 300 employees who were impacted by the lava flow as well as other health and safety issues. Everything is now back-to-normal, and students returned to their home schools. Perhaps, though, that coming together as a Complex Area will have a long-lasting impact that will benefit all of their students.

Thank you, KKP Complex Area principals and staff, for a wonderful day and for sharing your aloha with Randy and me! We are humbled.

Singing the Oli Mahalo to Randy and me

 The KKP Complex Area principals and staff

Such a cute bag of Big Island goodies

The Life of a Military Spouse

I saw this on Facebook this morning; it was a post on our school’s PTO page. I smiled at the reference to the song, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, but then it hit me. This is real for our military families. Until I became the principal of a military-impacted school, I had no idea how much we take for granted in our stable lives in our stable communities. Think about it; a family moves in to our geographical area; they have children who need to be registered for school. What if they don't know anyone yet? Who do they put down as emergency contacts? 

Military families know that changing duty stations is part of their lifestyle, and although most have positive attitudes about moving every few years, it isn't easy for anyone. Just this week, two of our former DKIES teachers shared how challenging it is for them to start over in a new school in a new district in a new state and in a new grade level. They are considered probationary teachers again even though one of them is in her 16th year of teaching. They shared that they missed the aloha spirit they felt at our school as well as the grade level colleagues they taught with. My heart ached; I wished I could give them a big hug. So I did the next best thing. I messaged them and told them I knew they would be fine, that they would persevere, and that they would contribute positively to their new school. These teachers as well as many other military spouses who taught at our school were assets to our school community. I loved hiring these military spouse teachers! They knew what it was like to be the “new kid on the block” and they welcomed transitioning students with empathy and helped them to feel a part of their classroom `ohana. More than that, though, we had opportunities to share and learn from each other. I embraced this mutually beneficial relationship in my years as a principal.

One positive outcome for these military spouse/teachers is that they are able to work under different principals and with different colleagues. They learn to adapt and to make the best of a challenging situation, and in the process, they create their own set of core values about teaching and learning that become part of who they are as educators. I have suggested to several of them that when their husband retires from military service, they need to settle down and pursue their dreams. Hopefully, some of them will take my advice and go into administration. And hopefully, the experiences they gained while at our school will help them to lead with aloha.

Just as I believe that our students are ambassadors for our Hawaii schools, I also believe these teachers are ambassadors as well. That teacher with 16 years of experience? As a special education teacher, she had the opportunity to be trained in the use of a multi-sensory reading program while she was at our school. She shared that even though her first day was rough, she knows that she brings something to the school because her new school has adopted that program. The other teachers were so excited to have someone on staff with experience! When the other teachers looked at her gratefully and asked where she was trained, she proudly said, "Hawaii!" Yes! She is already making a positive impact!

#leadingwithaloha

Will Teachers Become Obsolete?

I happen to think that teaching is society’s most important profession. The future of our kids is in the hands of educators who care and who are continuously learning and trying new strategies to engage and empower their students to be their best. The caring relationships that teachers create with their students can have a long-lasting positive impact. Teaching is a hard job and requires stamina and the willingness to keep pushing forward even when things get challenging. It is not a job for the faint-hearted.

I also believe that our society has diminished the important role of teachers. We hear our leaders claim that education is a priority, but the reality is that it isn’t. Funding is inadequate to update facilities, and schools must sometimes choose between classroom teachers and a librarian or an art or music or physical education teacher because there is not enough to go around. Many teachers are forced to get second jobs in order to pay their bills, young people are discouraged from becoming educators, and the public is quick to criticize schools for new ways of teaching and learning that they don’t understand or that conflict with how they learned the same concept years ago when they were in school. It is no wonder that we have a teacher shortage; and it can only get worse.

As schools deal with a shortage of teachers and the availability of technology, what will they do? One option is to purchase a personalized learning program where students work at their level until they achieve mastery on the specific standard. Teachers review the data and then plan small group instruction for groups of students with similar areas of need. It sounds like a good plan, but does it work for every child? According to this report, the results are mixed. Some students would probably thrive in a system like that because they are capable and competitive, but I think lots of kids would have difficulty in this kind of system. They would find it boring and would not be motivated to do their best. I also am concerned about whether learning for mastery in a personalized learning program translates to application of skills in real-life situations. Yet, I can see schools spending their funds on these types of programs as a solution to shortage of teachers.

I am as guilty as the next person of using the self-checkout line at Wal-Mart or going to the ATM machine to deposit or withdraw money instead of going to a sales clerk or a teller. We hear about robots replacing maids at hotels and robots efficiently preparing items for packaging and mailing at Amazon. Will this happen in our schools as well? Will teachers become obsolete? I certainly hope not.

This morning, I read a blog by Principal Derek Minakami, and I knew the picture of a rock wall was the perfect analogy for me. His blog so poignantly shares why and how teachers fill the “little spaces of aloha” to make a big difference for our students. The Tripps of this world will always be there, and they will need the aloha from teachers to overcome the obstacles in their lives to become productive citizens.

And that is why teachers and students need to tell their stories because teachers truly make a difference for their students. Teachers need to share stories with their students about why they chose to become teachers. Students need to hear from teachers about how much they love their job and how the little successes are sometimes the most heartwarming. And we need students to share their stories as well about teachers who believed in them and helped them to overcome difficulties they were facing. Those “empty spaces of aloha” that Principal Minakami shares in his blog? Those are the memories our students will have when they have move on from our classroom. It is what sustains them during challenges in their lives: I know you can do it. I care about you. I love how you never give up. Talk to me. I believe in you. Tell me what matters to you.

As an educator for 45 years, I cannot think of a more honorable or fulfilling profession than teaching. Educators and students, let's share that message with the public!


#leading with aloha