“”We Need to Share Our Stories”

 I have been following George Couros for awhile now. At first, I read his blogs; now, I receive his blogs in my email twice a week and I enjoy his professional as well as personal stories. I had the opportunity to be part of his School Administrators Virtual Mentor Program and I wrote a blog post, Innovative Schools, after reading his first book, The Innovator's Mindset. Recently, George’s third book, Because of a Teacher was published, and it is so appropriate today because our educators have overcome obstacles to provide meaningful learning experiences for their students in the midst of a pandemic. 

There are three parts to this book with stories from different educators. The first part shares about an inspirational teacher, and the second part is about an influential administrator. In the third section, educators share what they would tell their first-year teacher self. As I read each excerpt, I kept thinking about what I would have written.

I think I would have shared about my kindergarten teacher, Miss Mizukami, because that was when I decided I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. Kindergarten was a magical experience for me - making new friends, playing in the house corner, building with blocks, painting on easels, and listening to stories after lunch while lying in our sleeping bags for naptime. I loved those stories so much that when I became a teacher, I read them to my students and to my sons when I became a mom. Books like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Madeline, The Story about Ping, and Caps for Sale still bring back happy memories for me. I am sure I loved reading stories to my students because of these warm memories of being read to when I was in kindergarten.

The administrator who influenced me most was Mrs. Mow, who was my principal at Mililani Mauka Elementary School. It was a wonderful experience working with all of the staff there to open a brand new school, the first "high tech" school in Hawaii.  Learning from David Perkins from Harvard's Project Zero, looping with our students for two school years, having opportunities to meet as grade levels to create curriculum, assessment tasks, and discussing results, learning how to use different tech tools to enhance the teaching and learning experiences, and observing other teachers in their classrooms - these were practices that positively impacted me as a teacher and later as a school principal. Additionally, Mrs. Mow and I were often the first to arrive at school in the mornings, and we had many meaningful conversations about education, about bills being introduced in the Legislature, or discussions at Board of Education meetings. She was the person who suggested that I consider going into administration. Prior to that, I had not given it a thought. I am grateful for her confidence in me. 

Finally, what advice would I give to my first-year self? I started my teaching career way back in 1973; I was hired as a Head Start teacher working with disadvantaged preschoolers and their families. I spent much of the time during that summer before school began to turn a dirty, dusty classroom that had not been used in many years into a bright, inviting learning environment. On the first day of school, one of the boys started taking off the calendar numbers, and I stopped him, telling him not to touch. Shortly after, as I was consoling a little boy who was not happy at being left at school, I heard a scream and a girl crying. I ran over. "He bit me!" she said, and I saw a bite mark that was already starting to bruise. "I told her teacher said not to touch," the boy said solemnly, pointing to the calendar. Wow, and the day hadn't even started. I don't remember much after that, but we got through the rest of the day just fine. In those days, there were no phones in classrooms and no cell phones. So right after the bus picked up the students to take them home, my aide and I got into the car to go to the girl's home. Luckily, we had already been on a home visit to all our families so we had established a relationship with the mother. She was not upset even after seeing the bruise on her daughter's arm. "You'll be fine!" she said. Whew! Two important lessons I learned that day. First, be proactive when something negative happens. Make the phone call or catch the parent after school to let him/her know what happened. It's better coming from you than from their child. Second, my aide and I went back to school and looked at the classroom through the eyes of our students. We actually got down to their level and made sure that everything was safe and we would not have to tell our students not to touch something. In all my teacher preparation classes, I never learned how to set up a classroom. That first day was a lesson for me. 

In the last part of his book titled "We Need to Share Our Stories," George writes, "My hope for this book is that it will remind you why you do what you do. More than that, I hope it inspires you to share the stories of our profession that have made such a positive impact on the world." 

Our schools and our educators have been through many challenges, and not just during this pandemic. Yet, they persevere and do all they can to engage their students in meaningful learning experiences. Now, more than ever, we need to appreciate them for their resilience and their creativity. Let's hope that all educators will realize the positive impact they are having on their students. And let's support our educators by sharing our appreciations. We never know how that one kind word or note could make a difference for an educator. As George says, "Because of a teacher like you, the world is a better place."

Professional Learning (Not Professional Development)

I've been thinking recently about the best professional learning opportunities I had as an educator. I recall visiting other classrooms as a Head Start teacher and discovering Workjobs when I saw a shelf filled with learning activities made out of common items found around the house. We were visitors to the classroom and had so many questions for the teachers. This book transformed our classrooms as we created activities using no-cost or low-cost materials to meet the needs of our students. As a second grade teacher, I had the opportunity to attend a series of sessions throughout the year on math problem-solving. We met with same-grade teachers from other schools, discussed what we saw as challenges, and came up with lessons as well as an assessment task. At the next session, we shared our students' work and had rich discussions about math and problem-solving. It changed how I taught math focusing on understanding concepts through group work, discussing the reasonableness of an answer, and having students share their questions and strategies for solving the problem. As a vice principal, signing up for a series of sessions on Positive Behavior Supports had a huge impact on not just me, but on the entire faculty. Looking at data about what, where, when, and who allowed us to come up with a positive rather than punitive school-wide plan. As a principal, the most impactful professional learning opportunity for me was the Hawaii Innovative Leaders Network. 

So often, teachers and school leaders attend professional development sessions that may or may not be what we need at the time. Other times, we attend a conference where we hear great ideas, and we are excited to try them out in our classroom or school. However, if we don't implement the new idea right away or we encounter questions that we don't have answers to, all that we heard that day is soon forgotten.. As a principal, our Professional Development Day agenda was often filled with mandatory trainings with little time for professional learning. Just as more seat time does not equal more learning, sitting in PD sessions does not equate to better teaching.

That is why I was excited when Josh Reppun asked if I would assist with a year-long professional learning community titled Investing in Human Capital, a course he created with Robert Landau and Ann Mahi. This is the first year of implementation and ten public, charter, and private school vice principals are its first participants. Through virtual meetings, readings, book studies, conversations, and executive coaching to implement a school project, these vice principals will gain the skills which will help them to be the innovative leaders we need in our schools today. One of the expectations of the participants is that they share about their experiences via a public blog. That is where I come in. I am their blogging coach. 

I know that blogging is not easy for most of us, and yet, once we get used to it, sharing our thoughts via a blog is a very effective way of communicating with and learning from other educators or anyone who is invested in education. There are many benefits to writing on a public venue:

• It helps us to think critically about why we do what we do in the classroom or in our school system. So much of what we continue to do in school has been around since the Industrial Age, and we are now in the Age of Information, the Age of Technology, the Age of Innovation. Why do we continue to do the same thing over and over in a world that is changing rapidly and continues to change?
• Sharing our writing makes us realize that other educators have similar experiences, challenges, thoughts, and ideas. It can be empowering when we realize that schools and educators across the country are grappling with the same issues we are, especially during this pandemic. How are we addressing these issues? 
• We can learn with and from each other. In this changing world where social media has such an impact on us, our Personal Learning Network (PLN) can include people from all over the world. We all have something we can contribute to making our schools better for our children. Let's share our ideas about how to address the challenges we face in education. 
• If we don't tell our stories, someone else will, and they may be sharing negative and biased generalizations about our schools and education.  Good ideas don't come from one person making a lot of noise and getting all the attention. It's going to come from us, those in the schools, doing the work, and writing, discussing, and sharing ideas about education and what works. It is why we need to encourage more educators to write or to blog or to share their ideas via a podcast or video. All of us working together can overcome the often-negative perceptions of schools and our educational systems. 

The Investing in Human Capital participants recently published their first blog post, and I am impressed with their commitment to this process. Sharing their ideas publicly and reading/commenting on the other IHC school leaders' blogs will build community and enhance their learning experiences as they learn with and from each other. As they continue to build their capacity to share their thoughts publicly via their blog and to engage in conversations about what they wrote, they will gain confidence in themselves as writers.

Investing in Human Capital is an example of the kind of professional learning that I found impactful in my years as an educator. Professional learners are invested in what they are learning and are integral participants in the process. It is what our educators need more than ever today as they grapple with the challenges of  teaching in a post-pandemic world. Let's provide them with professional learning time. 

Here is a blog post I wrote back in 2012: Textbooks or Professional Development for Teachers?