Earlier this week, I found out that my hairdresser will be closing the salon in three months. I knew the day would come, but I was not prepared for it to happen so soon. As he explained, their lease is up and they didn't want to sign up for another five years. I've been a client for 16 years; it's going to be hard to find someone else, someone I trust. Over the years, my husband and I have become friends with my hairdresser and the salon manager, sharing stories about politics, books we are reading, our travels, or our experiences. I really looked forward to our monthly appointments.
My hairdresser also teaches seminars for those who are just beginning their career. The other day he shared that when asked, these students often cannot articulate their "why?" Why do you want to go into this business? My hairdresser has been in business here in Hawai`i for 33 years, and before that, he was successful in Japan. He clearly knows his "why?" He loves what he does, is professional in every aspect of his business, and most importantly, his clients feel more beautiful and confident when they leave the salon.
That got me remembering a video I've watched several times. It is Simon Sinek's Ted Talk on "The Golden Circle" He shares that knowing our "why?" gives us the purpose to do what we do. He shares that people can usually explain the "what?" and the "how?" but if they cannot articulate their "why?" then oftentimes, their idea will fail.
As a principal, I had many opportunities to interview teacher candidates. One of the first questions I asked was, "Why do you want to be a teacher?" I loved when the candidate's eyes lit up and they shared their love for children or their love for learning or about a teacher who influenced their life and made them want to be an educator. They talked about some of their experiences working with children and how they know it isn't easy, but that they felt it was the right profession for them. Or they shared about being a military child or parent and how they could understand the challenges and to empathize and provide the kind of support our students were facing at our military-impacted school. Other interview responses reinforced the teacher candidate's "why?" If someone couldn't respond to that initial question, they often struggled to respond to the subsequent questions. We probably weren't the right school for that teacher candidate.
As a school leader, I needed to be able to answer the question "why?" when a new idea or initiative was proposed. Our staff had every right to know why they were being asked to do something especially when their plates were already full. It helped to have an honest discussion about why we were starting something new. Sometimes it was mandated by the Department or our Complex Area so we had no choice. My challenge then was to work with the teachers to ensure a smooth transition and to see what might be taken off their plate. If it was a new school-wide initiative, we had discussions and training prior to beginning implementation. Sometimes, we began with a small group of early adopters before going school-wide, but for each new initiative or idea, our staff needed to know the "why?" behind the action.
Since I retired four years ago, much has changed in education. No one could have predicted that a pandemic would force the temporary closure of schools and the subsequent challenges that educators and families would face as a result. Things will never be the same again, and schools should be examining what and how they have been teaching all these years. Instead, schools can begin by asking "why?" Back in pre-pandemic 2017, I had a list of "why?" questions about education. I think it's time to examine these questions more closely:
- Why are schools so "traditional" and why is it so hard to change?
- Why aren't we looking at different models to build and/or upgrade our schools to the 21st century (e.g. business or university partnerships)?
- Why can't developers build schools for the areas they are developing?
- Why do we need standardized report cards to tell us how a student is doing in school? What do grades really tell us about a student?
- Why do we need standardized tests? What do these tests really tell us that we didn't already know about a student?
- Why do we have grade level standards? What would be a better way of collecting evidences of student progress - where they started and where they are now - as opposed to where we say they need to be by the end of a grade level?
- If we value innovation and diversity, why are we so intent on standardizing education?
- Why do we keep talking about school reform? When will we stop talking and do something amazing that will keep our teachers excited about teaching and our kids excited about learning?
- Why aren't educators valued in the United States as they are in other countries?
