Servant Leadership Versus High Accountability

   

  Principals bossing around teachers and trying to control everything is archaic. Developing people, treating them with respect, encouraging their talents and input - these are trends that research has proven build strong schools and organizations. I believe if principals will really listen to their teachers and figure out how to get them what they need, teachers will perform at a higher level, which will improve the classroom environment and increase student achievement. The work required for schools to succeed is more knowledge-based and depends on employees being creative and making good judgments. It's also important for a principal to keep in mind that their younger and often most creative teachers no longer hesitate to quit an unsatisfying job. Research says that today's younger workforce will hold 14-18 jobs by the age of 38.
    How can a principal lead through servant leadership and sleep at night when they have all the pressure of being accountable for the results their school yields to the superintendent, board of education, and community as a whole? The essence of servant leadership is to serve the employees first, and success will follow. This might appear to be the opposite of modern business strategy. Servant leadership doesn't mean that the principal doesn't cast vision for the school and set strategy. It doesn't mean he or she doesn't hold their people to a standard of teaching excellence. In fact, I will argue that your staff wants you to do those things. They want you to lead. But they also want you to include them in developing the path forward for the school. I want to offer some everyday habits principals can incorporate in their daily routines that can have powerful results.

1. Listen. Pay attention to how you interact in face-to-face conversations, large groups, and meetings. How do you communicate with other administrators, faculty, staff, parents, and vendors? How much do you really hear what they're saying? Do you understand what they need? Find meaningful ways to invite feedback and suggestions.
2. Appreciate. Instead of trying to catch people doing things wrong, shift your attitude to look for people doing things right. Tell them about the right things they are doing both informally in conversations and formally in their annual reviews.
3. Respect. Do you offer your employees the tools to become the best they can be? The emphasis should be on coaching as opposed to controlling. The test of true leadership is whether your teachers leave the school better than when they got there. The only thing worse than growing your employees and losing them is not growing them and keeping them. You want everyone growing and changing and improving. This also includes you! That is the only way your school will grow and change and improve. 
4. Unleash. Your people already have power and energy. They can use it or not use it. How can you give them opportunities to use it? Everyone is already showing up and getting paid. Why wouldn't you want each one to make the biggest contribution he or she can make?

This post was adapted from an article in the January 2012 edition of Success Magazine by Emma Johnson entitled, Become a Servant Leader.

3 Traits of a Potential Teacher Leader

   Every school needs teacher leaders. People who are always seeking to make their classroom and their school better. For many years these teacher leaders have served more of a “representative” role as department chairs, association leaders, and curriculum developers. It’s time that principals allow teachers to become real “leaders” that enact change. Teachers have daily contact with learners and are in the best position to make critical decisions about curriculum and instruction. So how does a principal know when they have a potential leader on their staff? How can he or she be sure that this person can be entrusted to carry the ball and enact positive change? Let me stop and paint a picture of what a potential leader looks like.

Three Traits of a Potential Leader

1.       1.  Passion- No trait is more noticeable than passion. In short, these people love what they do. They have a sense of mission that comes from the heart. A sense of pride and enthusiasm that is contagious. These people tend to push the pedal to the metal and make the most of life. They feel that they must use this day to its fullest, it’s dying tick, tick, tick.

      2.   High Energy- Being an educator has never been more difficult and time consuming. The line between work and home is increasingly blurry. Teachers have to prepare lessons, grade papers, evaluate curriculum resources, communicate with parents, develop benchmarks, assess data, tutor at-risk students, gather documentation to support their evaluation, serve on committees, and constantly engage in professional learning in order to stay relevant. All these things require an enormous amount of stamina. Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Ours is a life of action, of strenuous performance and duty. We must live in the harness of striving mightily. Let us run the risk of wearing out rather than rusting out.” The key to high energy is passion. When you love what you do, you have high energy to do a great job. Passion and high energy always go together.

3    3.  Inner Peace- Great leaders always have a certain inner peace about them. It feels good to be around them. I’m not talking about charisma or someone who is naturally outgoing. It is much more difficult to describe. A sense of inner peace may sound counter-intuitive given the demands of teaching. People don’t want to follow chaotic people. Scattered thinking wastes energy and zaps motivation. You can focus and achieve what you want when you are calm. I believe inner peace comes when one is gifted and confident in what they do. When one is not gifted in their current position inner turmoil is the result. Other sources of inner peace include self-confidence and a strong support group. For me, I get inner peace from my faith in God. I know in whatever I encounter during my day, He is with me.

Great Advice from Great Teachers

The below quotes are from my book, One-on-One With America's Most Inspiring Teachers. The book can be found on Amazon.com. I hope you enjoy the advice of these inspiring teachers. 

MAXIMS OF GREAT TEACHERS

TEACHING

“It’s not because I’m a great teacher, but it’s because I met my students where they were.” Dara Feldman

“I started to look at kids more as individuals as opposed to an entire group that needed the curriculum checked-off as I taught it.” Jennifer Wilson

“Every student knows that I give 100% and I expect the same from them.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“The real measure of a good teacher is what we give students that last them the rest of their lives.” Rafe Esquith

“Everyday is different, every child is different, and the way students learn is different.” Heather Renz

“Teachers are like explorers searching for the unknown, searching for the treasures for which our students are to us.” Glenn Lid

“Keep them laughing, involved, and relate the material to things they already know.” Harriett Ball

“I find that if I rigorously teach my expectations at the very beginning. I can quickly move my students forward to where I want them to be by having them function as a cohesive unit.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Teachers have to get students up doing things; moving around, working in groups and doing a variety of activities.” Randy Wormald

“It is very important for a teacher to realize that the energy you give off is the energy you get back from your students.” Kim Bearden

“Do not be too attached to YOUR information. Be more open to finding out what the students want to learn. You can always tie it to your standards.” Dara Feldman

“At the end of the day I want my kids to be excited about learning and can’t wait to come back the next day.” Jennifer Wilson

“Jamie Escalante said it best: you have to have the ‘ganas’ or desire to teach. I think everything else will come in time if you have the will, the desire, and the passion for your students’ learning.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“My greatest strength is that I just don’t give up.” Rafe Esquith

“I try to make my teaching exo-charmic. ‘exo’ meaning out of the box and ‘charmic’ meaning a certain charm that exudes lots of energy.” Glenn Lid

“Don’t give homework on anything you have not personally taught yourself.” Harriett Ball

“Don’t give up on a child just because of their behavior.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Sometimes teaching is more about getting out of the way and letting the kids come up with the ideas.” Randy Wormald

“When you see enthusiastic students, there is an enthusiastic teacher in the classroom first.” Kim Bearden

“I have noticed that one of the reasons kids act out is because they can’t read and they would rather get in trouble for acting out than face the humiliation of not being able to read.” Dara Feldman

“Effective teachers never stop trying and they never give up.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“EVERY lesson I explain how they will be using this skill in their life. There is relevance in my classroom that is one of the reasons the kids work hard.” Rafe Esquith

“Teachers are explorers of human-kind; our next year’s class, our next athlete, our next student may be our greatest discovery of all.” Glenn Lid

“There is nothing worse than a teacher who doesn’t want to be in the classroom and lacks the will to help children.” Cynthia Pochomis

“I believe in giving the students a voice and bringing in some of their ideas while maintaining a curriculum structure.” Randy Wormald

“I think one of the biggest disservices that we do for children in our country is to lower the expectations for children who are struggling.” Kim Bearden

“I get my students to do some very high level work because I show them exactly what I expect and I do not allow them to underachieve.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“If you read well all the doors are open. If you don’t read well they are all shut. It’s just that simple.” Rafe Esquith

“Teachers need to look at their state standards and ask themselves the question, ‘what’s the best way to deliver this content to students that is going to be motivating, exciting, and most important relevant?’” Heather Renz

“I try to make my hook activities result in a student reaction of ‘wow, how did he do that.” Glenn Lid

“Teachers have to look at children as individuals, meet them where they are, and push them as far as they can go.” Cynthia Pochomis

“As a teacher you have the opportunity everyday to inspire and engage students. If you are not doing that then this career is not for you.” Randy Wormald

“If we treat all students as gifted learners they will rise to the occasion.” Kim Bearden

“Be a proactive teacher not a reactive teacher.” Rafe Esquith

“It must be meaningful. If it is not meaningful why are we teaching it to students? If we cannot connect it to their life it doesn’t mean anything.” Heather Renz

“In a society where we are saying that kids don’t pay attention like they used to, music is the great focuser.” Rafe Esquith

“That’s what I’m looking for in a teaching colleague, a potential for awesomeness.” Randy Wormald

“Students live in real fast-paced world where they are bombarded with information. We need to teach them how to quickly screen right from wrong and propaganda from fact.” Heather Renz

“The more connections that you can help a child make between the content and their reality, the more success you are going to have with the students being able to retain it long term.” Kim Bearden

RELATIONSHIPS

“The single most important thing about having a successful classroom is relationship building. If you don’t have a relationship you can know the content inside and out and it’s not going to matter.” Randy Wormald

“Once you have built a caring relationship with your students, they then care about what you have to teach them.” Harriett Ball

“Starting out the year by developing a relationship with the whole family is something that good teachers do.” Dara Feldman

“Kids judge you on your ability to teach them. If you are not able to teach them, they will not value you. They will not respect you. Your students will however climb mountains if you teach them well and build-up their self-esteem.” Harriett Ball

“Build relationships with teachers that you admire.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“You have to be the person you want your kids to be.” Rafe Esquith

“The biggest thing a new teacher should do is to step back and realize that they child in front of them is the apple of somebody’s eye and the love of their life.” Heather Renz

“It’s important to keep telling your students they are an amazing person and that they have great self-worth.” Heather Renz

“When you stay at one school for a long time, you just feel like you are becoming part of a community of teaching kids.” Glenn Lid

“I was their mother, grandmother, teacher, and friend. I played all the roles as though they were my children and not just poor kids.” Harriett Ball

“I believe the only way to truly teach a child is to work with the whole family.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Equal is not equitable.” Dara Feldman

“Having other teachers that you respect, love, look-up to, and can bounce ideas off of is nice.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“The culture of the school must be such that students understand the entire design is to promote their success. To set them free from all the problems they come to us with.” Glenn Lid

“I try to teach my students to get along in polite society.” Cynthia Pochomis

“It is really important that teachers become the guiding light for students when parents, for whatever reason, are not that guiding light.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“It’s meaningful to me that I made a difference in the lives of the kids at this school. I couldn’t be a doctor, so this is how I used my life to give back.” Glenn Lid

“You must take the time to know and connect with each child.” Heather Renz

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

“Just because a teacher has a teaching degree, doesn’t mean they are finished learning. On the contrary you are just beginning to learn about this profession.” Dara Feldman

“When I failed in those early years I learned to take a look inward, not to blame the kids, not to blame the parents, or to blame the system.” Rafe Esquith

“The direction of my professional learning comes from my reflection and my questions and worries about my effectiveness as a teacher.” Jennifer Wilson

“You can’t be stagnant in this job. There are just too many variables for which you have to prepare.” Jennifer Wilson

“New teachers need to learn from those teachers who are thought of as the most successful.” Glenn Lid

“There are a lot of teachers who do not have the depth of knowledge to be truly making an impact on some subject areas like mathematics. We must get the real foundational skills built, not just teaching from the book.” Heather Renz

“Sharing with other teachers has always been a significant part of my philosophy.” Cynthia Pochomis

“All teachers should come together, share ideas and best practices so that we can all go back to our classrooms and make a difference.” Kim Bearden

“Never stop learning! If you think you have all the answers it’s time to get out of the profession.” Jennifer Wilson

“We have to have teachers who love to read.” Rafe Esquith

EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND OUR SOCIETY

“I’m all for accountability, but things that can be measured are not necessarily meaningful, and the things that are meaningful cannot necessarily be measured.” Dara Feldman

“There is a growing culture in education that success means passing the test. That opposes everything that I believe in!” Cynthia Pochomis

“We need a valued and honorable path for students with disabilities, a path that is not controlled by the passing of a test.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Just like Finland we need to build a culture and an attitude around the importance of the teaching profession.” Randy Wormald

“We have to support our new teachers. This is the number one thing we have to do in education.” Glenn Lid

“Parents must be the first ones to emphasize the importance of education.” Harriett Ball

“Teachers are training children to take a test instead of teaching children to enjoy learning, reading and to be curious about the world around them.” Cynthia Pochomis

“The better your Fine Arts programs the better you are across the board academically.” Randy Wormald

“You can’t just say we need to do better and get better results. You have to support that idea with more resources.” Heather Renz

If I Could Start My Own School I would....

I think every educator has thought of starting their own school. What would your school look like?

Randy: I have always thought of starting my own school. I think the biggest area of need right now is in the middle schools so I would start a middle school. This is where we start to lose kids, meaning they start to move down a path of dropping out or just becoming disengaged. I would start an experiential middle school with a variety of different things available for students. Our area of New Hampshire is rural. I would like to have the ability to take kids and have them work on a farm for a block of time. While there the students could be taught the standards and curriculum through the real world of farming. They would study chemistry, biology, gardening, mathematics, etc.

     At my school I would have the ability to take field trips often - the ability to put students on a bus and drive down to Boston to visit museums at any time. Field trips are critical for pulling in material that you just can’t teach within the four walls of a classroom. Teaching only within the classroom walls is not the best way to get the active culture that I would want in my school. 

Randy Wormald is the 2005 Disney High School Teacher of the Year. The above is an excerpt from my book One-on-One With America's Most Inspiring Teachers.

What Are You Looking For in a Teaching Colleague?

 

RANDY WORMALD

Randy teaches Mathematics at Belmont High School in Belmont, New Hampshire. (Pictured below is an electric motorcycle Randy and his students built in his mathematics class)

• 2005 Disney High School Teacher of the Year
• 2005 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year
• 2010 Top 5 Finalist for the Great American Teacher Award

What are you looking for in a teaching colleague?

Randy:  It’s tough to answer. It’s like trying to define the term creativity. I don’t know what it is but I know it when I see it. They have to be flexible and know their content, but those are things you can check off a list. Then there’s a certain quality that you can’t put on a list. It comes back to that relationship piece. Are they capable of building and maintaining relationships with students? Do they have something to offer? Are they going to be a favorite teacher to some students? We all have our groups of students who are drawn to us. I think we are just looking for that extra something that is so hard to put into words.

You just can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know it’s there.

Randy:  It’s like defining love. It’s just one of those people that you know in your gut are going to be awesome. I think that’s what I’m always looking for in a teacher, a potential for awesomeness.