It is interesting that once you get out of a habit, it is hard to get back into it. Such is with my writing! When I was a superintendent, Sunday was an essential workday for me and that was when I typically wrote my blog posts. Now retired, or semi retired as some would say, I have all the time in the world to write (between grandkids, golf in the summer, hockey in the winter and the odd contract) and yet I find it difficult to commit the time to sit down and draft some words. I know that many superintendents blog now, but I highlight two that I most enjoy, Chris Kennedy https://cultureofyes.ca/ and Dave Eberwein https://thepowerofwhy.ca/ I have known both Chris and Dave for years now through ERDI and admire their leadership and writing. While both write through an educational lens, they both bring their personal experiences to their blogs. So, my first hope is to get back on a schedule and write again…regularly and as you can probably tell, work on my website so my blog is a little easier to navigate and read. Honestly, I am not as young as the picture on the site, but I cannot seem to change it!!!
My next hope is around the teaching profession. While I know that we are in the midst of a healthcare crisis, I do not think that most understand the perils occurring in our educational system throughout Canada. It would be easy to simply blame governments, but that would be only a part of the problem. Their mandate is only for four years or until the next election and systemic change requires laser focus and consistent support for longer periods of time. The continual shift from left to right in the political world does nothing to assist the system. And even when there is some consistency in power, the ideals of the party are generally so out of touch with the needs of the classroom because their goal is less about improvement of the system and more about getting re-elected. My next hope, therefore, is that governments start to define education as an investment in the future and not simply an expense line in the budget.
While teaching has never received its due respect, the lack of respect by the general population and especially parents is becoming unbearable for many young and veteran teachers. The old saying, “Those who can do and those who can’t teach” is so out of touch with reality. Regardless of class size (and it continues to increase), teachers today are facing the most diverse populations ever with little to no support from the home. Do not get me wrong there are some great and supportive parents out there but there are also those who feel so entitled and look down at the teaching profession, believing their child is never wrong and others who just do not have the skills to adequately parent. You do not need to have too many of those types of parents to make the job extra frustrating. It is hard enough to deal with 20-40 different personalities in the classroom let alone the parents who may hindering from home. So, my hope here is that society in general does a hard pivot and begins to respect not only teachers but the education system as well.
A commitment to developing leadership is my next hope for 2024. We need fearless leadership in our schools, our systems and around our board tables. In the past couple of years, I have worked with close to 20% of the boards in Alberta and NWT and I always ask, “How are you promoting innovation?” While it may be a too often used phrase, “We need to prepare students for their future and not our past” it is so relevant. Leaders cannot be content maintaining the status quo as that in essence is falling behind. Our students deserve better! I have the pleasure of working with current or aspiring leaders from five Catholic school divisions around the Edmonton area and I remind them that continuous improvement and ultimately school and/or systemic change requires bold (and subtle) leadership. It cannot be left to chance and so leadership development/mentoring must always be a high priority in school systems and the corporate sector.
I’m going to stop there for today as it is only January 1st, and I don’t want to run out of material. Best wishes to all in this new year of 2024.
