Feb 05

Ambition vs. Leadership

I love reading nuggets from Simon Sinek. His quotes and books on leadership have certainly been influential in my life as a leader and on my ongoing development of leaders. Recently, I came across the quote below from his Linkedin account causing me to be reflective on not only my own career but on those who I’ve mentored (or not) or simply those I watched grow.

Although I’ve titled this blog post “Ambition vs. Leadership” it is not so much as an either/or decision. To be a successful leader, you need both! However, I think many of our leaders today focus more on their own ambition rather than on the true requirement of leadership, which is to serve others.

I climbed the education ladder fairly quickly. I went into school administration at 29, entered system administration at 39 and took on the role of Superintendent of Schools, which I held for 11 years, at the age of 47. While I loved teaching (and still do), my desire to move into administration was to have a larger impact on more students. Ambition drove me to obtain a graduate degree, enroll in numerous leadership courses to better myself, but the reason for pursuing administration was always about making a difference in the lives of students. Taking a page from Sinek, I always knew my why. I’d be pretty arrogant if I stated that I consistently knew my what and how or that I was never wrong in my leadership, but I did always know my why! While I’ve met a few educational leaders who lean more toward ambition than leadership, the list is small.

Strictly ambitious people are often more worried about title, rank and power. They tend to focus more on the position and less about how the position supports others. In my words…

“Leadership is a journey. Ambition is a destination!”

In Sinek’s…

Image result for simon sinek quotes on leadership

Serving others, while we believe we all do it, is just not that common in our world today. That is likely why leadership is harder than simple ambition and why we truly have so few aspirational leaders around the world or even in our own backyards. As I’ve written before, “If leadership was easy, we’d all do it!”

My point isn’t to unjustly dismiss ambition, as there are many great examples of the need for it. But ambition alone, is not enough to establish anybody as a true selfless leader.

In Alberta, municipal elections are a little over 8 months from now. Those elected positions NEED people who care about the act of leadership- serving others and not about their own personal gain and recognition. Leaders, regardless of whether they are elected, appointed or hired, need to understand that their role can never be about themselves but rather about those they serve. Don’t give up your desire to succeed if you want to lead, but always remember what your why is and that is to always serve others!

Jan 28

Supporting wellness through instructional leadership

In all three Alberta quality standards, Teaching, Leadership and Superintendent, the first competency focuses on relationships. That should not come as a surprise, since education is a people business. Indicators highlight fairness, respect, integrity and a genuine concern for staff and students. The Leadership Quality Standard has a specific indicator that speaks directly to the importance of health and wellness.

” Demonstrating a commitment to the health and well-being of all teachers, staff and students.”

This competency and these types of indicators were established pre-pandemic, demonstrating the importance of effective relationship building. However, it is safe to say that their importance has risen sharply in this COVID stage of education.

I was recently involved in a cross country dialogue with ERDI that featured Dr. Catherine Zahn. Dr. Zahn is the current President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). It was affirming to hear her talk about strategies for supporting mental health that many in school and system leadership typically do as standard practice. Certainly connecting with your staff and students is central to ensuring that they feel valued and supported. The importance of demonstrating empathy and ensuring accountability of behaviour were mentioned, as well as understanding the role of stress and grief in our workplaces. Key for all, but especially leaders who understand the significance of service to others is finding ways to renew oneself. Leaders can’t give what they don’t have so, they need to support their own health too!

While her keynote didn’t specifically address teacher practice, a follow up small group discussion spoke about the link between it and wellness. I was proud to hear from a respected colleague of mine, here in Alberta, who said clearly that instructional leadership continued to be a focus in her division. It is (and has been) my strong contention that a focus on instructional practice is especially important during this time and fits hand in glove with a commitment to the wellness of staff and students. Let me explain.

This past year, the education world has been turned upside down. From the many switches of in-school to at home learning and back, to the constant “threat” of positive cases within a school community, educators have been required to be more nimble in their instruction than ever before. It has become their new normal and is vastly foreign from the way most use to teach pre-pandemic. With that in mind, why wouldn’t leaders commit to supporting teachers in their instructional practice? This pandemic has taken many teachers far our of their comfort zones and without support many can be left fledgling alone…not really very good for wellness!

Instructional leadership often takes a bad rap because it is wrongly linked to evaluation. Supervision of instruction (a term I don’t really like) or rather coaching (as I prefer) is essential to addressing teacher practice, ultimately improving instruction and developing stronger efficacy. My experience as a retired superintendent working with school leaders and current coaching sessions has proven invaluable in stabilizing teachers’ fears about the process and building more resilience and adaptability in the classroom. Teachers who feel that they are making a difference in their students’ lives tend to demonstrate a more positive outlook and that is why wellness and instructional leadership are so closely linked.

Instructional leadership should not be seen as negative and should never be employed as punishment. It is an essential component of what school and system leaders should do, and especially now, cannot be placed on the back burner until the timing is better. Leaders who schedule this practice consistently into their calendar and do so in a mode of support are assisting their teachers in ways that they should. Who a child’s teacher is, matters, and so developing the practice of all teachers through a non-threatening coaching model improves learning and supports the well-being of both teacher and student. Now is not the time, to limit your instructional leadership practice. Healthy, confident and adaptable teachers are required, especially now, and while some can achieve those capabilities without support, most cannot. Be the leader that “demonstrates a commitment to the health and well-being of all teachers, staff and students” by excelling in the practice of instructional leadership.

For more information on the coaching process please read the following blog post, Supporting Principals as Instructional Leaders or contact me directly as cdsmeaton@gmail.com

Jan 12

If leadership was easy, we’d all do it!

It is hard to not find articles, editorials or social media posts on leadership abilities in our world today. Everybody seems to have an opinion and most often, “they” seem to articulate a negative perspective of the job being done. We have witnessed some of the worst leadership internationally, nationally and provincially during this pandemic, but to be fair, we’ve also witnessed some of the very best in this time of crisis. Unfortunately, we focus much more on the negative aspects of leadership instead of holding high and celebrating the many positive impacts of great leaders.

While I certainly don’t support many of the recent decisions made by government officials, I also need to recognize that we are in a crisis currently and not everybody can lead in a crisis. But maybe even more important, is that leadership is extremely difficult and not everyone can be a leader. Arm chair critics usually have no “skin in the game” and so it is easy for them to condemn decisions made by leaders.

What most of those arm chair critics fail to realize is that put in the same position they would likely fail miserably and in fact, have outcomes far less desirable than the current state.

I think there is a right to expect our leaders to act with honesty and integrity, be focused on service, not self-serving and not have an arrogant attitude. Those characteristics should be cornerstone to our leaders and if not evident, then we should be vocal (respectably) about our displeasure. But there is a difference between addressing character flaws and simply attacking someone because of a tough decision needing to be made.

Leaders, always need to make tough decisions and some are just not that popular…period! Poor leaders tend to make poor decisions and worse, weak leaders make no decisions. The unfortunate part of this is that while we may be frustrated with our leadership, most of the public would be poor or weak leaders at best! Opposition parties in politics tend to get voted out of power because they weren’t that good either!!!

In most cases, leadership like many roles in life are experiential, you have to live in them before you truly understand them. Have you ever heard a non-parent give a parent advice on raising his/her own children? The general public loves to comment on what they believe a teacher does on a daily basis simply because they’ve gone to school and you know how that is received. There are exceptions, but getting advice from one who has “not walked a mile in your shoes” tends to ring pretty hollow.

One of the advantages I had as a Superintendent of Schools is that I’d experienced the life of a teacher from K-12, taught provincial achievement test and diploma exam classes, been both a vice principal and principal as well as held a number of different portfolios in senior administration. All those experiences didn’t make me an expert but certainly provided me with a first hand look at the positions and ultimately the decisions required at the level. Even my closest colleagues didn’t fully understand the complexity of my role because they had not lived it.

So while I don’t believe we should tolerate the bad behaviour we have witnessed in some of our political or other leaders, I also don’t believe we should simply hang them out to dry because they are making tough decisions. If we want better leaders, we need to provide them an opportunity to be vulnerable and allow them to say a mistake has been made without crucifying them. Any of us would want the same given the option. So I think we should continue to be hold our leaders and politicians to a high standard but always through a fair lens. Pointing fingers when you really have no idea what the magnitude of the position is…well that’s just ignorant… which by the way is a trait you’d not approve of for yourself as a leader!

Jan 03

My Retirement Year in Review

Today, January 3, 2021 marks the first anniversary of my retirement as Superintendent of Schools of Holy Spirit Catholic School Division. I must admit, I’ve done retirement pretty well, much to the surprise of many, including our two children who thought I would be back working within three months. While there have been some offers to be busier, I’ve chosen to remain fairly unstructured in terms of a work life.

The truth is that I’m loving retirement and all of the “free” time it has provided. That is not to say that I did not enjoy my almost 35 year career in education and couldn’t wait to get out. Quite the contrary, I loved my work, especially leading a school division for my last 10+ years. I’m filled with much satisfaction as I look back on my career. Did I complete everything I wanted…hell no, but I was able to accomplish much working with some incredible people throughout my tenure as lead learner. That is not to say that I didn’t have a few sour notes along the way but, I will always believe that those hiccups made me a stronger person and a better leader overall.

I gave my notice to the division a full year ahead of my retirement date. It allowed the Board of Trustees time to search for my replacement and me time to transition and work alongside the new leader. My decision came with my realization that while I still loved the job, I knew I was coming closer to ending my ability to keep up with the intense pace required. I always maintained that you should retire while you are still at the top of your game and will be missed rather than be despised because you stayed too long. Sticking around without being able to keep up with the demands of the job would have been unfair to the entire division, especially the committed staff, who always gave me their best.

So in a nutshell, I don’t miss the job and especially not during this pandemic. Teacher organizations have rightly affirmed the great work of principals and other school leaders during this time but often, central office leaders are left with few accolades for their work. I had great success as a superintendent and received many affirmations throughout but I really do not believe that I could lead any better than what system leaders are doing today. I still keep connected both provincially and nationally and what I’ve witnessed by superintendents/directors and other system leaders has been truly remarkable. Well done!

While I don’t miss the job, I do miss some of the work especially around coaching and instructional leadership. It is my strong belief that the system we put in place around coaching and the standards was possibly the best work to enhance instructional practice. It affirmed the professional and focused on reflective practice. I’ve done some minor work with a few school leaders around this process and the feedback continues to be positive. This might be one avenue of work I pursue once this pandemic subsides.

My wife is often asked how I fill my days given the long hours I worked pre-retirement? I was probably most worried about not having a set schedule in retirement as I have always been a routine person. The truth is, I found a schedule that was flexible and allowed me to attend to new priorities, namely home. Simply having three meals a day with my wife, going for daily walks and yes, yard work have all been a welcomed change. And now, that we live in the same city as our grandchildren, their presence is most precious!

I always had the love of family as a priority in my life but I didn’t ensure time with my family as that same priority. Thank goodness my wife Donna understood my work commitments and provided the support I needed to do my job well. Most importantly she kept the home fires warm and safe and our family intact. Whenever I had the opportunity to affirm my leadership team’s spouses, I did, because I knew how much support they provided to the work that we all did. Donna was so exceptional in the support she provided, that even my Board of Trustees expressed their gratitude to her on numerous occasions.

So now, I get to spend more time with her and we have the blessing of being part time caregivers for our grandchildren. Grammy and Grandpa daycare is a pretty rewarding gig and so while I may do some coaching work in the future, it will never again be at the expense of time with my wife and family!

Dec 29

Leadership is a responsibility

This morning during a crisp winter walk, I reflected on the importance of leadership, especially during this most troubling time. Leadership has been front and center throughout this pandemic and the influence of leaders has been essential in the education world. System and school leadership has been remarkable over this time and has demonstrated the deep talent that exists in our schools and districts here in Canada. I know that all principals or superintendents are not perfect (yes there are bad ones out there) but I’ll guarantee the percentage of poor politicians far exceeds that of poor administrators!

Educational leadership has come a long way since I was in school or began my own teaching career in 1985. At one time, many leaders were chosen out of the physical education ranks and tended to be successful coaches and most were male! It was about rank and privilege rather than what leadership is all about…responsibility! Often, these individuals could motivate their players through fear and motivation with good results and sometimes they employed those same tactics on the adults in the building. Unfortunately, the result for the adults, similar to that of an autocratic teacher, was compliance over commitment. Leaders today still need to motivate but more importantly, they need to inspire the adults in the building and that can’t be done through intimidation.

I’m not suggesting that every “jock” led or leads like this but it was more common than not in the past. In fact, some of my best leaders and closest allies in my administration career were former coaches who were able to lead and serve rather than manage and demand. But also, some of the best leaders that I worked with were “non-jock” women! I will always be forever grateful to my first principal in High Prairie, Dorothy Cowell, who taught me about servant leadership. She did it better than anybody else!

In systems where female leadership is more prominent, leadership tends to be more collaborative, more compassionate and more relational while still obtaining excellent results. While I believe that female leaders in many circumstances need to fight harder to be recognized, their motivation to success is far more related to responsibility than rank and privilege. In my tenure as superintendent, three of four members of my senior education were female and much of the credit for my success and the success of the entire division rests with them. Maybe even more than a responsibility, they saw leadership as a calling, without ego and with great humility.

I think the above quote hits the leadership nail square of the head. True leaders see their role as one of service rather than of one to be served. It is certainly not for the faint of heart or for the selfish in being. It requires a tough skin without losing a compassionate heart. And, given that it has such a potential impact on others, it must always be considered a privilege.

The leaders we need now, regardless of the realm they lead, need to believe in responsibility. While the situation may not be their fault, it is and always will be their responsibility. That’s what leaders do…take responsibility! They have been placed or elected into roles of great service not self serving. Decisions made, even the toughest ones, need to be made with compassion and seldom are those decisions enacted without reviewing collaboratively with a team, ALL of the OPTIONS and POTENTIAL OUTCOMES! It is not easy, it shouldn’t be easy because it is leadership!

Dec 18

Unsung heroes through the pandemic

It should be very evident that our front line workers are some of the biggest heroes during this pandemic. They’ve been incredibly strong in supporting and ultimately keeping our health care system going as well as it is during this time. It is hard to imagine the additional stress they have felt and the mounting expectation for care being required to limit infection spread and death. Kudos!

But I want to affirm the work of those in school systems as they may be the greatest unsung heroes in this time. I fully understand and can appreciate the desire for governments to have schooling continue. There are good reasons, educationally, socially, emotionally and fiscally not to lock down or lock up schools. Given the increasing numbers in some areas, I’m also understanding of the switch from in class to at home learning and visa versa.

It has not been a normal year for anyone yet, schools and school staffs have been asked to bring as much normalcy as possible to students and their families. This normalcy is required no matter whether students are in class or at home or whether there is an outbreak or not. Schools have just plugged along doing what they always done in some of the worst conditions known to this generation…they’ve cared for kids and focused on academics.

System and school leaders have needed to be extremely flexible in structuring and restructuring the learning landscape. Consistency is a rare commodity as each day has the potential to being very different from the previous. Teachers, prior to the pandemic, met the needs of a very diverse student population…at school. Now that diversity is even greater with blended learning, sometimes inconsistent student attendance and continued inequity of resources for our most marginalized populations. Teachers and school staff as a whole, have been required to develop additional resilience, flexibility and adaptability to keep as much normal as possible for students and their families. This isn’t just to feed the academics but more importantly to address the social emotional needs of students. To say the least, the education world has been turned upside down but educators continue to move it right side up and with little fanfare.

They do it because that is what they do!

It is interesting that in any crisis, schools and school systems are automatically the ones to step up to the plate. Schools and their extended supports become command centres to deal with any tragedy whether it occurs in the school or general community.

They do it because that is what they do!

We would like to believe that students are not carriers of COVID-19 but we know that is not the case. We would also like to believe that every parent/guardian practices proper hand washing protocols, maintains appropriate social distances, wears a mask when required and follows all other public health measures. Yet, we know that is far from true and the children of those families COME TO SCHOOL! Then those teachers and other staff, go home to their own families unaware if they are infected. Why?

They do it because that is what they do!

The school has often been the glue that holds a community together. That fact, has unfortunately been simply taken for granted. While I don’t think educators need parades to be held in their honour, I do believe they should be recognized for the unsung work they do, not only pre-pandemic but especially now during this pandemic.

Imagine a world without a school community, without education systems who care for children, educate children, feed children. Who would you turn to for support in times of tragedy, in unsettled times like now? The school and the people in those schools are the rocks required to brave the storm. Please remember those unsung heroes who begin their breaks today and will come back in the new year ready to do exactly what they do- love, support and educate children.

Dec 12

The window is open!

Last week I wrote a blog post entitled, “There are no curriculum police!” which addressed the very real need of shrinking the number of outcomes taught to ensure essential learning for all students. With the general loss of teaching time from the pandemic, it is imperative that teachers, using their professional judgment both individually and collectively, purposely focus on essential outcomes and make learning deep. While this may seem like a dream to educators, it has been my experience that it is a difficult task to accomplish given the historical mandate of covering ALL the curriculum.

Often there is another barrier to focusing on the essential outcomes that rang true in a presentation I did a couple of weeks ago. The issue, and it has been an “issue” for years now, is that any outcome may be on a provincial assessment and therefore must be taught. In other words, just because it could be a question on a standardized exam, it warrants time in the classroom! Well… in Alberta, provincial achievement tests in grades 6 and 9 and diploma exams are optional this year. Grade 3 provincial achievement tests were dropped a number of years ago. Hence, outcomes that do not serve to address current and future learning success of students DO NOT NEED TO BE TAUGHT!

One of the additional arguments against provincial standardized tests (used by me as well) is that you are so busy covering the curriculum that you don’t have time to really go deep into areas of student interest or ensure competency for all before you need to move on. Schools have done a great job to react to this issue by incorporating passion projects, exploratory options, and Flex Fridays into weekly schedules. However, I’m at a loss as to why (given this time in history) we can’t incorporate these student led/teacher framed concepts into our current curriculum/teaching practice? There is a window open for change, but it will not be open long after the pandemic is over. The time to radically transform the delivery of the education system and as Michael Fullan and associates suggests develop “new pedagogies for deep learning.” is now!

One of the questions I used to ask teachers was:

“If you didn’t have to worry about provincial achievement tests or diploma exams, how would that change your teaching?”

A fairly typical response was around being able to be more creative in the classroom and engaging students with real life learning. I agree! I don’t believe we need more charter schools as some leaders would suggest, to provide some local context for students; we just need some flexibility! And, quite frankly, we have it this year! But we’ve had that flexibility in K-5 here in Alberta for at least 5 years now with the elimination of the Grade 3 Provincial Achievement Tests. So…

“How has your teaching been radically different since those provincial achievement tests were eliminated?”

Through my many, many observations of teaching, I’ve seen some of the most transformational practice in the last 5 years. These teachers (and many throughout the province and country) have embraced the 7Cs as endorsed by the C21 CEO Academy and shared in the document “Shifting Minds” in May 2015. I’ve also witnessed teachers who have not made the shift due to habit or fear, or what might be the toughest challenge…being good! The Canadian education system as a whole, and teachers in general, are good at their craft. As Jim Collins shared in his book “Good to Great”…

“The natural enemy of greatness is goodness!”

Teachers, like most who are good at their particular craft, have a difficult time getting uncomfortable in order to move to greatness. This is certainly not a slight on any teacher, rather merely a fact of human nature. Most of us loathe discomfort and yet that is the only place where growth can occur. Great teaching for the 21st century cannot be the same as great teaching in the 20th century.

In their book “New Pedagogies for Deep Learning: Leading Transformation is Schools, Districts and Systems“, authors, Michael Fullan, Joanne Quinn and Joanne McEachen define traditional education as follows:

TRADITIONAL (Fullan, Quinn, McEachen)

  • Teacher driven
  • Transmits existing knowledge
  • Compliance orientated
  • Student is receiver of knowledge
  • Learning is impersonal
  • Student agency is unclear
  • Technology used for transmission and consumption

The traditional approach to education as described above may have been “good enough” for generations past, and may even be “satisfactory” for some students today, but we cannot remain stuck in that paradigm, even if we are good! We still are promoting a system of winners and losers and quite frankly it is unacceptable to have students lose in their learning. The goal of a high functioning and inclusive education system is not to have every student as an honour student but rather to have all students competent in key outcomes that allow them be successful in the world. The diverse nature of our classrooms requires a major shift in our teaching practice to implement deep learning.

DEEP LEARNING (Fullan, Quinn, McEachen)

  • Student led – Teacher framed
  • Connects students to real world, authentic problem solving
  • Builds new relationships between and among learners, teachers, families, and community
  • Student is an inquirer and builds knowledge
  • Learning connects meaning to student interest and voice
  • Deepens human desire to connect with others to do good
  • Technology as a connector and amplifier

I’m not against centralized standardized testing as it has some merits, but unfortunately many of the uses of these exams, like ranking schools, systems, and sometimes even classrooms are untenable. This year and maybe only this year, (unless we can demonstrate deeper learning) we don’t have that same top down testing accountability and that optional status needs to be leveraged. At the end of 2014 I wrote the following and it still applies today:

Parents don’t complain when their sons and daughters are engaged in learning, excited about learning and can articulate their learning! That won’t occur for all students if we continue force feeding them a mammoth of useless outcomes!

If we want governments to stay out of the education accountability world, then we need to make sure that parents and the general public are assured of high quality education. One of my favorite leadership quotes around change was “Bottom up when possible, top down when necessary!” This is a time when bottom up, individual teachers, schools, and districts, is possible and that giant leap to move from traditional to deep learning is here before us all. Don’t let the pandemic opportunity pass us by!

   

Dec 06

There are no curriculum police!

Back in 2014, I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel at the Curriculum Prototyping Symposium in Calgary and followed it up with a blog post entitled, “Why curriculum needs to change.” The panel brought together a wide array of stakeholders debating the “big why” of curriculum redesign. The process of prototyping in itself was revolutionary and provided great hope for the future of curriculum. Unfortunately, the process stalled and the expectation that new curriculum would be “just around the corner” has never come to fruition, here in Alberta.

I remember clearly the hush in the room when I made the statement, “There are no curriculum police!” Some government officials thought I’d just committed educational heresy but those attendees from my own school division were not surprised, given it was a statement I’d been making for a number of years. It was one of the ways I employed, to shift our system to a more innovative culture, allowing students to become more engaged and learn more deeply.

It should not come as a surprise that every curriculum has far too many outcomes and… every outcome is not equally important. What I was giving teachers the permission to do, was to cull the curriculum to ensure that the most essential outcomes were not just taught by them but more importantly competently learned by students. Teachers have been expected to “cover the curriculum” at all costs rather than to have been allowed to go deep with learning, which is essential for the current and future success of students. Most experienced teachers, (since they are curriculum experts), would be able to reduce the number of outcomes taught by close to 20%. There is a vast difference between outcomes that are considered “need to know” and those which are “nice to know” and teachers understand this well. That one phrase allowed teachers, who took it seriously, far more time to engage students in meaningful learning. The excuse of not having enough time was no longer a barrier.

Given the pandemic and the already loss of learning time, this is not just important but rather critical. As time is reduced due to school closures or isolation requirements, teachers need the ability to focus on what is most important in the curriculum. This is not an opt out as some politicians may think, but rather an opt in from teachers, schools and districts to ensure that the outcomes most critical to a student’s current and future success are not just taught but deeply learned. What a novel idea… LEARNING FOR ALL!

This is certainly not a solution for all time but it is part of the answer going forward. The next step is to go from personal autonomy of what are the essential outcomes in a curriculum to collective autonomy whereby teachers in schools and districts come together to flesh out the “need to knows!” This process allows teachers to dialogue as professionals and establish key outcomes in order to maintain high standards. One of the other spinoffs is that students get to go deep in their learning and ultimately direct their own learning but framed by teachers. The need for new charter schools becomes obsolete…just saying! The result will be a transformation from a “still” industrial style model of compliant students to a highly engaging and personalized system of committed learners. Too often we’ve heard from high school graduates that don’t remember what they learned the previous year or semester because all they were doing was playing the game of school and trying to get a good mark. THAT, can’t be enough for school and education in the 21st century. Deep learning sticks, it is not fleeting!

One of the pillars of the Canadian educational system is a robust centralized curriculum in each province. However, one of the barriers, is the inability of most governments to be nimble enough (or trusting enough) to thin the curriculum to the essentials or provide the big ideas. Teachers, others in the K-12 education system and most government bureaucrats do with this quite easily because they are experts in the field. However, those outside the K-12 educational system (some, not all) and often politicians themselves tend to impede this process. They get pulled in all directions on what needs to be in a particular curriculum, make curriculum development a political game or worse, look for outside direction (most of which is either out of date or out of touch) rather than allowing experts inside to manage the development process.

The pandemic has turned our world upside down but it has provided us with an opportunity for curriculum development, enhancement and transformation. By concentrating on the essential outcomes (the big ideas) and committing to going deep in learning we will do well for our students and assure parents of the high quality. And, teachers, schools and districts can do this without fearing an archaic accountability system (seen in many provinces) that includes provincial achievement tests and diploma exams. In other words we have a “free pass” to get it right because this window, will close quickly at the end of the pandemic.

Nov 08

Searching for wellness

If I was able to wave a magic wand to establish a priority in all organizations, it would be for wellness! Most might assume that it is due to this ongoing pandemic and while the need for wellness may be more pressing today, it was a growing need long before COVID-19 hit. The importance of wellness in the workplace is increasing as mental health issues, anxiety, depression continue to skyrocket in both adult and children population. If you don’t want believe it is just the right thing to do, then believe very clearly that when your people are not well, your organization does not function at its best.

In Alberta, a number of school divisions have decided to inject some wellness days into their November calendars. Given the commitment to students and their learning by school staffs during this most difficult time, I applaud those divisions for providing this well deserved wellness break. But I’m also quick to point out, through my own experience, that suddenly changing a calendar can be extremely difficult in some communities. So, I would never say anything negative about those divisions who, for a variety of reasons are unable to do the same.

It is nice to see that not only are school divisions trying to focus on wellness but large business organizations as well. For example, the IBM K-12 Leadership Team has hosted a non-work noon social every Friday to check in with their team members since March. As I read some of the comments on social media, it was very evident how important these check ins were to team members. Even as little as one hour, once a week can dramatically impact wellness. There would be many similar organizations who without needing the wave of the magic wand, place wellness as a priority.

But regardless of whether you are in an organization that values this priority or not, wellness is also an individual responsibility. There may be limits on what you can do to enhance your own well being but there are also a great many possibilities that are not directly connected to your place of work.

How many times have we heard a comment about someone’s poor attitude? Your own attitude has a great influence on your own wellness. Anger, frustration, hate are emotions that can sour your attitude pretty quickly. By contrast, those who are hopeful and express gratitude tend to have a rosier disposition. Your well being is not enhanced by a lack of emotion but rather from an increased dose of positive emotions, thoughts and actions.

But, once we’ve “flipped our lid” as expressed by Dr. Jody Carrington or engaged in that social media tirade, its already a little late to positively impact our well being. Increasing our wellness quotient is about prevention, not reaction.

I’ll begin, as I always did when I was a Superintendent of Schools, with a reminder of the importance of faith or spiritual wellness. This is not about a particular religion or even attendance at church, although that sometimes really helps many. It may simply be a connection with nature but, whatever your beliefs, spiritual wellness is an essential component of overall well being. The pandemic has certainly impacted my own ability to attend weekly mass. My wife and I have had to keep our social circle fairly small due to some health vulnerable people in our lives. Weekly mass was a critical part of my own faith life and now without that regularity, I’ve been forced to ensure my own spiritual wellness is still nurtured. Not particularly easy, but I know that without my intentional actions, my spiritual wellness would be gravely compromised. The bottom line is that wellness is greatly enhanced when your faith or spirituality is well intact.

Physical health also contributes to overall wellness. I’ve always been a regular gym attender but that has been taken away due to the pandemic. Being a runner (or a plodder at best) was another activity that kept my mind sharp. I’m not overly impressed with this getting older but a knee injury has forced me to substitute my runs for slower and much shorter walks. It is not perfect but it allows me to get outside for some fresh air and get a little exercise as well. That activity, even as limited as it is, keeps my appetite in check too! Eating healthy, getting good rest and being active all improve one’s wellness.

While there are many ways all of us can take on the challenge of wellness, I would submit one last idea…staying connected! We are wired for connection and although it may be less face to face in today’s scenario, it must still be a priority. We’ve learned through this pandemic to do much of our work virtually. Virtual check ins, coffee dates or a number of those types of opportunities must be taken full advantage of during these times.

I certainly don’t want to minimize the many struggles that people are facing today. Nor do I want to assume that the above suggestions are cookie cutter solutions for mental health issues. I just think that we all need to try to find our own ways to improve our wellness quotient. Organizations need to do their part but so do we!

Oct 27

The Diploma Exam Debate

Recently, the Minister of Education in Alberta announced that Diploma Exams for students written in November would be optional due to COVID-19. In the Red Deer Advocate on October 20th, editor Dave Marsden wrote, “Rather than having less testing, if anything, the school system needs more.” His premise, because there may be gaps in the learning of students due to the pandemic, is more testing should be instituted “to identify areas for improvement and provide resources”.

I’ll begin by applauding the Ministry for the decision to make diploma exams optional for the November writing. It would be my humble opinion that the decision should extend to at least January as well, given the ongoing impact of the pandemic on teaching, learning and overall school operations. Depending on where we are in 2021, it might be beneficial to keep these exams optional for the remainder of this school year. But I’m not in favour of eliminating these exams forever! I still believe they are a necessary component of our education system beyond the pandemic.

One of the most contentious issues with either diploma exams or provincial achievement tests is that their intended use is far from their actual use. While these exams should be for the purpose of maintaining standards, improving teacher practice and student learning, they have become an ultimate ranking system of divisions, schools and sometimes individual teachers. While the data provided by these exams should be used and reviewed by systems, schools and teachers, the data alone is insufficient to drive deep learning. Instead the “stress to perform” and “outrank your neighbouring school” always lays just beneath the surface and ready to erupt which typically causes harm, especially to students.

Currently diploma exams make up 30% of a student’s final grade. The previous government made the change from 50% to 30% and for the most part, the benefits have been evident. There was a time however, when a student’s final grade was determined entirely by a government exam…100%. When I graduated from high school in 1979, that pendulum had swung completely to the opposite and the teacher awarded mark was the determining factor for a student’s final grade. I was a good compliant student who graduated from an excellent school in the day. I was taught by some outstanding teachers. But, I’ll guarantee that had I been required to write a diploma exam in a couple of my subjects, I would not have ended up with honours standing. This is not to slight any of my teachers then but rather to point out that a lack of consistent assessment practices or common assessments led to some significant variations in grading. Throughout my education career, I witnessed varied assessment results from strong teachers within individual schools and across systems. There were no checks and balances around assessment and without them teachers tried to meet an imaginary or a constantly changing standard with varied success. That system was unfair to the student, but also highly unfair to the teacher.

High stakes standardized tests in themselves are not the answer, but common assessments are a critical part of the solution. We need to find ways for teachers to work together to create common assessments that maintain standards and demonstrate curriculum competence. And then, they need to be able to come together after the assessment to review and compare the results with a focus on teacher practice and student learning. Professionals should always be seeking to continually improve and this has the greatest potential for teachers to do just that. This is not judgment day from the government or the school division or even the school administration. This is an opportunity for teachers to within a trusting environment be vulnerable about their own practice asking questions like, “Your students did well on this concept. What are some of the strategies you are using to impact that learning?”

Mr. Marsden wants more testing to ensure gaps are identified and supports are then mobilized. I don’t disagree with the concept other than using the term testing. In the education world we call his desire, formative assessment. This analysis of student learning should be ongoing and given the world we live in right now, it is probably even more critical to be highly engaged in this practice. We don’t simply need more tests where some government officials and members of general public can point fingers and publicly criticize. That is not the answer!

Diploma exams need to remain in my opinion and I’d be supportive of dropping their relevance to 25%. And provincial achievement tests, in their current form, do little to improve teacher practice or student learning. The stress we place on students to perform well on tests that really don’t matter is appalling. Common assessments need to be locally developed and perhaps monitored provincially and teachers have to be provided the time to dig deeply into the data and engage in rich conversations on their own practice. This is not the entire answer, but we need to ensure this is the way we are moving forward.