The Humanizing Power of Collaboration - A School Administrator's Perspective

I just had an amazing collaboration session with a colleague.  I'm still excited, I just had to reflect on it.  Have you ever felt the excitement that comes from bouncing ideas off of each other to come up with something totally amazing? ...where both parties brought great ideas to the table, and where an effortless integration of ideas ensued?  This was a true meeting of the minds.  I brought my thinking and expertise, she brought hers, and together we conceptualized and developed an instructional sequence for a professional development topic.

Here's how it happened:
Today, she came in and shared a google doc.  I took notes on what she was saying, she took notes on what I was saying.  Then we added the helpful links and documents that backed up our thinking.  It was so great because we didn't even have to establish this as a norm.  Once we outlined what we wanted teachers to know and be able to do, we asked ourselves, how do we bring this to them in a constructivist manner?  How do we practice what we preach, and facilitate this in a way that's aligned with the school's teaching philosophy?  So, I brought out the school's constructivist lesson plan template, which uses the 5 Es of constructivism to outline a process. (See infographic below)

Together, my colleague and I laid out a process of exploration and discovery for teachers to dig deeply into this topic.  Teachers will discover their own thinking around an idea and unpack that thinking.  They will learn what other's have learned and determined around the topic. Finally, teachers will develop a common practice and common set of commitments around this work.  I will follow up on their commitments to each other (and the practice) with support and reflective observations.

Why was the process so important?
Tonya Gilchrist (Twitter: @Mrs_Gilchrist) recently wrote a blog reflecting on how we honor teacher agency. Prompting us to contemplate, "how can teachers empower learners with a spirit of innovation and purposeful risk taking when they themselves are asked to comply?" (For those outside of education/sociology, agency refers to the extent to which individuals are free to act interdependently and to make their own choices.  It explores how power structures and distributions might move from a more top down orientation to a more equal distribution of power or a more democratic feel). My answer:  we administrators have to practice what we're asking teachers to do by "living the vision" throughout the system.  WE need to employ best practices in our staff meetings and professional development.  WE have to respect and honor teacher voice, expertise, and experience by providing the space to integrate that experience with something new.  WE have to understand that professional development is not something we do TO teachers, it's something we do WITH them.

I may have had an idea of something that's needed based on observations of classrooms, our data, and an analysis of systems/practice.  However, if I try to implement that idea in my image, teachers are going to see it as another directive, another thing that will soon pass.  Conversely, if I can connect the idea to the needs of the teachers, to their experiences, and facilitate a process where they engage deeply with the topic, they become owners of the idea or vision.  This happens as they construct meaning and create something together.  The ownership involved in co-creation rests squarely on that of the learners, creating a sense of agency.  By exploring a topic together, by building something together, by committing to each other, our sense of collective agency around the topic can change school culture and significantly impact student learning.

But, we shall see how it goes! 😁

Constructivist Process by Genvieve Dorsey

Taking It Personally

     Have you ever felt the sting that comes from someone inadvertently and/or callously denigrating your work?  Someone said something to me the other day about my school, and it hurt. I was rendered speechless.  My throat constricted, my chest ached.  My mind was spinning.  I tried to shake it off, but people could see the change in my presence.

The Downward Spiral
     I started getting angry and blaming the teacher, the parent, even the student.  Then, I started blaming myself.  I'm the principal, the buck stops with me. Everything from daily operations, instruction, and school culture are in my domain. I started wondering about what to do do about this.  Do I tell the teacher?  I don't want her to feel what I'm feeling, it's sure to negatively impact instruction.  Do I talk to anyone in my school setting?  I don't want this to spread and become this negative wave washing over our school.  What's really the issue?  I never got past the metaphoric statement that was made.  Is it me?  Do I have nothing more to bring to this community?  I feel I do.  I love it here.  We've done so much great work, but is it like a mentor once said, you'll know when you should move on...? Are teachers tired of me?  Are they uninspired?  No, they're not uninspired, they inspire me daily! So, it must be me.  If only I was more explicit.  If only I gave more directives or forced my ideas.  No, no, that never works.  Everything we do we have to do in relationship with others.  Where have I gone wrong in my relationship with the teacher?  Ack!

Meditation
     This thinking took me late into the evening.  I felt depression settling in.  I withdrew from my family.  I felt awful.  I ended up turning on a meditation podcast to try to ease that tension in my gut and to try to get my mind off this obsessive thinking.  I followed that with some mindless social media scrolling and game playing.  Thankfully, this was enough to calm things down so I could sleep.

Vulnerability and Friendship
    The next day, feeling rested but still down, I talked to a colleague at school.  I let her know my fears around my ownership of this problem.  Very kindly, she reflected back what I needed to hear.  I have brought about positive change.  We see it in our adult interactions and we see it in our kids.  She affirmed for me that, yes, I do have more to give.  I'm constantly questioning and learning in my own practice.  She sees it in the way I interact with kids and teachers, and even in the way I wonder aloud.  I felt better by that.  Later, in the context of a different subject, I brought the feelings up with another couple of colleagues.  They helped me process the "now what?"

Reflection and Action
   In these conversations I realized, that I had a choice - let that information push me into the depths of despair and give up...find a new job where I'm not as vulnerable and invested - OR I could do what I do and inquire further.  I can connect with the individual to uncover the specifics of what prompted the statement. I could also put together a survey or a focus group to uncover what aspects of the comment are pervasive - culturally and instructionally? Maybe there'll be some nuggets of information that we uncover that will help us grow.

    By allowing myself to be vulnerable with colleagues (but thinking about what information I wanted to share), I was able to come to some level of acceptance so that I could DO something other than feel bad and second guess myself.   It helped me to process those feelings so that I could turn to the work.  I think they felt the trust it took for me to be open.  In allowing them in and allowing their support, our relationship was strengthened.  More broadly, they will also see and feel how their support and insights help me formulate my next steps and impact it will ultimately have on our school.
      I also learned some things about myself. This is my process.  I need to move through it. The meditation helped me sleep which allowed me to come back to it with a somewhat clear head.  I learned that being vulnerable is HARD for me, but when I go there, it's almost always cathartic.   I also learned that no matter the situation, setting, etc, I will ALWAYS have something more to bring to the table because I am committed to learning, innovating, and reflecting.

    These feelings will no doubt come again as I am challenged.  So, I'm letting this reflection serve as a reminder to myself.

1. Notice what shakes you, it's important.
2. Denial, anger, blaming, depression, etc. is a normal part of the process.  Pay attention to it, but don't let it envelop you.
3. Mindfulness can help stave those cyclical thoughts to get the sleep or headspace that's needed to look at it differently.
4. Vulnerability (in leaders) can build relationship and enhance culture.  Allowing myself to be vulnerable helps me to process more quickly so I can get on to doing the work.
5. You're only done when you choose not to learn and grow.

Edit to include this cool visual shared by @ACOFEE