What do you see?

So often our eyes and mind play tricks on us... they distort and manipulate what we see, or at least, what we think we see. It's all about our perspective, and what we ultimately end up seeing can be easily influenced by our attitude and our willingness to see either the positive, or the negative...

If you have hall duty or bus duty in the morning do you see it as an opportunity to greet each and every student with a smile to ensure their day at school starts off right, or do you see it as just another short straw that you have drawn...?

If you know a colleague who is struggling do you see it as a chance to help him/her with their struggles because we work as a team, or do you turn your back on them and ignore their struggles while being thankful it's not your problem...?

If you have a conversation with a colleague and you disagree, do you see it as an opportunity to learn about another perspective or do you concentrate all your energy on proving that your perspective is correct...?

If you make a mistake do you see your failure as a chance to learn and grow or do you see your failure as a defining characteristic that will always follow and haunt you...?

If you experience success in your classroom with a particular activity do you see it as your professional responsibility to share it with your colleagues or do you see the activity as something you must protect and hide from others...?

If you get stuck doing something that isn't your job, do you see it as an opportunity to learn about another role in education or do you see it as a burden that shouldn't fall on your shoulders...?

If you are selected to do lunch supervision do you see it as an opportunity to build and strengthen student relationships or do you see it as wasted time that comes with the job...?

If you have a student who is unmotivated in your class do you see it as a chance to help the student find the root cause of the issue or do you see the student as another lazy and unmotivated kid...? 

If you are assigning work to be completed outside of school, do you see the other time commitments and constraints your students may have or do you see homework as more important than family and/or interests and hobbies...?

If you discover that a student is passionate about something that is not related to your content, do you see it as an opportunity to connect and relate your content to his/her passion or do you see his/her passion as something that is getting in the way of his/her learning...? 

Does what you really see match up with what you 

really want to see? Does what you really see match up with what's best for our students?

Every day before you go to work think about what set of lenses you are wearing, and remember that from time to time it's not necessarily a bad idea to throw out your old lenses for a set of new ones...

What I've learned about change...

This year in my district (Union R-XI) we are undergoing quite a few changes. The most significant changes are related to an entirely new educator evaluation system, a significant curriculum realignment due to the CCSS, and lastly, five new administrators (including myself) in all new positions. Needless to say, our district has been experiencing quite a lot of change, and throughout this process (we are nowhere near done), I think I've learned a few things about change...

1). There is no such thing as the stinkin' "easy" button!

2). If people don't know the "why" behind the change, then you might as well save everyone the time and effort and just stop before even starting. People have to know and understand the "why" behind the change before they will ever consider changing. Also, be prepared to explain over and over again the "why," because people will forget and lose sight of the "why" over time. Don't let the process blind your organization of the purpose behind the process...

3). It won't happen quickly... it won't happen easily... and it won't be successful without some kind of a fight. Remember, if it's worth changing, then it's worth fighting for, and when you are talking about philosophical beliefs and longtime ingrained habits, you are talking about passion...

4). Change requires all of us to be both flexible and firm at the same time. Listening and making adjustments can be extremely important and positive when going through the change process. Similarly, there are times in the change process when you have to stand firm and hold your ground. People don't try to circumvent and derail the change process on purpose (I believe in being optimistic), but it does happen and happens frequently. It's during these moments that you need to be firm in your resolve and stick out the process...

5). Change is only change for so long. After a while, change loses it's "newness" and eventually becomes the norm and the way things are done. Don't acknowledge and validate the people who keep holding to the past and continue talking about change that happened long ago. Knowing and understanding the past is important, but only if that information is used to help shape, assist, and support the change process...

6). As part of the change process, you will probably have to do things, say things, and support things you don't necessarily agree with. However, these small steps on the overall journey make the entire process possible, so it's due to these smaller events that the larger event is possible. Keep your sights on the long term goal and objective, and view the short terms goals and objectives as a means to an end...

7). For the change to be successful, the change needs to have some cheerleaders. These cheerleaders need to have a consistent and similar message that focuses on the good that will occur as a result of this change. The change process will fail if the cheerleaders believe that their main goal and focus is to simply not badmouth the change... they need to be visible and vocal advocates spreading the positive word about the change. Allowing people to speak negatively and pessimistically about the change and sitting idly by not saying anything is probably worse than actually saying negative comments toward the change...

8). You will need to put on your big boy or big girl pants. You will need to wear an extra set of armor both on the front and the back, and you will need to keep your emotions and personal feelings in check. Change can be fun, exciting, and beneficial to the entire organization, but it's definitely not easy, and almost always becomes personal...