Renegades Needed

Brad Gustafson Renegade Leadership—Creating Innovative Schools for Digital-Age Students

I had the chance to read Renegade Leadership: Creating Innovative Schools for Digital-Age Students by Brad Gustafson in a way I have never experienced before. I joined a Voxer group sponsored by the author and joined by other educators from around the country. Water cooler questions for our on-line chapter discussion was broadcasted by an audio or text Vox by our book study facilitator.  What followed for me was a weekly professional discussion with passionate digital leaders from across the country. Just for me, just in time PD.

I was initially intrigued with the alternative leadership approach i.e. Renegade—who doesn’t dream of that! The fact Gustafson also focused on leadership for our digital-aged students also caught my attention. In the trenches of our school improvement work, preparing our students for our connected world is not as high on our comprehensive achievement plan as it should be. I needed to start paying more attention to the innovation that was occurring in schools across the country. What are they doing to impact student ownership of their learning through digital connectivity?

Gustafson shared The “Renegade Leadership” traits needed for authentic change in our current traditional educational system.

“Renegade Leadership is instructional leadership for the digital age. It is child-centered to the core. It is collaborative, connected, and combines the best of what we know with the best of what’s to come” (p. 6).

A Renegade Leader strives to learn.  A Renegade Leader understands how incredibly connected our world is becoming and to remain relevant pedagogy must by responsive to these changes.  A Renegade Leader takes seriously the responsibility we all have to prepare our students for their future.  “Renegade Leadership prioritized relationships within a relevant and connected pedagogy” (p. 8).

The best practice and innovation needed to move forward requires the Renegade CODE. Renegade Leaders collaborate face to face to create and build student learning experiences. Student ownership transfers our learners from passive to contributive learners. Purposeful digital connectivity is used in meaningful ways when possible. Students experience what it means to be a learner now and as they navigate all of our futures.

 “The book includes a series of unique features designed to challenge, affirm, and inspire” (p. 2). Some of the features I found to be helpful while reading was the companion website which clarified or enhanced the ideas in the book. Also, throughout the book were real-life Renegade Leaders and students, with examples of how their learning was propelled forward, not with a new gadget, but the thinking required to use the digital device as a tool to communicate. Finally, there was plenty of authentic, practical advice to inspire us to get started.

As I read through the book, I marked it up in two ways. Alternative systems to consider in our school improvement journey, and takeaways I can strategically share with teacher leaders to move us all towards a more student-centered school. Together with a bold and brave mind frame focusing on the possibilities of our student’s future with what if rather than the constraints of we can’t was a hopeful message.

Learn more @ Responding to the Needs of the 21st Century Student

Failure as Feedback

Jessica Lahey THE GIFT OF FAILURE—How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go so Their Children Can Succeed

I just finished the last chapter of The Gift of Failure—How the best parents learn to let go so their children can succeed, by Jessica Lahey. It is early, and the house is unmistakably quiet. My head is spinning with Lahey’s thoughts and recommendations on parenting. As I started to get up and start my day, my eye caught one of my most treasured holiday possessions. A homemade wall hanging with handcrafted decorations from the first magical years of my boy’s childhood are on full display.  

A few of these ornaments encase pictures of my kids at various stages of their growth and young personalities. In all of the photos, their heads are tilted up, and the smiles are wide and full of life. Those hectic and delightful days are gone, and my sons are now adults. With Lahey’s book in my hands and my eyes glued to those young faces, my mind wandered to my parenting experience. “How did I do?” “Did I provide enough opportunities for them to struggle? “Did I intervene too much? “Was their path too straight?” “What did they learn?”

It was hard being a parent, and I made many mistakes, but there was incredible joy in the learning. These small beings you are entrusted with is such a gift that keeps on giving. The decisions I made throughout their typical days as an infant, a toddler, a preschooler, then through school, and eventually college were never ending, exhausting, and yet looking back exhilarating. 

Lahey’s everyday examples in her book demonstrate how parents can provide opportunities for children to struggle, fail, learn, and succeed. There are so many insights on the value of walking away and letting them figure it out when they are two—yes two! I should have been celebrating the stubborn two-year-old, so when they were sixteen they would be less likely to give up! I should have of proudly displayed the baseball cap, football jersey, and soccer ball instead of all those stupid trophies to celebrate what they love is theater. I should have let them determine what a clean room looks and smells like for their guest, rather than nagging and appreciating the fact their friends choose to be at our house rather than someplace else. 

Should of, could of, would of, can be a dangerous head game for parents. Knowing Lahey wrote this book midstream of her parenting experience made me again appreciate her realism. Whether you are a parent or an educator who works with children every day, it is never too late to give them opportunities to learn through failure.  Each disappointment, frustration, and life’s letdowns are opportunities to gain insights on what worked and what can you do differently next time.  Giving up is not an option. Learning is. 

My parenting days are not over. One of my sons called me just now. Given the hour of his call which is not his usual check-in pattern, my heart was racing. “Mom, do you have my spare car key in the junk drawer?” I got up to check, double check and got back on the phone with an unfortunate. “No.” I proceeded to ask him cautiously what was up, a parenting skill I acquired in the teen years. “I’ve locked my keys in my car.”  I again replied with a few short words of sympathy, but his answer made me smile and gave me hope I got some parenting right. “OK Mom, I’ll figure it out. Talk to you soon.” 

Lahey’s book The Gift of Failure will now be my go-to gift for every baby shower I attend. I also highly recommend it for every educator so the book is also a perfect new teacher gift. I can't go back and mend my parenting mishaps, but I can move forward.

May the Forces Be With You

Ron Ritchhart CREATING culture OF thinking—The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools

I have been thinking a lot about culture in the mist of our school improvement journey. If you investigate the meaning of culture, Merriam-Webster’s simple dictionary definition indicates it is “a way of thinking, behaving, or working in a place or organization.” Applying this description to a to school setting, the way we think, behave, or work in our schools defines our culture.

School improvement is tricky. There are systems to establish and routines to be developed and changes everywhere. Learning is at the core of improvement for students, teachers, staff, and the principal. At the core of this school principal’s learning is the importance and value of our school culture. It isn’t that I was unaware of the value of school culture, it just was not on initial “list” of my never-ending to do’s during the beginning stages of our work.

Ron Ritchhart’s book Creating cultures of thinking was recommended to me by a wise friend. He clearly defines culture as the key to transformation in our schools. The way we think, behave, and work together defines us. Ritchhart identifies “eight forces we must master to truly transform our schools” and provide the optimal learning environment for our students and their future.  These forces that allow the often hidden curriculum of culture to become visible include:

         the expectations we have for our students,

the language we use,

the time we spend focused on learning,

how we model ourselves as thinkers and learners,

the opportunities we give our students to do the same,

how we establish learning routines,

the listening and questions interactions we create for collaboration, and

the environmental learning space we create for students.

All of these foundational practices of culture are imperative to school improvement work. Although another trusted colleague warned me not to do too much too fast. Collectively we are heeding that advise and I would encourage others schools do the same. Each learning community must collectively determine where they are at and where to begin.

I haven’t thrown away my to-do list. I understand the school improvement journey will always require a list that will never be complete no matter how much I organize or fine tune it in Trello. Although the list in now embedded with purposeful opportunities to collectively build strong changes in our cultures of thinking.

Snape & Vulnerability

Brené Brown DARING GREATLY—How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

I listened, rather than annotating through Brenè Brown book Daring Greatly. Her voice was memorizing and full of humor and grace. Brown’s passion for pushing through life’s greatest challenges and rewards with vulnerability was frankly pure fun. I frequently laughed and smiled more often than felt guilty or ashamed for what I have or have not emotionally mastered. Frankly, it just felt good to know many of my day to day emotions of inadequacy are those we all experience, and to get “better” was to “be” better.

In chapter 4, Brown shared a story about the conversation she had with an audience member after one of her presentations. This guest was “made” to come along with their spouse to the event, and was more than skeptical. Their chat started out perplexing, but she walked away with one of the most powerful messages found in her book. “Only when we’re brave enough to explore the darkness, will we discover the infinite power of our light.”

This guest thought her message on vulnerability that evening would be dark and foreboding and likened her to the character Snape from Harry Potter. Well there are not many out there who would like to be called Snape, but Brown is not one of them. Snape is her favorite character as evident by the Snape key chain she carries with her.

As Harry Potter’s fears of becoming like Snape surfaced in the story, he eventually learned a powerful lesson through a long and difficult journey. Brown summarized brilliantly Harry’s “defense against the dark arts” lesson. “We all have shame. We all have good and bad, dark and light, inside of us. But if we don’t come to terms with our shame, our struggles, we start believing that there’s something wrong with us – that we’re bad, flawed, not good enough – and even worse, we start acting on those beliefs. If we want to be fully engaged, to be connected we have to be vulnerable. In order to be vulnerable, we need to develop resilience to shame.”

If we genuinely try to live our life believing we are worthy even with shortcomings, remembering we have good qualities along with the ones we need to improve on, we can push pass the belief we are never good enough. “To live with courage, purpose, and connection, to be the person whom we long to be, we must again be vulnerable. We must take off the armor, put down the weapons, show up and let ourselves be seen.” (Chapter 4).

To learn more about Brené Brown and to read the “Snape” incident in its entirety visit http://brenebrown.com/2012/06/12/2012612defense-against-the-dark-arts-html/ Although I would highly encourage you to read or listen to the book. You will smile, laugh, and more often have the courage to dare greatly.