The biggest obstacles in education aren't insurmountable roadblocks, but opportunities to think through and approach things differently.
Reflect & Discuss
"Repairing the Leaky Bucket" by Chris Torres
➛ Do you focus more on recruitment and hiring of teachers or on retaining teachers? How might you find a better balance between these two aspects of keeping your school staffed?
➛ In your first year teaching, did you know clearly what was expected of you? If so, how did the school let you know this? Do you know the expectations for your role in your current position?
"Are We Teaching Care or Control?" by Carla Shalaby
➛ Take a walk around your school and look at the messaging on posters and bulletin boards. Do they emphasize rule following or care and self-accountability?
➛ What would it look like if your school practiced Shalaby's five transformative behavior standards? How might teacher-student interactions change?
"The Someday/Monday Dilemma" by Justin Reich
➛ Think of a "someday" dream about your school, classroom, or practice. What's one small change you can make next week to head toward that goal?
➛ What is a "how might we" question that can spark a conversation about your someday goal? Who in your school or community would be valuable to bring into that discussion?
"Creating Clarity on Equity in Schools" by Pedro Noguera and Joaquín Noguera
➛ Would you describe the equity plan in your school or district as clear and well-communicated? Why or why not?
➛ What are the greatest challenges in sustaining impactful equity work in schools? How can they be addressed?
➛ How closely is your equity work tied to the “Five Essentials” as the authors describe them?
"4 C's for Better Student Engagement" by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Alejandro Gonzalez
➛ Have you found your students were more easily distracted the last year or so than they were before most schools went all-remote? Why do you think that is?
➛ What steps could you take to help students see greater relevance in their learning? Or to create a "warm" classroom or school climate of high expectations?
"Reducing Teacher Workloads" by Chase Mielke
➛ How can principals better elicit and respond to feedback from overloaded teachers?
➛ What's the first step your school would need to take to commit to the three "Agreements for Radical Acceptance of Finitude" described here?
➛ What is one daily practice you could undertake to become more efficient within your existing workload?
"To Address Learning Gaps, Go Deeper" by Kristina Kyles-Smith
➛ Are any of the remediation pitfalls described by Kyles-Smith familiar to you? Why is it so easy for schools to fall into them?
➛ In what ways has your school or district sought to address learning gaps from the pandemic? Do you feel they will be constructive in terms of supporting long-term gains?
➛ What are the biggest barriers to integrating high-quality student work as Kyles-Smith describes it into the curriculum? How can they be addressed?
"Let's Talk About Mental Health by Ross Szabo
➛ How does your school teach students about mental health? Where could you do better?
➛ How would a common vocabulary around mental health challenges help your students and staff?
➛ Do you feel comfortable sharing stories about your mental health with students? Why or why not?
"A Matter of Respect" by Betina Hsieh
➛ What routines, resources, and practices in the workplace help you to feel most respected as a professional?
➛ For school leaders, think about the concrete ways you provide autonomy and respect to the educators in your building. What's working well? Where might you improve?
"Protecting Students' Freedom to Learn" by Jonathan Friedman and Sam LaFrance
➛ The authors say laws to restrict what educators can teach about, or which texts are acceptable, have led to "an epidemic of self-censorship." Have you recently second-guessed whether to teach certain content, texts, or discussion topics because of such pressures?
➛ For teachers: If restrictions like these operate in your state/district, what one thing would you like your school leaders to do to help you navigate them?