Bull*Horn

Rewind in Slow-Motion: Getting there by being there         by Mark P. Gray

*as this is the first entry in the Bull*Horn blog this tag is designed to bring to life the title to its reader(s).  By definition, a bullhorn is an instrument in which the speaker uses a narrowly focused space to project ideas, commands, or announcements that proceed to exit through a large, global, and gaping hole aimed at the masses with volume and authority.  We are the masses; the educators with often muted voices if we attempt to speak back through to the other narrow end.  We know the most.  We are asked the least.  So, at least, here is a forum where small ideas can become big ideas and single people or teams can make change.  There is no good that can come from ignoring the bullhorn.  Instead, we need to creatively build around the faulty structures we are asked to teach upon.  Any true reformist knows that winning (making our schools better places) happens in the midst of the storm, not by outrunning it or fighting it. 

Try this exercise in your gym some afternoon after most of the staff has left.  Or, if you are feeling adventurous, do it alongside a gym class.  Take off your dress shoes and sprint from one end to the other as fast as you can.  Feel your heartbeat?  Exhilarating wasn’t it?  Now comes the hard part.  Attempt to run back to your starting point AS SLOWLY as you can.  If you have a partner, make a competition of it.  If not, make pretend.  Try to keep in constant motion and at a consistent speed and take as long as you can.  Excruciating wasn’t it?

 Chances are that on your way back you became keenly aware of each muscle needed to make your body move.  This embodies many of the same principles as Tai Chi.  Mind/Muscle connections can take years to develop, yet as a leader, isn’t that really what we are expected to do every day?  Don’t we need to use our minds to get the muscles in our buildings moving in the right direction?  What I’m going to suggest we do here is that we combine two core philosophical strategies to arrive at desired outcomes as leaders.  One exercise is called “The Power of Why X 7” and the other is a well known pedagogical practice referred to as “Backwards Design.”

In an educational landscape that is shifting sands of uncertainty, mandates, and frightening forecasted accountability, administrators are often left without the resources or culture to initiate or sustain the kinds of change that will manifest success.  What’s happening, therefore, is that many of us have become reactionary instead of visionary.  It’s as if we dream of sightseeing around the world and when the opportunity finally springs up on us, we’ve forgotten to get our passport.  Success demands of us an organized vision that is steeped in core beliefs and conviction.  If we don’t have that, and we can’t sell that to the expert teachers around us, then we really have nothing to work with.

So how can we begin to develop habits of best practices that will ensure we are able to navigate future obstacles and fill our toolbox and backpacks with all of the essentials?  Have you ever participated in “The Power of Why X 7”?  It goes like this:  Start with a simple question.  Why do you want to be in education? (Question 1)  Because I want to work with children and help them learn. (Answer 1)  Why? (Question 2) Because since I was a child I enjoyed teaching the people around me? (Answer 2) Why? (Q3)  Because I believe that if you can shape the thinking and learning of the people around you a difference can be made?  (Answer 3)  By the time you get to answer #7, you will find yourself at a very stripped down core conviction that can be very revealing about who you are as a person and how/why you operate. 

If we learn to take desired instructional outcomes through this same backwards process, we begin to learn what pieces need to be in place to make something great happen.  What can be frustrating is that you may find out that some of your answers reflect deficiencies that will inhibit your ability to pull off the trick.  On the other hand, by making this a habit, you will grow, in time, into a master of preparation which forces you to be a visionary.  It will teach you about the core values and skills that are essential in your building and those bottom 3 answers will probably be the same to almost everything you want to try in your school.  There at least is a starting point.  It gives you a tangible ‘to do’ list as you continue to develop and cultivate your teaching and learning culture. 

Let’s briefly look at a current issue we are all facing in our schools.  State Standards versus Common Core Standards are throwing a hitch in our ability to simultaneously be successful on this year’s standardized tests and make sure the children are ready, without gaps in their learning, for next year’s teacher.   This is far more complex than it seems.  If my desired outcome is to have a lead teacher in grades 2, 3, and 4 develop a math pacing guide that covers the extra material that will be waiting for their children in the next grade, what are conflicts?  Well, for one, the fourth grade teacher is thinking about one thing:  APPR ratings.  How can he/she afford to waste time covering material that will not be on his/her students’ test?  And if they don’t cover that material, how will next year’s fifth grade teacher survive having to catch up on the back end, cover the middle, and get them ready for sixth grade?  It’s like an avalanche of self preservation that finds little comfort in team work or what’s best for the children.

So what if we create the question, and turn it into an activity called “The Power of How X 7”?  Begin with the question:  How can I get my testing grade teachers to prepare students for this year’s test AND cover the additional math skills that will be in next year’s curriculum?  What needs to be in place?  Let’s bullet our way backwards:

• I need to have professionals on my staff that are well-versed in both the current Standards and the upcoming Common Core Standards.   HOW?
• I need to have existing relationships and professional knowledge of expert teachers willing to participate in professional development and take the extra time to plan.  HOW?
• I need to be learned enough to know what good instruction looks like and keen enough to know who on our team is willing to try new things and go the extra mile.  HOW?
• I need to be a lifelong learner who models instruction, walks the walk, and develops a culture of trust, respect, and a rigorous work ethic.  HOW?
• I need to consistently invest in my teachers, cultivate teams, and grow a culture of caring individuals who place an emphasis on putting children first.  They must also have a firm understanding of my expectations and be grounded in generating high performance.  HOW?
• I need to first have my own vision that includes transparency.  The teachers around me need to know my convictions; where we see ourselves five years from now; what actions we need to take to get there.  I need to be egoless so that they can work in an egoless environment where teamwork and student success supersedes their own needs.  HOW?
• My desired outcomes need to be deeply rooted in my conviction to give children the best education possible, and those outcomes, with their rationale, need to be communicated to the staff in a clear and concise manner so that we can collaboratively set short and long term goals that will get us to where we want to be.

If you take yourself through this process it should look very different.  We are all unique in our leadership.  But there is no ignoring the value in the process itself.  It will, if anything remind you of your core values and offer practical starting points that can change the dynamics of your school.  It may also painfully reflect ‘missing pieces.’  Those can be personal working points for you.  Do you need to develop stronger relationships with your teachers?  Do you need to brush up on your instructional knowledge?  Is trust a huge issue in your building?  Whatever the case may be, it needs to be addressed if we are going to shape an organization that is set up for success.

We can’t change policy.  We can’t ignore the rules.  But we can calm the storm for a moment… just enough time to reflect, process the information, and do what we ask every great teacher to do: use the data you generate to drive your instruction.