We the People...

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”1.

The election season now comes to an end, thank goodness. The American people have spoken- or at least the electoral college has!  There will be no more annoying advertisements that are demeaning, debilitating, coercive, libelous, or insulting to some one, some group, etc. And, more importantly, we will stop listening to that awful comment that signifies someone has approved the damn message advocated in the ad. 

What will television and radio be like for this period of respite?

Life will go on, and the world did not come to a crashing halt because one person or party or political platform won over an opposing position, person, or party. Life goes on, and the same issues that created this political atmosphere will fester for a few more years until the next round of leadership elections. Thus, the fate of living in a democratic society, and I love it that way. 

There may have been a dead heat, too close to call mentality prior to election day in the US, but the voice of the people won in the end, not the voice of the media, or others. The American people enjoy the right to vote for their leaders, and despite the verbosity, and dialogue, no one was executed for their beliefs. The government of the United States is on firm footing, all dependent on a piece of paper that was written some 225 years ago.

I love to remind myself of the preamble to the constitution regularly, since it encourages us to be a wholesome and supportive people that works together for the good of our nation and our people. That’s what the essence of 21st Century School Leadership is all about; working for the betterment of the future of our society by teaching the children of our communities. 

Hail to the Chief who won the election, but hail to the nation that voted freely, and openly. 

Long live the United States of America.

1.  (1789) The Constitution of the United States of America. Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved on the Internet from http://www.constitution.org/constit_htm.

Superintendents and Generals

One of the most interesting jobs that I had over the 38 years of my career in public education was being a superintendent of a school district. I loved the job, very much, but it was certainly a stressful, challenging role to fulfill in spite of being one of the most rewarding jobs I ever had. 

My son is a member of the United States Air Force, and when I was promoted to the job of superintendent he called me a “general”. I never thought of the job in that manner, but I suppose the literature could equate my role as a commander of a division, or an army, so to speak. And, being in command situations as a “superintendent” , it is conceivable that in many ways, there were many similarities to the role of being a general (although, instead of stars being on my shoulder, there were usually stars circling around my confused head!).

I have been reading a compelling book recently released by reporter and historian Thomas Ricks, entitled The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today (2012)1. This read has been very interesting and quite compelling since the author reviews how the US Army had a stringent practice of relieving their generals in World War II for command failure and incompetence on a regular basis, but as the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan have shown, the removal of incompetent leaders has been slow to occur, if at all. The thesis of his book is how did this level of accountability of senior command officers change, and why.

In many ways, school superintendents are in the same leadership mode as command generals in war time. They are answerable to civilian authorities (Board of Education), and have a challenging mission to accomplish (the education and preparation of children for the future). 

From Tom Ricks book: 

Being a general usually involves being able to impose one’s will on a large organization engaged in the most stressful of human activities. It is almost always driven by the twofold ability first to anticipate problems and devise solutions and then to get people to execute the resulting plans. (Ricks, 2012, 19).

One could very well superimpose the word [superintendent] for [general] and the meaning of the job would be quite clear. War and education are very stressful human endeavors. The job of a school leader/general is to design a plan, decide on potential solutions and move an organization of people in the direction of fulfilling that mission. 

The job performance of a school leader/general is assessed by achievement of the very goals, as stated above. If the goals are not met, someone is to be held responsible by a higher authority. Accountability plays a large part in the practice of continued employment, so to speak, or as it should. 

Generals [superintendents] are born, and generals [superintendents] are made. The promotion from colonel [teacher/[principal] to general [superintendent] is one of the largest psychological leaps an officer [educator] can take. ...they are expected to control  and coordinate different branches [departments], such as artillery, cavalry, and engineers [curriculum, budget and finance, operations and maintenance, transportation, food service]- that is to become generalist.(Ricks, 2012,17).

Invariably, questions of competence and succeeding at the mission, will always be prevalent. But, the superintendency is a noble profession, and the people that fulfill these roles have great responsibilities that matter most importantly to each student attending school, each day.

1. Ricks, T.E. (2012). The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today. New York: The Penguin Press.

All leaders should read this letter

Ann Coulter and her conspiring attack dogs that label themselves caring human beings should really learn something from this letter.

An Open Letter to Ann Coulter
Posted on October 23, 2012 by Tim Shriver

John Franklin Stephens

The following is a guest post in the form of an open letter from Special Olympics athlete and global messenger John Franklin Stephens to Ann Coulter after this tweet during last night’s Presidential debate.

Dear Ann Coulter,

Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren’t dumb and you aren’t shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?

I’m a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public’s perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.

I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child by people like you, but rose above it to find a way to succeed in life as many of my fellow Special Olympians have.

Then I wondered if you meant to describe him as someone who has to struggle to be thoughtful about everything he says, as everyone else races from one snarkey sound bite to the next.

Finally, I wondered if you meant to degrade him as someone who is likely to receive bad health care, live in low grade housing with very little income and still manages to see life as a wonderful gift.

Because, Ms. Coulter, that is who we are – and much, much more.

After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me. You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV.

I have to wonder if you considered other hateful words but recoiled from the backlash.

Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor.

No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.

Come join us someday at Special Olympics. See if you can walk away with your heart unchanged.

A friend you haven’t made yet,
John Franklin Stephens
Global Messenger
Special Olympics Virginia

Systems Thinking = Shared Supportive Thinking

Schools are people organizations. From the children entering the school each day, their parents that pack them off to be entrusted to the school environment, to the maintenance grounds/custodial workers, bus drivers, cafeteria staff to the faculty and administrators. Schools revolve around children, but are powered by the imagination and creative juices of adults that support the "system" of the school district. So, how does this idea of systems thinking (which is a domain of the learning organization) play out in the world of the learning community (the domain of a shared and supportive environment)? Thus, today's post.

Systems thinking has been described as a the continuous improvement level of the learning model. It is that feedback loop or quality circle, that is required for everyone to be on track with each other and for the good of the organization. It is the arena that takes an issue effecting the output of the organization, and frames it within a problem-solving mode for solutions that will enhance and grow the positive outcome of the issue.

Scenario A: A few years ago, I had the honor of visiting the Steinway Piano Factory in Steinway, Queens, NY. In this historic building of 5 floors, is an assembly line of great, historic significance, since the greatest pianos in musical history were made here. Each floor of the plant had different divisions or departments where a different aspect of the piano was addressed, and made. From the creation of the soundboard, to the stringing of the piano, to the installation of the hammers to the wood carpentry and veneer. This was an involved and focused operation whose sole purpose is to make the best sounding piano possible, each and every time.

While strolling around the plant on a guided tour, I noticed that in each area there was a wall chart with the company motto, and a chart for workers to write concerns for continuous improvement meetings. I inquired about what this meant, and one of shop stewards said each division of the plant/assembly line meets in continuous improvement meetings once a month for the purpose of discussing concerns and issues that are affecting the output quality. This is an example of systems thinking.

Scenario B: A new middle school principal took over a school that had poor ELA writing scores on statewide tests. He made it his goal to get the building focused on how to address this weakness and to get everyone on board with a major issue of concern for the sake of promoting a positive student achievement. At the first faculty meeting of the school year he outlined how important this was, and his expectation that everyone in the school, not just the ELA teachers, would be involved in this effort. He informed the parents of his mission for the school, and assured parents that this was a mandatory mission to move their children forward in their educational achievement. Throughout the school year, building-wide assessments were used to pre-test the situation, and periodically check on efforts across the board. Next, all teachers, regardless of subject area were responsible for teaching writing, and they had to get on board with all teaching from the same play book. Long story short, the scores improved, synergy and focused teaching were established, and systems thinking prevailing across the board.

What prevents systems thinking or shared supportive thinking are the few individuals that resent this kind of team work. In the words of Jim Collins from Good to Great, move them off the bus. These organizational learning models need strong leaders, willing to work at a great and noble task. Putting up with the self-centered teacher that will not cooperate with this purpose will stress and negate the effort. Leaders need to be bold and move them away from positive outcomes. 

In the words of Lao Tzu: "When Simplicity is broken up, It is made into instruments. Evolved individuals who employ them, Are made into leaders. In this way, the Great System is United."

The Tao Te Ching (Verse 28)

Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish. In organizations, systems consist of people, structures, and processes that work together to make an organization "healthy" or "unhealthy".

Systems thinking has been defined as an approach to problem solving, by viewing "problems" as parts of an overall system, rather than reacting to specific part, outcomes or events and potentially contributing to further development of unintended consequences. Systems thinking is not one thing but a set of habits or practices^[2] within a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation. Systems thinking focuses on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect.

You say to-may-toe, and I say to-mah-toe...

The song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” was a big hit in 1937 when the Gershwin brothers wrote it for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the movie, “Shall We Dance”. But, for the purpose of my blogpost this week, it suits my topic. Read on and you will see.

There are two types of learning models for organizations, both having gained much publicity and attention in the last 20 years. Each model has a variety of strengths and weaknesses, and have been used successfully in different types of organizations. They are “professional learning organizations” and “professional learning communities”. The latter predominantly refers to school organizations, and is espoused by a number of people, such as Shirley Hord, Thomas Sergiovanni, the DuFours, and others. The former was developed for business organizations by well-known management specialist and MIT professor, Peter Senge in 1992. The purpose of this blog is to begin a series of articles on what these organizations mean for our present day efforts to promote accountability and increase student achievement.

The model of the learning organization is a well-known framework for redefining and revitalizing organizations. Peter Senge developed it under the assumption that organizations derive their ability to adapt, learn, and assimilate from new information and issues much like a biological organism adapts to its environment. The model is made up of five components, when shown here will articulate the kind renewing of process advocated for these organizations.

Components of the Learning Organization

• Systems Thinking: a conceptual framework that allows organizational members to assess their organization and measure the performance output as a whole and its various components.
• Personal Mastery: commitments made by organization members to continually learn and develop proficiency within the organization’s efforts.
• Mental Models: assumptions held by individuals and organizations. To become a learning organization these models must by challenged. The catch phrase “but this is how we always did this” must be removed from the culture for more risk taking, and effective vision.
• Shared Vision: a key to team effort and motivation for members to learn from each situation.
• Team Learning: the accumulation of individual learning into teams that continue processing issues, changes, and challenges. It engages members in open and frank discussions about how to do things more efficiently and better.
• 
  

In comparison to this model, here are the components of the Learning Community, a model developed concurrently to the learning organization literature through the 1990’s and beyond, and advocated by Shirley Hord.

Components of the Learning Community

• Supportive and Shared Leadership: a collegial environment of administrators, and teachers in working together to improve student learning. It is a decentralized organization where everyone works together on a team.
• Collective Creativity:  where people from different parts of the organization can work effectively in creating the results and the future they desire, together.
• Shared Values and Vision: is the collective commitment to work for the future and the results the community desires.
• Supportive Conditions: the physical needs and people capacities required for members to work together for organizational learning, decision-making, problem solving, and creative work.
• Shared Personal Practice: peers helping peers where teacher evaluation is renewing experience for professional development.
• 
  

So, there you have the comparison of the two models. Both have the ability to do great things in education. Both, have proven effective for 21st Century School Leaders to adapt in their organizations. Many districts have begun the process of becoming learning organizations or communities. And still, there are obstinate systems waiting for a cataclysm to force the issue. Since the end result is to develop prepared, skilled members of the future, then schools need to reorganize their thinking and their processes to get students across the line of accountable progress. 

No matter what you call it, Learning Organization (To-may-to) or Learning Community (To-mah-to), find a way to learn more about these models and advocate for change in your schools.

Malala Yousufza, Another Windmill Chaser?

Nothing has been more frustrating with world events than the senseless horror of harassment and physical battering a young girl received at the hands of Islamic extremists. All because she wanted an education. A chance at a better life, to read, write, to reason, and be a contributing member of society...her society. This young child from Pakistan has a story for everyone in the world to remember. Education is a right for all human beings. She was not scared to be bullied by extremists, and stood her small frame for all she believed in her giant heart.

What example does Malala provide us?

In my previous blog I wrote about the "greater fool", the quixotic hero figure that stands for something against the powers that be. Are we willing to stand up against them, as this young girl did, all for an education?

Malala Yousufzai, a beautiful girl from Pakistan, should be a hero for all of us, across the world.

Please keep her in your thoughts.

The Greater Fool, Quixote, and the Tea Party

Don Quixote: I mean to engage in battle...

 for this is righteous warfare,

I have long been enamored of, and described to be a “romantic”, the great fanatic, that sees life as a series of quixotic episodes to right the wrong of society and pave the way for a better world of educating children to take the reigns of an unknown future. I’ll never forget someone saying that to me many years ago in an attempt to deflate my ego, and possibly to detract my ambitions. Painful though it was to hear, I persisted in my beliefs and hopes that one day, maybe I could make a difference as a teacher, and eventually as a school administrator.

I suppose in a real way I would like to be described instead as the “greater fool”. Used to describe a person that believes in a long term investment, despite short term failures, the “Greater Fool Theory” describes “buying something not because you believe that it is worth the price, but rather because you believe that you will be able to sell it to someone else at an even higher price.”1

Thankfully, there is an alternative definition that sounds something like this: "The greater fool is someone with the perfect blend of self delusion and ego to think that he can succeed where others have failed. This whole country was made by greater fools."2

 I much prefer the latter description. 

For over the past year and a half, through some 150 blog posts, I have sought to encourage a greater commitment to a vivid educational society, than what we have become. To rise beyond the criticism of Tea Party politicians and hacks posing as  political leaders that denounce our educational system as being faulty and in decline because they enjoy riling the public for an issue that is easy to destroy. So, to illustrate their arguments, they hire private companies, sponsored by conservative political movements to create exams, tests, and evaluation systems that assert our educational system is in decline, and to support their agenda. 

According to ednotesonline.com, the connection between Pearson, McGraw Hill, and other testing and assessment developers and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC),  is quite clear. “Some of Pearson's associations with ALEC and/or parallel corporate-model approach to privatizing education at a profit” is the backbone of the reform agenda being advocated by dubious politicians, who also claim our current system is dysfunctional. 3

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) describes itself as the largest “membership association of state legislators,” but over 98% of its revenue comes from sources other than legislative dues, primarily from corporations and corporate foundations.

"Look, your worship," said Sancho; 

"what we see there are not giants but windmills,

 and what seem to be their arms 

are the sails that turn by the wind 

and make the millstone go."

Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. ALEC boasts that it has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law. ALEC describes itself as a “unique,” “unparalleled” and “unmatched” organization.

Organizations like ALEC circumvent the democratic process in favor of corporations. Financial resources are used to influence public officials and provide model legislation meant to easily pass through state houses of governance. Recent examples include infamous "Stand Your Ground" laws [Florida] and others that seek to limit the voting rights of marginalized populations. Education reform legislation is also part of ALEC's agenda, with substantial sponsorship from corporate funds to divert the flow of valuable taxpayer dollars away from public schools.”4

From this melee of criticism and argument, the very educational system of our instruction and curriculum is in upheaval with a mentality of testing the begeebies out of everything, and anything, just to support this agenda. The question that keeps surfacing for me, is how will this culture of testing prepare children for the future? 

My answer, it will not. Instead it will frustrate the creative process and innovative spirit of well-meaning teachers, administrators and parents who support quality schools for all children. 

"It is easy to see," replied Don Quixote, 

"that thou art not used to this business of adventures; 

those are giants; and if thou art afraid, 

away with thee out of this and betake thyself to prayer 

while I engage them in fierce and unequal combat."

Make your voice and your vote count. They are not just "windmills".



1.    The greater fool. In Wikipedia.Retrieved from http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory.
2.    Sorkin, A. (Writer) (2012). The greater fool. [Television series episode]. In Sorkin, A. (Executive Producer), The Newsroom. New York: HBO. Retrieved at http://www.hbogo.com.
3.    (2012) Boycott Pearson and McGraw-Hill and hold everyone accountable. ED Notes Online. Retrieved from http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com.