Please examine slides 29-50 in the June 17 Slides deck.
This is the part of today's content that I would have most preferred to discuss with you in a F2F environment. Alas...
Which of those slides/ideas seems to strike a chord with you most? Why?
The slide that describes what school culture is is good. It is really important that staff, parents, students and other stakeholders know what the culture is and believe in it, so they can be part of making the school work; active contributors.
ReplyDeleteSlide 42 & 43 ... "The more trust there is in a school..." These two slides show how quickly no trust can lead to less trust and other negatives. As principal, you have to be open with information, listen to people's ideas and generally trust them.
ReplyDeletethe slide about trust deficits. I feel when new leadership comes in, there automatically is a large lack of trust. I wonder how you can build trust quickly or is it just a waiting game.
ReplyDeleteI love slide 45 - the Nordstrom's employee handbook. Their one rule is to "use good judgement", which automatically insinuates a sense of trust in their people. When employees feel trusted, they are much more likely to use their best judgement! Then the trust builds on itself to contribute to the positive feedback loop that Megan referred to. This also speaks to setting up your expectations to meet the needs of the superstars on your campus instead of always creating systems anticipating the ones who might have shortcomings.
ReplyDeleteSo long as the judgment is validated as good, right? I hope the follow through from supervisors is positive!
DeleteBut the how do you define good judgment? Yes, insinuates a sense of trust, but so broad and open to interpretation.
DeleteSergiovanni's Trust Deficits (and Trust Deficits Reversed) is powerful. It speaks to the idea that you can tell a lot about the culture of a place by the actions of the people and that ultimately, the success or failure of an organization depends on relationships. When we discussed in class the metaphor that a school is like the human body, someone said, "Yes but a body can die." NC's response was, "So can a school." And I believe this is true.
ReplyDeleteWhen there are behaviors like what is described in trust deficit, it is an organization that is very, very sick and will die unless it is reversed.
Slide 40 the quote..."With shared visions, values, and beliefs at its heart, culture serves as a compass setting, steering people in a common direction."
ReplyDeleteCulture is many times overlooked or seen as a nice idea/word or addition to a school. This quote states that it is a "compass," providing direction. Direction is important for growth. The principal has an important role in building a culture of learning.
Slides 42-43: It’s critical to build an atmosphere of trust. This is all about building relationships. I love the quote from Slide 48: “To become effective at change, we must leave the imaginary organization we design and learn to work with the real organization, which will always be a dense network of interdependent relationships.” Wow!
ReplyDeleteSlide 32 CULTURE IS THE GAME. This resonated with me because there is a very negative and distrusting culture currently at my school and I see daily how it impacts student learning with miscommunication and hidden information. There is no trust between teacher and administration and teachers and other teachers. When the students see that, how are they supposed to trust us? I think the culture truly makes or breaks the campus. Systems cant make up for negative or toxic culture.
ReplyDeleteCulture is the Game resonates with me. I like the idea that culture is the collective capacity of its people to create value. Its that energy effect that we are all part of the big picture.
ReplyDeleteSlide 50: "Leadership is the ability to foster consequential relationships."
ReplyDeleteI have often times struggled with the idea of playing the game. What I have found out is that all relationships are purposeful, but does not have to be meaningful (sounds a little manipulative, I guess). One concept I will leave this class with, is that relationships are the reasons for systemic changes.
The two slides on trust deficits, as mentioned earlier resonate with me because it shows the cycle of negativity and positivity, and how feelings and actions are related.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it was definitely slides 42-43, like some others have said. I also liked how your culture is the "norm". Make trust the norm, and things fall in to place when trust trickles down and overflows. The "Trust Deficits" reminded me of Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Law Note.
ReplyDeleteIf children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.
This was posted in the bathroom at my old school, so people sat and reflected on it a lot :) - I'm sure there was some psychology behind that...
Excellent. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteIdea hoarding is the worst--- or maybe it's tied with information hoarding.
ReplyDeleteWe moved to a shared workspace as an ILT. And I think the transparency it has created ---- as we each see each other's work load, work ethic, manners, values, etc.--- as created a more trusting admin team and a healthier environment.
It is also easier to keep up with the pulse of the school, because everyone is involved or is aware of whats going on in departments, classroom, with classified staff, with discipline, with celebrations.
2 things stuck out to me the most:
ReplyDelete1. the quote on slide 40: ("With shared visions, values, and beliefs at its heart, culture serves as a compass setting, steering people in a common direction."). This is true of my school - that we have a strong mission to get all kids to college. It's really powerful when ALL adults on campus are bought in. It also makes me think how we can make all schools mission-oriented past just trying to educate kids.
2. On slide 46 that discusses the problems and solutions are people. This is totally true and make me wonder and hope that school districts are prioritizing the human resources aspect of their jobs so as to make sure they are hiring the absolute best teachers. Additionally, it shows me that I need to be very careful in who I hire on my future leadership team.