I like the Baldrige Core Concepts because of their focus on the future, changing and learning. I believe there is no way to improve and continue to improve if you stop learning, if you don't look ahead, and if you are unable to change.
I like the fences quotations. It seems so important as you embark on the process of making changes to understand the historical context for the systems and structures (organizationally and culturally) you set out to change. It's just about having more of the whole picture before you break up the pieces.
One of my former UT students messaged me in FB last Friday. She was interviewing for an AP position at a high school and used that quote. The principal stopped her and said, "Nelson Coulter. You heard that from Nelson Coulter." Yeppers. Small world.
Slide #17 was intriguing to me, because we do face failures EVERY day, but rarely do teachers admit it. So rarely do teachers admit their own faults, but place the fault on the kids. The book (I believe in ch. 7) talked about predictability and how accounting for every variable is useless without looking at the whole picture. Often, I feel that teachers (and principals) see how one variable impacts the outcome and work to change it, without seeing the whole picture. It is double issue of 1) not admitting and collaborating about failures and 2) when seeing these failures, not seeing yourself as part of the cycle or process. That being said, I am intrigued/confused by the TQM Model - is it a cycle? If so, which way does it go?
TQM (Total Quality Management) had it's birth in the 1980s and was all the rage for a couple of decades. It's better thought of in terms of a web instead of circulating cycle.
The quote on slide 20..."You have to walk in stupid every day." This is so true. We are all talented individuals with tons of knowledge. We need to make sure we mix in a ton of humility with that knowledge and talent. We don't have all the right answers. You have to continuously want to learn and get better.
Slide 9: "Your organization is perfectly designed to get the results you are getting."
Ouch . . . this is pretty much what we were told about our STAAR scores. And it's true--but I see that there are structures that are in place that some are just not willing to let go of and so I don't know how we will not continue to get the same results again.
The quote on slide #23: "Don't move fences until you know why there were put there in the first place." Coming into a school as a new administrator, it's important to build relationships. To do this, you need to assess the culture that exists in the school. It's important to get the lay of the land before you begin overhauling the systems. It's important to be able to identify what's working and people's strengths and to learn how things (and people) function first.
I appreciate the quote by Dylan Williams on continuous improvement where he says, "Extraordianry teachers push themselves to constantly know more about challenging content and how to cause the learning of same in complex students and difficult circimstances".
Teaching and learning always go hand in hand...a dual relationship. We can never be effective teachers without the continual learning process, neither can we learn without the "teachers" of people and experiences. That is how teaching and learning were created to function from the beginning.
Dr. Pedro Noguera asserts, "Teaching and learning are the same process, not two different ones. If there is no evidence of learning, then there is no evidence of teaching." I've used that often to generate some dialogue with faculties (some quite lively dialogue, as you might guess).
I like slide 18: "If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse." -Henry Ford You have to figure out how to stay open to possibilities and think outside the box and allow those who work of your to do the same. Otherwise, like it says on slide 19, we'll end up "closing the box irretrievably and forever on other potentials."
Slide 22: "Don’t start moving fences until you know why they were put there in the first place."- Reminds new principals that there are already systems in place, and many may work. You weren't hired to abolish all, but to improve the situation.
I loved that slide as well. Mainly because I love powerful picture connections. Like Kinnisha stated, as a new principal, it is unwise to go into your new school and change EVERYTHING. Some "fences" may be in place that are still in good condition and do their job. Others may be in fine condition and on the list for repair on down the road.
It is hard to decide. I liked Balridge Core Values ans concept slide. It resonates with me because if you look at it closely it tries to marry the objective with the subjective, in addition it is systems based, and learner based. I had a lot of success using balridge practices in the past. I also liked the 10 Questions for visionary leaders because it asks some many great profound questions. Do we prepare students for life or more school?
I love slide 17: "One of the great thing about being a teacher is that we never 'get any good at it.' As teacher, we experience daily 'failures' in our practice. One lifetime is not long enough to learn the craft of teaching." As teachers, we love learning. As grad students, we want more learning. It is obvious that learning in life and in education never stops. I also made a connection to what I am learning at the conference. PLCs are all about continued growth and learning.
I like the slides about trust. I've seen this at Pickle and have found it to be so true. Stop locking all of the supplies away! They're there for teachers to use for kids. Geez. Also, trust teachers to teach before trying to prescribe remedies.
What stood out for me the most was actually not the content of the slides but the actual words. I say this because the slides contained so much jargon! Either business jargon ("effectiveness," "process improvement") or education jargon ("lead learner"). I think we can get lost in the jargon and not actually lead to any continuous improvement.
With that in mind, I really appreciated question #5 on the questions for visionary leaders slide (How might we analyze, clarify, and otherwise operationalize these general learner outcomes to the point that they can/will drive curriculum and instruction decisions?). I say this because of the word operationalize. This relates back to the jargon comment that we can say all we want about how we're going to improve but unless we "operationalize" the continuous improvement structures/mindsets, there will be no improvement over the long run.
I like the Baldrige Core Concepts because of their focus on the future, changing and learning. I believe there is no way to improve and continue to improve if you stop learning, if you don't look ahead, and if you are unable to change.
ReplyDeleteI like the fences quotations. It seems so important as you embark on the process of making changes to understand the historical context for the systems and structures (organizationally and culturally) you set out to change. It's just about having more of the whole picture before you break up the pieces.
ReplyDeleteOne of my former UT students messaged me in FB last Friday. She was interviewing for an AP position at a high school and used that quote. The principal stopped her and said, "Nelson Coulter. You heard that from Nelson Coulter." Yeppers. Small world.
DeleteSlide #17 was intriguing to me, because we do face failures EVERY day, but rarely do teachers admit it. So rarely do teachers admit their own faults, but place the fault on the kids. The book (I believe in ch. 7) talked about predictability and how accounting for every variable is useless without looking at the whole picture. Often, I feel that teachers (and principals) see how one variable impacts the outcome and work to change it, without seeing the whole picture. It is double issue of 1) not admitting and collaborating about failures and 2) when seeing these failures, not seeing yourself as part of the cycle or process. That being said, I am intrigued/confused by the TQM Model - is it a cycle? If so, which way does it go?
ReplyDeleteTQM (Total Quality Management) had it's birth in the 1980s and was all the rage for a couple of decades. It's better thought of in terms of a web instead of circulating cycle.
DeleteThe quote on slide 20..."You have to walk in stupid every day." This is so true. We are all talented individuals with tons of knowledge. We need to make sure we mix in a ton of humility with that knowledge and talent. We don't have all the right answers. You have to continuously want to learn and get better.
ReplyDeleteSlide 9: "Your organization is perfectly designed to get the results you are getting."
ReplyDeleteOuch . . . this is pretty much what we were told about our STAAR scores. And it's true--but I see that there are structures that are in place that some are just not willing to let go of and so I don't know how we will not continue to get the same results again.
The quote on slide #23: "Don't move fences until you know why there were put there in the first place." Coming into a school as a new administrator, it's important to build relationships. To do this, you need to assess the culture that exists in the school. It's important to get the lay of the land before you begin overhauling the systems. It's important to be able to identify what's working and people's strengths and to learn how things (and people) function first.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the quote by Dylan Williams on continuous improvement where he says, "Extraordianry teachers push themselves to constantly know more about challenging content and how to cause the learning of same in complex students and difficult circimstances".
ReplyDeleteTeaching and learning always go hand in hand...a dual relationship. We can never be effective teachers without the continual learning process, neither can we learn without the "teachers" of people and experiences. That is how teaching and learning were created to function from the beginning.
Dr. Pedro Noguera asserts, "Teaching and learning are the same process, not two different ones. If there is no evidence of learning, then there is no evidence of teaching." I've used that often to generate some dialogue with faculties (some quite lively dialogue, as you might guess).
DeleteI like slide 18: "If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse." -Henry Ford You have to figure out how to stay open to possibilities and think outside the box and allow those who work of your to do the same. Otherwise, like it says on slide 19, we'll end up "closing the box irretrievably and forever on other potentials."
ReplyDeleteSlide 22: "Don’t start moving fences until you know why they were put there in the first place."- Reminds new principals that there are already systems in place, and many may work. You weren't hired to abolish all, but to improve the situation.
ReplyDeleteWell stated.
DeleteI loved that slide as well. Mainly because I love powerful picture connections. Like Kinnisha stated, as a new principal, it is unwise to go into your new school and change EVERYTHING. Some "fences" may be in place that are still in good condition and do their job. Others may be in fine condition and on the list for repair on down the road.
DeleteBella Lile!!
DeleteIt is hard to decide. I liked Balridge Core Values ans concept slide. It resonates with me because if you look at it closely it tries to marry the objective with the subjective, in addition it is systems based, and learner based. I had a lot of success using balridge practices in the past.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the 10 Questions for visionary leaders because it asks some many great profound questions. Do we prepare students for life or more school?
I love slide 17: "One of the great thing about being a teacher is that we never 'get any good at it.' As teacher, we experience daily 'failures' in our practice. One lifetime is not long enough to learn the craft of teaching." As teachers, we love learning. As grad students, we want more learning. It is obvious that learning in life and in education never stops. I also made a connection to what I am learning at the conference. PLCs are all about continued growth and learning.
ReplyDeleteI like the slides about trust. I've seen this at Pickle and have found it to be so true. Stop locking all of the supplies away! They're there for teachers to use for kids. Geez. Also, trust teachers to teach before trying to prescribe remedies.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out for me the most was actually not the content of the slides but the actual words. I say this because the slides contained so much jargon! Either business jargon ("effectiveness," "process improvement") or education jargon ("lead learner"). I think we can get lost in the jargon and not actually lead to any continuous improvement.
ReplyDeleteWith that in mind, I really appreciated question #5 on the questions for visionary leaders slide (How might we analyze, clarify, and otherwise operationalize these general learner outcomes to the point that they can/will drive curriculum and instruction decisions?). I say this because of the word operationalize. This relates back to the jargon comment that we can say all we want about how we're going to improve but unless we "operationalize" the continuous improvement structures/mindsets, there will be no improvement over the long run.