“The Only Change That Can Occur”
This week, in between Zoom chats and preparation for the fall, I have been slowly weeding my professional library. I’m using the process recommended by Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein in their book Joy at Work.
With each book, I look it over, check the inside for highlights, and ask myself if it still is needed and/or beneficial to my work. In one of my textbooks from graduate studies on school business administration, I found this quote:
Public education is woven so tightly into the fabric of American politics that dramatic, rather than incremental, change is almost always the only change that can occur. (emphasis mine)
– Guthrie, J. et al, Modern School Business Administration: A Planning Approach
We are going through a dramatic change in public education, even if our politicians have been slower to adapt.
From my perspective, one significant change is understanding more deeply the importance of developing a partnership with families around their child’s education.
Everyone’s talking about technology, yet what is a primary purpose of these tools? To connect! It’s the relationship that is mediated and even enhanced with these modes of communication that makes the difference.
As an example, I met with staff recently via Zoom to review our plan for re-entry. The majority of our time was spent creating a space for questions and then doing our best to respond. When teachers asked, “How will the virtual-only plan be communicated with those families?”, it was pointed out that what we are doing right now – setting up times to talk, co-planning for the future, clearing up confusion – was a wonderful way to convey our approach.
“And we don’t even need to have all the answers,” I shared. “Just propose a general approach and then ask families what they think and how we might improve on this initial plan.” Some faculty have already started this process and submitted names of kids who may need additional support. We are now talking with community leaders about how we might set up a mentoring program that can offer both supervision and academic guidance.
It would seem contradictory that a global pandemic, which has forced people to spend less time physically together, might actually enhance the home-school-community partnership. And yet here we are, getting creative with the tools we have within the constraints we have to deal with. No one wished this situation on us. That we see possibilities for lasting change within this challenge gives me a sense of hope.
Follow up this post with my conversation with Anthony Kim on what's safe enough to try this school year, as well as this article on one of the best pieces of advice for instructional leadership. Next week, I start posting sessions for paid newsletter subscribers on how to create your ideal curriculum. Sign up below!