Does AB Combs’ situation remind you of our situation? …some teachers have lost their passion, teachers working in isolation, numerous academic programs in place but those programs not tied to a common school-wide vision or objectives, everyone doing his/her own thing.
Of the four “midsized” arrows spoken of which of the first three do you think would be the most difficult/easy for us? Explain.
Respond to the statement about “celebrating successes”…”one of the most complex systems for any organization to align is the reward system. No one ever seems to be entirely happy with whatever reward system is in place”. What are your thoughts on how we could best do this?
In the next to the last paragraph of the chapter it states how the effort was made before implementing the process to align the important pieces, “midsized” arrows. Respond to the statement that ‘absence this step taking place is one of the most, if not the most common reasons why change efforts fail in schools, businesses, and homes”.
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ReplyDeleteOur situation may be somewhat similar to AB Comb’s situation; however, I don’t believe that all of the problems are teacher issues or within the teachers’ control. For example, there is a definite lack of available technology.
ReplyDeleteGetting everyone involved will probably be a problem area. Some teachers and staff may resist the change. Hopefully, they will eventually see the benefits and choose to participate. Another problem area might be creating and maintaining a reward system. We need to be careful that it does not build a sense of entitlement. Students can benefit from internal rewards, too. Finally, the alignment of the school’s structure might be a problem. How and when are the habits going to be taught? Do we focus on one habit at a time? How will they be reinforced? These are some of the questions that need to be addressed for a successful implementation.
To be successful, our school does need to take the time and effort to do the prep work. This is not a quick fix, but a gradual process that will benefit all of us (adults and students).
Yes, I believe this is a very good description of our situation. I'm not sure how to address it: I know that I, for one, did not ever see the 7th/8th grade faculty much last year, except at the few full-faculty mtgs we had, and even then, there was no interaction other than a quick "how's it going?" There has to be a better way for all of us to collaborate more often across content and grade levels. Maybe a MVSM Faculty Blog? Something we can all address throughout the year?
ReplyDeleteI think that the first arrow objective will be the hardest, because everyone is so used to "This is how we've always done it." Training the entire staff is a very close second, considering the lack of time as well as funds to accomplish this in a meaningful way.
I think this reward system needs some student reflection/input. Why not ask the students on the Student Council what they think a 'meaningful reward' would be for not just academic but also behavior and creativity individual successes? Get them involved, as well as the parent committee and the campus leadershhip team. I'm all for recognizing the best students, but I don't think that it should necessarily be school-wide every week. Break it down smaller and have grade level rewards and/or content rewards. Maybe have the school-wide recognition once a month; reward those that deserve recognition for achievement, not because they haven't been selected yet.
I like the "hamburger rubric"! It aligns very well to the 4 levels of scoring on the ARMT; this is an easy rubric to incorporate now in all the content areas and I am already thinking of ways I can use this in band.
In order to affect change of any lasting measure, you have to have a plan BEFORE you implement the action. That's Habit #2: begin with an end in mind. We need to decide NOW what our ultimate goal is and plan the steps to get there. I don't think we can achieve this in one year, or perhaps even two. But the turnover rate in middle school is such that something NEW implemented in 6th grade becomes after 2 years the NORM for those returning 8th graders. If a few 6th grade teachers embrace this program and have visible sucess, I think others will take notice. If a few teachers on each grade level start with it each year, you'll have a greater snow-ball effect. We need to see some examples of middle schools that have been sucessful with this program, too. That would help influence those that are skeptical/resistant to change.
On a side (sad) note, Stephen Covey (author of this book and "7 Habits of Highly Successful People") passed away today. See this article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/07/stephen-covey-7-highly-effective-habits-author-has-died.html
I really agree 100% with Teresa. Our situation may be similar, but I don't think it is entirely negative. For example, just as it is mentioned about AB Combs, most teachers "are doing his or her own thing," but the difference is that I believe we are all aiming at the same goals, which is a positive thing. Each teacher is encouraged to bring his/her own talents and ideas to the classroom, and I think this only makes the education experience of our students better. By adding student leadership as a focal point of our goals, we would only be strengthening the current focus.
ReplyDeleteI am sure the most difficult area would be bringing everyone on board. Getting everyone on the same page is a challenge at times.
I have to say that Teresa hit the nail on the head for me when it comes to "celebrating successes." This is the part of the program that I have the greatest struggle with because the real world does not always offer up instant gratification for doing what is required of us on a daily basis. I have a hard time with students already displaying a great sense of entitlement, so rewarding them every time they do what they should be doing anyway is an area where it is going to get tricky. On a positive note, I think the kids really enjoyed the fitness weeks that we had this past year, and many of them wanted to participate. Determining a reward system is going to take a great deal of time and teamwork; it not impossible, but it will be something that requires a great deal of thought.
In order for any change to be a success, there has to be a period of planning and organization; there also has to be a deep level of commitment.
Sorry guys, I have been away for a few weeks, but I have been keeping up with the reading and the comments. I just haven't had access to post anything (takes too long using my android phone).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you asked if A.B. Combs situation is reminiscent of our school situation (i.e. loss of passion in teaching, teachers working in isolation, etc..).I think at MVMS we are dedicated, passionate teachers who may have lost our "enthusiasm" for teaching. Enthusiasm comes from a Greek word that means "the spirit within". Our passion, enthusiasm, and drive seemed to fizzle out as the year progressed due to factors both within our school and outside our school. We need to rekindle our fizzle with a whole lot of sizzle. I agree with Teresa 100% in respect to the lack of available technology within the school, but I also want to add that sometimes the technology is present but its availability for use isn't. Sometimes things are not within our control, but there are times when we just need to step back and rethink about using things in a different way. If, for example, our classroom computers are networked to STAR (as I think they all are/or should be) then STAR tests could be taken in class on a rotating basis rather than manipulating an entire computer lab for several days straight. This would free up tech labs for more project-based learning that would empower students with more responsibility over their learning/achieving (we can talk more about PBL later).
I think "bringing people on board" with the new theme will probably be one of the most difficult things to achieve. Difficult... but not impossible. When people see how wonderful things CAN be, they may just want to join in and find out what they can do to make their class/subject wonderful, too. Of course, there will always be a few "Debbie Downers" that will need a little extra prodding to get with the program. I also agree with Marsha about not seeing the 7/8 grade teachers except for faculty meetings and anytime food was present. The faculty games were fun.. I actually participated in a few of the volleyball games and I don't even know anything about the sport. I watched some YouTube videos and asked the kids in some of my classes to "teach" me to play. They loved practicing with balloons in our down time. I think they really liked teaching the teacher.
I think that in order for this program to really, really work for us, we have to be willing to work for it. I, for one, am all in. If we start it in 6th grade, that is great, but we need to also put the "buzz" words upstairs as well. Hopefully, the kids upstairs will ask what they are about and that may lead to great teachable/reachable moments.
As for the reward system, I am all for rewards! However, I am not for giving out rewards willy-nilly. I also don't think the "student of the week" concept was working at all. The kids started asking when they were going to "get their bag of candy". I think we all said it, during our visit with Dr. Curry, that it just wasn't working and needed to be changed. Leaders of the Month awards, classroom awards, intrinsic rewards.. they are all great ways to reward the kids and should be looked at as alternatives. As a person who had to put together the list each week, I can honestly say that it was an absolute nightmare. I felt like I was badgering my teaching team to come up with a name each week even when they didn't have anyone they thought was worthy. Worthiness of the reward is important.
I agree with what everyone else said about getting everyone on board and about the reward system. I also believe that careful planning can allow this to be a very successful program that everyone will want to support. As the others pointed out, the implementation will be the key to "selling" this to the entire school. The "Leader of the Month" suggestion sounds like a good replacement for Student of the Week for celebrating successes. Rewards should be fewer and more meaningful. I, too, would like to see some restructuring of the use of technology to allow more access to more students for meaningful learning opportunities. We should utilize student leaders for tasks such as updating the school website and broadcasting announcements. I think the faculty blog sounds like a good idea too.
ReplyDeleteI think aligning the school's structure to match the strategy would be the most difficult. As the book stated this will involve a change in philosophy and leadership style. We have many of these "leader" groups already in place...professional learning communities. The roles will need to be defined more clearly. The book talks about changing the names...that would be necessary for us as well...but these leader will need to actually be leaders and be accountable as leaders.
ReplyDeleteI doing these from my phone...sorry for typing mistakes!
DeleteI apologize for the lateness in this response. I have been out of town visiting with my grandmother, not to mention this is my third try at posting this. I kept losing it on my ipad so now I have moved to my laptop.
ReplyDeleteI believe we do resemble the faculty at AB Combs. I don't think we are bad teachers, I think all of us are doing our absolute best. However, the only commonality I see between all of us is test scores. Many of us do not even have that in common since some subjects are not tested. I think most of us go into survival mode the moment we enter the building. We our overwhelmed with documentation, RTI, PST, Data, lesson plans, utilizing technology appropriately, discipline... the list goes on and on. Most of us feel we have had a good day if it has ended without incident. I think we need a goal that will get us excited about entering that building every morning. It is my hope that this leadership program will help us find that common goal.
I agree with Mrs. Hughes that realigning the school's structure will be the most difficult aspect of implementation. We are creatures of habit and it will be difficult for all involved to change. Most us want to improve the culture of our school and will be willing to try anything to accomplish this.
It will be difficult to put an awards system in place that all agree on. Awards do not always have to be something physical like a bag of candy. Just telling a student in private that you are proud of them and have noticed how hard they are working can do wonders with that child. Maybe we could come up with this award system as grade levels. Each grade level comes up with a system that is appropriate for the maturity level of their kids. Our 8th graders are the seniors of the school but they do not have any special privileges or responsibilities indicating this. They are not treated any differently than the 6th graders. They should be examples for the younger students and therefore reap some benefits showing that they are older and more responsible.
I agree that there must be a lot of thought and planning behind this if we want to succeed.
There isn't much more I can add. I just want to give a thumbs up to what Tracie has written, and also acknowledge Mrs. Hughes comments about realignment being a very difficult aspect of implementation.
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