guest written by Tracy Schutz 

As probably many veteran educators do, I dream of the perfect school — the precise balance between properly aligned curriculum to meet the needs of every child, parents who are supportive and involved, and a faculty properly resourced and always eager to challenge and ask “what if…?”

So, what does The Utopian School (herein called U.S.) look like?  I’ve arranged these rose-colored visions into the ABC’s of course.  Naturally — how else would a teacher organize her thoughts?

Academics, Books, Curriculum — Oh my:

Ah, the thoughts of old social studies books come to mind.  “Why do these books only show 13 stars on the flag, Ms. Teacher?”  Ok, I’m exaggerating, I know!   Our new U.S. will have all it desires to meet the needs of all students.  Our academics are structured around students’ interests with ties to real life and are not cookie-cutter in design.  (Think: online memberships for virtual fieldtrips, science experiments, nature walks, reading and writing cafés…) Textbooks will be available in multiple formats (online, audio, large print, etc.) and will also help students understand the value of the subject — not simply regurgitated information.  Students in today’s society need a clear understanding of why their learning is important and how this will help them be successful in life.  Students cannot compete as adults with explanations such as “because it’s in the curriculum.”  Children are inquisitive by nature and need to know why.

Discipline, Families, Guidance — Yes, please:

The U.S. will discipline students swiftly, fairly, and without regard to academic standing, parent complaints, or special needs (not related to behavior).  Discipline will also follow a strict matrix of increasing consequences so that students understand that their actions are not acceptable and it will not be tolerated.  We all know that, as great as our administration may be, there are certain students who are catered to… (Think: the squeaky wheel gets the grease).  Next up, parents will be REQUIRED to be involved in their child’s education.  Consequences and fines shall be in place for those who repeatedly bring their students to school tardy, promote truancy, and those who generally skip out on any school-to-parent contacts.  In addition, this U.S. will have guidance counselors who will, in fact, provide guidance.  I don’t mean the occasional personal hygiene story, but true lessons about respect, the importance of an education, and proper school conduct.

Money, Omniscience, Politics — Take away the “ugh” factor:

The U.S. will have the foresight to see where the budget can flex and advocate dollars where necessary.  Teacher supplies will flow from the district office like rain on a spring day.  Politics will not be an issue since everyone is FOR the greater good of students’ and teachers’ needs.  Those involved with the school board will have distinguished knowledge and a genuine interest in education and how the community can be further engaged — and not an interest in how to skim a buck or two at the cost of our students’ futures or how to further their campaign.

Resources, Special education, Technology — Absolutely:

The U.S. will provide ample resources for parents, teachers, and students.  Professional Development will be designed around teachers and administration working together to decide what is best for the school.  Afterwards, there will be workshops and communication with parents about these new school trainings and initiatives.  Special education students will be given access to support for continued success outside of school (Think: external academic support, coping strategies, behavior assessment and management tools, etc.)  All students and teachers will have access to current technology, including  student laptops, Smart Boards, smart phone app’s (Think: BYOD—“Bring Your Own Device” ), and other electronic devices that help engage students in the 21^st century.

UDL, Virtual, Worldly — Yes, and this too:

The U.S. focuses on the individual student, yet with a global approach.  Education at U.S. follows a Universal Design for Learning model (Think: one size does NOT fit all) and offers scaffolding and multiple levels of engagement along with online courses to better reach all learning styles.  There is a worldly feel at U.S. to help students understand life on a global level and to help students grow up appreciating and understanding what living in America means.

Zeal — Can’t leave this out:

With all The Utopian School has to offer, of course all of our students, parents, and school staff have a passion and drive to challenge and say “What’s next?”   The U.S. recognizes the need to strive for perfection in education to help our students become competing members in the world economy.  Finally, U.S. educators know that mediocrity in American schools is not the answer and to consistently raise the bar in academics for our future’s sake.

Hooray for Utopia!  How do YOU envision a perfect school?

About the author: Tracy Schutz is a veteran middle school educator currently transitioning from brick and mortar to online education and Social Media Management.  She is passionate about at-risk and online students, ed technology, and Social Media.  Chat with her here: http://dedication2education.com, Twitter, Facebook, or on LinkedIn.

Topic: What should a good Administrator look like & how can we get there from here?

Great discussion this week. I could barely keep up with all the comments that were flying around, and I did my absolute best to collect my favorite tweets. Still, I know that I missed some good ones while I was responding to @mentions or copying a particular gem over to MS Word. So be sure to check the archive when it’s up!

I don’t have many of my own thoughts to add to this one (again: I’m not a teacher), so I’ll keep the introduction very brief and instead dive right into the main themes, of which there are many  this week. Enjoy!

Main themes from the discussion:

• This is subjective. In any discussion of “the good,” we need to keep in mind that it is a very subjective concept. It will be differently defined by different people at different times. Still, there are some general qualities that “good” administrators should have, and this week’s discussion talked about most of them.
• Administrators are torn between two worlds. To be an administrator sort of means to serve two masters (at least!). They must feel a responsibility to the teachers, hopefully because they rose from their ranks. But at the same time they are now answering to school boards and politics. This often entails knowledge that is not available to all teachers, and will at times necessitate some difficult, non-optimal decisions. Teachers need to keep this in mind before criticizing administrators.
• We place a lot of demands on administrators. One thing that was very obvious this week was that we ask a lot of our administrators. We want them to be many things, often at the same time. But we also want them to be able to change gears seamlessly and intuitively. This is no easy feat. We need to keep that in mind during any discussion of what would make a “good” administrator.
• Good administrators were once (and possibly still are) teachers. This is a big one. Not only should administrators come from the ranks of teachers (that experience is essential), but there was some talk about how principals should still teach. A few people mentioned working with teacher-principals, and the experience seemed to be positive. It is a common complaint among employees that their boss doesn’t remember what it was like to do their job. I can see how that would get more frustrating (and more important) in the education world. The question is: do principals have the time? And, if not, how can we make room for it?
• Good administrators are leaders, which means they need autonomy. Teachers want their administrators to be leaders, not just paper-pushers and middle-managers. They want them to have a real vision for improving the school and helping students learn. And, of course, they want them to act on it. This means that we need to entrust our administrators with at least some amount of autonomy and security. Just like how teachers need to be trusted to “think outside the box” from time to time, we need to let our administrators take risks.
• Conflict mediation and communication are key. One of the main jobs of an administrator is to bridge the gaps between all the various interested parties in a school. That entails a lot of communication and some good mediator skills. It also means that logistics and other qualifications can sometimes come second in importance. We can’t ignore the “human” side of school administration – just like you wouldn’t want a teacher that ignored the unique personalities of their students.
• It is important to keep your focus; your priorities. Bottom line: the number one job of an administrator is to help improve the school so that students learn better (and want to learn more). This particular job is quite broad and quite difficult. But that’s the most important bit of an administrator’s job. And it’s important they never lose sight of it, despite all the distractions that assail them each day.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

mbfxc Personally, I’ve always wanted my administrators to be the lead teachers in the school!

jrichardson30 Administrators should have one day where they don’t set foot in their office and put up a sign that says, “Out and about learning with my colleagues.”

davidwees I’ve noticed that the good administrators I have known focused on relationships first and the logistics second.

MsRossEnglish So frustrating! I have seen my admin maybe three times in my class this year. Busy dealing with “other” things.

PrincipalPC Great administrators lead with kids first and their job security second.

edunators Good administrators have to have conflict mediation skills for settling parent, student, and teacher conflicts.

davidwees One of the reasons we don’t have enough excellent administrators is that many excellent candidates want to remain teachers.

drdouggreen Good administrators encourage risks and always keep a slush fund to support good ideas when they show up.

mrsjjee I think it’s also easy to get swept up in an “we all need iPads” mentality. Administrators need to have the school’s immediate concerns first.

vpigreenie I have worked in 2 districts where administrators were required to teach one class per semester. Worked well. Kept them present.

RobertBorgersen Good administrators will do PD just like we do, not because they have to, but because they want to.

jricharson30 We must remember that it isn’t about test scores or “our school compared to theirs.” It’s about kids loving to learn.

betavt Looks like administrators, from all the tweets, need to be just about everything to everyone. Is that a realistic expectation?

cybraryman1 The key role of an administrator should be to ensure the best facilitation of learning for their students.

MertonTech My idea of a good administrator: Someone I can take a problem to and get it fixed.

JohnTSpencer Too often leaders are beaten into compliance in the name of liability management. They lose the fire and end up managing instead.

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To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

Topic: What are the possibilities that open to us if we change the observation model for teachers to a coaching model?

Wow. This week’s conversation was a doozy. Great topic, fast and frantic discussion, and plenty to learn. It’s weeks like this one that make me remember what drew me into #edchat so quickly. Truly, this is an amazing community.

As tends to happen when topics focus specifically on teacher-related issues (as opposed to education or edtech issues), I started off at a bit of a loss. Remember: I am not a teacher, so I don’t know what it’s like to have an administrator come in and observe me for twenty minutes and then hand me a sheet of paper with a bunch of comments on it.

But I can imagine that it doesn’t feel good. I don’t even like having one person look at what I’m typing when I’m on the computer at home. I just feel “judged.” And even if the onlooker has something useful to say (like: “You spelled your name wrong.”) I have a very hard time receiving it.

What’s interesting about this is that I actually have no problem taking constructive criticism. I took a couple writing classes in school, and a big part of any writing classes is peer review. For those unfamiliar with the process, it basically means you sit in a circle and a bunch of people tear your work apart. Some teachers allow you to defend yourself, but most don’t. It’s a hard few minutes, but most of us accept it as a necessary step towards getting better at something that we care deeply about.

Clearly, then, it is possible for someone who hates being observed to want to receive outside help on something as important and personal and teaching. The question is: what is the best way to do it? Does it depend on the situation? Or is coaching a step up from observation no matter how you slice it?

The consensus this week seemed to be that yes, indeed coaching is a step up. But, we will need to make a very concerted effort to actually separate coaching from the old observation process. It can’t just be a new buzzword attached to an old and ineffective practice. There needs to be a real shift from observation and criticism to collaboration and coaching.

Main themes from the discussion:

• Coaching is a conversation. Observation is merely critical. What most teachers disliked about the observation model (besides the fact that, most times, they were only observed for 20 minutes at a time), is that it’s not a conversation. It’s a one-way street. Administration rolls in, takes a few notes, and then tells you how to do your job. It’s way too hierarchical, way too judgmental, and not conducive to making change because teachers put their guard up almost immediately. Coaching, on the other hand, can be a conversation. Teachers can tell their coach what they think they need to focus on. They can initiate the process, and in doing so they will drop their guard. Then change becomes a possibility.
• Everybody can (and should) be coached, although not everyone will want to. One important thing, when making the switch from observation to coaching, is to stress the fact that everyone could use a coach (at least from time to time). Coaching does not imply deficiency. Rather, it simply signals that one is trying to improve. A good way to encourage this idea to take root is to stress that administrators are going to work with coaches as well. And if teachers are still hesitant to work with a coach? Allow them to talk with the coach beforehand about why they are hesitant. Remind them that they have some choice about the focus of the coaching – and that its purpose is not just to tell them how to do their job. It’s about helping them figure out how they can do their job even better.
• The goal should be more cooperation, collaboration, and continued improvement (lifelong learners). A very important aspect of the coaching model is the lifelong learner mindset. Teachers need to know that continuous improvement is something to strive for. They need to see that being modeled for them by those around them, and they need to see it being rewarded by administration. Many teachers might rail against being “coached” (at least, at first), but very few (if any) would say that they already know everything about teaching. The coaching process can be used to help cultivate and maintain the lifelong learner mindset among teachers – and to get them working together towards their goals.
• We should have multiple “specialty” coaches. We can sources these from the existing pool of experts at each school. Why spend the money shipping in “experts” with no first-hand knowledge of the school when there are experts in almost every conceivable subject and teaching style at almost every school? Sourcing a school’s coaches from the teacher/administration/staff population has two advantages: it’s cheap, and it promotes more camaraderie and collaboration. Of course, these teacher coaches may need some extra training and practice coaching other teachers. But everyone can learn together. The coaching model represents a shift from the judgmental observation model. It’s supposed to help teachers feel more connected with the people around them. What better way to start that feeling rolling than by working with teachers to develop the program?

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

tomwhitby The idea of coaching makes the observation more collegial and not as adversarial. That is good!

AHSTechTeacher Coaching is a nice word, but what good is it if people are not trained on how to effectively coach? Will it be different?

BarbLarochelle To me, the whole thought that I’m being ‘coached’ implies that I’m doing something wrong that needs to be fixed.

bjnichols Administration needs the same type of assistance. Coaching administrators is a big part of what I do. Can make a major impact.

Berryed1 When I coached, the objective was clearly to “beat” somebody at something and was very clearly measureable. Not for teaching.

johntspencer I like the blended approach: model lesson, observe lessons, co-observe another teacher, conference with reflective questions.

ShellTerrell In a learner model, teachers feel encouraged & supported not fear to experiment, make mistakes, etc.

KleinErin Coaching isn’t for those who ‘need’ it but rather for everyone. Once mindset is changed, the model will be more accepted.

jleous Coaching is the right term. As a HS hockey coach, I deal with players much better than I. I can still point out areas for growth.

Resources shared during the discussion:

cybraryman1 There is an outstanding #educoach chat Wednesdays at 10 pm EST http://t.co/tRLNU5tk

cybraryman1 I have seen more instructional coaches in school. My Instructional Coaching page: http://t.co/M1sJTNVd

davidwees Here’s something that I think would improve teaching: The apprenticeship model http://t.co/how4kz8U

jleous The Board just approved an “Instructional Coach” job description last night. The duties are well done. http://t.co/tbwKKqjl

###

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

guest written by PJ Caposey

Effective educational leaders focus their energy on promoting two things: maximizing capacity for all members of their faculty and staff and aligning the goals of individuals within the organization with that of the school or district. Every school in America wants to create productive citizens that will be successful in the 21^st century, but many are afraid to take the plunge into the world of edtech. Leaders must facilitate and empower teachers to explore a frontier as foreign to them as a distant planet. This cannot be an excuse for inaction, however, because schools simply cannot prepare students for future success when our practices are not even current, let alone forward-thinking.

It is time for our schools to make a commitment to engaging students in activities that will benefit them in a global marketplace. In order for students to be provided that support, teachers must be able to ease the process. The role of the leader is to provide the service and guidance that teachers need in order achieve that end. The roadmap is daunting, but the end is worth the means:

FACE THE FEAR

Two primary fears exist for most educators regarding using edtech to promote 21^st century learning. The first is simply fear of the unknown or fear of failure. The second is the fear of doing something to get fired. These fears are normal for everybody, but must be overcome by the leader first if they have any hope of leading this type of change in their district or building.

Tips Moving Forward

• Get involved – Computers are not designed to break. Leaders must first understand the new wave of technology is user-friendly. The benefit for a school leader becoming involved is that modeling is essential when it comes to taking educational risks – which in many schools technology is considered. Explore social media starting TODAY – Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Pinterest are all great places to start. Some may work better for you than others and there are literally hundreds of different opportunities that being active on the sites mentioned above will provide you within the first few weeks of use.
• Teachers deserve support, guidance, and protection – Two or three articles a month are written about teachers losing jobs because of the misuse of social media. This is an enormous hill to climb when promoting the activity within a building. An effective means of combating this is to establish best practice social media guidelines for all staff. These guidelines should be user-friendly, promote interaction with students, and also provide a firm line for what is appropriate and inappropriate. Providing boundaries promotes a sense of security.

ESTABLISH THE WHY

School leaders far too often focus on the ‘what’ instead of the ‘why’. Doing so with edtech will result in failure. There must be a sense of urgency created. It may seem clear to you (maybe you are part of the 1%ers) but the world schools are preparing kids for is much different than it was 40 years ago, 20 years ago, or even 5 years ago. Globalization will impact this generation of students more than any other in history. Teachers must know that not embracing the technology that will define the world their students will live in doing them a dramatic disservice.

Tips Moving Forward

• The data is dramatic – There is no shortage of numbers indicating how globalization is impacting American students. Use it!! How would your staff react to knowing that there are more Honors kids in India and China than there are kids in the U.S. Use the facts to your advantage
• Create a local tie – Students that used to attend your school (and were ‘good’ kids) have tremendous influence when they speak of how well or how ill-prepared they were for the next stages in their life. Kids in college blog. Kids in college tweet. Kids in college have realized that technology has made what once was a distant afterthought a very real part of their future. That will get teachers’ attention.

ACKNOWLEDGE EFFORT (INCLUDING MISTAKES)

There is a learning curve with technology. There may be more failure than success when teachers first get their hands wet. Establishing a school hashtag (#) on Twitter or Facebook page for 5^th grade homework assignments is a HUGE deal. Acknowledge it as such. Modeling tech-aware behaviors will also allow for monitoring of use and progression among teachers so that you can better serve their professional development.

Tip Moving Forward

• Public reinforcement of a kid-centered, 21^st century learner-driven initiative is never a bad thing. At public assemblies, on websites, and even in ‘old-school’ newsletters the acknowledgment of teachers taking risks will serve to promote the activity.

CREATE A CULTURE

Culture as I define it is what a school does when nobody is looking. Using technology and social media to support learning will be cultural when it no longer would cease to exist in the majority of the classrooms without administrative push or influence. This may take years – literally. Remember, people probably had this conversation (not via blogs, however) regarding email and digital gradebooks. This is not going away – thankfully. Create a culture where your school, your teachers, and your students are on the leading edge instead of trying to play catch-up in five years.

Tips Moving Forward

•  Empower others. Leaders have a lot on their plates (as do teachers). View the championing of edtech as a capacity-building activity for a future leader. The voice of a colleague often sounds much more clear and inviting than that of an administrator. More than likely, somebody in your building is already vastly more proficient with edtech and SM than you are – take advantage of their talents.
• Start Young and Let Students Lead. The earlier kids are exposed to the benefits of learning via edtech and SM, the more impetus for all to embrace the change. Student and parent buy-in can occasionally be easier to attain than teachers and they have tremendous influence on the culture of a building.

ENJOY THE BENEFITS

The potential benefits for a school are limitless when it comes to embracing edtech with the same vigor of the rest of the professional world. Communicating via a platform that the intended audience already uses makes so much more sense than forcing students and parents to adapt to an already antiquated system. Once edtech is embraced a school will enjoy a wide-range of benefits including improved public relations, increased student engagement, access to volumes upon volumes of free professional development for staff, and an opportunity to be on the leading edge of the next major change in how kids are educated in America.

About the author:  PJ Caposey is currently the principal of Oregon High School in Oregon, Illinois. PJ is a husband to Jacquie and father to Jameson and Jackson. PJ is an awarding winning principal through IPA, a soon-to-be published author through Eye on Education, a contributor to the Ed Leaders Network, experienced presenter and active blogger, having published blogs through Edutopia, ASCD, and the Illinois Principal’s Association. PJ is also an #edchat and #cpchat enthusiast (@principalpc) and also blogs from www.pjcaposey.typepad.com.

Topic: With the need to leave comfort zones for relevant professional development to take effect, should teachers continue to control their own learning for PD?

This week’s #edchat was the third in recent memory about effective professional development in the education sphere. This seems to be a topic that teachers, administrators, and technology specialists alike are really fired up about. And I can understand why.

#Edchat is a special group. Those who participate in #edchat are the exception, not the norm. They are the stand-outs; the connected (and highly-motivated) leaders in their schools – even if they don’t know it. And they want to help the rest of their colleagues become exceptional too.

I realize that might sound elitist, but the truth is that some teachers are leaps and bounds better than others. In some cases, that’s simply a question of experience. In others, it’s burn-out or stress. Good PD can help with both, because good PD both teaches and energizes. I know that’s why a lot of #edchat participants come back each and every week.

Realistically, though, #edchat is not for everyone. Neither are conventions. Nor are online webinars. Different lessons, presented in different ways, will appeal to different people. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

The question is: how much autonomy can and should we allow teachers in directing, choosing, and pursuing their own professional development? What’s the optimal mix of empowerment and guidance?

While I will freely admit that I don’t have any hands-on experience with this, I think there are two things that we should be working on implementing in schools right now. They are…

1) A teacher PD “curriculum,” with requirements placed on subjects that all teachers must explore, but options left open for how they learn about them. This should be developed by representative teachers, administrators, and tech specialists for each district. I am hesitant to go any broader than that, because we know how disjointed decision-making becomes the higher it goes.

2) Teacher authorities in every niche of professional development that can mentor teachers learning specifically about that subject. Example: there can be a resident social media guru to help guide teachers towards better use/implementation of social media into their classroom practices. Or a wiki-building specialist to help other teachers start using wikis with their students. The bottom line is that we need some other “go-tos” in schools. Dozens of teachers, one or two tech specialists, and a single principal just doesn’t work. It takes too long for change to be made in a system like that.

But those are just my own hare-brained ideas. I would love to hear yours!

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If you’re interested in reading summaries of the previous two discussions, here’s a link to the more recent one about providing relevant PD in schools/districts and here’s a link to the one from last November about EdCamps and TeachMeets. Enjoy!

Main themes from the discussion:

• Again: traditional PD is often either non-existent or totally ineffective. What discussion of PD would be complete without a healthy dose of complaints about how bad the current offerings are? Common complaints: it’s boring, it’s irrelevant, there’s no follow-up, it’s completely rigid and inflexible, and it’s been cut from the budget. The teachers that are pursuing their own PD often aren’t recognized and in some cases may even be penalized for it. Meanwhile, those that just go through the system seem to be rewarded. Clearly, we are placing our emphasis on the wrong things. And that needs to change if we want education to change.
• We don’t seem to apply the same lessons of education to teaching teachers. This has two very important implications.
  • Implication number one: We seem to forget that crowding a whole bunch of people into a room and talking at them for a couple hours isn’t the best way to get your point across. I guess we assume that, since they’re teachers, they’ll fill in the gaps on their own. But most don’t because they’re tired and overworked as it is. David Wees rightly wonders: what does it say about an education system when the teachers are too burnt-out to learn?
  • Implication number two: We are not following up with teachers the way we follow up with students. In fact, it seems like we’re often just winging the entire process. When teaching students, we first lay out a broad plan of what we want them to learn. Then we make lesson plans for how they’re going to learn it. Then we teach it to them, often reinforcing the lesson with homework. Finally, we test them on it to make sure it all stuck. Do we do any of that with the stuff we want teachers to learn?
• We need to simultaneously broaden what we accept as PD and narrow the focus of the PD that some teachers pursue. I find it amazing that #edchat isn’t considered viable PD in every school district around the world. I’m not even a teacher, but I learn so much from #edchat that I’m actually considering becoming one just so I can use some of these ideas! If that’s not good PD then I don’t know what is. But, lest we forget: “Different strokes for different folks.” Not everyone is going to be an #edchat type, and that’s okay. The point is, we need to help all teachers find the way they learn best and encourage/challenge them to push the boundaries. This means tightening certain requirements that have allowed teachers to not really do anything (but still technically satisfy the requirements) while simultaneously recognizing some “unofficial” but nonetheless valuable PD channels.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

tomwhitby Teachers selecting to choose a path of PD that isn’t relevant to education is always a problem. Too many things are considered PD.

juliawilson89 Teachers should design and run their PD and  schools should fully support them. Lack of school support is preventing the best PD.

CTuckerEnglish Those educators using social media like Twitter should be recognized for seeking out learning opportunities. Often social media is not recognized PD.

cybraryman1 Yes, PD is important but it does not have to be expensive as there is so much available from webinars etc. for free

tomwhitby Admin comfort zones may be even more of an obstacle to reform in Education. Many admins view PD for teachers only!

cybraryman1 How many times have you left a mandated PD session and could not use anything you heard with your students?

teacherdebra Has anyone ever asked where the districts get their topics for PD? Do they come from mandates, their needs, or what they perceive as teacher needs?

rickarcher1959 The biggest problems with PD, in my opinion, is the lack of time to follow-up and lack of funding.

sanmccarron Admin should look at PD as “what will help our students?” rather than “what is the latest edtech thingy?”.

cdsmeaton People would rather do the wrong thing competently than the right thing incompetently. Remember that when asking for change.

tomwhitby Teachers must be supported with PD and not bludgeoned with it. But there must be a path or a plan from the leadership.

RabbiRoss We still need some quality control on teacher-led workshops. Presenting is a skill as well!

vpigreenie  Big fan of the train-the trainer model: train a few, they then become the experts in house to support and model the best practices.

jlubinsky We are finding that with our budget cuts, using a cohort of motivated learners has helped to bridge the gap.

tomwhitby Teachers need some direction for PD if we are planning relevant development to coincide with where we want schools to go.

A couple resources tweeted during the discussion:

NikkiDRobertson I use Coffee Chats to lure teachers into my new tech PD lair..donuts, coffee, and light friendly conversation. My teachers love it! Example: http://t.co/ekKobN8E

mbteach Here is my obligatory @EdcampBoard tweet for this afternoon’s #edchat: http://t.co/vrnjdWpc

cybraryman1 Please listen to recording of the Connected Superintendents webinar:  http://t.co/CCnfx35Y We need more leaders like these.

###

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

Topic: What would be a better alternative to present leadership hierarchy we’ve come to accept in public education?

This week’s #edchat topic was an especially welcome change of pace for me, because once again I was forced to really think about an aspect of teaching that I, as an “outsider” and non-teacher, had never previously considered. I like topics like that. They force me out of my usual style of thinking and put myself in the shoes of someone else.

As someone who studied business in college, I sort of took it for granted that schools would have the same structure and hierarchy as businesses. There would be a couple big-wigs at the top, several layers of bureaucracy below them, and then a legion of teachers (“employees”) that were managed relatively closely but given the appearance of autonomy.

It turns out, I was at least partially right. There are several layers of bureaucracy above teachers, and there is a prevailing sense that teachers don’t exactly have as much autonomy as they need. But the point that I was missing was this: why should schools function the same as businesses? Why should it be this way?

I guess I had figured that the school my father teaches at was the norm. I would hear him complain about all the bureaucracy at his school regularly over dinner. It was just the same type of complaining I imagined I would hear if my father worked in an office or in a factory. There’s always a big boss who has forgotten what it’s like to be an employee. And there’s always stuff to complain about.

The point is, though, it doesn’t have to be that way. There were a few #edchatters this week who said that they were quite happy with their schools’ hierarchy and leadership. They were well supported and those at the top knew how to communicate and prioritize.

Unfortunately, we all know that this is not the norm – not in business and not in education either. The question is: what can we do about that?

Main themes from the discussion:

• Things are too hierarchical. One prevailing theme I saw this week was that there is too much of a division between teacher and administrator. Administrators got to make the decisions, but it was teachers that had to abide by them. That makes teaching really difficult because teachers know that the rug can get pulled out from under them at any moment and they won’t have any say in the matter. That’s not a good way to do things. We need more communication and more collaboration. Decisions need to be made together. In fact, we should even be making more of an effort to involve students and parents in the making of important decisions.
• Administration is out of touch with the needs of teachers. Even though the majority of teachers were very sympathetic towards administration, I did see quite a few complaints that administrators have forgotten (or never knew) what it was like in the classroom. That’s never a good thing. When those in charge of making decisions are out of touch (and collaboration across hierarchical levels is discouraged) they are not likely to make the right decisions. The solution? Have administrators spend more time in the classrooms for observation purposes only. They shouldn’t only show up briefly to judge a teacher and make an arbitrary decision. The “cream of the crop” administrators seem to know this already.
• The way things are is a hold-over from the industrial age. I have heard it said before (and I really do believe it) that many conventions in education were created during the industrial revolution to prepare children for factory work. America has moved way beyond that for the majority of workers, yet still we continue to do things in much the same way as we did “back in the day.” Apparently the educational hierarchy is no different. Why should there really be such a division between principal and teacher? Shouldn’t it be the administration’s job to support the teachers, and not the other way around?
• Is there too much weight on the principal’s shoulders? I was surprised to see so much sympathy for principals during this week’s #edchat. I would have thought that teachers would be ruthless, complaining that these folks get more money for doing less difficult work. Instead, I saw a lot of teachers pointing out that there are simply too many responsibilities for the average principal. And while delegation and prioritization can solve some of those problems, they can’t solve all of them. The solution that I liked best was to split the job in half (or in thirds) and have one principal look after education and the other(s) look after the business side of running a school.
• Sometimes, the current system works very well. It should be mentioned that more than a couple #edchatters seemed genuinely happy in the way their schools ran day-to-day. They felt like their administrators were in touch with their needs and had not forgotten what it meant to be on the front line. This, I think, is a very good point that gets lost in #edchat from time to time. Sometimes, things work out really well. Let’s not forget that there are a lot of great teachers and administrators out there right now, and that in general things are only getting better. The tendency for the elite is to focus on the negatives, but we need to remind ourselves that there are plenty of positives as well.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

tomwhitby I believe the leadership of schools was set up as an industrial model.

USCTeacher Perhaps we need to look at hierarchy as more of community; something we have access to and can collaborate with?

John_DAdamo I would argue this is not a phenomenon exclusive to public education. Private schools all have layers of bureaucracy as well.

cybraryman1 I personally agree with more collaboration. Must include students, parents, and community in this process.

Mamacita When opportunities for parent input do occur, VERY few parents bother to show up. They seem to prefer whining after the fact.

MrBernia Many schools around the world have a lead teacher rather than a principal. Is our setup just closest to the industrial model?

ShellTerrell Current model has a few make decisions while those who are expected to implement them aren’t included in the decision-making process.

drdouggreen I don’t think superintendent, principal, teacher structure is the problem. It’s all about the vision in this food chain. Principals and superintendents should view teachers as customers whose needs must be met.

PrincipalPC It’s not the model — it is the poor implementation of the model. We are talking about the symptoms, not the disease.

cybraryman1  I always felt there should be two leaders in a building. One for curriculum/learning  and the other for business matters.

rliberni  Much of what principals do is buildings, payroll, and everyday business that all schools have to do, so it would be easy for one “business principal” to do 2 or 3 schools.

John_DAdamo I have seen the 2-headed dragon (two principals) fail because no one was held accountable.

A few resources that were shared:

delta_dc Schools would benefit from structures like this: http://t.co/WF2rKMeC

cybraryman1  Walkthroughs are good ways to learn but I would like to see more modeling by administration. http://t.co/i7LDUk5x

###

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

Topic: What changes could be made to the present management structure of education to make it more effective for educators?

This was another #edchat that I was prepared to basically sit by the sidelines for – not because I had lost interest but because I feared that I would have nothing to contribute (not being an educator). Luckily, there’s always so much going on with #edchat that it’s almost impossible to sit by the sidelines unless you are firmly committed to keeping your mouth shut even when you might have something useful to say or a good question to ask.

I think a certain amount of conflict between employees and management is unavoidable.  Management is tasked with making do with limited resources (and in the education world, those resources seem to keep getting more and more limited all the time) while teachers are tasked with educating our children the best way they can. The same dichotomy exists in any business. The employees are expected to perform while the management is expected to keep costs as low as possible. It’s a balancing act.

Unfortunately, this balancing act becomes slightly more important when we’re talking about a child’s education instead of a firm’s profit margins. And when you consider that public education budgets will likely take a hit as federal spending inevitably slows down in the US, striking the right balance between teacher needs and managerial decisions will only get more difficult.

Enter Tuesday’s #edchat discussion. In essence, it was asking how we can work to improve the relationship between teachers and administrators so that a school’s scare resources can be allocated most efficiently and so students won’t suffer from the inevitable budget cuts. At least, that’s my take on things.

Main themes from the discussion:

• This is a highly subjective discussion. No doubt, this one was going to depend mightily on what school and what district we’re talking about. Every school is different. Some teachers seemed like the came to this #edchat with a list of complaints and demands ready and waiting. Others seemed to be relatively pleased with the balance that had been struck between them and their administrators. Considering how many administrators participate in #edchat, I was surprised at how civil the discussion went.
• Administrators need to do a better job including teachers in their decisions. I think this one is a common complaint. How often have you complained that your boss “just doesn’t understand” or that he “doesn’t remember what it’s like” to do your job? This is a universal concern, even though (in most cases) administrators and management have to move up the ranks (meaning they have done your job). Still, it is a valid point. Sometimes administrators make decisions that are unrealistic. Optimally, these get changed down the line once they see that they won’t work, but all that trial and error could often be avoided if they listened to teachers from the get-go.
• Administrators need to be reminded what it’s like to be a teacher. There were some administrators in the discussion that said that they filled in for absent teachers regularly. That’s awesome, but it’s all too rare, apparently. Many, many teachers echoed the same sentiment: that administrators needed to experience teaching for themselves as often as possible so they could be more sensitive to their needs. And if actually stepping to the front of the classroom isn’t an option, they should at least observe (not evaluate) from the back frequently.
• Teachers need to be made aware of what administrators are dealing with. The flip side to the issue of administrators forgetting what it’s like on the front lines is that many teachers simply have no idea what kind of pressures an administrator is under. These come from all angles, ranging from tight budgets to calls for higher scores on standardized tests to expanded support for sports and extracurriculars. Everyone wants theirs, and it’s the administration’s job to figure out how to deliver it all. That’s tough work, and teachers need to appreciate that.
• Communication and involvement is key. Bottom line. You can’t expect to have a good relationship between teachers and administration if both sides think the other is screwing them over or not appreciating their work. Teachers and administrators need to work together. It’s not rocket science; it’s not a new idea. But it also isn’t easy. Unfortunately, it has to be done. There are children’s futures at stake here. I even heard a few educators calling for more parental involvement in school management, which is a nice idea but would need some fleshing out.
• The problem might be the people instead of the management structure. Perhaps the reason that this issue is so subjective is because it’s not that the management structure is the problem. Maybe it’s the people that are the problem. This begs the question: what can be done to attract better people to school administration? Also, how can we improve those administrators that we already seem to be stuck with? Job security is pretty big in education. (Should it be?)
• The worst administrators (and teachers) are those who stopped learning. This, again, I think is a rather general rule of thumb. All of the most interesting and effective people I have ever known are people that never stopped learning. When you stop learning, you stop improving, and then you inevitably get left behind. So, logically, the best way to improve administrators (and teachers) is to encourage them to keep learning. This also meshes well with the idea that communication is key, because when you communicate you learn.
• We might be focusing on the wrong thing entirely here. What if the problem is not with management at all but with the overall educational system that we have in place? If that’s the case, then focusing our energies on reforming management might all be a waste of time. This is definitely something worth pondering.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

saraallen91 @cybraryman1 I think that entirely depends on the administration at each school. Our admin really listens & supports us as teachers.

cybraryman1 The key point is including teachers (students and parents) in the process.

mrdglhs Administration should be required to be in classrooms observing (not evaluating) 1/2 day per week. Helps them see needs first hand.

apospirit Have all people relaying the same info –> not be in conflict with one another. I’ve heard some teachers/admins learning conflicting things in different training programs.

tomwhitby Getting buy-in from teachers for policy changes would be a nice touch to leadership.

DrThomasHo We have the means to take our story directly to the community & do NOT need admins to do it for us. They do it so badly anyway!

weisburghm Community, parents, administrators, and communities must work together to improve education. Nothing works in a vacuum.

MertonTech What roadblocks are teachers hitting that would spark a change in management structure?

mrlove314 @fliegs If teachers don’t want real feedback then they must not be doing something right.

davidwees What I would like to change about education structure is not the management structure, but the learning structure.

jdavis43 @davidwees @mikevigilant It amazes me how many teachers quit learning.

davidwees @TestSoup The administrators I’ve worked under with whom I’ve been most impressed have all been learners.

tomwhitby The revolving door for administrators often allow things to fall through the cracks without follow-up or consistency.

tomwhitby I have always thought it would be interesting to have all admins take substitute teacher positions for a few days each year.

mikevigilant Another good thought: RT @delta_dc:@geraldaungst Perhaps the consensus position is that trust is required from all parties.

rliberni RT @tomwhitby: @geraldaungst If Admins respect and support their teachers, teachers may offer more leadership than admins pay them for.

whittclass RT @tomwhitby: Education administrators need more staff consultation and leadership and less control and reactive policy directives.

To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

###

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.