Comments on: Leading Change http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2006/09/leading_change.html Technology, leadership, and the future of schools Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:00:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Scott S. Floyd http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2006/09/leading_change.html/comment-page-1#comment-15386 Scott S. Floyd Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000 http://annahein.com/2006/09/leading_change.html#comment-15386 The constant stream of thought in administration in our area seems to be on the current year and at most the next one. The only concern is how do we get through this current time. The paradigm shift has to occur in planning and preparation. Do we have programs in place that would make our kindergarten students successful when they graduate? If we do, then more than likely we are behind the times because things change too quickly. The programs in place might be beneficial for 3 to 5 years at most. Then they become outdated, our kids fall behind the world. We must have a continuous, open discussion within our school communities from the ground level to the highest administrator about what we can do to continually improve our program offerings for our students. Sometimes it is a facilities issue and other times will be a curriculum and instruction issue. Identify the area and work to improve it. Do not let the naysayers of change stand in the way. Get buy-in throughout and make a move. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen good program opportunities be dismissed and turned down because the teacher for that area was also a coach and just did not have time for it. So the kids suffer the academic loss. What are we here for? The constant stream of thought in administration in our area seems to be on the current year and at most the next one. The only concern is how do we get through this current time. The paradigm shift has to occur in planning and preparation. Do we have programs in place that would make our kindergarten students successful when they graduate? If we do, then more than likely we are behind the times because things change too quickly. The programs in place might be beneficial for 3 to 5 years at most. Then they become outdated, our kids fall behind the world. We must have a continuous, open discussion within our school communities from the ground level to the highest administrator about what we can do to continually improve our program offerings for our students. Sometimes it is a facilities issue and other times will be a curriculum and instruction issue. Identify the area and work to improve it. Do not let the naysayers of change stand in the way. Get buy-in throughout and make a move. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen good program opportunities be dismissed and turned down because the teacher for that area was also a coach and just did not have time for it. So the kids suffer the academic loss. What are we here for?

]]> By: Steve Poling http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2006/09/leading_change.html/comment-page-1#comment-15387 Steve Poling Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000 http://annahein.com/2006/09/leading_change.html#comment-15387 "We must have a continuous, open discussion within our school communities from the ground level to the highest administrator about what we can do to continually improve our program offerings for our students." Exactly! “We must have a continuous, open discussion within our school communities from the ground level to the highest administrator about what we can do to continually improve our program offerings for our students.”

Exactly!

]]> By: Scott S. Floyd http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2006/09/leading_change.html/comment-page-1#comment-15388 Scott S. Floyd Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000 http://annahein.com/2006/09/leading_change.html#comment-15388 So the next question is.... How do we make administration start the conversation? I'm a teacher. I have higher aspirations for our students than our administration. They only see test scores. I lead more special projects, programs, and instructional experiments than my admin ever thought about starting in their cumulative careers. Yet they give very little credence to what we do. No substantive change occurs as a result regardless of the successes and accolades the students receive. If I weren't so hell-bent on making things better for my students (if no others), then I would just settle back and coast teaching only what I am told to teach. But that is not what makes great students. It only makes checkers at the grocery store and Wal-Mart. How do we get our school leaders to lead? Where are all the visionaries in education? So the next question is…. How do we make administration start the conversation?

I’m a teacher. I have higher aspirations for our students than our administration. They only see test scores. I lead more special projects, programs, and instructional experiments than my admin ever thought about starting in their cumulative careers. Yet they give very little credence to what we do. No substantive change occurs as a result regardless of the successes and accolades the students receive. If I weren’t so hell-bent on making things better for my students (if no others), then I would just settle back and coast teaching only what I am told to teach. But that is not what makes great students. It only makes checkers at the grocery store and Wal-Mart.

How do we get our school leaders to lead? Where are all the visionaries in education?

]]> By: Steve Poling http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2006/09/leading_change.html/comment-page-1#comment-15389 Steve Poling Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000 http://annahein.com/2006/09/leading_change.html#comment-15389 Scott, Those are excellent questions and the ones that we should all be asking of our school leaders. We have to demand better for the kids. Think of this conversation as a two way street. Engage school and district administrators in the conversation, get involved in district tech committees, building leadership, and other opportunities to be involved. Hopefully you have a healthy school district culture that will hear your voice. We need educators such as yourself to be a strong voice for what students need in our schools and you are right, it is much, much more than focusing on test scores. Getting your leaders to lead starts at the top with the school board then to the superintendent overseeing building principals but it also comes from the community with their high expectations. Keep being hell-bent and advocating the best for the kids! Hopefully your district will recruit, train, or attract visionary leaders; They are out there. Scott, Those are excellent questions and the ones that we should all be asking of our school leaders. We have to demand better for the kids. Think of this conversation as a two way street. Engage school and district administrators in the conversation, get involved in district tech committees, building leadership, and other opportunities to be involved. Hopefully you have a healthy school district culture that will hear your voice. We need educators such as yourself to be a strong voice for what students need in our schools and you are right, it is much, much more than focusing on test scores. Getting your leaders to lead starts at the top with the school board then to the superintendent overseeing building principals but it also comes from the community with their high expectations. Keep being hell-bent and advocating the best for the kids! Hopefully your district will recruit, train, or attract visionary leaders; They are out there.

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