tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.comments2024-02-03T13:05:51.797-06:00Stump The TeacherJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12252463873478820840noreply@blogger.comBlogger1556125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-74600557515534552812013-04-21T11:07:46.211-05:002013-04-21T11:07:46.211-05:00I knew this would strike a chord with many people ...I knew this would strike a chord with many people and clearly it has...I appreciate the comments and conversation here for sure. Some additional thoughts I have after reading some of your comments and the conversation on twitter. <br /><br />1. The notion of good or bad really is a matter of perspective. What I view as a great administrator some might view as bad. The same can be said about a teacher...some kids love them and some don't. That is reality and it all about perspective and context. <br /><br />2. This post was not meant to slander admin at all but simply point out characteristics of some of the great leaders I have been lucky to interact with and work for in my years as a teacher. Some of them were even mentioned in the comments and at least two of them commented themselves (Lyn and George).<br /><br />3. As I have said many times, I am not anti-admin just anti-traditional admin...in the same way I am anti-traditional classroom teacher. Yet, I see Will's point and wonder who is responsible for helping administrators be "better" at what they do? We have remediation and interventions for under performing teachers. Why not for administrators? <br /><br />4. One thing I did leave off this list was a leader is also a learner. Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12252463873478820840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-73361373774156022292013-04-21T10:44:20.212-05:002013-04-21T10:44:20.212-05:00Just a few thoughts:
1) A 'bad teacher and a ...Just a few thoughts:<br /><br />1) A 'bad teacher and a 'bad' principal often have in common the need to police their charges. When school becomes about discipline and not learning it is a problem.<br /><br />2) We often have conversations about helping 'bad' teachers get better, but where are the conversations about helping 'bad' principals get better?<br /><br />3) I can't imagine the pressure of working as an principals since they work at the pleasure of the school board (and superintendent) and have no tenure. I suspect the reality to be that the 'bad' principals often are a sign of a deeper issue in the upper administration ranks.<br /><br />4) No 'bad' principals sees themselves as bad, bad teachers don't see that either.<br /><br />5) If school is supposed to be about learning, why don't administrators model this to the students and teachers?<br /><br />6) It doesn't matter if there is only one bad principal or a thousand if you are the teacher working under the one bad one. Wm Chamberlainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06692221214846665588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-59680190299127148752013-04-21T10:41:10.519-05:002013-04-21T10:41:10.519-05:00Josh- Your posts always strike a chord with me. Yo...Josh- Your posts always strike a chord with me. You and I have talked several times about the attributes of good and bad administrators and I appreciate you listening and letting me vent. Just yesterday I was visiting with a friend about why I’m contemplating leaving my current position. We came to the conclusion that it is very difficult to work for sub-par administrators when there are AMAZING administrators out there that we’d work for in a heartbeat. It is unimaginably difficult for teachers like myself to be connected to people like George Couros, Patrick Larkin, Lyn Hilt, Eric Sheninger, Tony Baldasaro, Chris Wejr, Pam Moran and so many other outstanding and talented administrators because we see how good things could be.<br /><br />This is a snapshot of my reality. I'm sharing this not because I want sympathy, but because it is the reality that many teachers live in. I do not believe that the majority of administrators are ineffective. I think most want to be good leaders, but have just as much on their plates as everyone else in the school. <br /><br />I went from having a principal that believed in shared decision making to one that imposes his beliefs on his staff. We have absolutely no say in the training we receive. We no longer are sought out for our expertise and our opinions are not valued. When my principal is in the building he is hiding out in his office. Strangers enter the building and walk the halls without ever being noticed. There are times that he and I have been the first ones in the building and we pass in the hall. He won’t say good morning or even make eye contact.<br /><br />Your point about focusing on what is best for kids should be obvious, but it isn’t. We have mountains of data that show the changes we made at my school ARE NOT WORKING yet there are no discussions about what we need to do to fix the issues. Students know there are virtually no boundaries and they act accordingly. There are no consequences for their actions.<br /><br />Communication is nonexistent. We don’t meet to discuss anything---ever. In the rare instances when information is shared, it is during informal conversations. That leads to exactly the type of problem you stated. It turns staff member against each other and creates an environment of distrust.<br /><br />I’m far from anti-administrator, but in my case, not having an administrator at all would be better than what we have right now. My coworkers, students, and I desperately need strong leadership. I’m hopeful that we will eventually have that again. To steal Amanda’s words....I want my chocolate back. I don’t want to be a casualty of poor leadership.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-81618623348430246172013-04-21T10:34:31.994-05:002013-04-21T10:34:31.994-05:00I love the idea of term limits. I have gone from t...I love the idea of term limits. I have gone from teaching to administration and back to teaching by choice because I wanted to spend more time with my new baby. I learned a great deal about myself as a teacher and a leader. I had to face some real truths about my role as an administrator and think I would do a lot of things differently if I were to go back into an admin position. That is not something I am looking to do right now because I enjoy being with the kids. I loved my time as an admin, but the kids are the reason I entered the profession. I would encourage anyone in Administration to go back into the classroom for a time. You will learn so much!<br />Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13400406605179072844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-77156206034564440732013-04-21T09:58:06.305-05:002013-04-21T09:58:06.305-05:00I've said this before, and I'll say it aga...I've said this before, and I'll say it again. I think there's great merit in setting "term limits" on administration and requiring every admin to return to the classroom or at least undertake a significant teaching load every few years before cycling back into administration. If we're developing building capacity while we're leading, this shouldn't be much of an issue, because there should be teachers groomed to fulfill administrative roles when these transitions occur. <br /><br />Yes, there are ineffective administrators, and yes, there are ineffective teachers. So what if, instead, we worked on making sure all EDUCATORS in the building served at their highest capacities? I know there are a number of teachers who have said to me, "I would never want your job," and I know there are a number of teaching assignments I would not feel comfortable fulfilling. So what if we targeted 3-5 areas where the educator is passionate, develop those strengths, and also identify areas of need to help ensure they grow professionally, and then as a COLLECTIVE, for the good of the school, make plans to serve our kids in every way possible? Sharing and shifting roles, distributed leadership, collaborative problem solving, modeling and learning from one another. <br /><br />It's not really how traditional schools operate, I get that. But it would help break down the notion that teachers who become administrators have "gone to the dark side." It would help teachers comprehend the often incomprehensible roles and responsibilities school leaders undertake, and it would help principals understand the daily ins and outs of classroom teaching and keep a pulse on what our kids and teachers need. <br /><br />I am leaving administration and going back to being a "teacher," by contract, although most of my time spent teaching will likely be with my peers rather than with students. This will be a challenge because so many of my colleagues will still see me as a former member of administration/the dark side and that will likely impact our working relationship. It's going to be tough to overcome, and that's a shame, considering we're all educators, we're all here to grow, we're all here to serve kids. <br /><br />At least that's the way it should be. <br /><br />Rant over.L. Hilthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06715675068258640106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-8064748699801533642013-04-21T09:21:34.319-05:002013-04-21T09:21:34.319-05:00George and Josh, I am curious how many admin you h...George and Josh, I am curious how many admin you have worked for or with have taken on the role of teacher in the building? I have always been of the belief that admin do themselves a disservice by not teaching in their buildings, and haven't capitalized on an opportunity to be a real instructional leader.<br /><br />What issues do you believe stand in the way of admin doing more teaching in their buildings? Are they outside pressures? Self-induced?<br /><br />Curious as to your thoughts.Devinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12790558061750131015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-77791887770216724902013-04-20T22:02:54.211-05:002013-04-20T22:02:54.211-05:00I'm still craving that chocolate. Like I said ...I'm still craving that chocolate. Like I said last week, good admins are like chocolate, you don't crave it until you don't have any more. I think bad admins really have no idea they aren't. I also think people like George are so good at what they do, they don't realize there is a struggle for others. Yeah bad teachers are going to complain about their bosses but they also aren't going to stick around much longer either. The same holds true for good teachers under the authority of a bad admin. It is so hard to just keep swimming when you are alone without a lifeguard. It's scary being there alone. While there may be other swimmers out there currents will eventually pull them apart without the lifeguard helping them find the right direction. <br />I have a friend that is a principal that I confide in often. He is such a good principal it is hard for to him to imagine there are other schools are ran. <br />I just hope those wanting to lead a school look at each of your suggestions. I think no one sets out not to lead, but get overwhelmed at all the job entails. It's hard to start out not leading then try to take charge. People are like kids, they need leaders, they need structure, they need boundaries. They need chocolate. <br />Amandahttp://upsidedown.edublogs.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-23498851661070883452013-04-20T21:16:31.737-05:002013-04-20T21:16:31.737-05:00I knew you would jump on this... :)
I don't ...I knew you would jump on this... :) <br /><br />I don't think the ratio would be any different between a teacher and admin in terms of poor or great. Honestly, I am not basing this on my own experiences in my building as much as the work I have done with other teachers and administrators alike and hearing their stories and experiences. <br /><br />Your point about poor teachers thinking they have a crummy admin because they are being held accountable is spot on. As you and I have discussed, "poor and great" are often a matter of perspective and context. <br /><br />My intent was actually to highlight the good things these leaders are doing and not at all "bashing" admin. The system is causing teachers and admin alike to slide into mediocrity and we do need courage both in and out of the front office. I think some of the things I mentioned could be the same if you replaced leader for teacher. It is all relative really...Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12252463873478820840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-61222163682524613952013-04-20T21:02:42.856-05:002013-04-20T21:02:42.856-05:00Hey Josh...do you think that the ratio of poor to ...Hey Josh...do you think that the ratio of poor to great administrators is less than the ratio of poor to great teachers? I am curious of your own "sample space". If you had one great admin and one poor one, you might be a little jaded. I know a TON of great administrators and from my experience (albeit in Canada), the are a lot of really good ones. <br /><br />There are some poor teachers that actually think their amazing principal is terrible because they hold them accountable and may make them feel uncomfortable. <br /><br />The system is causing many to become poor; we need "courageous" leadership in many cases to change that system but that comes from teachers and administrators.George Couroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02899723111736759546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-76337238266932191892013-04-19T09:16:48.681-05:002013-04-19T09:16:48.681-05:00Josh,
I could not agree with you more. I have rea...Josh,<br />I could not agree with you more. I have read all three of Dan Pink's books and find so many connections to education. I would have loved to have met him and to have heard him speak. I would really like to chat with you some time about these ideas! All the best. - BradBradley Landshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07495887664158259246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-88725748963665987182013-04-18T09:31:33.799-05:002013-04-18T09:31:33.799-05:00It saddens me that this is so true!It saddens me that this is so true!SandyShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17045142195097746452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-79032541453773148582013-04-15T13:32:06.565-05:002013-04-15T13:32:06.565-05:00Josh, I think you should get together with Mr. Pin...Josh, I think you should get together with Mr. Pink and work with him to write your OWN book on teaching and get it published. Since he would be a colaborator, it could be similar to his "Selling" style, just adjusted to teaching. What do you think?Mike LaDewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-73234509887403055492013-04-14T19:50:24.618-05:002013-04-14T19:50:24.618-05:00Thank you- a teacher who finally makes sense. Alth...Thank you- a teacher who finally makes sense. Although I am skeptical about unlimited retakes, I cannot recount the frustrations I've endured as a student regarding retakes. I failed two math quizzes a day or two after being taught the material (by a teacher trainee, mid you) and making a genuine effort. However, my teacher adamantly refuses to provide a retake and I can't tell if he is too lazy to make one or genuinely doesn't want to provide one.In short, I'm glad to see a teacher with a refreshing view on retakes. I'm sure your students learn--and their grades reflect it.<br /><br />- High school studentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-52030341269657066332013-04-14T18:04:53.369-05:002013-04-14T18:04:53.369-05:00Josh, great post. I, too, am wondering about your ...Josh, great post. I, too, am wondering about your question of scale. Debbie points to regional and local contexts, and I agree that all school change is inherently local. (aka bottom up, not top down) However, I really DO want to scale the types of thoughtful exchanges and interactions about learning that I have everyday. I don't think every educator is taking advantage of being connected and thinking publicly (and deeply) about best practice for kids. If we scale those practices organically, I think all kids would benefit. Make sense?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04686043647509946436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-56069973632819147862013-04-14T13:30:24.172-05:002013-04-14T13:30:24.172-05:00Thanks for your post, Josh! Sounds like a great e...Thanks for your post, Josh! Sounds like a great event. I am especially interested in the answers to question two -- 'regional and local context is everything' and question three -- 'have teachers who want tech apply for it' nothing worse than seeing expensive equipment inadequately used or worse, never used (Though, many of these teachers would have said they wanted it so as not to appear resistant.). Looking forward to more Future@Now posts.DebbieFucohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14948447338339103727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-64358298829515140552013-04-14T13:28:38.444-05:002013-04-14T13:28:38.444-05:00Thanks for your post, Josh! Sounds like a great e...Thanks for your post, Josh! Sounds like a great event. I am especially interested in the answers to question two -- 'regional and local context is everything' and question three -- 'have teachers who want tech apply for it' nothing worse than seeing expensive equipment inadequately used or worse, never used (Though, many of these teachers would have said they wanted it so as not to appear resistant.). Looking forward to more Future@Now posts. DebbieFucohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14948447338339103727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-49700410724033620062013-04-14T07:12:48.159-05:002013-04-14T07:12:48.159-05:00Hey Stump,
Have you seen the Open Letter to Educ...Hey Stump, <br /><br />Have you seen the Open Letter to Educators video on YouTube yet? <br /><br />It makes this same point in a really provocative way. <br /><br />I use it in my Teaching the iGeneration course. Here's the video and the handout that I use to have people reflect on this shift from asymmetry to parity:<br /><br />http://bit.ly/ZYRV24<br /><br />Rock right on, <br />Bill<br /><br />Bill Ferriterhttp://blog.williamferriter.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-57778345423266557692013-04-12T15:09:05.619-05:002013-04-12T15:09:05.619-05:00Mr. Stumpenhorst,
I am Kayla Sandifer a student in...Mr. Stumpenhorst,<br />I am Kayla Sandifer a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabma.I really enjoyed your blog post. These three skills are very important in life and they are veru useful for the teaching world. It is very important to have attunement because you will be communicating with people everyday and you must be able to uderstand each persons point of veiew, especially your students. Not everyone can learn the same and not everyone has the same thoughts on life; this is where your attunement will come in and guide you to help and understand people you come into contact with while teaching. Bouyancy is very important in the field of education because you will not always get the job you wanted or the get the approval for something you think is brilliant to show students. It is all about waiting for the right time and understand rejection is apart of life and with rejection, we must pick up and move on and find another subject or project to tackle. Clarity is very important in teaching because instead of making student memorize the information to just "burp it back"; they need to understand why it is that way. This was a great blog post and I took a lot from it. I hope I convey all of these traits when I teach. Thank you for this informative blog post! Kayla sandiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09894395566804098554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-52456390141432801642013-04-11T14:50:26.092-05:002013-04-11T14:50:26.092-05:00This is largely the same reason that the lecture g...This is largely the same reason that the lecture gained such dominance in education. The population was largely illiterate or had scarce to no access to experts or information. The most efficient way, and at some periods in history, the only way to pass on information was to do so orally. Indeed, this is no longer the case. Information is no longer scarce and expertise is widely distributed and accessible. However, new skills and literacies are required to access them and use them in effective and meaningful ways. So, yes, the dominant model of delivery of information is long overdue to change. We desperately need to switch the concept of "students" to "learners".Steve Ransomhttp://ransomtech.edublogs.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-3239494595975299642013-04-11T08:43:06.820-05:002013-04-11T08:43:06.820-05:00This is a great illustration of this idea. Thanks ...This is a great illustration of this idea. Thanks for sharing. It has me thinking, which is really what we should always be striving for.Roderickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06541646454260264832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-48369470781152511852013-04-11T08:42:13.333-05:002013-04-11T08:42:13.333-05:00Wow. This is really a great example. Thanks for ...Wow. This is really a great example. Thanks for sharing it. It has got me thinking, which is what we should always be striving for.Roderickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06541646454260264832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-5012710218337607282013-04-09T17:17:14.904-05:002013-04-09T17:17:14.904-05:00I agree that the honor roll is bad, but for differ...I agree that the honor roll is bad, but for different reasons. I think it lowers kids' self-esteem. I'm in seventh grade, and the honor roll assemblies have really lowered mine. I know I can never get onto Principal's honor roll, because of PE and math. Those are impossible for me to get A's in, since I am NOT a math person and sports focus on my #2 worst skill- working under pressure (my no. 1 is math-lol).So I can never get onto principal's, but yet I'm not happy unless I do. And 1st quarter, I nearly cried during the assembly because I only got silver (I cry when I'm angry- it's really embarrassing). This quarter, I'm not getting onto any honor roll- I can't wait until that one. It's been really bad for my self-esteem. There are nights when I cry myself to sleep, because I'm such a failure at school because I didn't get onto principal's honor roll. And it's not my parents, either. When I got onto silver, they were like "good job!" and were really encouraging, and now my grades are pretty decent- it's my math grade- a D- that killed me. My parents aren't mad at me for that, because their philosophy is as long as you try your best, it doesn't matter if you get an A or an E, they're still happy with me. <br />Thank you for reading this, and thank you for this post.Hello :)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-51250325381425043852013-04-09T10:48:21.738-05:002013-04-09T10:48:21.738-05:00I've been challenged on this statement a lot a...I've been challenged on this statement a lot and value the pushback. Science Goddess raises a good point. I think this speaks to notion of community as well. I also speak about being a narrative champion. THat means that perhaps those directly involved may not have the means or time to share online but someone should. Perhaps it's a principal or other person in leadership. The point is that great stories and ideas are often shamefully lost because no one shared. Sharing online offers huge affordances that sharing locally can't provide. I argue against those who think they don't need to share when in fact you rob other teachers and students of a great idea because you choose not to. I understand the challenges but as a larger community, surely we can find the right mechanisms to openly share useful practices so that others can benefit. To me, it is a moral issue if we aren't even pursuing online sharing. Dean Shareskihttp://ideasandthoughts.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-44767235921873257272013-04-05T12:05:23.026-05:002013-04-05T12:05:23.026-05:00You made so many great points in this post. I am c...You made so many great points in this post. I am currently an Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama. Quite honestly, I feel I would be extremely more confident about teaching on my own if I had interned for a year under a mentor. I have often worried if I will be prepared to be in charge of my own classroom once I graduate.<br /><br />I also agree with your statement that some student teachers should not be left alone in a classroom. I've yet to start candidacy, but even in my core classes I can spot some of those future teachers that frankly are not cut out for it. This is a complete injustice for their future students. <br /><br />Great post!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08050931492819461741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5398761775627125562.post-83247782621632203262013-04-03T16:22:36.373-05:002013-04-03T16:22:36.373-05:00I really enjoyed reading this post. I completely a...I really enjoyed reading this post. I completely agree with all the points you made, especially the 5th one about failure. Too many kids are sheltered from failure simply because parents don't want their children to fail at anything. However, you can't have success without failure. <br /><br />Great post!<br /><br />Taylor RounsavilleAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08050931492819461741noreply@blogger.com