Always be prepared!
….and we will be having breakfast at the Yacht Club today, I
want some important friends of mine to meet you!
Horror, anxiety, oh NO!!!!
Those were the first thoughts that ran through my mind as
the realization that we WERE eating breakfast at the Yacht Club and I neither have
razor nor an escape hatch! A weekend of
rest and relaxation at grandma’s house at the beach had just turned into a situation
I was not prepared for. It was at that moment
that I realized that, as a good boy scout would have known—you must always be
prepared for any and all challenges that face you!
In education, we too are sometimes caught off guard and surprised
by what is presented to us daily in our classrooms and campuses, but we must ALWAYSS
be prepared for the unexpected.
To meet these surprises (as both an administrator and
teacher) here are the 5 tips that have served me well:
1)
Have a clear system/plan in place that is rigid
enough to be followed to the word, but flexible enough to meet the challenge
you are facing.
·
Teachers: You may have a student in need
or an emergency yourself. Make sure that
you have an “emergency” lesson plan folder in place that has clear instructions
and is easy enough to understand that even a middle school principal can follow!
·
Administrator: Challenges arise each and every day. Some days you may want to accomplish A, B,
and C but when you arrive X, Y, Z is presented to you. Make sure that your entire leadership team
(including co-administrator, secretary, lead teachers, etc.) have been trained
in many different areas and responses, but are also calibrated to your leadership
style and your vision enough that they would know EXACTLY how you would respond
to meet the needs presented.
2)
Have a clear line of communication opened early
and continually update all individuals involved.
·
Teachers: Contact the appropriate school
support as soon as possible so that they are aware of the situation and can
help to support you and respond to your needs appropriately no matter how large
or small the issue. It is amazing the
support and experience that admin can provide to a situation that you have
never faced before.
·
Administrators: In times of challenge, open communication with
frequent updates at all stakeholders is essential. How this communication looks different
depending on the type of challenge you are facing: email, telephone call,
personal note, or even the good ole’ fashioned sit-down-over-a-cup-of-coffee will
minimize the impact of the challenge being faced.
3)
Look at the challenge through a different lens
to try to understand the “WHY” rather than the “WHAT” of a challenge. Many times, we make assumptions respond to
the “what” of a situation before we understand the “why”—and those responses
are VERY different.
·
Teachers:
If there is a student acting out in class and thus they need to be
disciplined (the “what”) before you do so, take a moment to think about why
that response came about. Try to take the
student’s perspective and see if there was something you unintentionally said
or did that was taken wrong by the student.
·
Administrators: As a leader, you are put in a position of
influence with sometimes very little power.
There are mandates from the district, state, teachers, and local
community that you must be aware of. By
trying to understand how each of these key groups see’s the school, how each
group is affected by the decisions you make, and how you can work to get each
group understand and support your vision of the school will anticipate and mitigate unpopular
decisions, help to avoid missteps, and allow for you to understand their needs
and wants more effectively.
4)
Have situational awareness before you respond.
·
Teachers: If a student is acting out in
class, try to find out what is causing that behavior before calling out the
student or punishing them. Many times,
by just pulling a student aside in a “mentor” fashion you will find the root of
their problem and solve it more efficiently than writing them up or sending
them directly to the office, while at the same time, building a relationship
with that student.
·
Administrators: Understanding the long
term effects of a response before your respond to it is what separates
successful and not-so-successful administrators. Keep in mind: Does this further or move
forward the vision of the school , will the possible negatives outweigh the positives,
or does this put important relationships/trust in jeopardy.
And the response to a challenge that has served me best:
5)
How would this look on the front page of the
local newspaper or news broadcast?
·
This one was saved for last for a reason. When faced with challenges (big or small) it
is just as important for Teachers and Administrators to respond in a way that
would be acceptable not only on your campus, but throughout the community you
serve.
Education is full of challenges and we as educators must
have responses ready to meet the spectrum of issues we face (large or small) on
a daily basis.
As for the Yacht Club—not wanting to disappoint Grandma I
went with 3 day old unshaven face showing and proudly explained that it was an
attempt to pay homage to the true mariners and their work on the sea--it all
worked out just fine and grandma was proud!