RLL 41: Lessons from the Beginning of School

Real Life Leading Blog Post #41

Lessons from the Beginning of School

This past Thursday marked the first day of my thirteenth year as a high school teacher, and in those thirteen years, many changes have taken place, both in education and in the rest of life: kids have changed, technology has advanced, my family has changed, etc. Reflecting on these things, I was reminded of two quick thoughts that I wanted to share with you all regarding leadership both in the classroom and outside of it.

First, It is absolutely vital to set expectations early. In my classroom, the first assignment is for the students to write an essay telling me what they hope to get out of the class and telling me a little bit about themselves. We then spend the next forty-five minutes of class going over the rules and procedures (four rules, twenty procedures), detailing what I expect from them: how to enter, how to head papers, how to conduct themselves during class, what they can expect from me, how to exit the room, and everything in between.

Because we go over these expectations early, the students know from the very first day what class will look like and what will be required of them. There is no guess-work about how to do things or how to act. This provides both a structure for the class and stability for the students and for me. If at all possible, in your leadership position, let your team know as soon as possible what the goals and expectations are, so that everyone is on the same page.

Second, I find it is important to believe the best in people while also knowing they will make mistakes. The current group of freshman at my school have long had a negative reputation within the school: loud, obnoxious, disrespectful, lazy, etc. I heard this from multiple teachers, and I'm sure there is some basis for these statements (teachers don't generally lie to each other). However, after reading Bob Burg's book 'The Go-Giver,' and realizing that my job is to help and serve, I realized also that if I go into the year expecting these kids to be awful, then I will see everything they do through that lens. Instead, I also remembered my C.S. Lewis (this is a paraphrase) from 'Mere Christianity': however bad something could be, it also has the potential to be the same amount great.

So I started this year by expecting these kids to be phenomenal. And so far, they have not let me down: they are engaged, they are interested, they show up on time and participate in class, and I'm excited to be teaching a class with such huge potential. Believing the best in them is helping me see the best in them, rather than the reverse. I have found this to be true in other areas as well. Will they be perfect the entire year? Of course not. But I am excited to see just how high their ceiling is, knowing that we've started off in a positive direction. 

I hope these two tips help you out this week, and if so, I'd love to hear about it!

Action Step: Within your team, communicate your expectations, and believe the best in people!

RLL 40--Leadership Lessons from Duke

Real Life Leading 40--Leadership Lessons from Duke

I was richly blessed this summer by getting to spend three weeks on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, helping teach a group of gifted high school students in a class that focused on leadership and international diplomacy. I had a wonderful time, and I learned a lot along the way. Here are a few of the lessons that I want to share with you.

One of my favorite spots in the gardens, because it looks how I imagine the Shire to look

1) Strolling through a garden is good for the soul. Because of where my campus apartment was in relation to our classroom, the quickest route to class each morning was through the Sarah B. Duke Gardens (see pictures here: http://gardens.duke.edu/)  . Most mornings, I wandered leisurely through different areas, surrounded by beauty, while listening to praise and worship music. It helped me begin the day by relaxing and seeing how much beauty there was at hand, and it was a great way to prepare for the more difficult task of helping keep around 100 students on task each day. I know must of us don't get to do this all the time, but I would encourage you to find at least a few moments each morning to appreciate the beauty that is around you: dew on the grass (even if the yard is a bit tall, like mine is right now), birds in the trees, the sun rising over the horizon. Beauty is all around us, if we take the time to see it.

Standing at mid-court inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, a must for any Duke basketball fan to visit

2) In leadership, self-awareness is a must. I wrote about this in a guest blog post for Joseph Lalonde a while back (find the article here: https://www.jmlalonde.com/3-steps-self-awareness-leaders/ ), and I found this to be true at Duke as well. One of the focuses of the leadership portion of the class was to help students, many of whom had never done this before, learn to become more aware of their feelings and desires and impulses, with the goal of having greater control over them. If you've read some of my blog posts in the past, you've probably seen one of my Dad's principles that I've shared before: "You can control your emotions, or you can be controlled by them." For many students, this type of thinking, aimed at helping them to have more control over their decision-making, was eye-opening, and it helped me as well. The truth is that we all have the potential to do things that are both great and terrible. What he choose, how we choose, and how we respond to stimuli are the things that will shape our outcomes; so it makes sense for us to begin by being aware of ourselves first (without also becoming self-focused).

Our instructional team at Duke

3) A great team makes every task easier. I was blessed to be part of a great instructional team at Duke. I learned as much from the instructors as the students did, and I had a great time working with each member of the team. As I was leaving, it dawned on me that, even when the task is difficult (e.g. teaching 100 students for three weeks during the summer, with very little real authority over them in terms of discipline), a great team makes all the difference. Great times can happen by chance, but most of the time they happen by choice: that is, teams choose to be great by working hard to help each other. We picked up each other's slack, we didn't ever blame anyone for shortcomings, and we worked to support each other when we needed it. That was a wonderful experience and lesson to be reminded of, and it's one I hope to continue as I begin my thirteenth year as a classroom teacher this week.

I had an amazing time at Duke and a great summer, and I'm excited to begin a new school year on Thursday! I hope you, the reader, are also excited about whatever the near future holds for you, and I'd love to hear about it!

Action Step: Take 5 minutes today to appreciate some of the "everyday beauty" that is around you, and let it calm your soul.

RLL 37--Lessons from Science Camp

RLL 37--Lessons from Science Camp

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you've had an amazing week filled with watching World Cup games and spending time with your family. Whether you have or not, I hope to encourage you a little bit this morning with three quick things I learned from Science Camp. On Tuesday and Thursday, I and some other teachers had the opportunity to travel a few hours south and help put on a STEM Science Camp, with the focus being on Marine Biology. Here are a few things I learned about leadership from science camp.

Bioluminescent Octopus

1) Kids are kids. The schools we went to this week are definitely some of the more rural and underfunded places that I've been. Having said that, the administration at each school and the students there were incredible: friendly, respectful, and (the students this time, not so much the admin) goofy. Kids are kids, regardless of what type of socioeconomic background they come from.

I was teaching about special adaptations of certain types of marine creatures (ones that glow in the dark, ones with specialized attack abilities, etc.), and we did that by first comparing different adaptations of sports balls, looking at size/shape/covering material/density of soccer, tennis, baseball, golf, football, and basketballs. Kids like to play games, and so to get to toss different balls around the classroom was a lot of fun for everyone. After that, they also understood the concepts of comparing/contrasting different adaptations for the various creatures.

Leafy Seadragon

2) Enthusiasm is key. Remember, these are 7th-12th grade students in a classroom in the middle of June. Not typically a recipe for anyone to have a great day. However, these students were engaged and attentive, especially when I showed enthusiasm for what we were doing. Again, we tossed a tennis ball, I juggled a soccer ball, I let a few of them spin the basketball on their finger, and then we did some more science work. But, as with any leadership venture, when I was enthusiastic, my students were enthusiastic. If I had come in and been dry and boring and monotonous, I can't imagine the students would have really had a great time either.

3) Relationships can begin with just a handshake and a question. First, let me say that I was encouraged by how the administrators at each school related to the students: they were encouraging, they were attentive, and they were genuinely concerned with student well-being. Second, that made me also want to form good, if brief, relationships with these students. As I wrote in my recent book Inverted Leadership, relationships begin to be formed with the first interaction. So for me that meant looking each child in the eye, shaking his/her hand, and then asking them to tell me their names and something important about themselves. Is it standard, bordering on summer-camp/cheesy? Certainly. But it also is genuine, if you look them in the eye and are interested in their answers. And this started us off on the right foot, setting us up for a great day.

Ok, there's three quick thoughts on what I learned at Science Camp. I hope you're able to apply some of these things in your world, whether it's at work, at a VBS this week, or elsewhere! Also, if you haven't yet gotten a copy, be sure to go by Amazon and pick up your copy of Inverted Leadership today! If you have gotten yours, I'd be grateful if you'd go to amazon and leave a review of the book. Thanks!