The Power of Teachers

This weekend, I went back to my hometown for the funeral of a family friend. I saw my elementary PE teacher, my middle school art teacher, former students, former students' parents, and colleagues from my first teaching position. As I talked with people who had meant so much to me throughout my growing up and early years of teaching, I thought about the power of teachers to impact, influence, and encourage the trajectory of individual lives, families, and the community.

I grew up in a small town. The school is the center of the community - providing support, social interaction, encouragement, and a sense of safety for students and their families. My first teaching job was in the small town where I grew up. Many of the teachers who had been my teachers in school became my colleagues. I realized that teaching was a calling for these amazing teachers. They were unbelievably dedicated - not because they were paid to be, but because of their belief in the students and the future of their community. They saw limitless possibilities in their students and went above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of their students and their families. They gave countless hours before and after school without compensation to run clubs, have play rehearsal, volunteer at sporting events, or tutor students with homework.

Main Street in the small town where I grew up and began my teaching career.

When I began teaching in urban schools, I realized that there were many connections between rural and urban teaching. The most important similarity is that students, families, and the community need dedicated teachers who are willing to go above and beyond. Even if the schools that we teach in are dramatically different from those we grew up in, we must bring the same level of commitment and dedication to our students as we want from the teachers of our own children - like what I experienced in that small town.

Teachers have incredible power to impact lives and to change the outcome for so many students. I often write about the power of belief because it has been so important to me personally and I have seen it make a difference in the lives of the students I teach. If the message that we give our students is "I believe in you and I will be there for you no matter what," then they start to believe in themselves - they start to see themselves through our eyes. But that takes time and commitment. In urban schools, the trust is so thin. You must build trust with students through consistency - in terms of belief, follow through, and expectations. Too many people have already let our urban youth down - we must recognize that the power that we have to change lives can go both ways. Our words, our actions, and our messaging must always underscore that we have unconditional belief in our students' future - that is what will truly change our communities.

I love the message in this poem by Taylor Mali. He shares why he teaches - what makes him restart every day. All of the political undertones of education - APPR, Receivership, Turnaround, accountability, funding shortages, curriculum shifts, common core, or the cornucopia of letters that identify new programs and new guidelines - none of that is as important as knowing that we have the power to change lives each and every day in our classrooms. I didn't become an athlete or an artist, but I know that my elementary PE teacher and my middle school art teacher believed in me. And when I shared with them this weekend that I am now a principal of an elementary school in an urban district, I could tell that they still believed in me. That power of a teacher - powerful, powerful stuff.

How do your beliefs reflect your actions?

Last year when I was interviewing for my position as a turnaround principal, I was asked if there was anything that I was willing to be fired for (I am paraphrasing). My answer surprised me - although I certainly wouldn't want to be fired for my beliefs and I would certainly hope that we could come to an agreement about what was right for children, the bottom line for me is what I believe is right for children and I would not compromise for that. I would actually be okay if that meant I got fired for what was right for kids. I had colleagues who were shocked when I shared this with them. They had more of a "step in line and do what you are told" philosophy. Please do not get from this that I am a rebel or that I am disrespectful, but I am outspoken about what I believe in and I will work very hard to try and come to a place where we can connect all sides in order to move forward. I think that a turnaround leader has to go against the grain - you are often swimming upstream and quite often alone. You cannot have a pack mentality. But at the same time, you must clearly be able to connect to the vision and the work of the larger system. I call that "touching the box." I don't live inside "the box" where people wait to be told what to do, but I am not so far outside of "the box" that I cannot relate - I "touch the box." I think creatively, but I apply that creativity to the concepts that we are all working on.

This past week, we started a book talk using Debbie Miller's book Teaching with Intention. The first section focuses on defining beliefs and aligning practices. I loved this, because it gave us an opportunity to really think about what we believe in and give some reflection to the question of "why isn't it in place?" For me as a leader, I have to really think about what I need to do, in messaging, in scheduling, in resources, or in training to be able to give my talented teachers what they need to build the classrooms that support their beliefs. I have built a team of teachers who all have the belief structures and talent to move our students to the 85% proficiency that we are charged with achieving. They believe in the work and the students. As I came away from session one of our book talk, I was inspired again to hear them talk about how they want to create classroom structures that will support literacy and learning in a warm and inviting community. They are already thinking ahead to next year and what they will need to adjust in their thinking to make their beliefs match their learning environment. They inspire me. They push me. They challenge me to be a better leader. I have 800 students and 100 adults that need me to have my actions matching my beliefs every single day.

Debbie Miller challenges us to take stock of our classroom (in my case, my school) and write or draw about what we like or what's working and what bothers you most. She says it is powerful to ask a friend or a colleague to look at your space and give you feedback about "What do you know I value (based on what you see)?" "What do you know about my beliefs in teaching and learning based on what you see? What is the evidence? What do you know I believe about kids based on what you see?" (Miller, Debbie, Teaching with Intention, 2008, p. 30). What feedback do you think you would get? Would it align with your beliefs? If not, what is stopping you from changing it? If your actions or your learning environment do not match your beliefs, then change it. It's hard work, absolutely. But so is putting out the daily fires of having a system that doesn't connect.