Principles of Principals

In the past week we've received several emails and phone messages from the school districts where our children attend. The pendulum swings from one side to the other, often within 24 hours.  If you're like us, head scratching, teeth grinding, and confusion swarms what might have otherwise been a normal day. But, these days are anything but normal. As our girls shed tears about the loss of connection around their friends and teachers, cancelled sports, postponed extra-curricular and arts programs, we try to find solutions to these challenges. First, let me unequivocally say that I do not, nor will I ever, apologize for working for and acquiring the resources to support my family. It has never been, nor do I expect it to be, easy (whatever that means). I only know that it is worth it. I know that it is my responsibility as a father, and I do the best that I am able under the circumstances. Here are seven point five ideas for parents who have students who are forced by unelected o...

As a child, I was often deployed to spend my summers on ranches near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Before you say, "Oh wow! That place is beautiful!", which by the way it is, understand that this was very much a working vacation .  I love my family. I loved my time on the ranches. I was outside. I was free. I learned by doing. I was tutored by experts who cared deeply about me and about the work. The ranch and the animals treated everyone equally . There was diversity of experience and life. We were all included in the tasks. My grandpa's sister, Eula, kept sheep. Lots of them. This day was my day to help, while the others cut, raked, and bailed hay. One day while we were riding around in the flat bed Chevy, checking irrigation and fence, as we headed back to the pens, she was telling me about how she knew each of her sheep by their voice. I was inwardly incredulous, as they all sounded alike, echoing one another with their baa-ing. As we wound our way up the dirt road tow...

On Evolving Leadership Styles in Education, Then and Now In 1936, Kurt Lewin published Principles of Topological Psychology .   In this seminal work, he posited the heuristic equation B = f(P, E) where B is denoted as a person’s behavior as a function of P, or a person ’s E, meaning environment .   The pioneering formula gave rise to the notion that an individual’s present situation was gravely important when considering their behaviors, more so than one’s past.   When Dr. Lewin and his colleagues wrote on patterns of aggressive behavior and used elementary-aged student groups for analysis, it may be beneficial to consider the present circumstances of those children’s lives and the lives of the authors and how it informed their behaviors during the experimentation, documentation and publication of the results.   This will advise both the revolutionary notions they put forward, and the between-war industrialization of the world’s major powers.   I...

Today, I'm having a conversation with Mr. Jon Gentile of Educational Wingman . Jon is a gifted school leader with an uncanny sense of how to build trust. Many of us have similar stories of being thrust into roles for which we are wholly untrained, sometimes unprepared. It forces us to call upon a well spring of raw talent, to sink or to swim. Jon pulled several Michael Phelps-esque performances that still impact school communities by virtue of the the cultures he built. Unconventional. Brash. Sometimes a lot like a bucket of ice cold water in the face, albeit on a hot summer day, Jon brings love to the equation. Love for potential, for people. Jon : Dr. J, you asked me for possibly three scenarios, so lets see if I can separate.  But I’m going to start with what I call my Big Picture : First, let me talk about my  fundamental key points on relationships ;  Be genuine. I know who I am, I am loyal to my sense of self.  I am aware of gaps in my a...

(image courtesy of fineartamerica.com) Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) comes in waves that distract and confuse me. I don't think much of myself, but when I do, I think that I should not be so afraid based on my life's experiences, my education, and my beliefs. But, I am, afraid. Sometimes. A lot. In the epic sci-fi novel, Dune, by Frank Herbert, we witness Paul Atreides enduring a mental test at the hands of a Bene-Gesserit as he chants to himself, "Fear is the mind-killer, I shall not fear." He passes, shattering the expectations of his teachers. I believe that we all share varying levels of VUCA in our daily lives. I was talking with my daughter yesterday, and in the past 72 hours her start date for school has been moved twice. Moreover, her district has cancelled Band and Football, and may cancel her Badminton season (no joke, they have Badminton and are a state-wide competitive team). She's frustrated and afraid. Online lear...

I'd taken a post in a large unified school district north of Phoenix, Arizona, in a primarily middle class K-8 elementary school. As the newly minted Assistant Principal, I'd established my career understanding how to mitigate and manage behavioral crisis in classrooms - this particular campus housed a self-contained program for Emotionally Disabled students - and they hoped to lean on my so called expertise. Mid-way through the year, and in context of dealing with most of the code of conduct issues across campus, I got to know a group of students for whom navigating school structure was complicated. One student in particular was often in my office for increasingly physically violent actions - hitting a female student in the side of the head with a basketball - and I was working closely with his family and teachers to support rapid changes. It heightened my anxiety around school safety, and stressed my awareness. Cafeteria duty was part of my routine, not my favorite, but...