The first zero wins, three loss weekend of football. The Bears, Huskies, and Seahawks all lost. Three straight days of agony. I’ve got to find another sport; these guys are driving me crazy.
On Friday Connie and I are making a presentation at the fall WSASCD on our teacher leadership learning model. When we responded last spring to the request for proposals we were engaged in the training with teams from all of our schools and also from the Riverview and Snoqualmie School Districts. After we were informed that our proposal was accepted we ran headlong into the budget adjustment process with teacher leadership being one of those programs that was placed on hold. It was a difficult decision for me, but given the circumstances the appropriate one to make.
As I began to think about preparing for our Friday presentation it bothered me that we would be sharing a model and experiences that are not in place this year. I shared my concerns with Connie and she made me understand that it was my call. I decided that it would still be important to share so we will be there on Friday. Amy has agreed to join us to share the Tahoma Middle School experience.
Why did I decide to share? Because I believe that the foundation that we have created to support our Classroom 10 initiative was made possible through this work. As a system, we have put in place mental models and skill sets that support communication and learning environments that engage in change and embrace a focus on the needs of young people. Planning templates, influencer strategies, system thinking, and the capacity to engage in skillful conversations have assisted in this work. We are also transferring much of what we learned to our work with our Ten Tech Teacher Leaders and I was also asked to work with Rock Creek’s leadership team last week and for one additional day. So, we are still doing the work, but in a different context.
Our success with the Classroom 10 initiative will be influenced by our ability to distribute leadership across our system. We need teacher leaders to support their colleagues in this change effort that have the communication skills and the capacities to develop, implement, and assess adult learning opportunities. In many cases they are better positioned to do this work than are those in formal leadership positions. Yes, I’ll share our journey because I believe that others might gain a better understanding of the importance of teacher leaders in ensuring that change sustains over time.
3 comments:
Football getting you down? Give the ladies a try! The Lady Bear soccer team is playing STELLAR ball! And while it might be fashionable to root for the Huskies on this side of the Cascades, try hitching your wagon to a Cougar squad. As of Tuesday the WSU volleyball team, at 13-1 is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation. Then, of course, there's the perennial powerhouse in Tahoma's lady cross country team, also undefeated! The rest of your post? ummm...that stuff is important too...
Hey guys you both did a great job. Thanks for sharing your presentation details here. I like it. I appreciate your work. It inspiring me to create such kind of presentation for my college. I will try to do it. Well it is nice to post here,
I agree that the “planning templates, influencer strategies, system thinking, and the capacity to engage in skillful conversations have assisted in this work”. I spoke to two different coaches this week regarding what it takes to move a team forward and to accomplish shared goals. Both coaches’ answers were influenced by the work that has been done within our school system to move closer to classroom 10 learning. The 1st coach shared his new practice template with me and I was surprised to see that he had basically taken the classroom 10 handout that we all received at THS during our last half day and reworked it so it applied to his basketball practices. Pretty cool stuff!
I was even more impressed the next day when another coach sent me a power point to help me answer the question of “how do we move from good to great?”
During a conversation I had with coach Burnham last week while we were driving kids to Ellensburg for a practice, we identified our athletes’ practice effort and intensity as an area that we would like to improve. During the conversation, Doug pointed out that the technique we teach is good but we had neglected to teach kids how to practice. Three days later I received an email with an awesome power point presentation on Deliberate Practice. The power point presentation is going to help both the wrestling team and a group of student athletes that TD and I are working with this year on leadership and influence skills.
My point is, both the practice plan and power point that the two educators/coaches created were influenced by the “planning templates, influencer strategies, system thinking, and the capacity to engage in skillful conversations” that are a major piece of what makes us Tahoma.
GO BEARS!!!!
cfeist
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