Mr Bass Online

I’ve already written about how Abraham Lincoln approached people and character when it came to his leadership style.  In the next section of Donald Phillips book, he takes a look at Lincoln’s endeavors.  The first chapter in this section is entitled “Exercise a Strong Hand – Be Decisive”.  One thing that I really liked about this chapter is Lincoln’s focus on the overall picture.  As a classroom teacher I had a very narrow view of my professional world.  Yes, I was connected in a number of ways to a number of people, but basically, I was in my room, with my students, teaching my curriculum and observing the inner workings of the district as an outsider.  Because of this, I didn’t have a view of the bigger picture.  I thought I did.  I thought that I knew the goals of the district.  I thought that I had an understanding of how the entire organization worked.  I was wrong.  In my current role I have a completely different view of education as a whole.  I’m not attached to a particular school.  I’m attached to a district.  I have a different perspective and lens through which I view my work.  Lincoln’s view was that “an organization is never wisely sacrificed to avoid losing one or two small parts”.  Schools are part of a system of education and classrooms play an integral role in that system but what happens in the classroom is influenced by the greater system.  The system will break down at times but sacrificing a program or a specific unit in a course of study (I’m learning) is not (usually) a reaction but rather part of the system.  If I go back to the classroom, I hope that this lesson is not lost as I get caught up in the mound of papers and narrow focus of my classroom.

Phillip’s next chapter, “Lead by Being Led”, describes Lincoln’s attitude towards his subordinates.  His was focused on goals and let his people make decision to that end.  When all was said and done, he wanted then to say, “We did this ourselves.”  I remember a number of years ago a Modern Media class that I had just taken over from another teacher.  I had equipment and a very outdated curriculum (the text book was published in 1992 and the year was 2000). So we ditched the textbook and I attempted a more authentic learning environment.  As the projects went on, students wanted to do more and more complex projects that pushed the boundaries of my knowledge and the abilities of our equipment.  I learned a lot, but more importantly, I gave them the ability to try different things and worked with them to find solutions rather than giving them solutions that may or may not have worked.  In many cases, the solutions that they came up with were beyond what I would have come up with.  They were innovative and driven.  The project very quickly became their’s.  I was simply along for the ride.  Every now and then there were ideas that were outside the realm of reality and had to be altered to fit our needs.  What it comes down to is that my student’s led me through this project.  They were the creators of their own knowledge.  It was all very exciting and when they were done, they could absolutely say… “We did this ourselves.”

In chapter 10, “Set Goals and Be Results-Oriented”, Phillips writes of Lincoln’s drive for success.  His goal was to always keep a fire lit under his people.  Being a results-oriented person myself, I understand his desire.  However, what I find amazing for many of the great leaders out there is the stamina it takes to keep that up.  Maybe my focus is in too many places.  Maybe I’m not as driven.  Bottom line, I get tired.  Now, I feel as though I come through on my commitments, but I also have to think about (and get better about) recognizing where my attention goes.  Whenever my attention gets pulled away from a task, I need to ask myself, “Is this the best use of my time?”

Another point from this chapter has to do with a “corporate mission” for a group.  At the beginning of last year the team to which I belong created a mission statement and business plan.  We’re trying to develop a brand of which we can be proud.  I think we’re on the way.  So many organizations (schools) have a mission statement that may or may not have buy-in by all of its members.  I think that many times that’s because the mission is not revisited on a regular basis.  Lincoln continually reminded his people of the overall goal and what it took to get there.  I wonder if a simple regular reminder would increase buy-in of school mission statements.

Chapter 11 is a little more specific to industries outside of education.  Entitled, “Keep Searching Until You Find Your “Grant”,” the chapter outlines the long line of generals that Lincoln gave charge of the Army before finally getting to Grant who eventually won the war for him.  Lincoln didn’t have any predisposition to removing someone who he felt was not working out and not realizing results.  It seems that his decisions were based on results rather than emotion.  In my experience, keeping emotion out of decisions is tremendously difficult to do.  There are always biases and experiences that can cloud judgment.  Lincoln was no different, but he had the courage to take action when he felt he needed to.  This is not to say that he didn’t provide ample opportunities for improvement and support, but time needs to be given to make improvements.  Unfortunately, in the world of education and testing, time is not something that we often have.  Teachers who are new to the profession are put in classrooms and expected to perform immediately because their students must be able to have the same opportunities that students in other classes do.  I haven’t completely focused my thoughts on this (as is probably very evident) so this is a little rambling, but I think there’s a tie in there with the support that teachers in classrooms need to teach their students.

The final chapter in this section is “Encourage Innovation.”  Innovation is abundant in education.  Every day I see classes that are working on new things and solving problems with a completely different outlook.  It’s an exciting time for education with all the possibilities that are out there.  At his METC keynote, Will Richardson said that “We are doing a great job preparing our children for their current reality.”  His point was that we’re not doing a great job preparing them for their future.  He asked whether we teach our kids to write using hypertext and linking to sources around the web.  The answer from the audience was basically, “no, we are not.” But, for the most part, everyone agreed that they will probably write using hypertext at some point in their future.   How will they know how to use hypertext in their writing?  If we’re not teaching them these skills, do they just figure them out for themselves?  Lincoln looked for leaders he could learn from and who would find innovative solutions to problems.  Can we teach innovation to our students?  Maybe, can we give them opportunities to be innovative and to solve problems? Absolutely, but only if we allow them to move beyond the five-paragraph essay and give them some control over the criteria of assignments.

As I continue working through my PGP and reading Lincoln on Leadership, I continue to reflect on ways that I can use some of his techniques in my work.

Part 2 – Character

In my first post I wrote about Phillips description of Lincoln’s dealings with people. The second part of the book addresses Lincoln’s character. Since I first heard about Lincoln in elementary school his nickname, “Honest Abe”, has been one of the first things that I think about when I hear his name. This part of the book is broken up into three chapters:

• Honesty and Integrity Are the Best Policies
• Never Act Out of Vengeance or Spite
• Have the Courage to Handle Unjust Criticism
• Be a Master of Paradox

The first section, Honesty and Integrity Are the Best Policies, was an interesting and one that could be used to help students as they struggle to find themselves and determine what they actually believe. One of the principles that I continue to struggle with has to do with who you stand by and when you stand by them. According to Phillips, Lincoln believed that you should “stand with anybody who stands right. Stand with him with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.” For so many of the kids that I have taught in the past, loyalty is everything. It’s not a matter of whether one’s actions are right, it’s a matter of standing up for someone rather than for a cause. Truly, I find this one to be tough. Loyalty is important, but shouldn’t what’s right still come first as we leave the realm of adolescence.

The other principle from this section that I really liked was, “When you make it to the top, turn and reach down for the person behind you.” In education the top is different for everyone, but the principle remains the same. When a “level” is reached, it’s your responsibility to help the person behind you to reach that same level. As teachers, we strive to help our students. However, could we teach this principle to our students? What if, when they reached a level, they helped those around them until everyone came up to that level? What a community you would have. My Personal Learning Network (PLN) works that way for me. When someone learns something, typically they will share their learning. If it’s something that I need or want to know or be familiar with, there has not been a single time that I’ve asked that I wasn’t pleasantly rewarded with assistance. Usually, they go above and beyond. I, in turn, try to do the same thing. If students took on this attitude, education might look completely different.

The next chapter of the book, “Never Act Out of Vengeance or Spite” is one that should really hit home with educators. I remember a day in my classroom in which there all students were taking a quiz when suddenly a fight broke out between two boys without, to my knowledge, any provocation from either one. I was shocked, amazed and in awe that this was actually happening in my room. With the help of some other students we broke up the fight (which ended up being over a girl) and I marched them down to the principal’s office. I didn’t ask what caused it. I didn’t care at that point. I was angry, disappointed and embarrassed.

How many times have I graded a paper and been tempted to grade that essay just a little bit harder based on the behavior of a student. Yes, it’s wrong. Yes, it’s vengeful. Yes, I’m a professional and am pleased to say that I worked very hard to not let those feelings affect the grades my students earned. The key here is that students are earning these grades and I have no right to impose my will on those grades based on their behaviors. Educators are human and it’s hard to leave that frustration behind, but if we don’t, there are two problems – our actions are wrong and we’re modeling behaviors the same behaviors that we’re trying to keep our student’s from displaying.

“Have the Courage to Handle Unjust Criticism” is the title of chapter three. Not surprisingly, this should ring true for the entire education community. It seems that as teachers we are being criticized from nearly all sides these days. Obviously this is an extreme generalization, but we all have days that we feel that way. When Lincoln felt that he was unjustly criticized and he felt that he must respond, he would write a letter to the person or persons being critical and express his side of the story. However, rarely, if ever, were these letters sent. It was therapeutic for him. In his mind, his actions and reputation spoke for themselves and by responding to criticism that was unjust he was just perpetuating the misunderstanding. He had faith in his values and allowed them to guide his actions. Hopefully I’ll be able to remember that the next time I feel as though educators are being criticized by those who aren’t part of our world. I’m sure I’ll have that opportunity very soon.

The last chapter of the “Character” section is entitled “Be a Master of Paradox”. There are lessons in this chapter for the educator too but I think they are a little more cryptic. So many times I feel as though I’m walking a tightrope in which I can see the big picture in my district while at the same time I can see how that big picture gets interpreted by individuals. There’s always a little disconnect between administration and teachers, but, the biggest thing I’ve learned since I’ve been out of the classroom is that the principal is truly the educational leader in each building. They set the tone and interpret that big picture. I guess I always kind of knew that, but until I traveled between schools and saw the way different administrators ran their schools, I didn’t really understand how true that was.

Thus far, my experience with Lincoln On Leadership has been a good one. I’ve learned a little about Lincoln a little about leadership and have gotten a lot to think about.