Preparing the Next Generation of Our Workforce: A Middle School Principal's Passion to Activate, Inspire, and Lead Youngsters into Their Car

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,
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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.
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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortez. In our program,
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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and
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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five. It's working
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on purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortez. Welcome back to
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Working on Purpose. Thanks for tuning
in again this week. I'm your host,
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Elise Cortez, Johnie from Dallas,
Texas, which is home base for
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me. This program is all about
helping people more meaningfully and productively connect with
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their work and equipping organizations do the
same for their employees. It was originally
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inspired by the meeting and work research
I've been doing over the last fifteen years
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and now compliments the work that I
do at Insignium, which is a global
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management consulting firm. Let me thank
my meta partner and sponsor first jobbing dot
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com. They are the leading locally
focused jobboard in the nation and are dedicated
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helping employers find quality talent in their
own backyard and giving job stickers control over
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their search so they can find work
close to home. Great partnership. Thank
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you jobbing dot Com. Last week, if you missed the show live,
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you can catch an on podcast.
We were on the air with Martha Parker,
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who was president of m Urge,
a corporate wellness and management firm based
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in Houston, Texas. She technically
supports customers by offering ergonomic assistance in design,
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redesign, and retrofit of new and
existing office in industrial workspaces. We've
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talked about her field of ergonomics,
the four ms she addresses in the work
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she does. Now she works with
her clients to improve the comfort and productivity
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of their work. I learned a
ton from her. With us this week
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is Evan Robb, who is the
principal of Johnson Williams Middle School in Berryville,
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Virginia. He's the author of the
Principal's Leadership sourcebook, Practices, Tools
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and Strategies for building a Thriving School
Community, and also maintains a blog called
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the Rob Review Blog. He joins
us to day from Winchester, Virginia.
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Principal Rob, Welcome to working on
purpose. At least, I am so
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excited to be here this evening.
I'm please feel free to call me Evan.
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Okay, we'll do absolutely excited how
we you know, we connected through
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social media, and so I'm excited
to talk about how social media has been
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a tremendous influence on me and helped
me further define what working working for purpose
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means to me as a principal but
also as a person. I love it.
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I absolutely love it, Evan.
Yes, I'm tickled pink that we've
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found each other on Twitter, and
we also have a friend in common.
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Mary. What's Mary's last name?
Doctor Mary Howard? Doctor Mary Howard.
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Yes, give a shout out to
her. She's fantastic. So, speaking
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of shout outs, here, would
you just give us a quick introduction of
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yourself and sketch your early career beginning
as a teacher. I wist liked to
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give our listeners a little bit of
context for who's speaking to them. I
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will do that, and you know, tonight, what I'd like to do
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is kind of frame up I'm hoping
that. I'm sure some people may be
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interested in me talking from a principal's
perspective, but I will try to broaden
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things and really focus around leadership and
the choices that we make those of us
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who are in leadership positions to be
a positive influence for people who are around
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us and encourage people to be excited
and committed and passionate about the work that
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they do. I started in education
back in the very very early nineteen nineties,
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and I started as a teacher.
I actually started as a teacher in
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the school where I am currently principal, and I worked as an English teacher,
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a history teacher, a team leader, a department chair, and had
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a wonderful experience at Johnson William's Middle
School in the early to mid nineteen nineties.
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And the Clark is a small county, and so I needed to seek
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some opportunities elsewhere. In nineteen ninety
eight, I went to Warren County,
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which is a neighboring county to where
I currently work, and I served as
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principal of a junior high school there
through two thousand four, and at that
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time I had an opportunity to apply
and return back to Clark County, and
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in July two thousand and four,
I became principal of the building where I
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began my teaching career, and I
have been principal there ever since. You
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know, one interesting little fact about
the school where I'm principal of. The
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school where'm principal of has only had
two principles since nineteen ninety six, and
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that is a very very rare thing
in our business. Certainly, it's a
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business where a lot of turnover and
people are not in jobs that that long.
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But I and my predecessor have been
able to have long careers in Clark
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County. We've enjoyed it very much. I can actually tell just listening to
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your voice. I've been just listen
to all talk about it. They absolutely
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love education, you know. And
along the way, I've had some really
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exciting opportunities. You know, I
have had the opportunity to write a book.
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I've had opportunities to speak all across
the country. I speak about goal
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setting and team building and leadership and
and again the personal choices that we make
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in leadership positions to be positive influence
for people about how to build commitment versus
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using position authority for compliance. And
also ultimately I'm finding ways to adopt the
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growth mindset into what I do and
the people that I work with. But
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like many people who I'm sure have
been on your show, I am very
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fortunate because I have had many people
who have been an incredible influence to me
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along the way, to help me
as I have moved through my career.
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My number one influence would be my
mother, who I believe as listening tonight,
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my absolutely hey mom, who never
give up on me and always push
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me to to be what she thought
that I could be. And because of
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her and many other people who I've
known throughout my life, I'm including my
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life and I would certainly say something
give a shout out to my wife.
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I've had a lot of great support
along the way to achieve the goals that
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I've chief professionally. So important.
It is so important to have that kind
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of support and cheer section. But
why education, Evan, You chose a
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career in education, Why that field
and how did it come about? I
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took a I took an interesting route
to my career in education. I think
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that when I was growing up,
Lisa spent I spent a lot of time
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trying to resist that as my calling. My mother had been a teacher and
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still is. My father was a
teacher and a college professor. And when
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I went through college, I decided
to go into business, and I actually
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went through a graduate program, an
NBA program, thinking that I was going
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to pursue a career in business,
and then decided, probably when I was
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just about done with that program,
that that was not for me. I
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was actually I realized I had this
sort of kids met moment that education is
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where I need to be in education
is what I want to do. And
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I think one of the influences for
me, although as a reflect on it,
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I don't think I knew it when
I was in my graduate program.
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But in my graduate program believe a'ren
an MBA program, I came into contact
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with several professors who were huge advocates, although they may not have known it.
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Of the growth mindset. I encountered
people who had incredible faith in me
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and encouraged me to be something that
I may not have thought that I could
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be. And I also encounter people
who were very supportive of me choosing a
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different direction over business and actually choosing
education. So I made a decision back
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in the very very early nineteen nineties
to pack up my MBA and pursue my
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teaching endorsement, and I've never looked
back since then. Of course, ever
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made I love that, you know, I have to ask those kind of
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questions because I've been researching up people
discover a career and find meaning in it
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for years, so I couldn't resist
fantastic response to I'm not surprised. There's
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such an element of passion in what
you do, and the fact that you
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went from business at an NBA program
to becoming an English and history teacher is
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fascinating. Yeah, it was.
It was. It was an interesting turn,
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but again it proved to be the
best thing that I ever did.
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But I learned so much in my
business program about really more about myself and
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about my capabilities and and realize,
you know, ultimately, of course,
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that that education was where I needed
to be and I've been there ever since.
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Well, I think that all of
your students can can thank you for
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that. So I'm I'm always curious
when I think about You've clearly made an
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impact in your field, Evan.
You clearly are. You're blazing a trail.
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So I'm interested to understand what problems
are you most interested in a dressing
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and education today and why. Yeah, that's a great question, and it's
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something I think about a lot and
something that I work with my team on
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it lot. You know, one
of the things, and this would apply
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just not of course the education,
but to anyone who's in a leadership position.
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Is I am a big believer in
working with my team and problem solving
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together. I have a long since
let go of the of the weight that
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I could carry on my shoulders of
varying responsibility for every single decision that's made
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within an organization. And I know
at least that you're interested in strength Finder
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and helping people kind of focus in
on their areas of strength and how that
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can help build an effective team.
And I've read that about You're really interesting
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and actually in my school, we've
done the strength Finder assessment with our leadership
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team to get better understanding of our
strength and what we each can bring to
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the table. So everything that I
talk about is all because I have really
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great super people that work with me. And I have a lot of people
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that work with me who have skills
that I do not have, but I
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am fortunate to have them with me, and together we all make a fantast
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team. But back to your question
about the things that I really think about
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when I think about education today and
the trends that are happening in education,
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there are a few things that come
to my mind in number one. I'm
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extremely interested in equity and opportunity for
students. Big disparities across our country between
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areas that are wealthy in areas that
are that are not, and I am
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incredibly committed to trying to level that
playing field for students because I am have
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always been such a believer that education
is the pathway that helps students achieve any
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goals that they want as they head
off into life. I'm also very passionate
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about technology, as you might know, because we met through social media,
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which of course is as a technology
and medium that sees a lot within schools
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also but very interesting transformative technology.
I talk about that a lot with my
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staff and we work on that a
lot, focusing on how technology in schools
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can trans form the way that we
do business, so thinking different instead of
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thinking about inserting technology to take the
place of something. As an example,
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there are lots of apps that allow
a teacher to do a jeopardy game or
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something like that within the classroom through
technology, and it's no different than the
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same game that I had. But
when I look at Google and Google platforms
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and I see how people can connect
and access technology from anywhere in the world.
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I see that as incredibly transformative and
something that I'm very very passionate about.
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I do believe that in the day
and age that we live in now,
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a great teacher will not be defined
solely by their use of technology,
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but every great educator will effectively use
technology. And that's an interesting thing to
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think about, and it represents a
big shift that's going on in our business
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of education right now, and it's
very very exciting. I am also really
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really interested in how to create environments
that are creative and dynamic for students and
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staff, and looking at the environments
that we have within schools differently, A
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lot of in schools are different than
any other organizations, A lot of them,
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A lot of businesses, and a
lot of a lot of schools do
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things because it's the way that they've
always done them. And one of the
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things that I'm really passionate about is
taking an honest look at the practices that
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we have within schools and looking at
them honestly and asking some tough questions.
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Many of them absolutely are great and
certainly worth carrying on, but I think
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there are other practices that exist within
schools and organizations that need to be looked
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at and maybe their time has come. I think that one of the things
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that I've often talk to staff about
is that we all carry sometimes aligness is
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blanket. If you're a fan of
peanuts, he would carry his blanket with
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him everywhere and never let go of
it. Sometimes we do need to let
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go of those things, and when
we let go of those things, we
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have a really much better chance to
find the personal greatness that's inside of us.
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And I think at the end of
the day, I am incredibly interested
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in developing greatness and people around me, and of course providing opportunities for students.
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It just seeps through every tone of
your voice. Ivan, for sure,
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there is so much. Yeah,
there's so much you said there.
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But I just want to grab one
thing really quick before I go onto the
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next thing I want to get from
you, and that is you mentioned you
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giving up some of these long held
practices. Can you give us maybe one
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example of a practice do you think
that really needs to be examined and considered
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to be let go of? Absolutely? Absolutely. Well, I'm going to
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give you two. I'm going to
make the first one really short, then
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the second one will be a little
bit longer. I think extra credit is
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something that that schools need to take
a really good look at. When my
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own children were in school, I
remember that they could bring in lots of
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boxes of shoes and get extra points
added to their tests when they take a
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test. But the extra points that
they would learned from bringing in tissues were
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not necessarily giving a good indication of
their learning. And I think that's a
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practice that needs to be looked at, and I commend my staff. I'm
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so proud of my staff because we
had tough conversations about that and we have
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let go of that blanket that certainly
some people have held over time. The
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other thing that I think needs to
be looked at with their education is grading.
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And of course, you know,
since you and I met on social
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media, I thought it would be
really cool tonight if I talked about people
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that I've connected with through social media
and how I've learned from them. I'm
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kind to integrate into our conversation.
So a couple of people that I've learned
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a lot from on social media is
Rick Wormeli and Tom Gusky, and they've
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done some amazing work on grading and
really get people to think differently about grading
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and shake up the paradigm about grading. I think that grading in schools at
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times can become a chase for point
accumulation, and sometimes students are more motivated
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to achieve points than they are to
learn. And I think it's a really
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interesting conversation that schools can go through, which is how do we make that
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shift, how do we encourage students
who are who are so focused on the
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grade to take more risks than they're
learning in a safe way. And that's
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a big conversation. I know,
it's more than the scope of our of
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our chat tonight. That's certainly something
that is very valuable to talk about something
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I've been talking about with my staff
for a long time. I mean,
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we're making good inroads in that.
I really appreciate both of those points,
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and those are phenomenal, and I'm
glad that I was that you were able
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to just kind of give us some
particulars on how you would think to change
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some of the status quo or long
held traditions. Beautiful, Oh my gosh.
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And I also appreciate that you shared
a couple of people that you learn
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from who you found on social media, because I know that's one of your
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big things is using technology and also
using using social media to connect with students
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and parents. So what a gorgeous
example. We only have a couple of
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minutes for we need to go on
on our first break here, but I
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want to start with a little bit
about this whole notion about your interest in
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promoting a growth mindset among both your
students and also your faculty. Will you
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say a little bit about why that's
important to you, How did you discover
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it, why is it important to
you? And we'll probably continue the conversation
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after the break, but at least
start us off. Yeah, that's that's
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fantastic, you know, to frame
up for our listeners who may not know
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about that. There's there's really three
kinds of mindsets. A fixed mindset is
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the mindset that most of most people
grew up with when when they went through
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education, and that certainly did and
I can speak more to that if we
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have some time a little bit later. Fixed mindset means I will make those
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determinations made about what I can do
and what I cannot do. I'm a
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typically surface in the surfaces in the
ear of mathematics, where you're often here
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kids or families say well, you
know, I can't do math. No
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into my family could ever do math
now. A growth mindset is based off
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of the work of Carol Dwick from
Stanford. It's fascinating and it has to
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do with a mindset of you know, I'm not good at math, but
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with a lot of help and a
lot of support and a lot of practice,
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and with people that believe in me, I can do math now.
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The next level, which I find
very interesting, is based off of the
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work of George Corros who I also
connected with through Twitter, and that would
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be the innovator's mindset, which is
an extension on the work of Carol Dwick.
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Where you're saying, with practice,
I can create a growth mindset would
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be with practice, I can learn
how to play the piano, even though
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I'm not naturally good at the piano. With lessons I can I can stick
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to it, and I can learn
how to play the piano and apply an
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innovator's mindset to that. You would
say, not only can I learn how
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to play the piano with practice and
support, but I can create music that
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is gorgeous and a perfect way to
cue us up for the break. So
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hold is your thought for the next
bed here? I want to die more
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into that. I'm your host,
Elise Cortez. We've been on the air
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with Evan rob who is the principle
of Johnson Williams Middle School in Berryville,
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Virginia. He's the author of the
Principal's Leadership sourcebook, Practices, Tools and
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Strategies for building a Thriving School Community. He joins it today from Winchester,
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Virginia. We've been talking about his
early career, why he got into education,
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what he sees needs to be changed. After the break will dive more
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into the growth mindset and some other
other areas that he's working on with his
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students. Stay with us Friend us
on Facebook to keep up with what's empowering
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the world. Voice America Empowerment Elie
Cortez is a speaker and engagement and development
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catalyst. She designs and delivers professional
development, leadership and engagement workshops and can
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bring her expertise to your organization.
She will help ignite meaningful development within your
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workforce that will increase employee engagement,
performance and retention. To learn more or
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to invite a lease to speak to
your organization, please visit her at www
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dot Elise Cortez dot com. She
would welcome the opportunity to help get your
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employees working on purpose. Have you
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Just go to Facebook dot com,
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dot com, forward slash Voice America
or search for Voice America. It's your
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world. Motivate, change, succeed, Voice America Empowerment dot com. This
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is Working on Purpose with Elise Cortez. To reach our program today, please
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call in to one triple eight three
four six nine one four one. Again
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that's one triple eight three four six
nine one four one. You may also
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send an email to Elise ali Se
at Elise Cortez dot com. Now back
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to Working on Purpose. Thanks for
staying with us, and welcome back to
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working on Purpose. If you're just
joining us. My guests. Principal Evan
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rob of Johnson William's Middle School.
He speaks across the country on leadership and
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the effective principle, how to improve
literacy in schools, the digital digital teams,
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and the impact of culture and positivity
on work. He enjoys authoring his
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blog called the Rob Review Blog.
I'm your host to Elice court Has so
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just before the break, Principal Rob, I know that you asked me to
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call you evanbo. I'll go back
and forth just for fun. We were
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talking about the growth mindset and you
help us understand the innovator's mindset. So
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I'm interested to understand what you think
the role of efficacy and collective efficacy is
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in contributing to the innovator mindset or
the growth mindset, either one. You
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know, I'm so excited about our
conversation tonight, Alice and efficacy and collective
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efficacy that they totally intertwine. Growth
mindset is the mindset that a student can
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have in a classroom if conditions are
set up within the school for that to
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happen. And part of the way
that that happens has to do with the
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belief systems that teachers have about students
that are in their classroom. But I
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would also say this totally connects to
any organization where people want to optimize and
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get the absolute best out of people. Efficacy is simply the belief that a
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person has that they can make a
difference for someone else. In education,
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that means the faith of a teacher
in the students that are before them.
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Collective efficacy is very powerful because that
has to do with the vibe or the
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feeling within the entire organization and how
the organization focuses and believes in the students
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that are there. In the case
of the school. A lot of this
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is based off of some really interesting
research by John Hattie out of New Zealand
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and also by Peter DeWitt On,
both of who I've also connected with on
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Twitter. And John Hatty's research would
actually say that the number one thing that
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makes it makes a real difference for
students within the school is the efficacy that
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a teacher brings into the classroom when
they work day in and day out with
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the students that are in front of
them. It is an incredibly powerful thing
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and it has a really strong effect
because when teachers believe that they can make
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an impact on kids, it coincides
beautifully with the growth mindset, because people
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who have a fixed mindset do not
believe that everyone can get it. Fixed
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mindset would lead people to believe into
the sorting and selecting mechanisms that many of
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us experienced when we went through school, whether it was the Bluebird group,
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when you were a little kid in
elementary school, which was the high reading
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group, or you were in the
higher the low reading group, or when
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determinations were made when you were in
high school about where you could go after
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high school. So I'm a big
champion, always been a big champion of
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bringing in people and making sure that
we're developing people that have a high degree
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of personal efficacy when they work with
kids. And I would say that when
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schools, and I think anyone who's
listening to this is a principle would agree
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with me. You know, when
the question always comes up with you know,
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what do you look for when you're
hiring teachers to come into a building,
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When you're looking for people that have
content knowledge, that have great pedagogical
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skills, that have a growth bond
set, that have a really really high
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degree of efficacy, and also people
that get what Eric Scheneger, who's another
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person I connected with through Twitter,
would call the three hours of education,
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which is relationships, Relationships and relationships. Those things are in place, magic
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can happen in a classroom. Oh
my gosh, this is just brilliant to
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listen to you talk. This is
right up my alley. All no wonder
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we connected immediately as we did on
Twitter. I just I get your vibe.
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I appreciate your perspective, your passion, and I'm aligned on these things.
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So one of the things that we
talked about while we're on break is
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talking a little bit more about how
what you've been talking about relates to some
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of these this limited perspective and belief
that we have about math in this nation.
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Will you say a little bit more
about that. I will. I
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think that you know. And this
is this is me talking from some of
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the things that I'm incredibly passionate about. I believe that algebra is a gateway
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course for students and opens up opportunities
not only for advanced math in high school,
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but there is certainly recent search that
points to students who successfully take algebra
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in schools that they pursue higher level
of mathematics and in many cases pursue education
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after high school. So I think
it's very important that schools make a commitment
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to helping students learn and master algebra, but also all mathematics. But I
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can think of no other subject when
I think about subjects that occur in school
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that are more entrenched in a fixed
mindset than mathematics. There is not a
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year that goes by that I will
not have a meeting with a student,
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or sometimes a parent or even sometimes
a grandparent who will who will communicate that
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they've never been good at math,
and then when in their family is ever
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good at math, so certainly their
children can't be good at math. And
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unfortunately, people who feel that way
are products of going through schools that were
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very focused on a fixed mindset where
they were sorted and selected and possibly not
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given the opportunities to learn how to
develop skills and become really good math students.
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And it's really sad, and it's
something that I'm very, very determined
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to change. I absolutely believe that
with the right teacher, the right relationships
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was in the classroom, with a
high degree of efficacy, strong content knowledge,
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and a commitment to professional development and
strong pedagogical skills, that magic can
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happen in the classroom. And absolutely
kids can learn mathematics, they can learn
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algebra, and they can learn above
algebra. But I think it's critical that
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that schools and sucial people that are
leadership positions do not do not get entrenched
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in this mindset that students can or
cannot do mathematics or any subject for that
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matter. Well, I certainly applaud
that. I mean, as the person
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who's dedicated herself to basically helping people
develop themselves in one form or the other.
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I am also in the general field
of education, so completely apply odd
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what you're saying. And it also
makes me now wonder of the one of
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the things that you mentioned on the
phone when we spoke. When we spoke
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at first, was you reference something
about Simon Sinek's golden circle concept. I
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don't know how this relates to or
if it does relate to their growth mindset,
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but I'd like to hear more about
that. Yeah, it absolutely does.
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If there's one video that I could
recommend anyone who's listening to us tonight
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or anyone who listens to this at
some later date, is take a look
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at Simon Sinek's video called the Golden
Circle. It is probably the most powerful
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YouTube video that I have ever watched, and I have shared it many times
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with staff in our building and used
it as a springboard for wonderful, wonderful
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conversations. And I can give a
very simplistic overview of it, but I
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don't want to take away from people
that I would really encourage to watch that
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video. So he draws three concentric
circles and basically what he says on the
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outside is that people are not inspired
by what you do, and they are
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not inspired in the second circle by
how you do it. People are inspired
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by why you do things. The
power is when your words are congruent with
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your actions and what are really really
interesting concepts. So within the classroom and
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education, so I can I'll move
this into a middle school zone and say,
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you know, there have been times
over the years when when friends of
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mine may have hired someone who has
very very strong credentials. Let's say that
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they have an Ivy League degree,
the very very very very strong content knowledge,
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but they don't connect well with kids. And you and I know,
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at least because we're in this business, that if you can't connect with twelve
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and thirteen year olds and you're a
middle school teacher, that they don't care
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that you have a degree from a
very very University Head's right exactly. But
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where the magic occurs is when the
students understand the why. And this kind
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of goes back to what we were
talking about. We're talking about efficacy.
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Efficacy is this belief that I,
as a principle or I as a teacher,
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believe that I have the skills and
I will continue to develop the skills
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to make you successful. The why
component comes in when kids get me and
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they understand and they believe that I
am the vehicle that can help them achieve
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00:29:30.200 --> 00:29:33.200
their goals. There's a really really
interesting duality there. So it's not just
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my personal belief and how I communicate
my personal belief, but it's also the
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student understanding me and believing that I
can be that person that can help them
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get it. Even though they never
learned, they were never able to do
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math before, I can be the
person that can help them learn math.
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And it all comes back to getting
that good understanding of what your why is
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and communicating your why. And I
would say for people and leadership positions,
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and again, I've read a lot
of a lot of this stuff, so
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I feel like I'm saying things that
I know you believe in. It is
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very important to know your why,
and it's equally important to communicate it,
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and to communicate it over and over
again. I completely I will say two
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00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:22.119
things to that if I can't even
First, I literally just came back from
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a very very large breakthrough project where
the leadership team hadn't well articulated the why
401
00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:33.400
of this really enormous schoolbal project that
they were enrolling literally almost a hundred people
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in to do. And no surprise, there was a big, dull thud,
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00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:40.759
right. But once they got them
back on track with the why,
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everybody was totally enrolled. But you
took some work, right to get everything
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00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:47.920
back on course. But if they
had said that why up front in a
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convincing, clear, compelling way,
we wouldn't have had that hiccup. But
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so that's one thing I'll say.
The other thing that I'll say about the
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whole hy thing, and I do
know Simon CinEx work. I completely had
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00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:00.839
forgotten the notion of just that goal
in circle, but the ypiece registered.
410
00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:04.960
When I teach my students that s
are the Methodist University how to get and
411
00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:07.079
keep their first job, one of
the things that I have them do,
412
00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:11.279
of course, is to create a
little bit of an elevator pitch and they
413
00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:15.880
have to have the y statement and
they're really compellingly situated. And that's the
414
00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:19.720
great fun, right when these kids
can articulate why they're on fire to go
415
00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:22.680
off and do something. I'm like, that's what people are going to get
416
00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:27.759
enrolled. So I completely get that
and appreciate how you connected those concepts back
417
00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:33.359
to efficacy and the innovation mindset,
the growth mindset that was that was alluring.
418
00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:37.200
Shall we say for me, well, I appreciate that. I think
419
00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:44.839
that it is. It's a wonderful
thing when when you figure out what,
420
00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:51.519
no matter what position that you occupy
within your life, why you're interested in
421
00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:55.359
doing it, and where does your
passion come from? And when that happens,
422
00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:57.359
people will be drawn to you,
and they'll be drawn to you for
423
00:31:57.400 --> 00:32:04.240
the right reasons. Of the challenges
in leadership positions is sometimes people try to
424
00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:08.640
build alliances by compromising what they believe
in. And that may build a temporary
425
00:32:08.680 --> 00:32:13.240
alliance, but it's not good and
it's not healthy. You know best,
426
00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:17.440
the best alliances and the best team
building to bring into an organization is to
427
00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:22.200
have people that have an incredibly high
degree of alignment to what you believe in
428
00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:25.480
them to what you believe in.
And you know what, I always like
429
00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:29.960
to tell people, you're positive,
and this is just simple, but positive
430
00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:34.720
people always attract positive people. Negative
people tend to attract negative people, and
431
00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:38.400
most interestingly, negative people who wonder
why they only attract negative people, they
432
00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:44.000
probably need to take a look in
the mirror. Yeah, just not quite
433
00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.680
aware. A very interesting concept,
you know, But I believe that,
434
00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:52.359
and I've spoken to the beginning that
I'm really interested in helping kids and everyone
435
00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:57.559
that works around me find whatever the
personal greatness that's inside of them. But
436
00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:00.920
to do that, you need to
understand your way. And if you don't
437
00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:05.240
understand you why, you're never going
to find that because that's going to be
438
00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:08.519
your source of personal inspiration and that's
going to be how you inspire other people.
439
00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:14.480
Completely agree, and then maybe on
the other side of that camp,
440
00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:19.720
I like to talk about two areas
around the education and workspace that I think
441
00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:23.599
are really compelling and interesting topics today. One is about critical thinking and the
442
00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:29.279
other one is about creativity. So
I'm interested in your perspective, Evan,
443
00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:32.720
on how students today are learning to
think critically and what are you doing to
444
00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:38.799
help contribute to that learning. That's
a fantastic question, you know, And
445
00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:42.799
I would probably bring it, bring
it all the way back to some personal
446
00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:47.240
experiences that I had. But I
would venture that there were people listening right
447
00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:51.359
now, with people who will listen
that will relate exactly to one I said.
448
00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:55.440
To what I say, I would
say critical thinking is one of the
449
00:33:55.480 --> 00:34:00.640
most important things that we can bring
into schools all across all across America,
450
00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:04.480
because public schools and private schools need
to start thinking about the skills that students
451
00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:08.199
need to have when they graduate school
to get ready for working beyond. But
452
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:15.400
I was a product of mechanistic teaching. So I'll give you a simple example.
453
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:19.760
But I bet people can relate to
this example. When I was in
454
00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:22.960
high school, I remember thinking I
was a fantastic student of history, and
455
00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:27.639
I had this history class that was
incredibly structured. We would come in and
456
00:34:27.639 --> 00:34:30.639
take notes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we would play a review game on
457
00:34:30.679 --> 00:34:35.719
Thursday, and we would take a
multiple choice test of facts every Friday.
458
00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:38.599
And I did very well. And
I also thought I was a great history
459
00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:45.320
student. Possibly I had some sort
of career being connected to history, but
460
00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:51.199
what I learned was all that I
was good at was regurgitating knowledge. I
461
00:34:51.239 --> 00:34:54.840
wasn't necessarily good about a good thinking
about history. And so the interesting thing
462
00:34:54.840 --> 00:35:00.760
when we think about public schools nowadays
is everything that I used to judge myself,
463
00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:07.480
every factoid about history and how whatever
I memorize to make high grades on
464
00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:09.880
my tests when I was in high
school. I can access every single one
465
00:35:09.880 --> 00:35:14.400
of them on my iPhone, which
is sitting right in front of me,
466
00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:19.719
every single one, but my iPhone
will not tell me how to make an
467
00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:25.199
emotional connection to history. It won't
tell me how to think and conceptualize events
468
00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:29.599
that occurred in history and possibly how
they relate to me personally or how they
469
00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:32.440
relate to the world around me.
Those kind of skills involve critical thinking,
470
00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:39.920
and it involves a bit shift within
classrooms from public schools probably all the way
471
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:46.079
up through your end at the university
level, and how we go about getting
472
00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:52.320
kids to think to think differently.
I would say that what's most important is
473
00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:55.840
that staff needs to start learning to
do things differently, and they need to
474
00:35:57.239 --> 00:36:02.119
be willing to invest in ongoing professional
relevant that enhances their skills to change the
475
00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:06.800
way that they do things. One
of the things that I like to tell
476
00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:10.519
my staff, and I pushed out
on Twitter A lot is in education today.
477
00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:16.039
We need to teach students for their
future, not our past. Oh
478
00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:21.840
great, it's an interesting concept.
And yes, and it has a lot
479
00:36:21.880 --> 00:36:25.400
to do with mindset, because people
that have a fixed mindset might say,
480
00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:29.039
well, it was good enough for
me, why wouldn't it be good enough
481
00:36:29.079 --> 00:36:32.880
for you? But people who have
a growth mindset would say, the world
482
00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:37.159
is a lot different now than when
I experience school. So I need to
483
00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:42.920
think differently about what I do because
my job is to prepare children for a
484
00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:45.880
world that I don't necessarily even know
what it's going to look like. Public
485
00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:52.119
education, public educators all over America
are preparing students for jobs that didn't exist
486
00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:57.079
five years ago. That is a
great point. That is a great point,
487
00:36:57.159 --> 00:37:00.599
perfect one. Let's hold that for
a second time for another short break.
488
00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:02.280
Here, I'm Elise Cortez, your
host. We were on the air
489
00:37:02.320 --> 00:37:06.599
with Evan rob who is a principal. Who is the principal of Johnson Williams
490
00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:10.280
Middle School in Berryville, Virginia.
He's the author of the Principal's Leadership sourcebook,
491
00:37:10.360 --> 00:37:15.199
Practices, Tools and Strategies for building
a thriving school community. He joins
492
00:37:15.239 --> 00:37:17.719
it today from Winchester, Virginia.
After the break, we'll talk more about
493
00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:22.960
the idea of creativity, as well
as many other new trends happening in education
494
00:37:22.039 --> 00:37:39.320
today. Stay with us Friend us
on Facebook to keep up with what's empowering
495
00:37:39.360 --> 00:37:46.159
the world. Voice America Empowerments.
Elise Cortez is a speaker and engagement and
496
00:37:46.239 --> 00:37:52.280
development catalyst. She designs and delivers
professional development, leadership and engagement workshops and
497
00:37:52.360 --> 00:37:58.159
can bring her expertise to your organization. She will help ignite meaningful development within
498
00:37:58.199 --> 00:38:02.280
your workforce that will increase in engagement, performance and retention. To learn more
499
00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:06.960
or to invite a last to speak
to your organization, please visit her at
500
00:38:07.079 --> 00:38:12.480
www dot Elise Cortez dot com.
She would welcome the opportunity to help get
501
00:38:12.519 --> 00:38:17.079
your employees working on purpose. We're
making it easier to listen to the Voice
502
00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:22.360
America Talk radio Network wherever you go. In addition to listening live, you
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00:38:22.360 --> 00:38:24.920
can check out information about your favorite
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App Store, BlackBerry app World,
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507
00:38:39.519 --> 00:38:55.559
in the Voice America Mode Last powered
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508
00:38:55.599 --> 00:39:01.599
inspired, encouraged and connected on our
lively awarding healthy living power our Star Style
509
00:39:01.960 --> 00:39:07.639
be the star you are with host
and empowerment architect Cyndia Brien live every Wednesday
510
00:39:07.639 --> 00:39:12.880
at four pm Pacific on the Voice
America Empowerment Channel. Tune into the Power
511
00:39:12.920 --> 00:39:16.679
Party for positive, uplifting, life
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00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:34.519
dot com. You ilage follow us
on Twitter for more great ideas at Voice
513
00:39:34.519 --> 00:39:46.679
America Empowerment. This is Working on
Purpose with Elise Cortez. To reach our
514
00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:52.400
program today, please call into one
triple eight three four six nine one four
515
00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:55.840
one. Again that's one triple eight
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516
00:39:57.239 --> 00:40:04.480
You may also send an email to
Elise a Se at Elise Cortez dot com.
517
00:40:04.480 --> 00:40:09.159
Now back to Working on Purpose.
Thanks for staying with us, and
518
00:40:09.199 --> 00:40:13.360
welcome back to Working on Purpose.
If you're just tuning in. My guest
519
00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:16.480
is Principal Evan rob of Johnson Williams
Middle School. He speaks across the country
520
00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:21.400
and leadership and the effective principle,
how to improve literacy in schools, the
521
00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:23.960
digital principle, social media, how
to involve all staff and goal setting,
522
00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:28.960
how to organize effective work teams,
and the impact of culture and positivity on
523
00:40:29.039 --> 00:40:34.000
work. He also enjoys authoring his
blog called the rob Review Blog. I'm
524
00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:37.880
your host, Elise Cortez so Evan. Just before the break, we were
525
00:40:37.920 --> 00:40:40.920
talking, of course, about critical
thinking and the importance of being able to
526
00:40:40.960 --> 00:40:45.320
develop that in students today, and
then you mentioned while we were off on
527
00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:49.599
the break together how that might relate
to grading. Will you say more about
528
00:40:49.599 --> 00:40:55.840
that? I certainly well appreciate your
bringing that to the forefront here. I
529
00:40:55.880 --> 00:41:00.400
have learned a tremendous amount of grading
and have the opportunity to work with with
530
00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:05.559
our staff for several years to think
differently about the way that we grade in
531
00:41:05.639 --> 00:41:08.159
schools, and a lot of what
I have learned has been based off of
532
00:41:08.280 --> 00:41:15.239
research by Rick Wormelli and Tom Gusky. My goal is to get people to
533
00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:19.000
think differently. So what I would
say is that most people that are listening
534
00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:22.000
tonight, at some time or another, when they were in school, dealt
535
00:41:22.039 --> 00:41:28.039
with the average and in terms of
all the grades that they received across a
536
00:41:28.119 --> 00:41:31.000
nine week grading period for example,
and how they were averaged together to be
537
00:41:31.079 --> 00:41:36.000
a descriptor of what they learned.
So I'll pose a really simple question for
538
00:41:36.039 --> 00:41:37.719
people, and hopefully some people can
take this and bring it back to their
539
00:41:37.760 --> 00:41:44.199
buildings, or parents can consider this
as they have conversations also with teachers as
540
00:41:44.199 --> 00:41:46.679
they think about grading. So here's
a really really simple example. Let's say
541
00:41:46.719 --> 00:41:52.519
that we are all going to work
on our running skills and we practice running
542
00:41:52.599 --> 00:41:54.320
on the track. So the first
time we go out to the track,
543
00:41:54.360 --> 00:41:59.199
we want to run a mile in
twelve minutes, and we practice, practice,
544
00:41:59.239 --> 00:42:01.960
practice, and the next time we
run it in ten minutes, the
545
00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:07.199
next time we run it in eight
minutes, and finally, after lots of
546
00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:10.679
practice and some good coaching along the
way, we run the mile in six
547
00:42:10.719 --> 00:42:16.400
minutes. So my question at least
two people would be how fast do you
548
00:42:16.519 --> 00:42:22.239
run the mile? And most people, when they're given that question will say,
549
00:42:22.239 --> 00:42:25.639
well, I guess you run the
mile in six minutes because you started
550
00:42:25.679 --> 00:42:30.519
at twelve and you went twelve,
ten, eight, and six. But
551
00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:34.320
if you're using the average, you
would average all of those times together and
552
00:42:34.400 --> 00:42:37.159
say eight minutes. But eight minutes
is not a descriptor of how fast you
553
00:42:37.199 --> 00:42:43.000
can actually run the mile. So
think about that in terms of a classroom
554
00:42:43.280 --> 00:42:46.360
and things such as mastery learning and
us wanting to make sure that the grades
555
00:42:46.400 --> 00:42:52.519
that we give students in our schools
are representative of their knowledge. So go
556
00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:58.679
along the same example of the mile
times that I give and consider a student
557
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:00.679
who made some very poor grades beginning
of nine weeks, but have lots of
558
00:43:00.679 --> 00:43:04.079
intervention and lots of support, and
go and behold, at the end of
559
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:07.760
the nine weeks, they take their
final assessment and they make an A,
560
00:43:08.440 --> 00:43:13.440
and the A is representative of everything
that they have learned over the course of
561
00:43:13.480 --> 00:43:16.480
that nine weeks. Should what they
make in the beginning of the nine weeks
562
00:43:16.559 --> 00:43:22.679
be averaged to and held against them
if it was with that pain and accurate
563
00:43:22.719 --> 00:43:30.199
picture of what they really know,
and would it incentivised them to continue learning
564
00:43:30.239 --> 00:43:35.480
and develop that growth an innovative mindset. I think that that's a brilliant comment
565
00:43:35.519 --> 00:43:38.320
at least because I would say,
and this would certainly coincide with the work
566
00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:43.880
of Rick Ormelly, that the most
important thing that we can bring for kids
567
00:43:44.199 --> 00:43:49.719
in schools all across America, but
also you as a college professor is hope.
568
00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:52.800
And if you take away hope,
kids don't try. And if you
569
00:43:52.840 --> 00:43:57.920
take away hope, I don't try
either. Right. It's a very very
570
00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:01.840
important thing to have in schools,
and but I believe that if we think
571
00:44:01.880 --> 00:44:06.519
a little bit differently about how we
do things, we can find more opportunities
572
00:44:06.599 --> 00:44:09.519
to give kids hope and more opportunities
for kids to be successful. Because I
573
00:44:09.519 --> 00:44:13.679
would say a lot of what we
do with grading all across the United States
574
00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:16.039
of America is simply based off of
the grading that we experienced when we were
575
00:44:16.039 --> 00:44:23.519
in school. Doesn't mean that it's
it's that it's good. Certainly means that
576
00:44:23.559 --> 00:44:28.840
there's an opportunity to have some conversations
about it. And those are courageous conversations,
577
00:44:28.840 --> 00:44:32.400
but those are conversations that are very
important for people in leadership positions to
578
00:44:32.440 --> 00:44:37.039
have as we look to do the
best we can for students all across the
579
00:44:37.079 --> 00:44:40.719
country. Great conversation, just the
depth that I was hoping were to get
580
00:44:40.760 --> 00:44:44.480
from you. Thank you. Well. The other thing that you talked about
581
00:44:44.480 --> 00:44:46.360
that already queued up with you as
well, that I definitely want to address
582
00:44:46.440 --> 00:44:51.360
here is this notion of creativity you
talked about thinking differently, and certainly in
583
00:44:51.400 --> 00:44:54.519
the work that we do in Insignium, which is so much around performance breakthrough
584
00:44:55.039 --> 00:44:59.320
organizational transformation, a lot of what
we're really getting at is help people.
585
00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:02.400
People too, you think and act
differently. So first, would you just
586
00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:08.199
say a little bit about what's your
perspective on how is creativity encouraged at school?
587
00:45:08.400 --> 00:45:13.400
Then how do you cultivate it?
Cultivating it is a really interesting question.
588
00:45:13.400 --> 00:45:19.000
I think I'll start there and say, and this goes for anything,
589
00:45:19.039 --> 00:45:24.280
whether it's education or any business.
It's cultivated by building trust and relationships with
590
00:45:24.360 --> 00:45:29.679
the people that you work with within
your organization. People will not be comfortable
591
00:45:29.800 --> 00:45:34.559
to stretch outside of their box and
try new things if they don't feel trusted
592
00:45:35.519 --> 00:45:37.960
and if trust doesn't exist, and
if those relationships are there, people simply
593
00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:44.039
won't take chances. They'll honker down. So it's incumbent on the leadership within
594
00:45:44.079 --> 00:45:51.559
an organization to not only model creativity
and celebrate creativity, expose people to professional
595
00:45:51.599 --> 00:45:58.719
development on creativity, but to communicate
the importance of it, and establish trust
596
00:45:58.760 --> 00:46:02.679
and relationships with staffed try things because
when people try things, sometimes their fear
597
00:46:02.760 --> 00:46:09.239
is that they won't do it well
and there's an leadership opportunity for administrators to
598
00:46:09.280 --> 00:46:14.039
set the stage that it's okay and
we're all not going to be perfect on
599
00:46:14.119 --> 00:46:16.679
things when we first try things.
But if we don't try things, we're
600
00:46:16.679 --> 00:46:22.159
never going to be good at doing
something different. I think that schools need
601
00:46:22.199 --> 00:46:27.519
to take a really good look at
the time that they have within their school
602
00:46:27.599 --> 00:46:30.840
day and the things that they do
to cultivate creativity. I would encourage people
603
00:46:30.880 --> 00:46:37.199
that are listening tonight to check out
AJ Juliani's blog or connect with Aj on
604
00:46:37.239 --> 00:46:42.639
Twitter. He has some fascinating stuff
on a thing called Genius Hour, which
605
00:46:42.719 --> 00:46:45.920
is very similar to something that grew
out of the Google organization where people were
606
00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:52.920
given twenty percent of their time to
work on innovation and creativity within Google.
607
00:46:52.719 --> 00:46:59.039
The Genius Hour is all based about
around people or students rather exploring things that
608
00:46:59.079 --> 00:47:02.920
they're particularly interested in and delving deeper
into them in a very different kind of
609
00:47:02.920 --> 00:47:10.400
way. Wow, I'm thrilled to
hear about some of these concepts that are
610
00:47:10.400 --> 00:47:14.599
working well in the world of business, like what you mentioned at Google,
611
00:47:14.920 --> 00:47:19.519
are being considered and brought into the
classroom. That is incredibly exciting to me.
612
00:47:20.920 --> 00:47:23.239
Well, I appreciate you sharing that, you know, I didn't outside
613
00:47:23.239 --> 00:47:28.800
of the scope of our conversation tonight, but years ago, and I still
614
00:47:28.840 --> 00:47:31.280
continue to have a really strong interest
in total quality management and the work of
615
00:47:31.400 --> 00:47:35.840
Edward Deming. I'm sure you're familiar
with that with your business background. Yes.
616
00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:39.320
Deming was a big proponent of something
called the eighty five fifteen model,
617
00:47:39.800 --> 00:47:45.280
which is maybe five percent of the
problems that exist within any organization have to
618
00:47:45.320 --> 00:47:51.280
do with the system. They're typically
not people related, and so we need
619
00:47:51.320 --> 00:47:53.440
to look at how we design the
systems, in this case, how we
620
00:47:53.480 --> 00:47:59.440
design schools to set up opportunities for
people to do things differently, to think
621
00:47:59.480 --> 00:48:06.880
differently, to create exciting opportunities for
kids that are different m m oh,
622
00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:07.800
my gosh, it's just too bad. I only have you for an hour,
623
00:48:07.840 --> 00:48:09.960
because I could there's much more I
want to talk with you about.
624
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.239
We're getting close to the end here. I definitely want to hit this next
625
00:48:14.280 --> 00:48:16.960
thing that's very much on the forefront
of my mind here, Evan, and
626
00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:22.159
that is that I read in the
Wall Street Journal that schools are returning to
627
00:48:22.159 --> 00:48:27.519
the idea of recess now. As
somebody who is very interested in physical fitness
628
00:48:28.159 --> 00:48:32.239
and certainly live a problem with obesity
in in this nation. I'm really curious
629
00:48:32.280 --> 00:48:37.039
about what's driving this need, this
this idea to return to recess. I
630
00:48:37.119 --> 00:48:39.360
know, I knew, I've got
a fourteen year old daughter, and of
631
00:48:39.400 --> 00:48:43.440
course i know there's been an emphasis
on having more time for testing and more
632
00:48:43.440 --> 00:48:45.880
time for learning, more time in
the classroom. So why the shift?
633
00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:51.400
Well, that's really interesting question.
You know sometimes when and it goes true
634
00:48:51.440 --> 00:48:54.280
for this is true for any business, with the education or the business world,
635
00:48:54.960 --> 00:49:00.199
when people are questioned about having to
do more, to do something a
636
00:49:00.239 --> 00:49:05.880
little bit different, responses often to
have more time. So well, if
637
00:49:05.880 --> 00:49:07.199
I could, I could do that, but I would need more time to
638
00:49:07.239 --> 00:49:12.159
do that. But the other way
to look at it is you would be
639
00:49:12.199 --> 00:49:15.679
it is the time that you are
using the most effective way to use your
640
00:49:15.719 --> 00:49:20.920
time, and can you use time
differently? And I think in terms of
641
00:49:22.400 --> 00:49:28.360
fitness and kids working on having some
breaks within their school day. That's a
642
00:49:28.440 --> 00:49:32.239
really interesting way to think about schools. And again I would come back to
643
00:49:32.760 --> 00:49:37.000
again, a lot of what we
do within schools across America we do because
644
00:49:37.039 --> 00:49:43.360
we've always done them. I would
love to know why most schools in America
645
00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:46.119
seem to have four minutes in between
every class. I'm guessing that a long
646
00:49:46.119 --> 00:49:51.280
time ago someone decided that that was
a good thing to do, and most
647
00:49:51.280 --> 00:49:54.400
schools in America have four minutes in
between classes. But to my knowledge,
648
00:49:54.960 --> 00:49:59.960
there's no research that four minutes is
any better than three and a half,
649
00:50:00.039 --> 00:50:04.559
four or five. But again,
we do it because we've always done it
650
00:50:04.599 --> 00:50:12.320
that way. There are schools across
the world that look differently at integrating physical
651
00:50:12.360 --> 00:50:14.960
breaks for kids, and I would
point people to take a look at what's
652
00:50:14.960 --> 00:50:22.079
happening in Finland. Finland for several
years has been a big proponent of students
653
00:50:22.119 --> 00:50:27.320
having more physical activity during their school
day. I believe Finland and also some
654
00:50:27.440 --> 00:50:34.159
research on brain breaks where kids have
breaks from their academic day during the school
655
00:50:34.519 --> 00:50:38.159
Our research shows and improve cognitive skills
and improved perseverance and grit with students,
656
00:50:38.800 --> 00:50:45.079
and the opportunity to develop social and
emotional growth as kids move through adolescence.
657
00:50:45.599 --> 00:50:52.719
One of the things that I would
say is that I would always encourage any
658
00:50:52.760 --> 00:50:58.760
administrator to take a day and shadow
a student and see what it's like to
659
00:50:59.039 --> 00:51:01.679
go through a school day from eight
in the morning until three thirty in the
660
00:51:01.760 --> 00:51:07.679
afternoon. And what I would venture
to guess is that if your school has
661
00:51:07.719 --> 00:51:10.840
a very engaging environment where kids are
moving around and they're learning, and they're
662
00:51:10.840 --> 00:51:15.639
working in groups and they have cooperative
opportunities, probably could be a pretty invigorating
663
00:51:15.719 --> 00:51:21.239
day. But if it is a
day similar to the days that I experienced
664
00:51:21.280 --> 00:51:24.199
for many many years when I was
in middle school and high school, it
665
00:51:24.239 --> 00:51:30.159
could be rather tedious because sitting through
a day of lecture and sitting and taking
666
00:51:30.159 --> 00:51:36.079
notes one block after the other is
very very hard to do, certainly hard
667
00:51:36.119 --> 00:51:39.280
for me to do as a fifty
one year old, ma'am, and extremely
668
00:51:39.320 --> 00:51:43.360
hard to do for a twelve year
old who has a lot of energy.
669
00:51:44.559 --> 00:51:51.599
So I think that we need again
to continue to look at at our day,
670
00:51:52.280 --> 00:51:55.159
at the way instruction is delivered within
our schools, and of course,
671
00:51:55.239 --> 00:52:01.079
as you could tell him, an
opponent for instruction that is that is engaging
672
00:52:01.119 --> 00:52:06.440
for students, and also taking a
look at the time that we have within
673
00:52:06.480 --> 00:52:10.239
the school day and looking at some
opportunities to do things a little bit different.
674
00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:14.880
And again that that been shaking up
that box a little bit, because
675
00:52:14.920 --> 00:52:20.800
it is very easy within education,
but within any business to be tied down
676
00:52:20.880 --> 00:52:24.760
to one way of doing things.
But when you really really dig into that
677
00:52:24.840 --> 00:52:30.679
bag, you realize that there may
not really be any reason reason other than
678
00:52:30.719 --> 00:52:36.119
you've always done it that way.
Oh my gosh. Well, and so
679
00:52:36.159 --> 00:52:37.840
when I think about just last week
when I was on the air with Martha
680
00:52:37.920 --> 00:52:42.079
Parker, she was talking about ergonomics
in her four MS. One of those
681
00:52:42.239 --> 00:52:45.280
ms she talks about is is engineering
mini breaks in our work schedules, and
682
00:52:45.320 --> 00:52:49.760
of course that applies to school as
well, and just the importance of being
683
00:52:49.800 --> 00:52:55.800
able to infuse that change of focus
and and certainly having the physical piece integrated
684
00:52:55.840 --> 00:53:00.400
into that as well, and just
how important that is for sand, for
685
00:53:00.519 --> 00:53:02.760
peace, for productivity she talked about
as well. So it fits right into
686
00:53:02.760 --> 00:53:08.480
what you're talking about too, absolutely, it does. You know. Again,
687
00:53:08.880 --> 00:53:16.199
what I would always encourage is,
don't I guess I want to make
688
00:53:16.199 --> 00:53:22.840
sure I'm articulating this right. It
is always good to look at how we
689
00:53:22.960 --> 00:53:27.239
do things and reflect on our practices
and see if there's a different way to
690
00:53:27.320 --> 00:53:30.719
do things. I would encourage,
And I'm looking forward to myself this fault
691
00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:35.719
to follow the student all the way
through a school day and being able to
692
00:53:35.960 --> 00:53:42.519
debrief and share some really honest reflections
with our staff about that as we continue
693
00:53:42.519 --> 00:53:47.320
on our journey to reevaluate some things
that we're doing. Oh gosh, I've
694
00:53:47.360 --> 00:53:51.360
gotten so much of this conversation and
we are officially at a time. So
695
00:53:51.440 --> 00:53:53.400
let me thank you so much for
coming on the show, for sharing your
696
00:53:53.400 --> 00:53:59.239
wisdom, your passion, your perspective. You gave us so many helpful ideas
697
00:53:59.400 --> 00:54:01.519
and different and people who have contributed
to your learning. Thank you so much
698
00:54:01.519 --> 00:54:06.119
for being with us. It has
absolutely been my pleasure. Thank you very
699
00:54:06.199 --> 00:54:09.199
much for having me on yourself.
If you want to learn more about Principal
700
00:54:09.199 --> 00:54:13.000
Evan Rob and the work he's doing
an education, I would encourage you to
701
00:54:13.079 --> 00:54:17.440
visit his blog, which is the
robreviewblog dot com. So that's the and
702
00:54:17.559 --> 00:54:22.559
Rob is with two Bees reviewblog dot
com. Join us next week when we
703
00:54:22.559 --> 00:54:27.400
talk with Staff Sergeant Jason Morgan,
who has a most remarkable story of service
704
00:54:27.400 --> 00:54:30.280
and survival while serving in the Air
Force and is now on a mission to
705
00:54:30.320 --> 00:54:34.320
help people embrace their own adversity and
sur brothers to find purpose in their life.
706
00:54:34.840 --> 00:54:38.480
He actually is both quadriplegic and an
imputee and has much to share.
707
00:54:38.559 --> 00:54:43.320
Also is the single father of three
boys, incredible man to talk to,
708
00:54:43.360 --> 00:54:46.159
be able to share a perspective about
adversity. So see you then, remember
709
00:54:46.199 --> 00:54:49.760
that work is one third of our
lives, So let's work on purpose.
710
00:54:55.480 --> 00:55:00.199
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to tune into Working on
711
00:55:00.280 --> 00:55:04.880
Purpose, featuring your host, Alice
Cortez, every Wednesday at six pm Eastern
712
00:55:04.920 --> 00:55:08.519
Time three pm Pacific Time on the
Voice America Empowerment Channel. This week,
713
00:55:08.760 --> 00:55:15.559
find your life's purpose at work.