Week of June 1st:
Sunday, May 31, 2009
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About Me
- Dr. Kevin Dwyer
- I taught for seven years at Field Middle School in Northbrook, IL. I was an assistant principal at Woodland School District 50 in Gurnee, IL for three years. I completed my doctorate from Loyola University Chicago in 2004. For the past five years I have been an elementary school principal. I currently serve as principal at Westgate Elementary School in Arlington Heights, IL
Challenge the Process: This is a big one for me (perhaps it the major RtI push for change I promote). It seems like in education people can be so conservative, so careful and almost afraid to make decisions that involves risk taking or the unknown. However, in my experience the great leaders in education are the "challengers", the ones who think out-of-the-box, knowing sometimes it may not workout the best. I believe this allows for growth to occur. Isn't it true that when you feel that it is okay to make a mistake, you open yourself up to more opportunities. It's important to remember that the key is to learn from your disappointments. I think that an administrator just always needs to remind those around them that their in it together and may not have all the answers yet, but will work through it together. Educators need to remember that now more than ever we are in an ever changing world and Challenging the Process can help lead to success.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea behind "Challenge the Process," I would like to think that I take a lot of risks in my teaching, but a site visit last year has me questioning some of the risks that I might take in the future. We are in the middle of a facilities project; I served on the committee and I traveled to Sandburg High School to view some of their recent additions. I got to go on an hour long tour where the Principal walked me through everything they had done. Every time that I would "ooh" or "ahh" at a kidney-shaped desk, or an oval window or a meeting area that could be morphed into multiple classrooms, she would have an explanation as to why those things weren't all that ideal. I came out of the facilities visit thinking that "maybe there is a reason why things have always been done this way." I am a person who craves change and usually bucks routine and complacency, but that day has me constantly reflecting whether I am using change for the sake of change, or whether there is meaning behind it.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree that one of the most important tasks of an educational leader is not to get complacent with the status quo, even if it seems like the sailing is smooth. The building of an optimal learning environment for students to thrive and for staff members to feel competent and empowered in is a process, not a destination. There will always be ways to challenge onesself, staff members, and students to maximize learning and development.
ReplyDeleteThe tricky part about challenging the process is, as is stated, the inevitable risks and potential failures. As a person, I can appreciate risk taking and can work with good faith mistakes, but it has been my experience that school boards, parents, and some administrators are not as forgiving. Disappointments and good faith mistakes will lead to improved learning and greater success in time, but I think that most educational leaders feel that they do not have the luxury to challenge the process as much as they would like for political reasons. Again, an important balance to strike.
During our change class, I remember reading and discussing how it is important for the school culture to encourage risk taking without penalty. I believe that in my teaching there is always room for improvement. I am sure it is the same as an administrator. However, we live in a society that is based on instant gratification. There are so many quick fixes that come and go, and rarely do we give anything a chance to really take effect.
ReplyDeleteThis year I taught 7th grade for the first time. As the year comes to a close, I can look at the ways I organized my classes, the curriculum I used, the assignments I gave, etc. and I can see how many things I did were not as effective as I wanted them to be. Prof. Lynch referred to "love units" and how many teachers are unwilling to give up what is comfortable to them, even when it no longer addresses standards or is meeting the needs of the students. I want to teach 7th grade agaain so I can do it "better." I think schools are fluid, the composition of students, parents, community, and teachers change and therefore the way we approach our jobs needs to change.
I believe that change is healthy. When a person performs the same workout day in and day out, the body adjusts to it and stops responding. However, like Johnny said, there needs to be a balance; one cannot buy into every program that comes along without giving any a fair chance to take effect.
The willingness of an administrator to “challenge the process” is a great quality to have. To make changes, especially second order changes, can be a gamble which takes guts to make. If it works you’re a genius, if it fails you’re an idiot. I agree that we do live in a society that focuses on instant gratification. We are also extremely result orientated. Teachers, school board members and parents all want to see results right away if changes are going to be made. Remember, changes are always going to be difficult to make. Many people feel it better work right away. We know, unfortunately, things will often get worse before they get better when significant change is being made. As leaders we expect this. It is important that we make sure everyone else will expect this as well. Then maybe the change will not seem like such a gamble.
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ReplyDeleteSchools today are looking for leaders who are willing to make change. I doubt there is a school out there who is looking for a leader to "keep it the same." When school administrator begins a new job I think he or she needs to evaluate what worked well, but also look for what can be improved. Our school got a new principal a few years back and many teachers were upset because she was breaking away from tradition, and the way things have always been done. Of course this was only in a few areas where tradition might have been holding us back. A leader who doesn't want to change anything can't be a good leader because there is never any sign of improvement. That being said, making change can be very challenging and risky, espcecially when working with faculty who like things the way they used to be. Frequently during my lunch hour, there are discussions about what could be done better at school and I think the faculty come up with a lot of great ideas for change. The administration needs to make the right changes happen, and that's what makes a great leader.
ReplyDeleteLori commented that leaders can't be afraid to fail, as long as they are learning from their mistakes. I feel that is where the students and faculty will learn to trust the administrator and give him or her a chance!
The idea of Challenge the Process is something that good administrators strive to do and poor administrators discourage their own staff from doing. I do think it goes back to balance. The need to balance pushing yourself and your school to be better & continue improving and making changes for the sake of making a change. It is also key to consider the timing of your change. The decision to implement a great idea at the wrong time can be damaging. Taking risks is something that we encourage our students to do and should model ourselves. Brent mentioned a new principal coming in & breaking with tradition in order to effect positive change-this is another balancing act. In my experience though, if the change is good for kids and staff, people are apt to remember the traditions, but accept the change.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Challenging The Process is extremely important to me as someone with over 20 years of experience. There have been way too many times when, as just an ordinary every day teacher, I have seen decisions made by someone in power that just defied any common sense (let alone laws of nature) and was helpless to do anything. My suggestions were disregarded. The idea of doing something just because it has already been done that way is very frustrating to me and yet it is heard way to much. I no longer use filmstrips in my classes, but some teachers do! Many teachers in my age group are at the point where they want to do the same things the same way because it's easy. They don't want to change textbooks because their lesson plans and worksheets are all tied to the 1995 edition. Many leaders do not want to make waves or feel that they can't do anything with these teachers.
ReplyDeleteAs a leader, it will be my responsibility to continually question if what we are doing is the best for the students. As an extension of that, my role is to get each teacher to ask the same question. By including all stakeholders in the decision process and to rely on data-driven information, we will know when change is needed, what changes may be best and when change is not needed. Of course, establishing a culture of trust is the backbone of any successful change.
This past year, I have felt how successfully challenging the process can be beneficial. As one of the technology coordinators, I have been part of a team that has reworked how technology prpfessional development has been done by coupling technology tools with literacy strategies; teaching the tools in a context rather than just for the sake of the technology. AT firs, the teachers involved were skeptical, but by the end of the year all thought it was an excellent way to go about it.
Finally it is important to remind everybody that all hallowed traditions were once brand new changes!
Courtney said...
ReplyDeleteAs many schools will go on the journey of change, RtI (Response to Intervention), this new way of thinking will change the way teachers educate their students. It will ask administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents to think differently about how we educate our students. The way RtI will have many thinking will be asking them to “challenge the process”. As many RtI directors/coordinators embark on this journey of change, they will have to challenge the process. They will be looking for new ways or better ways to improve education. It will change the organization in the process and ask teachers to be more accountable. In turn this means asking teachers to develop new skills, do things they have never done before, and possibly do more work than they have been doing. RtI asks teachers “Is it cute or does it count?” Teachers will have to take out the activities or lessons that are cute and which they are comfortable with, to do new innovative lessons that increase the growth and success of all children. Teachers will be asked to teach using differentiated instruction. As teachers will be asked to change and to learn new ways to teaching, they will be taking risks. Principals and administrators will have to help them during this time. They will need to guide them through this process, whether it leads to success or failure. If failure occurs, then they need to help everyone pick up the pieces, learn from their mistake, and more forward.
Administrators have it tough during the journey of change, RtI. During this time, they will be asked to make crucial decisions on how they will guide teachers through this change, how they will support them, what new curriculums, interventions, or assessments will be used, and how the whole process will run efficiently. All these decisions can lead to success or failure. They will use research, data, and information from other successful districts to make these decisions. No matter what, they are challenging the process. Teachers have been learning new skills for years, but RtI is new way of thinking.
Administrators are also asked to challenge the process when they have found something to be ineffective in their schools. They will experiment with implementation of new processes or rules. While others make not agree with these decisions, an administrator will go with what they feel is best for the whole school. They will know that if their decision results in failure, they will be negatively criticized. They do not let this stop them in their pursuit to improve their school and will continue to try, try again, even if it challenges the process.
This past week I have been doing a lot of research on learning communities for my Research class. The notion of changing our educational systems to support professional learning communities continued to come up in the literature. It was often stated that many research projects could not be done becuase so many principals are still stuck in a hierarchial system that does not support the leadership styles necessary for true learning communities to exist. The idea of challenging the process seems to fit very well with the idea that in order for improvements to education to occur leaders need to be prepared to take risks and make changes. I agree with those above who talked about the need for balance, the consideration of time to let changes take place, and to refrain from making changes for change sake. However, it seems that the bigger risk is when ideas that have been proven to improve instruction and learning are not attempted becuase it challenges our way of doing things and the way we are use to thinking. This is a risk that takes away from valuable educational experiences for our students and our teachers.
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