Somewhere, when I was emerging out of my teenage years I was fooled into thinking that I ought to be on some grand, singular journey and if I did not know where I was going I will have failed. School, society, media, all seemed to present this as the life story to be lived. Get a job. Have a family. Make sure you have a retirement plan. Then, freedom at 55. In this way I would be making my contribution to society.
I fell in to this pattern early. Teacher, wife, kids, not so good at the retirement savings though. This all seemed simple enough except that whenever I took a risk – a side trip off the safe, beaten path and going on some road less travelled, something interesting or wonderful happened. I was nervous facing people in new situations but when I did, I made new friends. When I took side trips in my studies I had to work harder but I learned about the importance of narrative studies. When I had to make myself more vulnerable to others, I hated it, but the conversations became richer. It seemed to me that side trips breathed life into my life.
Today, I took a side trip to visit my sister on Saltspring Island. My sister and I had wanted, for many years, to meet and talk with other school administrators about the work we do but we never had enough time or the time never seemed right. With more time on my hands now I was ready to listen and write.
The day was beautiful and the air was cool and fresh. The drive out to the ferry terminal was clear and smooth. Life seemed transparent that morning. I was apprehensive but it was going to be alright sharing thoughts and ideas and stories about public schools with friends I had not yet met and I would be sharing some of my self.
From the Long Harbour terminal I went directly to my sister’s school in Ganges. One of the first students I met was a student wearing a t-shirt that read “Love Where You Learn”. This happened to be the motto of the school. As I walked throughout the school this theme permeated all my encounters. I met teachers and educational assistants who where engaged and deeply committed to the learning process. They were keen to share their teaching and learning with me. I met students who were and having fun learning. The administrative staff of the office were polite, dedicated, and ensuring that the school was running efficiently and effectively. I did not visit with the intent of making observations like this. I could not help but notice and enjoy.
We met at my sister’s home near Southey Point. A beautiful wooded area on the water. Perfect for having a quiet discussion. I made some notes as we talked.
1. Reflective Practice: Safety and confidence are important so confidentiality (root word is confidence) is important. What is shared and discussed should always remain in the group. No judgements but questions and observations help the conversations to progress. As we listen we are always evaluating and making judgements, so we need to edit our comments. Feeling safe allows everyone everyone to be vulnerable to discuss our deepest feelings about our work as school administrators. If we are not vulnerable we cannot reach the roots of our work.
Reflective Question: “What does it mean to be a learner?”
2. Context and background and setting are important. Sometimes when we are in our workplace we just accept where we are living as the way it is. If we stop and listen, observe and consider the setting, we can find opportunities to enhance or improve our schools and the way we work within them. I was amazed at the diversity of assignments on the island. I was used to schools in a district being quite alike except for the names. I came to think that If one can understand the context and setting of the work, one can work towards improving the learning situation and the working conditions.
Reflective Question: How can we create a school setting where we; “Love Where We Work”?
3. Administrator as Learning Leader: I understand how the constant daily “busy ness” can keep us so busy that we feel we are only managing. We feel we should be doing more supervision and working with teachers. What is understood by the term supervision? Supervision can mean a kind of oversight of the work. It can mean “super” vision – somehow we can see beyond or deeper or through things. It can mean we are in a hierarchical position over staff. This is a lot for one person to carry. One word can have many symbolic meanings – because we give every word or name a metonymic interpretation. What meaning of supervision do we want to give our teachers and staff?
Reflective Question for me was “What does it mean to be a learning community?”
4. Implementation: How do we become the changes we want to see? How do we change conversations into actions? Some important narrative features of the implementation process: A. Begin with the values in mind. Bring the whole school community into the conversation. Make sure everyone is included and feels included even if they are not totally bought in. B. There is an “imp” in the very word “implementation”. There will always be the need to make adaptations and changes. Some forced implementation can cause staffs to lose connection. C. Constant conversation is needed to keep a pulse on the change. It is so important to keep track of the story for everyone.
D. Review the data both formal and informal and check to see if the implementation is having the desired effect…
Reflective Questions: “How do we get to be a learning community and when do we know we are there?”
I enjoyed my time on the Gulf Islands. Beauty, serenity, love, stories abound.
Driving Around in My Volvo C30 