A Reader Writes... (A Look in the Mirror - Part 3)

In response to the 5/24/11 post “A Look In The Mirror,” a LYS Principal writes:

SC,

You know our TAKS scores were not great. But we did have a 130% increase in the number of students who passed all sections of the test!

SC Response

Your campus is a great example of three important concepts.

1. Exceptional performance can be measured in various ways, but it must be measured. Yes, ultimately we want to stand at the top of the mountain. But the pace at which we are completing that journey is also a critical and valid measure.

2. The further you lag behind, the greater the gains that can be expected when you adopt a systems approach. That is the power of the Foundation Trinity and the Fundamental 5. As you and your staff experienced, we are not talking about double-digit gains. We are talking about more than doubling performance.

3. There are no throw away schools and no throw away students. But there are bad systems, poor leadership and overwhelmed adults. Address the adult issues and students will respond.

Congratulations to you, your staff and your students. As you alluded to, you are only about 1/3 of the way to your ultimate goal. But your campus completed the first leg of the journey at world-class speed.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A Reader Writes... (Teacher Nests)

In response to the 3/3/2009 post “Teacher Nests,” a reader writes:

I understand that there are probably teachers who take advantage of their "nesting" areas, but punishing the entire field of teachers isn't the answer. Yes, I love my coffee (as do many). And yes, I use a refrigerator. However, my students are allowed access to the refrigerator for their water bottles.

To say that a person, who spends ten hours a day at their job, can't have a coffee pot and refrigerator for lunch, water, and dinner (sometimes dinner) isn't okay. Think about the teachers who spend hours BEFORE and AFTER school at work.

SC Response

First of all, thanks for browsing through the archives. I appreciate your interest in the prior conversations that we have engaged in on this blog. And I encourage any new readers to do so, also.

My issue with teacher nests has nothing to do with punishing teachers and everything to do with making teachers and classrooms more effective and efficient. Which reduces teacher stress and creates more time for teachers to spend at home. Or, thanks to our governor and legislators, will give teachers a fighting chance to teach and manage 40+ students in a class.

I could (and do) address this issue for hours, but for this post I will just summarize the highlights.

1. It is beyond refute that the environment in which you place the learner can either accelerate or decelerate the pace of learning. Meaning that as a teacher, the classroom environment can either help me or hurt me. My goal is to help the teacher.

2. It is beyond refute that the environment in which you place yourself can help or hinder your ability to complete a task and has an impact on the quality of the completed task. Which means as a teacher, the classroom environment can either help me or hurt me. My goal is to help the teacher.

3. It is beyond refute that a teacher “nest” is positively correlated to an increased classroom clutter and disorganization.

4. It is beyond refute that a teacher “nest” is negatively correlated to time spent in the “Power Zone.”

5. It is beyond refute that time spent in the “Power Zone” is positively correlated to increased “on-task” behavior and decreased discipline issue.

6. It is beyond refute that the teacher is completely in charge of his or her “nest.”

As we all know, my job is to help schools improve performance and to make educators more effective. I understand that some changes are easier than others and that some changes feel like personal attacks. But do know, for me its not personal. I just want you and your students to exceed your expectations.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

The Big Easy Writes... (A Look in the Mirror - Part 2)

In response to the 5/24/11 post “A Look In The Mirror,” The Big Easy writes:

SC,

I thought your reflection on the TAKS scores was great advice. I am reminded of a couple of quotes:

"Tough times never last, but tough people do." Robert Schuller.

And several college football coaches have been quoted as saying, after a tough loss, "Don't let a team beat you twice."

The 2011 TAKS is over. What is now important is the next game on the schedule.

SC Response

I’ll take the coaching analogy further. TAKS was a Division II football team. You know, the team that the big schools schedule early in the season to pad their record (I’m talking to you, Cheadhorn).

STAAR is the perennial Top 10 School that is on the schedule next week. What this means is if your campus struggled with TAKS, you are already behind the eight ball. But even if you didn’t struggle with TAKS, you still have no idea if you are truly prepared for STAAR. The point being if you are pouting and licking your wounds due to past failures, or are resting on your laurels due to past success, you are not adequately preparing yourself for the task at hand.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A Reader Writes... (A Look in the Mirror - Part 1)

In response to the 5/24/11 post “A Look In The Mirror,” a LYS Principal writes:

The 'troop rallying' has already begun. During a post-TAKS conference, I reminded an individual teacher not to define herself by just two numbers. I was actually proud of her sincere disappointment at the sub-pop scores in her grade and content area. That reality shocked us all (yes, I cried like a baby when I saw it on the screen for the first time). Even with secure data analysis and valid RTL programming - there can be surprises even for the best of us...

But all said and done - another LYS 'baby' school will stand on its own two feet this year. Proudly, as Recognized WITHOUT ANY exceptions!!!

Way to go Bears - thanks for believing even when you didn't fully understand it all yet - you Rock!

SC Response

Great attitude. Improvement is measured by progress forward and the pace of change. The goal is to get from Point A to Point B. Re-assess and then take off for Point C. And even for a rookie, you understand an important component of continuous improvement, disappointment. When you are satisfied and/or resigned to your fate it is very difficult to find the motivation to push yourself to get better. But when you are disappointed, that means that something is lacking. Which means there is something that you can do to improve your lot.

I had a former employee tell me that she only figured out why I was a great principal to work for, after I was gone. She said, “No matter what we accomplished, you were always vaguely disappointed. Which meant that we couldn’t slow down, we had to keep pushing ourselves. Your replacement kept telling us how we were the best and no one could do what we do. Since we were the best, we slowed down. And now we are in trouble again.”

Now here is my secret. I was always vaguely disappointed. But not with the staff and students, with myself. I could see that we weren’t getting results that I thought were commiserate with our effort. Which meant the system wasn’t efficient, which meant I wasn’t doing my part. Hence their hard work and diminished results reflected on my value to the team. As I said, disappointing. My course of action? More thinking, more working, so my school could have more achieving.

Congratulations on your success in a tough accountability year. I know a lot of your non-LYS peers in your district took significant steps backwards. The perils of believing the TPM hype. You and your campus are poised to be extraordinary in the next couple of years. Don’t lose sight of that.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Top LYS Tweets from the Week of July 3, 2011

The move to embrace bootleg technology on your campus has the very real potential to save money in an era of already tight budgets. Once you allow students to pull out their cell phones, iPod’s or tablets they have immediate access to dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodicals, classic novels, graphing calculators, movie cameras and more. At no cost to the district. Depending on the size of your campus, you just might be able to save a personnel unit. Especially, if you projected the savings over time. If you needed one more reason to get on the bootleg technology bandwagon, here it is. The job you save, just might be your own.

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of July 3, 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Tonight's Run Thought: It is those who have never led in the face of adversity who most often confuse "simple" with "easy."

2. Blame assumes a zero sum game. If the end is a new beginning, prior results simply inform improved practice. Lead, don't manage.

3. Tonight’s Run Thought: Leaders cultivate creative discord. Managers demand blind conformity. What is the norm in your organization?

4. Achievement gaps aren't automatic indictments. If both groups are improving, you are on the right track. The goal is to add value to all.

5. Cheating occurs when: A - I am panicked; B - I don't care; or C - I have no hope.

6. Widespread cheating is more of an indictment of leadership than teachers.

7. Best defense against cheating is "The Davis Rule."

8. "The Davis Rule" - The only way to cheat is to NOT help your buddy.

9. Tonight's Run Thought: It's not that having teachers design curriculum is a waste of time. There are just better uses of their time.

10. Why is the LYSer different? What others see as the culmination of years of work - the LYSer sees as the starting line.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation