A Reader Shares...LYS - A Cult or Club?

A LYS Principal shares the following:

SC,

In my district there are campuses the firmly embrace LYS and those that do not.  Personally, I’m OK with that because I don’t have to worry about the non-LYS campuses outperforming us.  But I have noticed that those campuses spend a lot of time trying to justify why they ignore LYS practices.  The latest is this.  “LYS doesn’t tell us anything we don’t know.  All it really is, is some kind of cult.”

I guess that make me a disciple? Can I get ordained?

SC Response

Funny.  I guess for those educators that aren’t fanatical about maximizing opportunities for ALL students, we can seem a little extreme. And when that intense focus and study leads to a campus leaving others behind, a little excuse making is to be expected.  But I don’t see LYS as a cult.  There is too much free and reflecting thinking involved for a cult to ever self-generate. 

Instead I see the LYS Nation as a club (or possible a tribe, by Godin’s definition).  As with any club, there are some entrance requirements of which I would submit, at minimum, consist of these:

1. A LYSer recognizes that adult practice drives student performance.

2. A LYSer values student performance over adult comfort.

3. A LYSer is aware of the Foundation Trinity and is working to improve its implementation.

4. A LYSer is aware of the Fundamental 5 and is working to improve its implementation.

5. A LYSer has participated in some level of LYS training; from on-campus to at-conference to book study.

6. A LYSer scans the blog and/or twitter feeds on a semi-regular basis and agrees with about 60% of the content and can articulate the reasons why she disagrees with the other 40% of the content.

7. A LYSer seeks out a challenge, and will invent one if none are available.

8. A LYSer believes this list is simply a draft in need of on-going review and revision. 

The educators that embrace this list are the educators that make up the LYS Nation. And regardless of their formal position, they are all LEADERS in their organizations. Maybe we need a membership card?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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