Commencement Address - Four Practices

Last week I had the honor of being the commencement speaker at a local high school graduation. I had a great time and the students were fantastic.  Below is the draft of my speech.

When Dr. Laird asked that I speak to you on this exciting day, I was both honored and confused.  Honored to have a small role in this milestone event in your young lives.  Confused by what I could offer you on this day. 

I could tell you about myself, but really that story is only interesting to me and my parents.  So we will skip most of that.  The only thing about me that is pertinent today is that I am AN old (by your definition) former principal that has had success in both my life and career beyond anything I ever imagined when I was sitting at my high school graduation. 

So as we celebrate, what I consider to be the last day of your childhood, I want to share with you some guidelines for adulthood that I wish someone had shared with me.

Now I have graduated 3 times and I have to be honest I don’t remember one thing about any of the commencement speakers, much less the content of their speeches. Nada. Zilch.  And of course I blame them. They didn’t understand their audience.  I won’t make their mistake.  See, you don’t know me, you are not my students, and as of now you are not even in school.  You are, at least until the beginning of the Fall Semester, adults in the workforce.  So I don’t want to talk to you, I want to hire you for about the next 15 minutes. 

(Hand out note taking templates)

What you have just received is a note taking template and your pay for engaging in this task.  I going to talk, you’ll take some notes and then you will get to talk. 

Parents, family and friends, you can join us, but sadly you will have to serve the role of unpaid intern.  But I’m sure the experience will be reward enough.

Ready...

Let’s start with this, if in ten years you look back and think that your experience as a high school student is the highlight of your life, then everyone in this room has failed. Everything to this point has been to prepare you to be kicked out to where the action is, to climb to ever-greater heights, accomplishments and experiences. This has been the training wheels segment of your life. Now is the time to kick the training wheels off.

So write this down, if you ever hear yourself saying something along the lines of, “Back when I was in High School, those were the good times...” stop and instead say, “After I graduated from High School, then it really got good.”

So how do you make that happen?

First know this.  Hard work trumps everything.  Hard work trumps IQ. Hard work trumps connections. Hard work trumps luck. If it is work worth doing, do it hard at full speed.  Adult life is a tournament.  The harder you work, the longer you stick with it, the further you will go.  Slow down, coast or quit, and I guarantee that you will get passed by someone not quite as good who is still moving and breaking a sweat.

So let’s have a quick 30-second conversation with your neighbors.  What are you going to do this summer to get a jump on all the graduates from the other high schools in Texas who don’t know about the power of hard work?

Second, I want you to THINK... Think a lot and think deeply.  Think about what you are working hard on.  How can you do it better, more efficiently, more effectively? How does it connect with other things?  This is where you add to your value, make yourself more marketable and increase your competitive advantage in the tournament that is life and career.  Sweat and reflection is an almost unbeatable combination.

Now I have shared that hard work and deep thinking is key to success in the tournament of adult life.  But that success has to have context, which brings me to my next point. Third, you must have a generous heart.  Yes, life is a tournament, but those who are the happiest, those that create a legacy, they compete to make things better for others.  If you are playing just for you, that is a miserable existence and you will become a miserable person. Give time, give money, and give yourself.  You will be richer because of it and it will add meaning to your hard work and deep thinking.

Time for one more quick talk with your neighbors.  Do you agree with what I have shared so far? Why or why not?

Finally, vote.  Vote a lot. Vote in every election.  Vote so much that you regret some of the votes you make.  In this last primary only 4% of eligible voters voted.  Our community, our state and our country are stronger when hard working, thinking, generous people vote. Those in politics will only be responsive to the needs of you and yours, if you participate.  No matter what anyone wants you to believe, you are ready. Participate.

I ask you to follow your passion and follow the four practices I have shared with you. Work Hard. Think Deeply. Have a Generous Heart. Vote. Do these things and you can’t help make everyone in this room proud.

Graduates of 2014, thank you again for allowing me to share in this first, but not to be the last, of your major life accomplishments.  Good luck and God bless.

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); NEASP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Shares... A Resounding Win!

A LYS Assistant Superintendent shares the following:

SC

Just had to report... Our accountability ratings came in.  All of our campuses met standards, and 43% of our campuses earned state distinctions! Time to celebrate for one day and then get back to work.

SC Response

Congratulations. Exemplar work in a Title 1 district that uses CSCOPE.  According to all the naysayers what you and your staff is doing should be impossible. 

We have been sharing your success with anyone who is willing (or at least available) to listen.  The non-LYSers are not taking this good news very well.  It seems that because the success of your district is due to focused, hard work they are perplexed. Their whole schema of, “It’s not us... It’s them,” is now called into questions.

Keep grinding.  Performance is only going to get better.

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/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Multiple Presentations); NASSP National Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Working Hard

Note: The following was written on my phone, in an airport while waiting for a delayed flight.

Lately, I've had a number of conversations with principals revolving around two connected topics - hard work and stress. The first variation of the conversation begins like this, “My teachers are under a lot of stress right now.”

Like this is a bad thing? We are responsible for educating (which means adding value) our students during a very specific window of time. That time window is shrinking. If we don't feel some stress that means we are either coasting on the fact that our students bring enough prior knowledge to the table that our effectiveness in adding value isn't measured. Or even worse, that we’re ok with a certain percentage of our students not being successful. Both of the situations that I just described are bad for students.

Stress means that at some level teachers want to add value, want more students to be successful, and are aware that the clock is ticking. The real concern should be, “How do I help my teachers manage their newly discovered stress?”

The second variation of the conversation starts with the statement, “I'm really working my teachers hard right now.”

Again, like this is a bad thing? When did an honest day's work for an honest wage become an area of concern? In fact, if I don't finish the day exhausted (either mentally, physically, or both) did I really give it my all? And yes, I expect you to give it your all, everyday.

We have to get past the mind set that just showing up is enough. If just showing up was enough, then it would be much more cost effective to hire minimum wage room monitors and let kids watch “The Math and English Show” on TV. To quote Larry Wingate, "it's called work for a reason." If you are having fun and/or love your job, that's just a bonus. It is not a responsibility of the boss or organization.

Quit apologizing for insisting that your staff be of singular mind and purpose when it comes to maximizing student opportunity. That is the purpose of our profession. Educators that can't or won’t do that, discredit the rest of us.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Interview Prep - Part 4)

In response to the posts on interview prep, a reader writes:

“Although you are right, there are things that can be learned in this type of interview, there is danger working in these districts. Remember, you work for who hired you. If the superintendent hires you, that's who you work for. If a committee of teachers hire you, that's who you work for. In general a committee of teachers will try to maintain status quo. Status quo is OK if the status is the school is great. There are very few great schools, especially high schools."

SC Response
You are right about the lack of truly great schools. And here are some of my thoughts related to that fact.

1. It’s not that there isn’t an overwhelming desire to be great. There is. Ask 100 people if they want to be great. At least 95 will say “yes.” But ask those same 100 people if they are willing to put in the work necessary to be great and the number of positive responses will drop dramatically. My guess is that 50 people with a positive response would be a safe bet. But then watch those 50. Less than 10 actually have the discipline, focus and work ethic to be great. If fact, to be great at one thing, you have to be deficient in other things. You can not have it all. Scary thought isn’t it, and one that is completely contrary to what every advertisement wants you to believe. The great one’s obsess and grind. Everyone else goes home and has a life. I’m not saying one is better than the other, but I am saying you will be much happier if you quit lying to yourself.

2. When you visit “great” schools you quickly notice one of three things. Either the campus is focused on “stuff and things,” and it is the stuff and things that they do exceptionally well that people consider great. For example, the high SES school that has earned blue ribbon awards yet does not academically outperform its peers. Or, it is a niche campus that is bragging about the “success” of the niche. For example, the early college high school that hangs its hat on the fact that 95% of its graduates go on to college. Or it is the low SES campus that is consistently outperforming its peers, but will not concede that it is great because they recognize that their kids haven’t even begun to reach their potential.

But to tie back to the premise of interviews and who to work for, you have to know who you are. If you are a regular reader of the blog and a koozie carrying member of the LYS Nation; go for great. We work too hard, our students’ needs are too extreme, and life is too short to just be ordinary.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (It's all About the Conversation - Part 4)

In response to the posts related to “It’s all About the Conversation,” a reader writes:

“As an extension to the blog discussion, don't get over focused on data when you first start your PowerWalks (frequent classroom observations). Your data will not be accurate or useful for some time. It will take you time to recognize what you are seeing. Ideally, you get some external coaching. If not, you can still learn the hard way like I did and see if your prediction concerning instructional quality translates to student success on accountability tests. My schools improved, some others' did not. The easier, faster, safer way is to go with external coaching.

While you are honing your power walking skills, at first just address the obvious such as NO INSTRUCTION, OFF TASK STUDENTS, and NO TEACHER PRESENT. Those are easy calls to make and there is no excuse for those scenarios, so pounce on them. Build your power walking skills up over say maybe a year at 25 per week and move on to more sensitive calls in years two. It's OK to have conversations your first year, but make sure many of those conversations are with expert teachers who you will use as mentors to other teachers (HINT: they can be your mentor to improve your instructional awareness, too).

As Cain said, there is almost a Zen like art to this process."

SC Response
Good post, even better advice. Though if you are diligent in getting in classrooms a lot (at least 25 times a week), reflect on what you are seeing, and discuss what you are seeing with other observers and teachers; in a semester you will be amazed at what you are able to piece together and how much more useful you will become to your instructional staff.

A critical piece that the writer dances around is this: Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.” I was talking to another early PowerWalks adopter (5,000+ documented observations) recently. We were laughing at how it seems that the more we observe, the more we realize just how little we know. Couple that with the fact that when we do figure out something new, it is usually so evident that we are embarrassed to admit that we hadn’t noticed it before.

The initial benefits of PowerWalks (again, frequent classroom observations) are these:

1. Because you are out more you can solve little issues at the source, before they become big problems.

2. Because you are out more you can get resources and support to teachers quicker and more efficiently.

3. Because you are out more you can recognize and reinforce the staff and students who are working their tails off to improve.

4. Because you are out more you can light a fire under the coasters and slackers.

5. Because you are out more you will make better decisions because you know what is really happening.

While you and your campus take advantage of the first level benefits of PowerWalks, you will slowly begin to develop insights that will eventually help your students, teachers and campus. As is it with most things, it takes time for your hard work to hone your book smarts.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...