A Reader Submits... Don't Be a Martyr

A LYS Principal submits the following:

Earlier this summer, I had a meeting with a gentleman that I had little respect for when I first met him last September. But, by January, it was obvious that he brought more to the table than was first apparent in our initial meetings. You have to know me to know how much that means, but we will leave that alone for now.

At our June meeting this man was sincerely in distress because he felt he had failed my students, my school, and me. You see, this man was assigned to my school because we had missed AYP, several times. This man looked me in the eyes and said, "I failed you."

The truth, my friend? Without TPM, the school I took over had little chance of making AYP this past year. This year our jump to meet AYP is nearly 30%! Guess what? The deck is stacked against us again. Welcome to our world.

My point is, this man I respect has placed himself upon a cross, a cross that he did not create. Removing TPM removed a padding of somewhere between 10% and 15%, depending on which sub-pop was reviewed. This man I respect can offer a lot to education, but now considers himself a failure because of the details of a failed accountability system.

My advice? Get off of your cross; you have been up there long enough. Get down here with the rest of us and help us fix these problems. We need all hands on deck.

SC Response

This is what trips people up. Rapid improvement in student and campus performance is possible. But that doesn’t always mean that you get off the schnide in year one. It is on the struggling campus where the Stockdale Paradox is best observed in education settings. There are those who believe the task is impossible. These people are a cancer to the organization, but it does not mean that they are bad people. However, these cancers need to be neutralized or excised. There are the Pollyanna’s that believe that everything can be fixed overnight, with just a positive attitude and a little elbow grease. These people get their heart broke by the lack of immediate success or they are overwhelmed once they realize the enormity of the task. It is those, like you and the old school LYS’ers, who understand that the task is enormous. But as long as we do the right thing every day, as we get bettter at executing the Foundation Trinity and Fundamental Five, we will eventually succeed. Not tomorrow, but sooner than can reasonably be expected, in discrete, measurable chunks.

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 June 26, 2011

The biggest argument I get against the use of bootleg technology in the classroom revolves around students misusing the tools and access.

“What if they cheat?

What if they call, text, IM or e-mail their friends?

What if they view inappropriate material?”

All of these are valid issues and concerns, but they are not reasons to not go forward. Pre-plan for situations you know will occur. For example, I can promise you that some student will cheat (which they already do), some student will call or text a friend (which they already do) and some student will view inappropriate material (which they already do). For each scenario, create a plan of actions, responses and contingencies. Don’t be draconian. Be reasonable and supportive. The bottom line is that our students hold in the palm of their hands an educational resource beyond the collective imagination of any prior generation. Ignore or deny that reality and you do so to the detriment of your campus, staff and most importantly, your students.

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 June 26, 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Today we scheduled 61 schools and filled 93% of our 2011/2012 calendar. If you haven't booked your LYS coaching days yet, time is running out.

2. So you want to use bootleg tech in the classroom but fear that poor kids will be left out. You can always let kids share.

3. The person who would never call the head coach to central office during the game, will take a principal off campus numerous times a month. Why?

4. The best TSA guy in the country works at Bush Intercontinental Airport. He tells you what to expect, how to do it, when to do it, that you did it, and he smiles. Great teacher!

5. The best TSA guy works next to typical TSA guy. That guy doesn't smile, doesn't tell you what to do, and is mad because you can't read minds. Bad teacher.

6. Question: You are improving, but doing so at a pace slower than the state and your peers. Is that improvement or regression?

7. Tonight’s Run Thought: There is nothing more frustrating than watching the slow and methodical train wreck that is purposefully bad leadership.

8. Why is it that the educators who are most vocal about the "Evils of Teaching to the Test," always seem to have bad test scores?

9. Tonight’s Run Thought: If there ever was a time that the "Stockdale Paradox" applied to public education, this is it.

10. A Big 12 University just purchased numerous copies of "The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction" Yes, we are excited!

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... Professionalism

In response to my comments on the state of the profession, a reader writes:

“Actually, I think Schmoker is right. But even if he is not right, we can certainly say educators as a whole demonstrate a low level of professionalism.

For example, we have known professional standards and practices (Marzano, Bloom, etc.), yet very few educators use these best practices. Instead most educators find reasons to reject the standards and best practices. A plumber has standards and best practices. Would you hire a plumber who told you he didn’t really agree with those standards and had his own way of doing things?

Going down the list from Wikipedia on the characteristics of a profession, I find that as a whole, educators do not rigorously meet those characteristics, although we certainly meet some. So, it may be accurate to say we are a non-profession profession, or at a minimum, we do not portray a high level of professionalism. How many professions have unions that engage in collective bargaining? Have you seen physicians, lawyers, and engineers, for example, with such unions?

I would not call this cynicism, but realism. I say it is not cynicism because I have not given up hope that the situation will change, and I know Cain hasn’t either. I still believe we can make a difference and change how we are. The kids deserve no less.”

SC Response
You may have done too good of a job in outlining your argument. This is definitely a case where the Stockdale Paradox (confront the brutal facts, yet be resolute in your belief that you will eventually be successful) provides the only solution. In the short run, the nay-bobs can wear you down, but you can also out think and out work them, and you can maneuver them to a position where they do more good than harm. In the long run (and this is what keeps me going), we have to identify, build and support more leaders who think and act like the typical LYS principal and superintendent (which is not typical at all).

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...