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Transitions – How does this apply to aspiring educational leaders?

 

All of us know people that we have encountered in our lives that just “have it together.” We are jealous by their constant happiness and ability to adapt rapidly to change. This is the type of person that the book Transitions by William Bridges wants us all to be. As we transition (or prepare to) to an administrative role, we have to first stop and think about this physical and emotional change and how we will be affected.

As Transitions mentions as their Rule #2 (Bridges, 2004, p. 11), every transition begins with an ending. We are finishing our duties and roles as classroom teachers and preparing ourselves for what sometimes seems to be an unknown. How exactly different is the life of an administrator than the life of a teacher. Is it easier/harder? Is it more stressful? Questions abound, but what we also have is desire and motivation. We are taking this next step because we feel we are ready. We read the books, we attend the conferences, we go to the workshops, we are networking….we are ready. Transitions references three distinct phases of every transition: an ending, the transition period, and the beginning. Before a transition period can occur, we must end something.  This could be a mindset or just a physical end to something. I feel the transition period is the most important phase. This time period can vary depending on the size of the transition. Some people call this transition time “closure”.

Now, how does this apply to us? What should we leave behind, or put behind us, when we’re in this transition period? One element is the time spent with our students. The reason why I got into education in the first place was to form relationships with my students and watching them grow into mature, responsible citizens. Now I have to leave my classroom and communicate more with teachers? This is a tough transition for me to make. But, I can still affect students as an administrator! Sure, I won’t be physically around them as much, but I can still be a presence in the hallways, by the busses, and in classrooms. I can also influence how teachers interact with their students by working with them to improve their classroom instruction and effectiveness.

This is just one professional transition that we are (or will) encounter. I’m curious as to what other transitions new administrators have had to deal with, and how they maneuvered around them to make them successful transitions.

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Bridges, W. (2004). Transitions: Making sense of life’s changes. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

 

 

 

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Crucial Conversations – A Book in Five Minutes

If you’re looking for an easy self-help style book that will help you in any and accll areas of your life – look no further. Someone told one of the authors of this book that the book changed their life. They didn’t actually read more than the title, but it changed their life! There is some truth in that idea. This book has a lot of strategies and complex steps you’ll go through before realizing that much of what you’ve read you already knew or knew some of before starting. You’ll probably have a hard time keeping all of those new steps straight, anyhow.

I think there is real value in recognizing that certain conversations carry more weight and have a propensity to get heated. Here are the three ingredients to a Crucial Conversation:

  1. Stakes are high
  2. Strong emotions
  3. Opposing views

Basically, if you’re given the chance, you’ll become argumentative. Now you know. That’s the introduction of the book. The rest of the book explains what to do about it and a lot about why you feel the way you do during an argument. You need to first begin to notice Crucial Conversations in your life and then reflect on your own style of handling them. Here’s the gist of what you need to do next:

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Inclusion/induction of TCK’s (third culture kids) at international schools

As international school leaders it is our responsibility to provide an inclusive and supportive environment for our diverse student populations. Third culture kids (TCK’s) are students that move frequently to different international schools as their parents international jobs change. Some are children of diplomats, some are children of businesswomen/men, some are children of international educators. Because these families and their children move around frequently they can have difficulty forming meaningful relationships which are at the heart of social and academic learning. The article below shares some of the ways we can improve our induction processes of TCK’s at international schools to alleviate the feelings of temporality and promote a sense of community for these students.

Scholarly article related to inclusion of TCK’s (third culture kids)

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I’m Not Even Sure I Know What to Do

After reading Deborah Helsing’s 2007 Teaching and Teacher Education article about the barrage of uncertainty experienced by educators, I was reminded of something one of our veteran teachers said in a small group break out session at a recent faculty meeting.”I feel discouraged most of the time because there are so many things to do that I can’t do any of them well, and sometimes I’m not even sure I know what to do, so it is impossible to do it better.” His heartfelt statement seemed unrelated to the stated meeting protocols but seemed to resonate with many around the table, opening the door for others to share similar feelings of despair. The small group discussion ended after five minutes when we were all called back for the next part of the presentation, Creating a Culture of Care.

I followed up with this teacher after the meeting and checked in with him a few more times over the course a couple of weeks to see how he was doing. I would like to think part of the reason things improved for him was related to his ability to express how he was feeling that day. By doing so he invited others to share how they were feeling, validating his sense of overwhelmed-ness, and providing some comfort knowing he was not alone. So, part of dealing with the uncertainty we face in education every day requires acknowledgement from someone else that the job is hard, and creating an environment where people can talk openly about their struggles. I am starting to see where our new SEL program might provide a framework for teachers and students to solve problems that arise from ambiguity in teaching and learning, and where mindfulness training might provide the serenity to live with the tension caused by such uncertainty.

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Be Thankful.

As an introduction to the International School Leadership Blog, I find it appropriate to reflect on the recent presentation I attended by Ruby Payne (author of A Framework for Understanding Poverty). Along with many thought-provoking concepts on poverty and global classism, she shared a fabulous clip from a TED Talk on Beauty.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2egMSliB8DE