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Reflecting and Celebrating

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Classroom Distancing – Flickr Images

In the recent weeks school boards have reshaped what school looks like for students, staff and community during the pandemic. Enough time has passed that we are likely able to now spend some energy reflecting on all the change that has happened is such a short time. Sometimes when reflecting, we can be hard on ourselves. There can be risk of focusing only on what we might have missed or what we think did not go as planned. If we consider that the structures which we have come to define as modern, formalized education have taken 150 years to shape this should put the progress that has been made in just a few short months into perspective.

Educators and school board teams have accomplished SO much and created new roadmaps. We would not expect a family member who just received their beginner’s license to navigate a road trip across Canada in their first week behind the wheel, nor should we expect perfection in the structures and processes we have created with school start up. Although it is certainly true that our biggest growth often comes from our greatest challenges, we are challenged to also think about where we have already come in such a short time. Take some time to celebrate your progress.

I’m going to close this blog the same way I closed my last one, mainly because I feel the same way today. I will be sharing more about my learning journey in future posts and I invite you to have a conversation with me here on my blog or at my Twitter account – @LisaMunro11  If you have a personal blog or even a class blog please let me know. I would love to follow you and read about your ideas and adventures.  I want you to know that in-spite of our present situation with so many changes, re-organizing, in-class learning and at home learning, we are on this journey together. A child near my home said it best … to us you are a big deal.

Lisa …..

 

So What? Now What? Privilege as a Tool for Allyship

The other day I found myself with some car troubles. As a result, I was required to walk a distance on a frigid winter morning to meet one of my children at their place of work to get a vehicle so I could continue on with my day. The sidewalks were completely buried in snow making the walk difficult as I tried to position my feet in the deep ruts left by the walkers who preceded me. This experience immediately gave me an alternative perspective of winter travel – with my daily access to an (almost completely) reliable vehicle, I had never considered the point of view of those without vehicles who regularly navigate snowy sidewalks and long walks to connect with public transportation in the dead of winter – an alternative point of view.
This story is a bit of a metaphor for my journey understanding privilege. My experiences in my life are my own. As such, I recognize that I do not always understand that which I have not experienced. With respect to privilege, it is something I have mostly had so, until I had the opportunity to do some professional learning, I had never really given much thought to the experiences of those without the same privileges as me– like having heat in your home – you only really think about it when the pilot goes out on your furnace.
As I began to explore more about what it means to have privilege I began to immediately appreciate the privileges in my life – I do not have to worry about my personal safety because of my ethnicity, race, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. I have never had to worry about whether or not it will be possible for me to navigate a physical space or being teased because of a disability. I am confident I know where my next meal is coming from. I do not worry about the assumptions people make about me because of my nationality, the way I dress or who I choose to love.
Although I felt appreciative of what I have been afforded as a result of my privilege, emotions such as guilt and shame began to prevail. But privilege is unearned. I have learned that having privilege does not make me a bad person. When reflecting on privilege, guilt and shame are not productive. How do I make my experiences with privilege positive?
In the past, my final thoughts (if any) in the walking scenario I shared earlier would have ended at frustration and inconvenience. My learning about privilege has helped me to approach even the most familiar situations with new found curiosity and questioning from a privilege lens. I will not claim for a even a second to deeply understand what it means to live in poverty but I now have a better understand what it might mean to have to rely on public transit and navigate uncleaned sidewalks in poor weather conditions to get to the places I need to go. I still have much to learn in my journey to understand privilege. In order to learn more and leveraging what I have been afforded in meaningful ways I am choosing to regularly challenge myself with the following questions:

How will I continue to challenge my assumptions about privilege?

How will I develop a greater understanding of privilege?

How I can make things better for those who may not have the privilege that I have?

I cannot control the privilege I have but only by how I choose to use it.

…. Lisa 

Equity, Inclusion, Privilege, Courage and I Can

I recently read Sue Bruyns’ first blog post of 2018.  Each January, Sue selects #oneword which is to become her mantra for the coming year.  This year her one word was Courage. The word courage immediately struck a chord with me as I was thinking about what my one word choice would be.  I kept returning to her idea of courage.

In my previous role as a principal, within a school, I was comfortable sharing my passion for take risks in teaching and learning in order to be an effective instructional leader. I was comfortable blogging about topics that I had spent much of my life learning about and living on a day-to-day basis.  In my current role as a system principal I have an incredible opportunity to take learning risks in several new areas that are within the scope of my role.  Equity, inclusion and privilege are areas of learning that have ignited within me a passion and a renewed sense of hope. Even so, I have not written regularly for a very long time – not because I do not have things to say, but mostly because I have been lacking courage.

Because I feel I still have so much to learn about equity, inclusion and privilege, because of the emotional nature of the conversation, and because I am fearful of writing something that would seem presumptuous about those facing far more challenges than I ever have had,  I have paused in my writing.
My fears are:

  • Will my blog resonate with others?
  • Will I ‘get it right’?

Really, who am I to talk about equity when in reality I have far more privilege than many people that I have been so fortunate to meet and learn from in the last two years?  So what can I do?

Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan Click on the image to open the document

The recent release of Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan (2017)  highlights many commitments of our education system to support those who are marginalized through bias, systemic barriers and discrimination. This document has me reflecting deeply about what I can do to support the realization of a truly equitable society. I have decided that my entry point starts with courage.

Courage to:

  • ask questions;
  • make and admit my mistakes;
  • listen deeply;
  • learn with and from those who have experienced discrimination, bias and systemic barriers;
  • leverage my privilege to be an ally to those who do not have it.

As I continue to blog about ideas related to equity I will be transparent in my learning journey. I must acknowledge that I come from a position of considerable privilege (white, middle class, heterosexual, university educated, able-bodied). I commit to coming from a place of humility, curiosity and learning. I cannot talk about challenges that I have not experienced, but I CAN be an ally. I CAN move from bystander to up-stander and leverage my privilege to support others. I am committed to having COURAGE and sharing my learning journey.

Read more about the portfolio I am working with this year as a system principal. (Learning Supervisor)
(Click on the image to go to our website)

Also follow this Twitter feed to learn more about what we are doing throughout our Board with regard to Equity, Inclusion, Mental Health and Well-Being.  (click the image below to see and follow that Twitter feed)

Lisa Munro

“How Can I Help?” is Always Better!

Unofficially, I have been a teacher since the third grade. By that I mean I spent endless hours of my childhood in my room, playing ‘school’ by lining up my stuffed animals and keeping my sister captive while I took attendance. We would stand together and sing “O’ Canada”. Afterwards I would ‘teach’ a
lesson and then insist my sister or parents complete the work I had proudly created. With much anticipation, I marked her work (in red pen of course) and dismissed her for recess, essentially mirroring my recollections of the procedural experiences of my early school life.

Fortunately for me, during my subsequent years of schooling I had many wonderful, rich learning experiences that went well beyond morning attendance with caring, knowledgeable and passionate teachers and a family who had the personal resources to help shape my value for education and vision to become an educator.

Fast forward 40 years later…I am an educator with a continued love of learning
and teaching. I feel lucky to be able to do what I do each day!

Even early in my career I had a passion for trying to engage every student in my class. That vision has
never wavered. Still, my career has been a journey full of lessons learned. I spent countless evenings
planning lessons down to the smallest details often enlisting family members to help me create
materials for my classroom. Curriculum and planning were my primary focus.

But what about the students who challenged me the most in the classroom? Even with a caring attitude,
and a strong desire for my students to be successful I often did not think deeply about the reasons behind
the behaviors of these students and my responses to those actions. My actions were well intended at
the time; I did the best with what I knew.

Fast forward a bit. Now when I think about students, I intentionally think about the whole child and think not only about their academic needs but also their social emotional needs, the role of the physical environment and how each of these factors contribute to their well-being.

To emphasize my earlier point I was fortunate that my experiences both at home and at school were positive. My parents and other role models were instrumental in helping me to set and achieve my goals. I had many resources within my reach. I think more about those students who challenged me the most and the stress many of them carry with them. As a result of having the great fortune of working with colleagues in the Culture for Learning portfolio, I am now able to re-frame my responses when supporting the students that I am most challenged by.

Now I no longer think about the student who is having an emotional outburst, or the student who is
chronically late, the student who never completes homework, the student who sleeps through my
lesson as a student who is “giving ME a hard time” but rather as a student who is “having a hard time.” Rather than
focusing on what they need to do for me, I am committed to starting with, “How can I help?”

And even now, in my role as a Learning Supervisor, as I come in contact with colleagues or parents who might be having a bad day; as evidenced by a phone call, an email or a face to face interaction, I need to remember that they are not intentionally giving ME a hard time. but when it’s obvious someone IS having a hard time and hurting – that better response, I’m learning, always is “How can I help?” It really does make a difference.

Form Follows Function

There are times when function can naturally follow form. When I walk into the classroompreschool-still-life-painting-classs of young students I often observe children creating; building, painting, sculpting…. I ask them to tell me about their work. I sometimes observe them looking their creation over….pausing and, depending on what they observe, decide in that moment what their creation is destined to be. This, and the dialogue that follows, are valuable moments in inquiry learning. Although function can follow form with ease in an inquiry-based learning environment, form should follow function and students should become the driver when redesigning spaces for learning.
As a classroom teacher, although I took pride in collaboratively creating an inviting learning space with my students, I admittedly saw the physical space within the classroom as somewhat static and rarely considered the possibilities beyond reorganizing desks and using the walls to share artifacts of our learning.
Form following function is requires a commitment to recognizing that students learn in different

screen-shot-2014-09-30-at-12-26-55-pm

One of many different configurations a teacher could use.

ways and learning spaces need to reflect this. Learning environments should provide flexible spaces for collaboration, innovation, creativity, focused learning, and communication. By designing spaces with these skills in mind we set students up to be successful for the future world in which they can thrive.

I had a recent opportunity collaborate with a Learning Supervisor colleague and two Mental Health TOSA’s in our school board. Here are some of the questions we used to inform our dialogue about learning spaces:

  • What are the goals for learning and does the layout of your classroom facilitate meeting these goals?
  • Do you have predictable spaces for calming or spaces where students can access visual schedules and materials with ease?
  • Are there varied learning spaces for collaboration, independent work, inquiry, and communication?
  • Is your furniture agile and/or easy to reconfigure?
  • What alternative seating do you have for students who fidget, wiggle, and need to stretch or like to stand?
  • Can you alternate the amount of lighting in your space for activities conducive to brighter lights, warmer lights or reduced lighting?
  • What storage solutions do you have to reduce the clutter in your room and allow for ease of movement and increased sightlines?The truth is children can learn in the most unlikely of spaces but imagine the opportunities for learning when we provide them a space designed to unleash limitless potential. What one thing can you, right now with your physical space to support this potential in all your students?

edutopia-wade-visualizing21stcclassrmdesign

Visualizing 21st-Century Classroom Design  (acknowledgements – @mary_teaching)

Also go back and read one of my blogs from March 2016 – Rear View Camera

My Learning Journey – What I Hadn’t Anticipated!

large-3September presents educators with an eager anticipation for new beginnings and a sense of hope for limitless possibilities that lie ahead; for students – a hope in attaining their loftiest learning goals; for educators – a desire to unleash students’ fullest potential and for administrators – to empower their school communities to engage in cycles of continuous improvement.

This September I have started a new role as a system principal. Each day has been a new beginning filled with my own sense of anticipation and possibility. Many of the new experiences I have had so far have challenged me to think deeply and in new ways. One of the beautiful things about starting any new role is being able to learn about different moving parts of a system. I am fascinated by the ‘behind the scenes’ work that occurs at a system level to support learning in schools. I am hopeful that I can add value to the new frontiers I have begun to explore, the challenges that lie ahead of me and the new ways that I can ultimately enhance learning for students.

Amidst the excitement of starting a new role there are some things that I had not anticipated; for learningjourneyexample, how challenging it would be going from a position of being a knowledgeable other to one who is almost exclusively the recipient of new knowledge. I do not struggle with not knowing everything. In fact, I have always prided myself on recognizing that I have much to learn, but the steep learning curve of a new role can have the potential to make one’s confidence wane. The uncertainties I am experiencing are bringing me out of my comfort zone but in ways that leave me inspired to challenge myself. It is my hope that the skill set and attitude that has brought me to this point in my learning journey will continue to help me be successful in my new role and to apply my own fresh lens to each situation to which I am presented. I remind myself to hold onto my long held belief that mindset is crucial to success in any role and that new challenges are meant to be embraced!

Links:

A Leadership Mindset 


 

Great Teaching, Great Coaching, A Lot in Common!

rita_piersonThink of a coach or group leader in your child’s life. Now imagine that, during each practice or performance, the only feedback the coach ever gave was, “Good job,” or “Not so good.” Would that help your child improve? Obviously not. A great coach provides timely feedback, during or immediately after a performance. A great coach shares information with the child about what he/she does well and can improve upon. The feedback to the child is clear, specific, timely and meaningful (e.g. “I liked the way you were in ready position. Next time, you need be out in front of the net for the pass.”). Great teaching and great coaching have a lot in common. Like great coaches, great teachers are committed to ensuring your child reaches their fullest potential. One way a teacher does this is by providing feedback daily, both formally and informally through conversations, questions, discussions, observations, student work, performances (and so much more).

Feedback about strengths and next steps are a very important part of assessment. Providing precise information students_teacher_learningto students so that they understand what they have done well and what they need to do next has a more powerful impact on going forward with learning than just knowing a mark or grade.

This past Friday your child will have received their term 1 report card, an evaluation of your child’s learning at school. The report card provides a formal opportunity to understand your child’s strengths and next steps. Please take some time to read both the grades/marks and the comments in your child’s report card. Discuss the feedback shared by the teacher in the comments section of the report card. If you would like to understand even more about your child’s progress at school I encourage you to contact your child’s teacher to set up an interview.

It’s Not About Getting the Credit!

I spent this weekend at an incredible leadership conference. The final session of the weekend ended with the following quote describing good leadership:

arnoldHGlasow

 

Parents and educators are charged with the very important task of leading and guiding our children to achieve their fullest potential. This requires heavy lifting; the day to day choices we make for and with our children, are usually without accolades. But it’s worth it! Good parenting and good teaching are not about getting credit, but about the satisfaction in knowing that the strong foundation we have provided will help them to receive the credit of flourishing into happy, productive adults.

For your personal interest: A slideshow of Arnold H. Glasow quotes

 

Purpose! What is Yours?

purposeYears ago I had the opportunity to hear a guest speaker share stories of people who lived unusually lengthy lives. Each of these individuals shared a common quality; a strong sense of purpose in their lives.  Having purpose (or not having purpose) has a powerful impact on performance and attitude.  My teenage son is currently struggling with purpose as he transitions from a busy life playing sports to waiting eagerly to find a part time job.  I find myself feeling the same way sometimes as my children begin to develop their independence.  In contrast,  I thrive when I set goals, when my help is needed and when I am surrounded with things that need to be done.

Although a day of rest is sometimes a gift (and well needed), generally I do not feel inspired after a day of doing nothing. Nor do my children seem particularly motivated after playing video games at length. I’m not suggesting that there is no value in passive activities, but these types of activities do not leave me feeling inspired or fulfilled.UP-Purpose-DefinedW

For children purpose is equally important. Think about children’s sense of engagement when playing with purpose , learning with purpose , writing with purpose, or creating with purpose. Purpose brings fulfillment. It inspires us to be more creative and to do our best work.

I regularly reflect on the ways that I can continually thrive by being purposeful in my own life and my role in helping others with feeling driven and I challenge others to do the same.

 

purpose2

Assumptions & Judgments! Where Do You Live?

This summer I had the opportunity to listen to an amazing guest speaker share some of her experiences living with a child who struggles with mental health.  One story in particular helped me better understand how easily a judgment can be made; often built on a weak foundation of mistaken assumptions.

Mom reading to childHere is a brief recap of her powerful story:  For this mother getting her child to school each day was often extremely difficult as a result of her daughter’s ongoing struggles with mental health.  The fact that the child’s father had passed away three weeks prior only confounded the daughter’s emotional wellness.  On one particular evening, like many evenings before, her daughter had great difficulty settling to sleep. The mother spent most of the night comforting her daughter.  When morning came her daughter was too agitated to be school-ready.  Rather than going through the typical morning rituals of fixing hair and dressing, the mother made an alternative choice to spend her morning snuggled up on the couch with her daughter reading a story so that her daughter could be calm and experience as much success at school as possible.  Once at school and walking through the school yard the mother overheard two adults commenting on her unkempt, frazzled, appearance. The adults commented that the mother had clearly been out all night partying and couldn’t even be bothered to get herself presentable to take her child to school.  This faulty assumption left a lasting impression on a mother who had set aside her own needs for those of her daughter.

Making judgments is natural. It is how we determine how to act and how to respond. Often, without realizing it, judgments are instantaneous and based on assumptions.   In this case, seeing someone who looked differently made others feel uncomfortable.    I have challenged myself to think about the assumptions that I make about others.  I want to remember that everyone has a story and to ask myself when I would do the same.  I share this challenge with each of you.