Teach Boldly

One thing I know about teachers is that they have massive influence. Their words are felt. Their words resonate. Their words change people’s perspectives.  

The works of Charles Dickens, the words of Charles Dickens, have changed the world perspective. 

Christmas is in two days. If you celebrate, your gathering is absolutely formed by his conception of the holiday and the magic that can surround it. His seminal A Christmas Carol has the kind of resonance that good teachers achieve with their students. It takes readers from horror to laughter to sympathy to joy. It is an amazing arc and one that teachers typically lead their students on in the course of any given class. 

Merry Christmas, everyone, indeed…

We never know the influence we have… While culture tends to promulgate the “those who can, do, those who cannot, teach” idiocy, there are hundreds of examples of brilliance and impactful teachers in reality and in pop culture. Every-other-week this year, I will share my brief reflections on Smart People Doing Smart Things be they in literature, in film, in music or in real life. Many will be teachers, but not all. Many will be fictional, but some will be real. All will be inspiring. Welcome to IntelliPop!

Years ago, I was blessed to be in a position to hold seminars with groups of educators designed to discuss and build leadership skills both informally and formally, internally – for the individual and externally for the school. As we discussed leadership skills and qualities, we would talk about new tools being put in our toolboxes as leaders. This year in Teach & Serve, I have decided to talk about many of those tools.

AWARENESS OF THE GIFT OF OUR WORK

On many desks and in many inboxes this time of year, teachers and administrators find all manner of remembrances – cards and notes and gifts, tokens of affection and appreciation. Typically, these trinkets and notes do not fully express the gratitude of the students and staff we serve. They are lovely to receive. They are not always reflective of the appreciation our communities feel for us. Our communities typically love us and are grateful for our service.

And, while It is an appropriate time of year for students and staff to thank us, it is an equally appropriate time of year for us to be thankful.

As many of us finish our last-minute tasks, our baking and decorating and preparing, this is a great time of year to think about another great gift we in education are given: the gift of doing work that influences days to come.

Our work reaches beyond us. It reaches through time. It reaches into the future.

We most often do not see ready results. While some of us have been in this work for an extended period of time and we have been able to watch some of the seeds we have planted grow in the lives our students lead after they have left us, we are typically immersed in the day-to-day, the checklist of the moment, the class to come, the next paper to grade.

It is challenging, then, to remember that our reach exceeds our grasp, ever and always. The work we do influences the world to come. It shapes society. It changes the world.

Changes. The. World.

That’s a gift worth receiving. It’s a gift worth sharing.

Years ago, I was blessed to be in a position to hold seminars with groups of educators designed to discuss and build leadership skills both informally and formally, internally – for the individual and externally for the school. As we discussed leadership skills and qualities, we would talk about new tools being put in our toolboxes as leaders. This year in Teach & Serve, I have decided to talk about many of those tools.

SUPPORT

Christmas is close. Christmas Break is closer. This is a time of year – and there are a few of them – when days feel like weeks and weeks feel like months. It is a time when it seems teachers and students are barely hanging on and are calendar watching as Break seems to be so very far away. It is an easy time of year to understand that our communities need the support of academic leadership to get to the finish line.

Support, however, is something that a leader needs to give all year long. Support goes a very long way for our staff and faculties. People who know they have the support of leaders feel more safe and more secure in their work. They feel more valued. They feel that they can take appropriate chances and risks. They feel understood.

I can point to many instances in my career where the act of giving support was the definitive moment in developing a relationship with someone. People remember when a leader says “I understand what this was and I support you.” They remember it for a very, very long time. 

To be clear, I am not talking about a, “you can do no wrong” and unconditional type of support. This is not a blanket “I always have your back” support… sometimes individuals do wrong. We are not always at our best and sometimes mistakes are made. Not everything that happens in the course of a school year can be supported.

But these situations speak about actions. Support is focused on individuals. I can always support the person even when noting that they have made a mistake or a misstep. Focusing on support of the individual must be a tool every successful administrator has. It may be the single most important tool a leader can use.

Mr. Keating – Dead Poets Society

Robin Williams, who would have turned 70 earlier this year, is brilliant and Mr. John Keating in Peter Weir’s terrific (but far from perfect) Dead Poets Society. Returning to his alma mater, John Keating is a teacher ahead of his time, challenging his students to question norms and find their own cadance and their own voice. He uses the power of the written word – poetry in particular – to illustrate to his students that there is more to life than the pursuit of conventionality and career and cash. He convinces them to find who they are and to live that truth.

The message remains powerful today.

That he loses his position for challenging social norms is somewhat predictable. 

Would that more of us would be willing to put ourselves on the line like Mr. Keating.

I note that the film is far from perfect because I am continually saddened and frustrated by the third act when Neil dies by suicide. This is too serious an issue to treat lightly or to make a plot point without proper attention, and I do not believe it receives that in Dead Poets Society. 

We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Please call 800-273-8255

We never know the influence we have… While culture tends to promulgate the “those who can, do, those who cannot, teach” idiocy, there are hundreds of examples of brilliance and impactful teachers in reality and in pop culture. Every-other-week this year, I will share my brief reflections on Smart People Doing Smart Things be they in literature, in film, in music or in real life. Many will be teachers, but not all. Many will be fictional, but some will be real. All will be inspiring. Welcome to IntelliPop!

Years ago, I was blessed to be in a position to hold seminars with groups of educators designed to discuss and build leadership skills both informally and formally, internally – for the individual and externally for the school. As we discussed leadership skills and qualities, we would talk about new tools being put in our toolboxes as leaders. This year in Teach & Serve, I have decided to talk about many of those tools.

REALISTIC OPTIMISM

I write a weekly newsletter for our staff and faculty. Last year, during the pandemic, I began to put the words “Realistic Optimism” at the header of every edition. I wanted to remind myself that part of the role of a leader is to be optimistic and to help inspire the best in adults so they can do their best with students. I wanted to point to a future that would be better than the present we were negotiating. 

I did not want to portray Pollyanna optimism. There were so many unknowns and so many challenges which were right in front of us. Teachers were being asked to do too many things, were pulled in too many directions and were, in some cases, barely hanging on. I wanted the optimism I was sharing to be realistic.

Hence, realistic optimism.

Realistic implies an understanding that not everything is easy and that, in any given situation, solutions may seem impossible and the darkness may seem impenetrable. Realistic implies work. It implies effort. It implies a journey.

Optimism is what a leader should convey to those she is lucky enough to lead. There are solutions even when they are not readily apparent. There is light in the darkness. We can do the work. We can make the effort. We will walk the journey.

I am a gigantic fan of Star Trek. That it remains part of culture after almost 60 years is amazing. I think one of the primary reasons it does is that, at its best, it presents a vision of the future that is positive and optimistic where cultures work together and solve problems. It is not all going to go up in flames. We will be here.

Realistic optimism is a mantra for me and a critical mindset.