Teaching Online Tomorrow? Here are a few tips!

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has forced most schools in the United States to shift to e-learning. Online teaching is a skill-set that most educators did not have as part of their teacher education programs, and this national crisis is a situation that most administrators have never encountered. The expression "building the plane while we fly it" is an apt one during this unusual time in our history.

Although there are many societal and socio-economic issues that affect access and prevent our national educational community from fully embracing e-learning, this post will focus on some general tips as traditional teachers step into the world of online education. Granted, I am making a huge assumption ... that teachers (reading this blog) have access to online platforms and that students have internet/computer access to learn online. However, the number of teachers facing this reality is growing, so I hope that these tips are helpful.

Here are some of the most important items to remember as you prepare to teach online ...

1. Know your e-learning Platform(s) -- Whatever online platform your school has decided upon, know it well. Some schools already have an online LMS (learning management system) that can accommodate e-learning; many other schools are adopting systems with little research, pilot testing, or staff input due to the harried shift to online learning. Whatever the case, your first day of planning should be spent learning the platform. Most are intuitive and a self-exploration of the features and website will help you become more familiar; additionally, websites will have tutorials for getting started. Don't skip this step! The more familiar you are with the platform, the more equipped and confident you will be to utilize the system and troubleshoot when the inevitable problems arise.

2. Support your Students -- The quote, "students will not care what you know, unless they know that you care," is so needed during this pandemic. For some students, school is the most stable area of their life, teachers are the most positive role models in their life, and their only friends are from school; recognize that they will be mourning these losses. Student stress levels will be heightened as they deal with distressing news, isolation, and family concerns. The downturn and uncertainty of the economy will touch every student, from parents losing jobs to families unable to get supplies. All of these factors will impact the emotional health of students; they need teachers to be supportive and caring during this time. A weekly phone call or note (real mail) home can go a long ways towards supporting your students.


3. Teach Students How to Learn Online -- Most students have never taken a class online, so the first lesson should be a "how to" e-learning lesson. This is going to take extra time, but it is a vital first step so that students can grow into success. Kindergarten teachers understand this as they spend the first month teaching their students how to "do school." All teachers, today, are un-learning and re-teaching how to "do school" online; they must lead students patiently in this initial lesson. Also, remind students to do the following outside of "class time" activities in order to be successful:

• Get up and get ready to "do school" like you normally do. People who work from home can tell you how unproductive pj days are. If learning in an a-synchronistic format, schedule a consistent "class time" schedule to follow each day.
• Go to bed at the normal time on school nights (resist the temptation to binge watch Netflix until 3:00am!)
• Exercise more than you usually do. Physical exercise does wonders for healthy emotional and cognitive development. There are many exercise apps to help students develop and track their exercise routine.
• Limit devices when you are not e-learning. Take daily "phone fasts" and stay off devices. Eight hours of e-learning should not be followed by eight hours of gaming or social media. 
• Expand your horizons. Students will have more time to learn (or return to) a musical instrument, re-discover board games, read, begin a new hobby, and explore extra interests.

4. You Do You -- Like a traditional classroom, online "classrooms" must take on the personality of the teacher. One of the blessings of working in a school is the natural diversity that comes from everyone's different personalities and gifts. Our diverse students need diverse teachers and diverse classrooms; each teacher's creativity, kindness, love, humor, and passions come out in a variety of different modes: direct instruction, collaborative learning, structured lessons, Socratic discussions, projects, practice questions, bell-ringers, and formative assessment. I love the fact that every classroom looks a little different (and the students love it too). This needs to continue with online education. You can absolutely "steal" teaching tips from others and follow models, but don't compare yourself to others and don't follow the "perfect online lesson plan." Use your creativity, show your personality ... and You Do You.

5. Make a plan B (and C) -- Online learning requires consistent wifi/internet and working devices at both the teacher and student end. Plan for one of these factors to not work. Whatever platform you are using, make sure students (and teachers too) are able to access it via wifi and through their cell phone data (download apps). Show students how to use a hotspot on their phone to connect a laptop if needed. Download all your assignments so you can email them to students.

6. Focus on the End Results -- Every educator trained in the past 40 years has heard of "backward design" (essentially, looking at learning targets / unit objectives / standards first and then designing lessons to best achieve those end results). That is especially important to do at this time. No matter how effective a school's e-learning plan is, content will need to be cut. Go back to your syllabus and review those course objectives ... what needs to be done by the end of the year to prepare students for the next year of learning? Teachers must prioritize lessons and make sure they are selecting the ones that best help students achieve the end results.

7. Slow Down and Check for Understanding -- It is going to be more difficult to assess students and their understanding of concepts online. A quick informal assessment by reading the body language / eyes of your students in the classroom becomes much more difficult online. Teachers will need to add extra examples, provide exemplars, and implement additional formative assessment. You cannot assume students understand; remember the full cycle of communication ... communication is not complete unless you know the receiver understood the message the way you intended. Build in quick responses on whatever platform you are using to check understanding.

8. Care for Yourself -- Teaching online can quickly consume your life and become a 24/7 job; there is always a better lesson out there online, more resources to add, and student questions will come in at all hours of the night. Set boundaries for your "teaching" time, establish office hours for student meetings/responses, and limit the research time you do for each lesson. You need to care for yourself first in order to be the best teacher you can be (remember the "air mask principle" on an airplane). Identify what fills your bucket and do those things daily.


Finally, give yourself (and your students) a lot of grace. Teaching and learning online is hard work; it requires unique planning and pedagogy, a different assessment mindset, and it takes time, professional development and practice to do it with excellence. Starting as a traditional classroom teacher/class and transitioning in the middle of a term to online is not ideal, but it is a necessary stop-gap to get students through this difficult global crisis with some sense of normalcy.

I am not an online educational expert, but many of these tips are compiled from the research I've frantically done (over the past week) to provide resources for my high school staff. If you want to read about this topic from an expert in online education, see Dr. Dave Mulder's blog (@d_mulder from @dordteduc); it does have a higher ed focus, but much is transferable to the k-12 world.

Finally, what is especially fascinating is that this is a national phenomenon. There are a million (literally) teachers/professors in America going through the same professional experience at this time ... transitioning to online teaching. Lean into this community of educators, ask for and give advice, support each other in this journey ... and pray for a quick resolution.

Adolescent Development: Positive Tethering

The most famous developmental psychologist is Erik Erikson, and his stage theory has impacted the study of human development. He describes the adolescent stage as one of "identity vs. role confusion." Working with students in this stage for nearly 30 years, I would affirm the importance of identity: teenagers need to discover who they are, where they fit, and how they are uniquely gifted. The post-modern mantra has been to "find yourself"; however, we've often forgotten the support needed to foster healthy development toward that end.

"Coming of Age" is a phrase used to describe the adolescent years, historically the teenage years in which children grow into adults. Today with delayed adulting, many individuals don't "come of age" until early to mid-twenties. So what encourages healthy development? What factors hinder development? How can parents and educators help teenagers develop in a healthy way during the adolescent years?

Tethering: Slow, Steady, Supported


Healthy development through any of the stages involves a slow but steady process of increasing independence.

Think about teaching a young child to ride a bicycle. A parent does not put a 3 year old on a 24" mountain bike to teach her. The process begins with a "big wheel" tricycle that sits low to the ground to help learn pedaling (even before balancing). After mastery is achieved, this process moves to a tricycle where the child sits higher and more upright. After mastery of this skill, the child begins on a small bicycle with training wheels to learn how to balance. As she begins to balance better, a parent typically takes off one of the training wheels to slowly increase difficulty. After mastering this, both training wheels are removed, and with the parent running along by her side, she finally is able to ride a bike. Rushing the process leads to frustration, however, so does the lack of challenge. Once the child builds up confidence, a parent must encourage her to move to the next level. A slow, steady, and supported process leads to healthy development.

I like to call this slow, steady, supported process "tethering." Tethering can have a negative connotation as it implies being tied up, but think of a tether ball. Each time the ball swings around the pole, a little more slack is given out. Similarly, tethering is an important parenting technique; it is the  process of giving a child more and more independence. This concept can be followed with children learning to walk, swim, skate, along with many other areas. Tethering also happens in parenting or teaching teens.

Adolescent Tethering

So what does tethering look like for teens?

The process of getting a driver's license is a great example. Before a teenager is 15, he needs to learn about driving by taking driver's education, this leads to a permit. The permit allows him to drive with a parent (and a professional driving instructor) for a whole year, this leads to getting a license, Once the student has a license, there are restrictions placed for a season on who is allowed to ride as a passenger, and this leads to full independent driving. Each stage is slow, steady, and supported so that over a two year period ,a teenager can become a licensed driver.

Just like beginning on a full-sized bicycle is not a good idea and is going to lead to skinned knees, giving a 16-year old a license without any training or practice is not a good idea. However, more parents skip some steps in the tethering process of getting a license, and the stakes are so much higher; a crashed car is definitely worse than a skinned knee. Healthy development needs to be a slow, steady, and supported process.

Parents often tether well during the early childhood years, but, unfortunately, they seem to forget this process as their children get older. Parents give pre-teens phones without remembering the slow, steady, and supported process of tethering. Parents encourage dating in middle school without remembering the slow, steady, and supported process of tethering. A plethora of negative examples in both phone usage and dating prove the point; if we rush the process, teens struggle in development.

Supportive Adults

The concept of tethering assumes one huge essential element of healthy development during adolescence: supportive adults.

Triangulated support (the "power of three" principle) is essential for teenagers to grow into healthy adults. Every teen needs three supportive and positive adult role models who are actively present in his/her life. Chap Clark, a Christian sociologist who focuses on adolescents, has even proposed a 5:1 ratio, meaning every teen needs five adults speaking into his/her life.

So, who are these three (or 5) individuals? Of course, most think of mom and dad as two of those adults, but I would encourage putting "parents" together as one, as many teenagers see "parents" as one entity. Traditionally, the other supportive adults have been teachers, coaches, youth pastors, counselors, and extended family members. It is also important to have supportive adults from different areas of life (e.g. home/family, church, school, work) because if something goes awry at home, teens need someone to support them who is outside the home, likewise with something that happens at school. Intentionally placing role models into a teenager's life, like selecting a school, sport team, and church with this in mind is an important step parent's can take.

Obviously, teens need 3 to 5 supportive adults because the adolescent years are difficult. In addition to physical changes happening during puberty, adolescence is filled with "firsts." Life events happen that cause teens to "grow up" faster than they should; they are rushed into adulthood. With support, teenagers can develop well through this difficulty ... leading to being ready to launch into the next stage: adulthood.  Below are a few of those experiences ...

1. Moving to a new school/community.
2. Death of a pet / loved one.
3. Parents splitting up / divorce.
4. Health concerns of self or loved one.
5. Financial stress of a parent losing a job.
6. Pressures of school / future decisions.
7. Managing a first romantic relationship / first break-up.
8. Troubling world events like a pandemic or terrorist attack.
9. Experimenting with adult behaviors like drinking, smoking, sex.
10. Getting a first job.

Each of these experiences can be used to tether teenagers into adulthood, but it takes a team of supportive adults who help "run along side" them as they learn how to "adult."

Positive Risk-Taking

The other essential element needed to positively tether teens into adulthood is risk-taking. Teenagers need to be encouraged to take risks. This is ironic as the teenage years are often stereotyped as ones marked by reckless risk-taking; recklessness or illegal activity is not what I am encouraging. Healthy development, at any stage, requires practices things in the next stage. This can be done with supportive adults walking alongside teenagers as they practice adulting. However, digital natives today are "safer" and more hesitant than ever to try something new, and parents are not actively encouraging them to try new things. This lack of positive risk-taking stunts "coming of age" and delays adulting.

Positive tethering involves encouraging teens to step out of their comfort zone. Teens should try new things, explore interests, be actively curious, and get out of their comfort zones. One of my favorite quotes to use in discussing adolescent development is, "There is no growth in the comfort zone, and there is no comfort in the growth zone" (Betsy Nuttall). In order to grow and develop, teenagers need to be nudged (or sometimes shoved) out of their comfort zone.

Teachers know how to do this academically, using the concept of the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) (Vygotsky). In order for a student to grow, teachers need to challenge them with something just outside their comfort zone; if teachers don't do that students become bored, and if teachers push too far too fast, students get frustrated ... both hindering growth. Parents and teachers need to apply that ZPD concept to life skills, too.

The supportive adults in the teenager's life needs to nudge them to practice "adulting" in order to encourage healthy development. It warrants emphasizing, in order to do this with success, the adults who are nudging teens into risk-taking must be one of the supportive adults in their life. If the relationship is not there, teenagers will strongly resist (I've tried it, and it doesn't work). Like learning to ride a bike, supportive adults need to be there (almost) every step of the way cheering the teenager on.

Being present in the life of the teenager also provides more opportunities to discourage destructive risk-taking behaviors. Unfortunately, these risky behavior can cause an unhealthy development into adulthood if the process is not slow and steady.

Positive tethering can help teenagers "come of age" in a healthy way by encouraging a slow and steady process that allows teens to practice "adulting" life skills. Supportive adults play an important role in that process.

Future Flourishing: Preparing Students for the Workplace

When thinking about flourishing students, educators need to focus on both now and in the future. Our school's strategic planning team is considering the phrase ... "students will flourish now and in tomorrow's world." This dual-focused objective is quite a challenge, in fact, a true BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) as Collins and Porras described in their book, Built to Last (2004).

Future-Focused Flourishing

Backward design (UbD, Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) is a common educational structure that encourages teachers to think teleologically; essentially, first consider the end result and then design learning experiences that best achieve that result. We need to do that also with student flourishing.

Being future-focused about flourishing is vital, especially as students enter an ever-changing world. What does a flourishing person look like in tomorrow's world? What do schools need to focus on in order to help students flourish in the future? I'll guarantee it is different than what schools focused in the past (and even currently).

An additional challenge is that future flourishing involves many spheres ... flourishing in the workplace, flourishing in the home, flourishing in the community (and more). To truly thrive in life, a person must flourish in all spheres.

This article will discuss how schools can prepare students to flourish in the future workplace.

The Workplace

An aspect of education must prepare students for work. Academically, schools (especially high schools) prepare students to be admitted into college. Logically, schools prepare students to enter colleges; colleges, then, prepare students with the content/skills needed to enter the workplace. Unfortunately, college-prep high schools often neglect "work preparation" hiding behind the "college-prep" mantra. High schools also need to focus on work prep, or a better term, "calling prep." Students should be considering their vocation (calling) early in their middle school or high school education ... and then charting a path to facilitate flourishing within that calling.

Additionally, employers are longing for employees with soft skills that are becoming more important than content knowledge. What are the "soft skills" needed to flourish in the workplace? I truly believe our workplace standards have been lowered, but here are just a few essential qualities that will help students be successful in the workplace:

• Show up (on time). Employers are frustrated by employees who don't show up or show up late. Just show up on time, and you will distinguish yourself in the workplace. Okay, that is a low bar, but the more I talk with employers, the more I hear of this frustration.
• Be Learning Centered. Employees are stepping into an ever-changing world of work, and many current jobs will be unrecognizable in the future. Therefore, flourishing employees will be life-long learners who are able to adapt and change to meet the changing workplace climate.
• Collaborate well with colleagues. Every employer and employee expresses frustration with colleagues who don't "play nice" with others. Collaboration will always be on the top of the "soft skills" needed to flourish in the workplace.
• Care about the Company. Employees who believe in the mission and overall success of the company will work diligently to accomplish goals, strive to be innovative to improve efficiency and effectiveness, treat customers in such a way to build long term relationships, and will refrain from wasting resources that will impact the bottom line.

So what elements or learning experiences are needed in school to prepare students to flourish in the workplace?

• Learning Focused. While this sounds like something that schools will naturally develop; few schools are truly learning focused. Most schools teach students how to "play school" to get the grade at the detriment of true learning. Schools must re-emphasize (non-graded) curiosity research, discovery learning, and learning expeditions. 
• Calling Identification. Students need to identify their strengths/gifts/interests and explore how to use these in different workplaces. This can be done through interest inventories, skill assessments, and personality/strengths identification, along with job shadows, career days, and internships. Identifying strengths and how they fit into the workplace will help students identify colleges/vocational training and be more content as future employees as they uncover where they "fit" in the sphere of work.
• Attendance Matters. Dealing with student attendance is a frustrating aspect of most school administrators, but encouraging students to understand the importance of attendance (i.e. just show up and get to class on time) will help them flourish in the workplace. Future employers will thank you for instilling this low-bar objective of attendance.
• Teamwork Development. Classrooms today are very individualistic and competitive as students strive for high honors of gpa/class rank, leaving their fellow students behind. Similarly, a lower percentage of students are participating in collaborative activities as athletic teams become more competitive and recreational activities are more individualistic. Students need to be placed in collaborative learning situations to grow in their teamwork skills; these can be inside the classroom, in leadership programs, in clubs, or on athletic teams. This will help them flourish in the workplace.
• Innovative and Entrepreneurship Thinking. Flourishing workplaces are filled with innovative employees who problem-solve with entrepreneurship thinking. Employees must be able to identify problems, come up with creative solutions, and implement those action steps to achieve a desired result. Problem-based learning must be a part of education at all levels to encourage flourishing employees.

This is just a start, but hopefully a good step forward in thinking about how schools can help students flourish in their future workplaces.

Flourishing Defined

Flourish / flourishing is a new educational "buzzword" being used to describe a healthy learning environment and a positive educational experience for students. It is a term that my school is using in discussing our next strategic plan ... how can our school and each student flourish now and in tomorrow's world? ... but what does it mean to flourish?

Unfortunately, educational leaders are known for using "buzzwords" that are often insufficiently defined and nebulous, and, therefore, difficult to implement and assess. For example, individual educators have their own definitions of the following terms: differentiation, learning styles, discovery learning, deeper learning, life skills, 21st Century learning, and formative assessment (just to name a few). A clear definition is needed to effectively operationalize these terms and the term "flourish."

Defining Flourish / Flourishing

I love the term "flourish" to describe a thriving school or student (and the more I research this term, the more I like it), but what does it mean to "flourish" as a school? as a student? 

Oxford's online dictionary (www.lexico.com) defines "flourish" as

Flourish (verb).  grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment.

What a great way to describe a school! A flourishing school is a "particularly favorable environment" where students can "grow ... in a healthy or vigorous way." While this is encouraging to think of a school in this definition, it still doesn't define what it means for students and schools to flourish.

Another way to think about the term "flourish" is in relationship to plants. Soil, climate, water, fertilizer, and the gardener all impact how the plant grows; metaphorically, each of those elements can apply to a school and how a student grows.

Flourishing Schools Model

Dr. Lynn Swaner and the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) have developed an instrument that measures school "flourishing." This excellent research helps us to better define and apply this term. The categories used in their research focus on the following areas: 

• Purpose
• Relationships
• Well-Being
• Learning Orientation
• Expertise and Resources

By clicking on the categories (see link below the graphic), each of the categories are defined with areas of application. See more information about their work at ... https://www.acsi.org/flourishing-school-culture

Not wanting to just repeat the good work done by ACSI, I want to spend the rest of this blog looking at flourishing in light of another educational buzzword ... whole child education.

Whole Child Flourishing

Student flourishing occurs best when parents, teachers, and schools focus on a student's whole being. Unfortunately, we see more and more examples of students who are not flourishing because they only have one focus. Like a baseball player who blows out his shoulder due to "over-pitching," focusing solely on one area of development will be detrimental to the whole person. 

Our western educational system is heavily influenced by a Greek philosophy that is focused primarily on head knowledge ... and this sole focus has led to high schools around the country filled with stressed out students, walking their halls anxious about grades, high-stakes standardized tests, and college acceptances. This is not a flourishing student. 

In contrast a Hebraic philosophy in education focuses more on the whole child, a student becoming like her teacher in maturity, character, and wisdom, and understanding truth about themselves, others, and the world. Whole child education definitely looks toward academic excellence and cognitive development, but it is only one of areas of focus.

Without taking the time to fully define whole child education, students (and schools) will flourish if parents and educators partner in successfully addressing each of the following categories. The home-school partnership is key for students to flourish.

Cognitive 

Of course, schools focus on cognitive (academic) development and most educational research measures effectiveness of pedagogy and student learning. Learning effectiveness could be defined as flourishing cognitively. Quite simply, students flourish academically when taught by teachers who care passionately for both the student and the content area. This dual-focused caring will drive teachers (and schools) to pursue student learning and cognitive flourishing. 

Cognitive development happens outside of school, and I'm not talking about structured homework time (which can help the school learning). However, parents who abdicate cognitive development completely to the school, do not help students flourish. Parents must fan the spark of curiosity at home, read to/with their child, plan learning experiences along with vacations, discuss current events, and actively discuss life decisions with their children; this will facilitate flourishing.

Social-Emotional

Schools are an active learning lab for students to grow and develop socially and emotionally. Because all students in this SEL"lab" are still developing, this can be filled with hard lessons ... how do I respond when someone is mean? How do I move on from a dating relationship, especially when I still see the person every day? What do I do when I can't get along with a classmate? Schools, in the past, have approached these issues from a "laissez faire" perspective, but more and more schools are realizing the importance of intentionally teaching a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, training teachers how to walk alongside students in social-emotional situations. Schools are adopting SEL curricula and character education initiatives, testing organizations are developing SEL measurements (eg. ACT Tessera), and states are creating standards because in order to flourish as a whole person, students need to develop socially and emotionally.

Parents must partner in this area also, recognizing that social-emotional growth often comes through difficulty, helping to develop character traits of grit, resilience, perseverance, and teaching/modeling coping strategies. The home learning should include time management, balance, rest, along with kindness, care-taking, and responsibilities. In some cases, students also deal with mental illness and anxiety that should be addressed by a counselor or psychiatrist. If social emotional development is  addressed and reinforced at home, students are more likely to be successful navigating the school dynamic.

Creative

Those who believe in a creator-God, as I do, understand the pre-eminence of this characteristic. Students are created in God's image (imago dei) and the first characteristic we see displayed by God is creativity. We see creativity in every sunrise, blooming flower, and insect; therefore, schools need to identify and honor these gifts by encouraging students to create. Creativity can also include "gap thinking" where students identify creative and innovative solutions to address real needs.

Creativity can be developed outside of school also. Parents can look for creative outlets and encourage creation (instead of purely consumption) in recreation, play, and entertainment. Using one's own gifts to create something for another is one of the greatest ways to image our Creator and encourage whole child flourishing.

Physical

In the pursuit of higher test scores, physical activity, recess/play, and athletics has moved to the back-burner, with many schools cutting these programs. However, research supports the benefits of physical activity in both social-emotional development and academic achievement. Even if a student doesn't have a PE class, taking breaks in the class to stretch, move, and exercise will lead to better whole child health and academic engagement.

Schools used to be the primary vehicle for physical education; however, more schools are dropping those classes for more "academic" electives. Physical activity must be a part of home life and learning. Exercise releases endorphins, a "feel good" chemical, that helps people flourish by having a more positive outlook about self and situations. Students involved in club or recreational sports get physical activity through these programs, but many students are sedentary while at home. Encouraging simple routines of walking the dog, yard work, and morning stretching/yoga will help students flourish at school and in life.

Spiritual

A taboo topic in education is the importance of spiritual development. Public schools cannot endorse a specific religion's beliefs or practices, but they can address spiritual elements of reflection/meditation, sabbath rest, times of silence, seeking wisdom from transcendent texts, singing, and service. Of course, private, religious schools can focus on faith formation in a specific religion, and in this element of whole child education, religious schools have such an advantage.

With our western perspective of individualized religious expression, many parents are hesitant to "force" their religious beliefs onto their children. Therefore, students are given the freedom to decide about religious practices and choose not to participate. This has been detrimental to student flourishing. Students need "church" in order to flourish (see my previous blog for more on this topic). Spiritual development should be emphasized at home, in the family's religious beliefs. This will provide students, at the very least, with a community to belong, a place in a grand story, and an otherness (rather than egocentric) perspective.

With the elements above, partnership is essential ... parents/families working together with educators/schools to help student flourish.

Hopefully, this blog has clarified this new educational buzzword of flourishing. Stay tuned ... there is much more to discuss with flourishing and whole child education.

20/20 Leadership: MIrrors and Windows (Part 2)

Leaders who have 20/20 vision must see both near-sighted and far-sighted clearly. Part one of this 20/20 Leadership blog focused on a leader standing by a mirror ... reflecting on themselves or on their organization and taking a closer look.

The second image of a 20/20 vision is a leader standing at the window, exercising his/her "far-sighted" vision. Leaders who are "far-sighted" are able to look beyond the details of the day, focus on what is best for the future of the organization, and can see the threats and opportunities by scanning the horizon. However, standing by the window can also imply taking a break and getting up from one's desk, which is also an important part of being a healthy leader.

So how can educational leaders spend time at the window?

Standing at the Window

Of the two positions, standing by a mirror or standing by a window, educational leaders that I know (myself included) need to be reminded more to "stand at the window." Principals, teacher-leaders, and even superintendents in education tend to dig in and work hard on the details of the day: scheduling, meeting with students/parents, completing classroom observations, walking the building picking up trash, planning the next event, reviewing test scores ... and reflecting on ways to make those details better.

It is vital for the health of the individual and the organization for leaders to spend time standing at the window. Here are a few of the benefits of standing by the window:

1. Take a Break
When I literally stand by a window, it is often to feel the warm Colorado sunshine on my face, enjoy the beauty of a sunset, or to take a deep breath of fresh air. For the health of the educational leader, taking time to stand by a window, both literally and figuratively, is vital as a break from the craziness of the day.

Burnout is high among educational leaders ... average superintendent tenure is 6 years, average principal tenure is 4 years. While the reasons for burnout are multi-faceted and context specific, a couple universal reasons are the break-neck pace of schooling and the lack of breaks for leaders during the school day. This doesn't have to be ... leaders can take 5 minute breaks to feel the warmth of co-workers, enjoy the beauty of the teaching/learning in classrooms, and take a deep breath of fresh air before jumping into another project. These can also be extended times. I am blessed to have a superintendent who requires his principals to take an extended break, of at least an hour, off-campus every other week.

The first reason for leaders to "stand by a window" is to take a break.

2. Check the Weather

Another reason that I stand by a window is to check the weather for the day. Checking the climate of the school is also an important action that every educational leader needs to accomplish on a regular basis.

Stand by the window and evaluate the climate of the school. Is this a spring weather time to start a new initiative or a winter weather time to hunker down? What is needed as you leave the house on the next journey? Do we need umbrellas or sunglasses, ponchos or winter coats? Are teachers and staff in need of an encouraging ray of sunshine or a supportive wind beneath their sails? Is there a celebration that needs to happen because of a positive educational "harvest"?

Checking the weather before heading out and embarking on a new project is vital for educational leaders ... and this can only be done by standing at the window.

3. Guard against Threats

While the image of a sentry keeping watch over the castle is not a common occurrence today, standing at a window can allow someone to see attacks coming. A leader must scan the horizon to see threats against the organization ... in this case a school.

External threats can come in many forms, and every organization needs a sentry. Educational leaders need to be aware of external factors that may impact the school in enrollment, operations, and finance: market changes and economic factors, current laws and pending legislation, competition from other schools, technological changes, and a variety of other current or future factors.

The best educational leaders are ones who can see external threats and prepare the school well to address them. The picture of a leader standing alone at a window is not accurate, especially in the case of being aware of external threats ... this needs to be a collaborative effort. An effective leader will get assistance "at the window" from an advisory council or school board to give input on external threats. In fact, non-educators often see these factors with more insight than educational leaders; rely on these friends to help guard against threats.

4. Day Dream

The final reason that I stand at the window is to day dream. It is easy to get lost in a beautiful sunset on the horizon, imagining all that the world can be. Although some view day dreaming as negative (especially in schools), this can be one of most positive things that a leader can do. In fact, often day dreaming incorporates the other "standing at the window" elements listed above. In the context of leadership, a day dreamer imagines a future world and sets a vision for how to get there.

Setting a vision for the future requires an educational leader to stand at the window and day dream. Unfortunately, many leaders are forced to focus on immediate sustainability (i.e. paying the bills at the end of the month), and they are not able to look at the horizon. Visioning requires a leader to look out for the future of the school. Bold, visionary leaders take risks to position the school to thrive in the future, and that can only happen if leaders spend time at the window.

Educational leaders standing at the window often encourages dreaming of what a school could be (or ought to be). This day dreaming leads to conversations about "what do we want to look like as a school in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?" This is the beginning of the visioning process and will lead to a powerful vision statement.

Mirrors and Windows

The most effective leadership happens when a leader can stand at the mirror and at the window at the same time. Due to the fact that many leaders have personalities that feel more comfortable at the mirror or at the window, it is rare to find someone who has both qualities.

Those leaders who focus on management (even "micro-management") spend more time standing at the mirror. These leaders need to be encouraged to step away from the work-a-day grind and stand by the window, take a deep breath and consider vision. The leaders who are more naturally visionaries spend more time standing at the window. These leaders need to be encouraged to spend more time in the daily work of the organization, get their hands dirty, and take a close look at what is going well, what is not, and how to tweak it in order to optimize the organization.

Those who have participated in a SWOT analysis can probably see the connection with these two images. "Mirror-work" is focused more on the Strengths and Weaknesses, and "window-work" is focused more on the Opportunities and Threats in the SWOT analysis. All four are important areas to consider, especially for those leaders in program evaluation and strategic planning.

Standing at the mirror and at the window at the same time is difficult, but remembering these two images will really help leaders see clearly in 2020 and beyond.

20/20 Leadership: Mirrors and Windows (Part 1)

With the year 2020, many are talking about 20/20 vision. For leaders to be visionary and effective, they must be both near-sighted and far-sighted; they must have 20/20 vision.

Two images come to mind when thinking about 20/20 leadership. Visualize the image of a leader standing at a mirror and then visualize the image of a leader standing at a window. Effective leadership involves both "mirror-work" and "window-work"; effective leaders need to be both near-sighted and far-sighted. A challenge is doing both of these at the same time.

What do each of these images mean?

Standing at the Mirror

Mirrors, of course, imply reflection, and leaders must frequently reflect both personally and organizationally. However, mirrors are also places where individuals take a closer look, and that also needs to happen. Ineffective leaders rarely take a closer look, instead choosing to stay in their office, in strategic meetings, or in the "clouds."

So how can educational leaders spend time at the mirror?

1. Collect data. 
In order to "take a closer look," reflection needs data. While data can be formal test scores or surveys, it can also be informal observations, casual conversations with staff, and student feedback. Most experienced educational leaders have a keen "gut" that tells them what doesn't seem right about teaching, learning, and the overall school climate; data helps confirm or deny those gut feelings. Leaders should always be collecting and evaluating data ... towards one end: to improve the quality of education being received by the students.

• What data are you using to confirm your "gut" feeling about your school?
• When was the last time you asked a staff member or a student, "what is going well for you?" or "what is going poorly for you?"
• Are there institutional assessments that would help you reflect more meaningfully?

2. Focus on the positive first! 
When reflecting, start with the positives. While it is easy to pick out the negatives, a greater impact occurs when you work on enhancing your strengths rather than working on your weaknesses. Celebrate your strengths. Continue to do those things with excellence. Reflecting on the following questions will help you identify both your strengths and ways to take these to the next level.

• What is going well? Why?
• What can you do to celebrate, affirm, and solidify those areas in which you excel?
• How do you build on those strengths?
• How can you optimize these areas to move from "good to great"?

3. Focus on the negatives second! 

After celebrating your strengths, full reflection requires one to consider weaknesses. However, this doesn't have to be negative; identified weaknesses, confirmed by data and presented as "areas of improvement," can also motivate leaders. teachers and students. As long as you (personally and as a school) have a growth mindset, these can be be transformed into powerful action steps toward improvement. Reflecting on the following questions will help identify focus areas.

• What is not going well? Why not?
• Is more effort / staffing needed?
• What can I do to improve the situation?
• Does the issue require more hands-on attention from leadership?
• Do expectations need to be clarified? Do I need to relaunch?

Reflection (mirror-work) is a powerful opportunity to move from good to great personally and as a school or organization, and it is a vital strategy to identify areas of improvement ... but reflection (mirror-work) takes time. You can imagine, effective educators take time to reflect regularly and deeply. They tweak lessons/units to improve every day; they analyze data; they take a close look at what is going on as an educational institution ... in short, they spend time daily in front of the mirror.

The shadow side of mirrors.

Leaders who are more "managers" than "visionaries" enjoy mirror-work. They enjoy collecting data, taking a closer look, critiquing/tweaking details, and jumping in to "help." While this can be a strength, it can quickly devolve into micro-managing staff.

Just like spending too much time at the mirror in the morning personally is not a healthy practice and can prevent you from leaving the house, spending too much time at the professional mirror can frustrate staff and impede further action. Effective leaders do not spend too much time at the mirror. In fact, the most effective leaders move smoothly from the mirror to the window and back again.

The second part of being a 20/20 leader involves being far-sighted and part two of this blog discusses the image of a leader standing by a window ... stay tuned.