“Culture of Complacency”

This past week the presidential commission investigating the events leading up to the tragic explosion and then the oil spill in the Gulf made public many of their findings.  Of course there was enough blame to be shared with not only British Petroleum, but also other contractors involved.  The commission used the phrase, “Culture of Complacency”.   That phrase caught my attention. The commission reported that BP suffered from a Culture of Complacency.  I looked up the meaning of complacency, “A feeling of contented self-satisfaction, especially when unaware of upcoming trouble”.

Bob Graham co-chair of the commission said, “There was a series of almost incredible

failures in the days and hours leading to the disaster”.

Like you, I have read several books on leadership as part of our course work.  Without fail, almost every book refers to Enron.  This scandal will define a period in our culture.   It will remain an example of what can go wrong when greed is allowed to rule.  Certainly, the BP oil explosion and oil spill in the Gulf will also take it place in history.

As these events happen, it is important to learn from them.  I thought of how Complacency might look in my district, my school, my classroom.  I think it important to guard against the self-contentment.  That is not to say we cannot take satisfaction in our work…but maybe not rest there.  

The Respectful Mind

In his book 5 Minds for the Future, Howard Gardner (2008) wrote of “The Respectful Mind”.  This is when one can seeks to understand others.  Gardner wrote, “…in a complex global terrain in which we now live, we should, whenever possible, give priority to respect for those with different backgrounds and beliefs-and hope that they will return the favor” (p. 119). 

In the beginning of the chapter, Gardner wrote of the natural human tendency to form groups. Living with children in High School and Jr. High it is like observing a study of human anthropology.  I think that there is never such a period when human children are trying urgently to find their “group”.   This process is sometimes painful…even for parents.  Teaching kids to respect one another during this turbulent time is difficult at best. I admire those of you that teach this age.

Gardner said,

 “If one wishes to raise individuals who are respectful of differences across groups, a special burden is accordingly placed on education in the social sciences, the arts and literature.  Put bluntly, such education cannot bypass issues of respect under the rubric of “pure” disciplinary study. Rather, it is necessary to confront directly the value of respect, the costs of respect, and the infinitely greater costs of disrespect (in the long run).

I would agree the cost is far greater not to teach our children to have respect. Respect for themselves but also for others.  Putting the practice of respect above the group mentality is not easy, not even for adults.

“We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.”

-Will Rogers

Leading A Generation

What do you think of when hear the phrase, “Kennedy died”?  Do you think of a gun shot in Dallas or do you think of a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard.  On the other hand, maybe you think Kennedy Who?  Depending on what generation you are part of may depend on what answer comes first to your mind.

 I have been doing a lot of reading about generational differences (preparing my annotated bibliography).  There are so many differences of how we might relate depending when (the year) we were born.  Of course, these differences between generations are generalizations.  However, it is so interesting to note their differences. 

I was born the last year of the Baby Boomer (1946-1964) generation.  I relate probably more towards the X (1965-1980) generation.  My children were born in the era of the Y (1981-1995) generation; the youngest of this generation are High School students today.  The oldest are the young teachers that are joining our ranks.    

So this is the situation.  In our schools, we have a mix of generations, three sometimes four, (The Silent Generation; 1925-1942) serving as teachers, college professors, and administrators.  Because these differences are sometimes so prevalent, the questions are.

1. Can we work together?

2. Will the teachers of the Y generation find their place in a school culture mostly built on the ideals of the Baby Boomer generation?

Aside: Even though the Baby Boomer generation is growing towards retirement, many are delaying when they will retire.  Teachers of the Y generation are leaving the teaching field only after three to five years of teaching.

Leading this mixed group of generations can be a challenge.  Is this not another aspect of transnational leadership?  Not only are we to cross cultural differences but also generational differences.

 However, leadership can bring out the best each generation has to offer.  The winners if this can be accomplished are the generations to follow. Generation Z (1996-2009) and Generation Alpha (2009-    ).

Have Theory, Will Travel

“Give me a Good Theory over a Strategic Plan any day of the week “ (Fullan, 2008, p.1).

This past week I finished reading Fullan’s book, The Six Secrets of Change.  When I first began reading this book, I found it a little difficult to synthesize. However, after rereading and thinking more about what Fullan has written I have a better appreciation of his message. In recent years I have attended several workshops and in-services, most often the speaker has said, “I want to give you something you can use in the classroom tomorrow”.  Of course, when you go to a workshop you want it to worth the time, money, and effort.  As a classroom teacher, I want to be able to take something that I have learned and use it with my students so they can be successful. 

After reading this book, I believe that is just what Fullan wants as well.  Although he writes about theory, he is also addressing practice.  Theory leads to practice.  As practitioners, we are to make application and practice.  Theory that will Travel.  I find the Six Secrets very practice friendly.  It makes sense to me.  I can take it with me…even to a first grade classroom. I practice what I have learned with my peers.

“Few things in life are more satisfying than the chance to share a good secret or six.  Go for it” (Fullan, 2008, p. 135).

Breathe

I need to remember to do this.  The last three days were great. The presentations were very well done. Thank You!  I enjoyed class and the people that surround me always amaze me.  Cohort 4 is an unbelievable group of people!  When the group in Dr. Kemp’s class ended the presentation Friday, Donna led us in a time of meditation. It helped me realize that I am forgetting to “breathe”.  Like most of you, I am working very hard to balance my life.  I knew before going into this that it would not be easy.  Now that I am doing this, I realized this is NOT going to be easy. 

So, how can I apply this to the concept of Leadership?  Being the leader is demanding. The leader can be overwhelmed with the demands on their time and their energy.  Finding the balance is important to survival and effectiveness.

 So I need to breathe…take time to take to relax so that I can regain my focus and energy. I am  so very glad that I am in the company of Cohort 4. 

Laughter Club

My team of 1^st grade colleagues is really a fun group.  We have developed a wonderful working relationship.  We all have very busy a life with husbands, children, and one member of our team has become a grandmother in last few years.  We are friends.  We do not necessarily spend a lot of time outside of school together.  One aspect of our relationships is we laugh a lot together.  We share stories about our children, grandchildren, and enjoy each other’s company.  In A Whole New Mind, Pink (2005) interviewed Dr. Kataria about the importance of laughter.  Dr. Kataria said, “Laughter can play a major role in reducing stress in the workplace” (p.204).  Of course, that makes sense to me and is not necessarily earth shattering information.  However, if you have ever worked somewhere, or had a job that was No Fun and there was no laughter you can understand the importance of Dr. Kataria’s statement.

 

So with that being said I want tell you something that happened this week with one of my little first graders that my Laughter Club thought was funny.  This school year I have a very young group.  I have four children reading, seventeen in different stages of readinessJ!  I have been really working on their listening comprehension; I read a factual story without pictures about trains. The story was about all different types of trains but mostly described subways and streetcar trains.  The story was very informative.  At the conclusion, I asked several questions to the class.  I asked one of my little boys, “Why do big cities build subways?”  His response was… “Because they really like sandwiches”.

Empathy

Pink (2006) said,

“Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in some else’s position and intuit what that person is feeling. It is the ability to stand in others’ shoes, to see with their eyes, and to feel with their hearts” (p.159).

This weekend my teenage sons participated in an exercise in exactly what Pink spoke of when he described empathy.  My boys simulated being homeless, with other youth of our church through Mission Waco, they slept outside forged for food and walked the streets.  This simulation has been repeated several times by Mission Waco to help people understand homelessness in a more concrete way.  In other words…developing Empathy.

This was a stretch for me to allow my sons to participate.  However, they made the argument that this was important to them.  I am still getting little bits of information from them as to what took place but I am hoping these children who live in abundance have learned a lesson of walking in someone else’s shoes, seeing through another’s eyes, and feeling with their hearts.  

Being able to express empathy and practice it is what Pink said makes us human. "Empathy is an essential part of living a life of meaning" (p.165).