Mike Lubelfeld's Blog

#112LEADS #SUPTCHAT

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Inspired by Leadership Conference – Honoring President’s Day #112Leads #Suptchat

February 20, 2022 / / 4 Comments

“I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.”
– Vincent Van Gogh

On Monday, February 21, 2022, we celebrate President’s Day in the United States. It’s a day to honor those who have been elected by the “people” or some version of the “people” as that has evolved over time, to lead the “free world” as we say. These leaders have experienced trials, tribulations, scandals, triumphs, and much, much more over our nation’s many years in the global sphere. Leadership is what makes the difference as all leaders have ups, downs, and in between.

Our nation’s schools, a foundation and cornerstone of freedom, democracy, and “The American Way”, have come under a spotlight, scrutiny, hate, and love during the nearly two years of the experimental leadership driven by COVID-19 and divergent leadership around the nation. Follow the scientists – OK but they disagree. Follow the public health experts – OK but they disagree. Follow the politicians? – Uh – no thank you (LOL)! – But even they disagree. So … what is a leader left to do?

Publicly elected school board members (unpaid volunteers in Illinois and in many states around the nation) became (and are) at the front lines of democracy. Elected Officials who shop at the same grocery store as their neighbors who voted them in office. They who attend the same churches and faith-based organizations as their neighbors, and those, who until recently, held boring meetings. You know things may be out of control when Saturday Night Live parodies school board meetings and every superintendent is “like” – “yep, they got it right”!

So how do we evolve and grow, progress, and lead for our nation’s children and educators? When outside “experts” either abdicated leadership, waffle at the leadership, paralyze themselves with fear of failure, other, or “all of the above”, the leader (eg – the superintendent of schools in partnership with his/her school board and team) must LEAD.

I’ve been in public schools for nearly 30 years, I was a middle teacher (social studies, US history, civics, reading, Spanish, English, 6th grade, and 8th grade), a middle school associate principal (grades 4-8 and 5-8), a middle school principal (grades 6-8), a PK-8 Assistant Superintendent, and for the past 12 years, I have been a PK-8 public school superintendent. I learn from other leaders, and I lead others. I have four degrees from college universities (Bachelors, Masters, Specialist, and Doctorate). I’m a member of the AASA Leadership Network and the IASA Leadership Team, I’m a published author and a leadership coach. Blessed with opportunity, coaches, guides, friends, colleagues, and inspired by students, families, teachers, and experts, I am a lead learner proud of opportunity and highly cognizant of responsibility.

I take nothing lightly (for better or for worse). Thankfully the school board for whom I am employed, dedicated, and proudly serve is composed of seven amazing people who understand governance, leadership, and future-focused planning. With them we have and we continue to navigate the uncertain waters of the pandemic. We are now at a “crossroad” where the politics have gone haywire, the scientists and public health experts have gone haywire, and the need for leadership outpaces the speed at which outside experts have offered guidance. This coming week, the week where we honor President’s Day, our Board, locally, will be demonstrating on-the-ground leadership at a very important time. I’m honored and proud to lead in #112Leads.

My experiences from last week have reignited my passion to write … this is my first blog post in months … thank you AASA!

Leadership is a Team Sport

Recently I had the good fortune of attending the National Conference on Education, NCE, from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). The School Superintendent’s Association, the AASA, has been in operation for more than a century. Supporting professional development, growth, and innovation for our nation’s top educational leaders has been and remains their mission of service. In the twelve years, I have served as a public school superintendent, I have attended the NCE. The conference was in person this year, the first time since February 2020 — and even though it’s only been a few years — it has seemed like an eternity since we have been able to learn together, lead together, and network together as colleagues and friends from all over the USA.

Education, public education, some would argue is the glue that binds us as a society. Some would argue it’s the most “American” of institutions. It’s where our youth spend more time than anywhere else from age 5 to 17 (or age 3-22 in many cases, as well). It’s the place where cultural values and norms are taught, reinforced, challenged, and promulgated. It’s where the very roots of the foundation of our democracy are first taking hold. And since March 2020, the foundation has been shaken, inequities have been exposed, innovations have been tested, divisive politics have divided and leadership both absent and present has guided us — or misguided us — on many fronts.

The #NCE2022, with great keynote speakers, honored partners, and heroic superintendents recognized for leadership and accomplishment helped restore my faith and confidence and my re-energization with respect to my role as a suburban Chicago, Illinois public school superintendent. The title of this post is “Leadership is a Team Sport” and that is exactly what #NCE2022 reminded me and my colleagues at each interaction. Whether it was awarding the national Superintendent of the Year or focusing on a keynote speaker from government, higher education, k-12 education or global leadership, or whether it was in the form of the hundreds of break out sessions, roundtable discussions, or special events, one huge theme came forward – we’re in this together. Whatever “this” was, is, and will be, we’re in it together.

I have the good fortune of leading with many exceptional people in North Shore School District 112 in Highland Park, IL, in Lake County, Illinois, in Illinois in general, and around the nation. At the #NCE2022, I was able to bring closure to a year-long leadership academy called the AASA National Aspiring Superintendent Academy, Blended Learning Model. Together with my good friend and leadership partner, Nick Polyak (Superintendent in Leyden High School District 212) we had the chance to meet in person most of our students with whom we have been leading on the journey towards the superintendent of schools position. Of our 29 students/participants representing 17 US states, 19 were able to make it in person, 14 US states were represented. Ideas and perspective sharing from Alabama, Texas, New Mexico, Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusets, Arkansas, Maryland, Tennessee, Arizona, South Carolina, and Ohio were prominent in the team building and capstone project presentations.

Each of the participant’s capstone projects, presented in the IGNITE style (20 slides with imagery advancing every 15 seconds for a concise 5-minute presentation) were moving, thoughtful, highly prepared and planned, innovative, inspiring, and reflective of the excellence that each of the aspiring superintendents brings to the table in their home, work, and beyond interactions. They were individuals who became a team as a result of our time together. After all that we have been through and all we endure during the pandemic, it was powerful to gather, learn, and lead in person. Their graduation ceremony was fun, dignified, and well deserved.

In addition to teaching at the conference, Nick, PJ Caposey (Superintendent in Stillman, Valley, IL, Meridian CUSD 233) and I had the opportunity to make a presentation as a breakout session to more than 100 attendees at the conference. Our session on Student Voice: From Invisible to Invaluable was based on our 2018 Rowman & Littlefield book of the same title. Our team approach to research, writing, and presenting was energizing and affirming too. The AASA Conference staff wrote about our session and made a short video interview of my thoughts on Student Voice, which was also the theme of the conference. 

As I return to my home and next week back to my home district, I have recalibrated my “why” and thanks to my multiple teams of colleagues, friends, mentors, coaches, and fellow superintendents, I have the strength to lead with purpose no matter what challenges emerge. I have the strength and courage to lead for the students I serve, the employees I lead and manage, the Board to whom I report, and the community.

Leadership is a team sport and the strength, inspiration, grounding, and clarity a team provides can only help us each and all do better for those we have the privilege to serve.

Open Letter to Community – Re: Racism, Equality & Freedom

June 1, 2020 / / 1 Comment

“Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

June 1, 2020

An Open Letter to our Community,

The tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, brings racial violence to the forefront of our country and our psyche as a nation.  While our nation and local communities have made strides regarding racial equality over the years, the reality is, our nation has a lot of work to do.  The current sadness I feel and that is felt around the nation and world is not sadness that should be present in our society. We are all and we are each better than this. Everyone deserves respect and honor as a human being.

Our school district takes great pride in serving families of many races, creeds, ethnicities, religions, languages, etc.   While we value these as strengths of our district, we continue to look for ways to respect and engage our differences. In the days, months, and years ahead, our district will need to engage students and families in exploring their own identities and learning through a lens/perspective different from their own. We must go beyond celebrating diversity in surface-level ways. It’s time to go deeper. It’s time to raise the generation that will erase the legacies of institutionalized racism.

I recently watched the History Channel miniseries on Ulysses S. Grant, it was a three day, six-hour documentary of Grant’s life, leadership, trials & tribulations. It also chronicles the American Civil War and the Reconstruction efforts in the South. Through literal bloodshed, slavery in the US was abolished and racial equality was legislated and put forth into law. In the decades that followed the US Civil War, the evils of institutionalized racism reinstituted a 2nd class society for people of color. Each time achievements were made in our nation, there were steps backward. Perhaps this is the time for us to step forward and stay forward.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Dual Language Two-Way Immersion, Spanish-English program in District 112. The blending of race, culture, language, ethnicity, and personal family histories serve to strengthen our schools, our children, and our communities. I’m proud to oversee an ethnically and linguistically inclusive educational program.

Standards-aligned curriculum & instruction serve to support the facilitation of balanced and thoughtful learning in all grades PK-8. Flexible changes in school boundaries and attendance centers sometimes appeared to be the greatest challenges and “problems” we faced in our district. World and national events surely put all of this into perspective as we reflect on the abundance and joy in our school district. If ever there was a time for perspective — it is now!

As we reflect on recent national events (racial oppression and inequity) and global events (worldwide Pandemic bringing nations to a close), I call upon us all to rise up above the myopic views that sometimes stifle true understanding and growth. In North Shore School District 112,  we are committed to educating each one of our students. We are also committed to supporting each member of the staff.  We stand by equity, justice, kindness, respect, and good character. It is no longer enough to be against racism and oppression, we must become anti-racist and accomplices in the fight for equality and justice for all.         

Remember our motto is Inspire…Innovate…Engage through our collective efforts and unity in kindness and good we can help to create a more just and bias-free society. While we endure the uncertainty of a Pandemic and we bear witness to the tragedy of racism and systemic oppression, it is my belief that we can unite and learn and grow in partnership for the good and right!

While we commit to embedding the tenets of social justice and anti-racism in our core, we are not there yet. We have work to do to actualize equality in both action and results. We are committed to this work and to ensuring that each child is able to grow in an educational environment that is safe and actualizes their greatness. To our students and families of color, I commit to start with me. I commit to not just reflect and discuss but to act upon injustice. I commit to acknowledge the rich contributions of Blacks and Latinos in the curriculum, to both listen and to act. I commit to using my power and privilege to fight against racist policies and practices. I commit to lead a school district that pays back the educational and societal debt that is owed to you.

With hope and respect,

Mike

Michael Lubelfeld Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

Impact of a Teacher – #112Leads

May 22, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
– Benjamin Franklin

With this school year coming to a close on June 4, 2020 I was reflecting on the power of a teacher, and in February 2017 I shared a similar story about one of the most impactful educators in my life. I thought it would be a good time to reflect on Dr. McFarland and share his impact on me again as we prepare to bring the most unprecedented school year to a close! Originally shared in February, 2017 I shared some thoughts about how a college professor from an undergraduate course on the American Presidency from many years ago impacted my life and my professional journey. A journey that currently has some powerful meaning/relevance with our district’s move to remote e-Learning. With this blog post, I’ll draw the connections!

As a former 6th and 8th grade social studies teacher (U.S. history, civics, law, world history, reading, etc.) I have a deep interest in our nation’s culture, history, values, beliefs, celebrations, etc. In addition, I hold a degree in political science, so I have been a “policy wonk” for many years, and to this day I follow the news, politics, etc.

While I was a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, UIC, I had some of the best teachers in my life. The late Dr. Twiley Barker Jr., Dr. Kevin Lyles, and Dr. Andrew McFarland, to name a few. During a course on the American Presidency, POLS 229, an event took place in my life that impacted my philosophies, beliefs, and actions as a teacher and educational leader over the past 30 years. In some ways it likely shaped my philosophies and impact as a teacher and as an educational leader so many years later. Right now there is a current challenging transition from the abrupt changes to remote e-Learning and how teachers have to “report progress” in this unusual time. Looking back at my personal educational history, I’m reminded of why meaningful feedback, teacher /student relationships, and the mastery of content and the flexibility of instruction supersedes any percentage grade or mark in terms of meaningful feedback and communication about learning.

With this blog post, I’m reflecting on the congruity of an impactful event in my life during an undergraduate course, and the realization that this impactful event has impacted my beliefs whether I consciously knew about it or not. This is an “aha” moment for me – this is partially why I so strongly believe the growing pains and transition are worth the time, effort, energy, and extra work involved in pupil progress reporting.

 

Change is hard (I’ve written a lot about the change process) – Unlearning is hard (I have also written about this concept).

My college professor Dr. Andrew McFarland gave me a chance in the “real world” -when I was in college. Because he knew me, he knew what kind of student I was – he knew my passion for political science he treated me like I was more than a percentage or a score. Dr. McFarland also taught so that students would learn. He had high standards for each and every student and he held himself to high standards too.

So what is this all about? What is this big event that caused me an “aha” moment? Dr. McFarland called me one night while I was eating dinner with my parents; it was 5:30pm – I don’t know how I remember this fact, but I do. This event took place in 1988 or 1989 and I still vividly remember our call!

He called me that night because earlier that day when I took the final exam, I inadvertently forgot to answer one or two additional questions. If Dr. McFarland graded or assessed based on the “old” system I would have received an F. Dr. McFarland, though, was using standards based learning and instruction (whether he or I knew it or not). He called me on the phone and asked me to respond to the final exam question prompts – for 30 maybe 60 minutes. Because he cared about learning – not about percentages or “harsh” lessons, I was able to demonstrate mastery and competency of the American Presidency course (in which I did earn an A, not only because of what I learned, but more importantly, because my professor cared about discovering what his students knew).

He assessed my knowledge acquisition in an alternative learning setting because my teacher was more concerned about assessing my learning and mastery than he was about issuing a grade or a percentage. Had this caring professor used traditional methods I would have failed the exam. In my opinion and in my experiences, standards based grading, reporting, learning, and assessment actually prepares people for real life by holding them accountable to learn. Thank you Dr. McFarland!

Our district will transition through this remote e-Learning to next year (whatever that may be … ideally safe, healthy, and in person). Through this transformational experience for our schooling and for our society, we have all shown how quickly we can unlearn when we must, we have shown how we can relearn schooling, and we will show that we can learn how to create a new reality as necessary.

Dr. McFarland unlearned old school and rigid grading and assessment practices and I consider him to be remarkable and gifted, he was a leader who impacted me and my practice. Let’s use modern instructional strategies to maximize the impact and effect of learning whether we’re in person or remote, or in a hybrid combination of both. Let’s help people unlearn practices that make no sense other than to have been used in their past school experiences.

Preparing students for the future world requires teaching them content that is meaningful in learning environments that are powerfully purposeful and full of clear, regular, meaningful feedback and opportunities to learn and demonstrate learning. As we bring the school year to a close, we are reminded of the impact and power of a teacher and his or her feedback. Thank you to all educators — and thank you again, Dr. McFarland!

Paint by Numbers or Creative Leadership – How do you lead?

November 9, 2019 / / 0 Comments

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become  more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

Students have one chance to experience whatever grade level they are in. They will be in third grade once … it’s incumbent upon we in education, then, to make that the best and most meaningful third grade experience we possibly can. This takes creative, innovative, and empowering leadership. Gone are the complacent days of the “good old days” when rote memorization and “cemetery rows” of desks and chairs in public schools were the norm. Gone is (or should be) the “paint by number” mentality governing the public school system.

Well, I hope so … I endeavor to be a leader who demonstrates creative leadership and courageous leadership in support of excellence and the development of others so that we create optimal conditions for learning, growth, and success. One way in which I do this is through attendance at and participation in professional learning conferences.

When superintendents gather at a professional learning conference, there are some expected traditions. There will be a welcome reception, we’ll get a directory of members, we’ll review the history/tradition of the organization, we’ll have sessions that are whole group, keynote presenters, small group break out sessions, work with partner organizations, local culture/history excursions and networking opportunities. These are legacy traditions that bind us together in our professional organizations in pursuit of scholarship, fellowship, and leadership development.

Although there is a rhyme and reason, and while there is a set of expectations and predictable events, opportunities and experiences, the gathering of school superintendents – our nation’s chief education officers – is anything but paint by numbers professional learning. Today’s leaders must support one another and inspire one another and help one another be better than they were yesterday! The concept of Paint by numbers can be defined as:

Adjective. paint-by-numbers (not comparable) (of a picture) Made from a painting by numbers kit. (figuratively) By rote, without thought or creativity.

paint-by-numbers – Wiktionary

https://en.wiktionary.org › wiki › paint-by-numbers

From PAINT BY NUMBERS

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“For critics, the paint-by-number phenomenon provided ample evidence of the mindless conformity gripping national life and culture. “I don’t know what America is coming to,” one writer complained to American Artist, “when thousands of people, many of them adults, are willing to be regimented into brushing paint on a jig-saw miscellany of dictated shapes and all by rote…”PAINT BY NUMBERS

So paint by numbers became a craze in the 1950s in America so that “anyone could become an artist”. It was part of the postwar (World War II) leisure and recreation fads in the newfound postwar American prosperity. After the Allied victories in the European and Asian theaters, the nation experienced a postwar boom of economic prosperity, educational attainment (GI Bill) and suburban sprawl out of the urban and rural areas.

Life was good. Anyone could “paint by numbers” and become an artist. Through rote, orderly rule following, in clean, linear fashion, everyone and anyone could create masterpieces that were originally created through innovation and creativity and talent.

In the period of time following World War II, and following the Korean Conflict, it can be argued that America was lulled into a peaceful and prosperous conformity where leisure, complacency, and pursuit of the American Dream was the norm. This was until the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR/CCCP, the Soviet Union (archenemy of the United States during the Cold War) successfully launched Sputnik … that started the space race, and was a starting point for the American wake up call for many things, including a focus on scientific and mathematical learning in the nation’s public schools. “History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched SputnikI. The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball…” Sputnik

Followed up with President John Kennedy’s bold, audacious goal that America would put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. The palette of change and growth in America was about to become anything but “paint by numbers”.

Some argue that in the 19th year of the 21st Century, American public schools are again getting a wake-up call to create conditions for learning that resemble modern learning in response to the 4th Industrial Revolution instead of lingering traditions from the first or second Industrial Revolution. Why should our nation’s schools and classrooms still look like the image below?

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When the world and the expansion of knowledge is far different and the work force has far newer needs, it’s urgent for K-12 schooling to change and adapt for the reality of the present and the possibility of the future. As illustrated in the image, there are degrees in college today that have significantly changed in the past half century. More and more of these college degrees, industry certifications, and career opportunities for which we in K-12are charged with preparing the future that cannot be mastered via rote, paint-by-numbers thinking.

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So as leaders, we gather, learn from one another, share with one another, and create conditions for our nation’s future, for our state’s future, for our neighborhood’s future, for ALL children to whom we are entrusted to educate. So while I may work in an industry or in a profession with a whole lot of paint-by-numbers leaders, I’m grateful my Board of Education entrusts me to learn how to amplify my voice and impact by learning from creative and innovative leaders and for becoming a future focused leader with the likelihood of far greater and more relevant impact.

In North Shore School District 112, our hashtag on Twitter is #112Leads and our motto is inspire, innovate, engage. Through creative leadership with a future focused view and through an aspirational lens toward the future, our Portrait of a Graduate reflects the present and the future! We’ll honor our past as we break free from its limits to set course for territories unknown. No paint-by-number predisposed journey exists for the bold! There is no time for complacency in the early part of our 21st Century. Now is the time to break from the traditions that no longer find relevance. It’s time to UNLEARN!

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The Unlearning Leader – Sharing a Mindset

November 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

“The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who can learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Toffler

Nick Polyak and I wrote the Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow’s Schools Today (2017 Rowman & Littlefield) and we have had the good fortune to speak about the messages in the book all over our home state of Illinois, around the USA, and overseas as well. We did not “invent” the concept of unlearning, of course, and we’re not the first authors to publish on unlearning, either. We are called to UNLEARN in our service to Students, Communities, Boards of Education, Educational Support Staff, Teachers, Parents, & Society in general!

In this post, I’m sharing an excerpt of the book for reference, as well as an audio file from a recent keynote address Nick and I presented in Chicago. If you would like to read an article about our book, use this link from an article published in the Spring 2019 Update from the Illinois Association of School Business Officials.

We would love your input and insights on the concept of unlearning in your own leadership and in support of your own journey. Please comment and if you have read the book and you like it, feel free to share an Amazon comment/review.

Click the audio player to hear the Keynote address Nick and I presented at Cognia Connect Midwest, in Chicago:

From the Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow’s Schools Today – Preface:

Preface:
The Time is Now
In some school systems, executive leadership still does not understand or value current methods of communication, especially technological methods. Their relative lack of knowledge about social connectivity can become quite detrimental to a school system in search of change, innovation, and leadership. We want to help school leaders unlearn their current approaches to leadership in how they “connect”, lead, support student learning, transform schools, and impact organizational culture.

We wrote this book to celebrate the connected leader, show case study examples of change and modern change processes, and to help leaders unlearn to relearn! The premise of this book is that we all need to unlearn. Our landscape is applied to leadership, classrooms, pedagogy, and education in general. In order to change and prepare for tomorrow, we submit that much of what we have learned must be unlearned as we aim to create a new tomorrow for our nation’s children.

Our current public school system was essentially created by ten university leaders in the 1890’s. A lot has changed since then, yet our structures in public schools seem unable to unlearn the structures and conventions from the 19th Century. Our purposes include supporting leaders to lead and enabling leaders to lead for tomorrow’s schools. There is an urgency for change.

Futurist Jack Uldrich has made presentations across the country about the concept of unlearning. While at a Future Ready Summit in Illinois, we participated in an activity that has been practiced across the country from Jack and others. We were asked one simple question, “What color are yield signs?” Sounds simple. Uldrich asked the audience to raise their hands if they thought yield signs are yellow and black.

The majority of those in the audience raised their hands in a sign of agreement that yield signs are yellow and black. That was the correct answer, many years ago when members in the audience first learned about yield signs. Years after the audience members learned the yellow and black color scheme the yield signs across the country changed to red and white.

Folks knew intellectually that the signs were no longer yellow and black, but they “learned” this earlier in their lives and knowledge proves difficult to unlearn. This provides a powerful lesson about our need to unlearn old knowledge in order to modernize our thinking as to what is true today. And it shows the challenge. That which leaders learned early on in their careers, or in leadership schools, often stifles their growth with their inability to unlearn.

The world is changing at an exponential pace, but oftentimes our educational leaders and our educational systems are not. This experience (with the yield sign) was an epiphany of sorts for both us that has led us to look at educational leadership through the lens of unlearning.

Horace Mann is credited with saying
“Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.”

Now, more than ever, with the nation becoming an ethnic “minority-majority” leaders need to unlearn and to unleash powerful innovation in the new reality. Today is far different from yesterday. Leaders must get out from behind their desks and integrate doing and empowering others with managing and leading from a 30,000 ft. view.

Since 1983 our nation’s schools have been at risk. Since 2002 we have been leaving no child behind. Now with ESEA reauthorization, we are getting ready for every student to succeed. In order for every student to succeed, school leaders must unlearn the old ways and learn and practice leadership through innovative methods and courageous actions.

Representing careers in leadership and public education spanning many decades and impacting thousands of K-12 students and teachers, we are sharing a passion for excellence in education with the leadership lessons and insights throughout this book. We serve as educational leaders as part of a larger calling to serve. We wrote this book as part of this calling.

Students in each grade level have but one chance to experience that grade level. Students don’t have time to wait. We mentioned a sense of urgency – the urgency is that the 19th-century structures no longer serve as relevant to the needs of modern society. Why has it been so hard to change structures in schools? We submit that it is part of the challenge of unlearning. “Everyone” has attended school – they have a construct as to what it should be.

We are learned leaders in the education space. We too were schooled in traditional, 19th-century structures though we have enjoyed success and fulfillment. And we are from another era than our students. It’s incumbent upon us as leaders to demonstrate organizational agility and flexibility so that the current needs of children are reflected in the nation’s schools. We have a moral imperative, an economic imperative, a pedagogical imperative and leadership imperative to unlearn.

Just because our teachers, leaders, members of elected boards of education, parents, grandparents, and the community at large learned what school is – in another era – that does not mean we current leaders need to lead for nostalgia. Nostalgia has a place – in museums and other venues, but not in schools. Unlearning an individual’s experiences proves quite difficult. Learning is wired and challenging to unlearn.

Policymakers don’t know what is current in education – they know what made them successful and happy – they don’t know what is needed now since often they are many levels removed from schooling. Yet it is policymakers who are credited with legislating mandates, standards, expectations, training, rules, etc. yet they base their views on their own construct of education and schooling – that of nostalgia.

We wrote this book because nostalgic policies might be destroying public education. Nostalgic experiences are actually incongruous with the information generation. Voices in telephone devices can restate the 50 state capitals – that doesn’t mean it’s not important to learn the 50 state capitals, it means that memorization is not the only form of “learning” anymore. Just because you, your mother, your aunt, your grandfather, and his great grandfather also memorized capitals in 4th grade does not mean that it’s relevant for today’s youth.

We wrote this book because leaders who unlearn and innovate make possible opportunities for children. We wrote this book because leaders can unlearn ways of the past to create new and relevant futures. We wrote this book because so many great coaches and mentors and friends guide and support our unlearning and we feel called to share and illustrate how unlearning is impacting systems in our care. The time is now to change, unlearn, create a new system and a new construct of structures for schooling – we have the knowledge and we have the will, let’s unlearn together!

Global Leadership at International Conference – #112Leads

October 15, 2019 / / 0 Comments

“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.” -Lao Tzu

Joining educational leaders from across the United States, China, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Costa Rica, Finland, Singapore, & Canada, I represented North Shore School District 112 at the Fifth Annual Conference of Global K-12 Education Research Association in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.

 

( Their website will be updated with information from this conference within a few weeks).

Through my leadership roles within the education community, including training aspiring superintendents, teaching at the graduate education level, presenting at conferences, and authoring books & journal articles, I am informed about conferences & symposia on global education issues.

I learned about this particular educational conference from the (AASA)American Association of School Administrators (AASA).

Together with superintendents and educational leaders from the nations mentioned above, and leaders from the following states in the USA: IL, MA, IA, CT, VA, AZ, OH, MD, VA, & WI, I was invited to present a speech to an audience of local (Chinese) educators, administrators, & local civic officials. Many of us presented speeches and shared presentations with one another and our Chinese hosts and local educators.

This year’s conference topic was Cultivating Student Leadership Skills. This topic is near and dear to me as I recently co-wrote the book Student Voice: From Invisible to Invaluable (2018 Rowman & Littlefield) with fellow Illinois superintendents Nick Polyak and PJ Caposey.

Coincidentally, and unrelated to this conference, our

Draft of Chinese Language Edition Book Cover – Student Voice: From Invisible to Invaluable

book is being translated into Chinese through a partnership between our publisher and Hohai University Press in China. The Chinese version will be released within the year.

 

The family with two children (pictured here) invited me to their home for dinner and a visit. This was one of the highlights of the experience!

 

In addition to the honor of speaking before my peers and international colleagues, I had the additional benefit to learn and grow as a leader and as a person through the depth of knowledge of the other speakers, the cultural learning opportunities, including a visit with a family whose

children attend the school we were visiting. This was my second trip to China on an international educational experience. My first trip was with the College Board, and it focused on forming partnerships to establish a Chinese language program in the school District (this is still on my vision/plan for our District as we expand our global learning opportunities).

For this trip, the primary goal was to gain more leadership and practice insights into cultivating student leadership skills to bring back and apply in the school District where I serve as the superintendent. One of the presenters from whom I learned is a professor at Harvard University’s school of Education, Dr. Randolph-Michael Testa. And another distinguished speaker was 91 years old Chinese educator Dr. Gu Mingyuan. In addition, as this was the 25th anniversary of the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language Educational Group (SFLEG), our host institution, we learned from their principal and others from the school. One of the delegates is a professor and administrator at Drake University in Iowa as well.

The overarching theme was Cultivating Student Leadership Skills and many of the presentations discussed research, practice, and programming PK-12-university-post baccalaureate with respect to that cultivation (the student is a child of ages 3-18 and an adult ages 19-??).

Throughout many of us identified what leadership is to us. for example, the professor from Harvard University stated that leadership is “helping other people to be better as they serve others”. Overall messaging was related to we leaders brining in joy to our communities through service and capacity building. Through moving from “why” to “how” we are able, in our own unique ways, to make the world a far better place for us all.

One of the greatest reinforcing “takeaways” for me is the synergy between the school (District) and the local governments, the civic groups (eg Rotary), the local businesses (eg Chamber of Commerce), students, teachers, staff, administrators, parents, grandparents, and the overall entirety of the community.

My view is community capitalism (of course where I was visiting has a slightly different view of community) — nonetheless, regardless of political ideology or economic system orientation or preference, this professional learning experience reinforced for me the need for global communication, partnership, study, relationship building, and dialogue.

Through travel, relationship building, open mindedness to new people and ideas, we leaders can help our local communities see and hear views

Practicing Tai Chi at the “playground” (stadium) at the school in the mountains that partners with SFLEG (our host school group). We had the opportunity to experience education, culture, history, and engagement.

via other lenses and viewpoints. We highly value diversity of thought, opinion, and experience; through opportunities like attending and presenting at this conference, I can “walk the walk” with other leaders by doing the learning in support of my leading!

As a point of reference, scale in China is HUGE from my mid-American perspective. Overall, it is the most populous nation on earth, it is one of the oldest cultures on earth, and it’s cities are among the world’s largest.

The scale of the airport (in Beijing), the high-speed train stations in Beijing and in Shijiazhuang were massive. The traffic and the orderly flow of life with so many people is mind-boggling and quite impressive. The scale of the school campus, itself, was massive. The campus hosts about 10,000 students in grades PK-12. There are buildings that resemble college campus buildings and museums. I’m sharing some images to attempt to show and explain the scale about which I am writing:

Their “playground” area that looks like a college or even professional sports complex.

Photo of our group of delegates in front of one of the buildings – the school buildings – on campus.😒

View of the train station in Shijiazhuang (high speed trains that travel around 300km/h)

View in the intermediate building from the middle gallery/display area.

Me at the entrance to one of the buildings on campus.

View of the senior high school building on campus.

Image in the Beijing Airport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are activities for kindergarten-12th grade students that are also awe-inspiring. These include woodworking and culinary arts for K-12 students, art galleries of student work that rival museum and art gallery displays and the sheer size of the logistics and operations. Students are in school for many hours compared to our standards, for example, the children in high school are at school from around 7am to 9pm daily – then they study until about 1 or 2 in the morning … 5-6 days per week. Again – the “scale” is simply very large and quite different from our system.

So, “at the end of the day” so to speak, what does this all mean?

  • Well there are many meanings – first, and foremost, we educational leaders are lifelong learners and we demonstrate that by attending and participating in conferences and symposia like this one to learn and apply that learning to our local settings.
  • There are universal desires in terms of maximizing student success and learning at the K-12 level from leaders in the east, west, and in between.
  • We can only get better by learning and sharing perspectives with people from all parts of our globe.
  • When a mission statement calls for global competencies, it’s incumbent on the leader to actually go out into the globe …and learn so that the competencies may be developed and refined.
  • In our school District, we’re on the path toward greatness with our motto of Inspire, Innovate, Engage!
  • In our School District, this year’s “Big 3” focus areas are aligned with international best practices and implementation areas.
  • Finally, it takes a village (of the right people) to raise and support a child — every child is a winner and every child deserves equitable access to excellent educational opportunities.

 

Through leadership opportunities and experiences like those in which I have just participated at the K-12 GERA, our District, its schools, the students we serve and the teachers and support staff we support will become even better and stronger and more impactful than if we limit our views and experiences through narrow lenses of local existence and paradigms.

I’m grateful to the Board of Education for supporting broad-based educational experiences for our students and its leaders and educators. I’m grateful to the professional leadership organizations for unending support and creative growth opportunities. I’m grateful for outstanding superintendents, professors, headmasters, principals, and others for supporting my leadership and stretching my points of views and skill sets.

Stay informed about our District via our website, Twitter hashtag #112Leads, Podcast, Lighthouse 112, Facebook Pages, and news & information!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lighthouse-112/id1448905937

 

Listen to a Podcast episode containing the audio transcript of the speech I presented:

 

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