So a week ago, I traveled to Atlanta for this year's National Association of Independent School's Annual Conference. While it was a relatively quick 33 hours on the ground, I walked away with some nuggets of inspirations and food for further thoughts. In this edition of My Friday Five, I wanted to share the five (of many) takeaways that stuck with me.
1. Students have to connect emotionally before any learning can happen. - Daisy Pellant, Breck School
This PechaKucha presentation (20 images x 20 seconds) delivered by The Breck School's Daisy Pellant, Director of the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education really got to the heart of what students need to learn. Students need an emotional connection. They need to know we care, that we believe they can do it, and that we're invested in who they are and in their potential for success.
2. Leadership is a behavior, not a position. Practice leadership is all aspects of your life so that when you do get a position, you are ready to behave as a leader. - Pearl Rock Kane, Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership
This quote really resonated with me as a school leader, but also as someone who works with aspiring student leaders. There is this bad trend for some students to try to rack up the leadership titles at school in the belief that this will help them in their college process. This can result in breath, but not depth. Let's get back to doing fewer things and doing them well. Also, we need to help students redefine what it means to be a leader. Just because you have a title, it does not make you a leader and not having a title doesn't mean that you aren't a leader. We need to help students learn to lead themselves first and to lead in all aspects of their life. They need to hone their leadership behavior first. This can look like a student speaking up against a wrongdoing, standing up for someone else, leading a discussion in class, and being a committed community service participant. It's about helping without being asked, having integrity, doing the right thing even when no one else is watching, being kind, showing up to class on time, or sitting with someone at lunch that you've never spoken to before. Let's help students focus more on leading with their actions, words, and post and less on titles.
3. “Listening as a storyteller requires you to empathize but also asks you to be a learner....How did you get here? What did your journey teach you? - Sisonke Msimang, The Centre for Stories
Everyone has a story and by listening to one's story we learn more about who they are, the oath they traveled, and those moments in their life that have truly shaped and influenced them. These stories may be humorous or challenging. They may have left us with lessons and helped us grown. They could just be simple moments of meaning, healing, and nostalgia. We are our stories.
4. Empower and Equip Students. Focus on the Do's, instead of the don't(s) - The Social Institute and Ravenscroft School
Our students have sat through assembly after assembly about the evils of social media. So hearing about what the work The Social Media Institute was refreshing. It's time to reframe our approaches to talking about social media and teach students about the do's when it comes to social media. They aim to work with schools to "equip and empower" students. We should be working with students to become social leaders and to use social media positively and as a tool, not just as a toy.
5. Women are hired and promoted on what they've accomplished, while men are hired and promoted based on potential. - The Pathway to Leadership: Stories and Strategies from Women and People of Color Panel
There's research out there that focuses on how many women will make sure they have every credentialed box checked off before applying for that next level job or promotion, but many men will just go for it with less boxes checked. This research and the above quote are the things make you pause and reflect on how you may be holding yourself back or getting in your own way. Self-awareness is the first step in combatting that inner critic or inner narrative you have going on. Instead of why me, ask why not me? One of the stats that the panelists shared was that there are only approximately 7% heads of schools of color and I suspect that the percentage of female heads of color is even less. While this stat could be discouraging to some, I actually believe it should be a motivator to push even more to help move that needle.
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