Thankful for Promise

Common ground to begin with? How about the fact that everyone believes it’s always a matter of right and wrong. Individual context, however, blurs the lines between unity and confusion. We are all products of our environments, melting pots of our experiences, and students of what our immediate worlds teach us. This has to be understood and appreciated before the conversation about true change ever begins. Otherwise, we are all destined to live within the confines of our own unique vacuums, and consequently, hate and confusion will always prevail.

Living and abiding by our own paradigms is not a bad thing; in fact, that’s what it means to exist in a free society. Unity does not require complete harmony in how we think, but it does require a willingness to understand. Unfortunately, understanding is found well below the surface of most conversations that argue over right and wrong. Understanding requires us to reflect upon the origin and the depth of other paradigms that may exist beyond our own.

My days are filled with images of children who have yet to understand where their worlds will take them and how their surrounding influences will divide them from their otherwise friends. To me, that is promise, that is hope, that is opportunity….and that is a beautiful thing….and for that, I am Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone! Eric

It’s about Perspective…This is a “Our” Problem

There is no doubt we have watched a tragic situation unfold in Ferguson this past week. A young man’s life has been lost, hearts are heavy with grief on all fronts, and much confusion has perpetuated in the days following the original incident. Unfortunately, our society fails to realize a very important factor about the prevailing confusion… it did not originate as a byproduct of “this” event.

It appears, as we would all expect, everyone has an opinion, and many are quick to share their thoughts. But perspective is more important when considering this situation, and perspective is significantly different than opinion. Without perspective, understanding and resolving the depths of this issue remains extremely complicated.

It’s about so much more than the demonstrations. It’s deeper than the riots and looting. It’s beyond a single police officer’s handling of an encounter with a citizen, and yes, it’s even more complicated than the very sad and untimely death of an 18-year-old young man.

This is a “our” problem, and a consideration for all perspectives is sadly not at the root of most opinions and analyses. Many commentaries I have read are rooted in a belief that this is a “their” problem. Regardless of where any one individual stands on the continuum of perspectives, until we are willing to shift our paradigms from a “their” problem to a “our” problem, we will always have “this” problem.

Focusing on the looting, rioting and inappropriate behaviors of some, solves nothing. Deeply rooted feelings and passions, whether or not we can individually understand the associated perspectives, is where this all begins. It shouldn’t be about blaming or excusing, the conversation should be about a real desire for unity.

Without unity, we have confusion, and there simply is no in between. In the wake of this tragic incident, we are experiencing utter confusion stemming from a lack of unity, and that confusion existed long before Saturday, August 9, 2014.

Unity is held together by trust, compassion, empathy and patience. Even the precise details of what happened between a police officer and an 18-year-old boy on that tragic day will never solve the bigger issue. In fact, one way or another, the details will most likely further divide the existing confusion and perpetuate a lack of unity.

Clearly, this incident needs to be resolved accurately through our justice system, but this is a problem much deeper than all the analyses being shared through social media.

Until we accept this as a “our” problem, “this” problem will always exist.

My heart goes out to all, on both sides of this tragedy, who have been deeply and personally impacted. It is a horrific ordeal for our society to wrestle with and it’s my hope we can, in our lifetimes, get beyond the surface. George Santayana said, “those who cannot learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.” In my mind, condemnation and complacency are never good choices. Getting inside the multitude of perspectives is where we must begin.

Please consider the many perspectives, not just yours, as you adamantly state and post your opinions. Regardless of your personal beliefs, if you insist on this being a “their” problem, then maybe, just maybe, it makes more sense to stay quiet.

“Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”

In the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” George Bailey was deemed the “richest man in town.” Not because of his monetary wealth; instead, these words depicted his good fortune with friendships and family. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a George Bailey experience, to really understand the extent of the true support and friendships around you.

For the last few days, unexpectedly, that’s exactly what I have experienced. I’m not comparing myself to the character, George Bailey, I’m simply relating to his experience of suddenly feeling blessed well beyond belief.

After spending twelve years with a school district and community I love dearly, I find myself on the doorstep of a significant change. Recently I accepted a new challenge that will return me to the district where I spent the early years of my career. For days and weeks I fretted over the decision and convinced myself of an impending reaction that would be less than supportive. Not only was I wrong, I was monumentally wrong, and I completely underestimated all the good fortune in the world around me.

For many days now I have experienced a constant barrage of supportive comments, conversations, visits and correspondences too overwhelming to absorb. Never in my wildest dreams would I fathom the outpouring of support bestowed upon me following the news of my decision.

In addition to my amazing family, friends and all those around me professionally, there are some who remain only as memories, and those memories support me as I navigate life’s challenges. I’m a reflective person and I find myself thinking about these very significant people during monumental times. Change has been a constant for me and I truly am a melting pot of the experiences and people I’ve encountered.

My late mother, who had one of the biggest and most humble hearts of any human being, continues to nurture and encourage me through my engrained memories. My oldest brother, who was never able to walk or talk, and whose years ended at the young age of almost seventeen, has probably single handedly taught me more about life than anyone else to this day. He has been gone since that horrible night for my family in February of 1977 but he continues to have a profound impact on my life.

My Grandfather Knost passed away when I was five and a half years old, but I do remember him well. I remember him as a strong, faithful man who loved his family and I remember the distinct tone of his voice. I have a vivid and powerful memory of him holding my oldest brother with much joy in his face.

At some point in my life I stumbled on a poem that immediately, for some reason, connected me to my grandfather who had left us years before. The words resonated with me and to this day, I read them often. The poem hangs in my office and serves as one of my many creeds. When I read it, I hear my grandfather’s voice. I don’t know why, but I do. I thank Rudyard Kipling for his powerful and inspirational words.

As a good friend shared with me, change is inevitable. Things rarely stay the same and change is often a constant force in our lives. It’s not a bad thing. I’ve poured my heart and soul into my career regardless of my professional geography. I really saw myself retiring in my current role and with all the support around me, that most likely would have been possible. But a new challenge came calling and ultimately captured me. When my days in Mehlville come to a close later in the year, it is my hope I will be leaving the district a little better than when I arrived over a decade ago. I’m proud of the students, staff, and the community, and I’m proud of the district’s many accomplishments.

I am thankful for the numerous relationships I have established and I am excited to encounter so many new faces in the weeks and months ahead. I value people and I value environments where kids and adults are made to feel extraordinary. I remain humbled by the support I have received in Mehlville and the many warm welcomes I am experiencing from Rockwood.

Thank you to everyone who has gone out of their way to say a kind word of support for me. Between my family, the people around me and those important departed souls, I am truly blessed way beyond belief.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

“If” – Rudyard Kipling

Why Such a Strong Focus on Character Education?

School districts are highly accountable for achieving and maintaining student success in academics, attendance, graduation and for preparing kids to be college and career ready. In fact, when calculating and considering a school district’s accreditation, some states similar to Missouri even factor the number of graduated students who successfully enroll in college or an accepted career training program. In other words, public schools are held accountable for not only graduating their seniors, but also for sustained graduate enrollments in a post-secondary education program.

I am definitely no critic of high expectations but I believe it is fundamental for school districts to maintain a heavy focus on important pieces not necessarily covered in accreditation tools. Math, English Language Arts, History and Science…yes, all of these academic content areas represent knowledge and skills important for success in our world. However, without the appropriate social emotional development, exalted academic achievement means little in our efforts to help young people thrive. Kids who graduate academically prepared and not socially/emotionally prepared will struggle. While it’s possible to effectively argue academics as being foundational, educating the whole child remains absolutely paramount and it should matter.

Kids who fall in love with life are sure to succeed. You’ve heard me say this before and I’ll continue to promote this concept as the only true pathway to success for all children. Is it possible for anyone to thrive in this world without motivation, persistence, enthusiasm, humor or a real sense of empathy? Resilience, reliability, compassion, creativity, curiosity and critical thought are all necessary traits of human thriving. This is exactly why educators must put such a strong focus on Character Education. While such efforts may indirectly and even significantly impact academics, the real motivation with Character Education is to enhance a whole child approach, ensuring success for more students.

What does all this suggest? It means as a community of educators we can’t forget our absolute obligation to help kids thrive in this world. The issues of today may be complex but the concept behind our mission should remain rather clear…

Kids who fall in love with life are sure to succeed. Let’s make it happen, period.

Happy Valentine’s Day: The Stuff of Real Life

I try hard to keep a grip on what is real and what is fiction, and I am careful with my perspective on all that is deemed by others as worthwhile. Our world has a profound interest in the big event, and no real commitment to all that remains constant in our lives.

Fairytales hide the truth and tell us there is something inherently wrong with being human. In reality, anything meaningful is usually carved from the hurdles in our lives.

It’s easy to get caught up in the world’s noise and confusion but we should never forget about the quiet things that remain constant, the true stuff of real life.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

If It’s A Contest, I’d Rather Play Offense

I have been an educator my entire adult life. I have lived and breathed education as I worked with kids in one capacity or another through multiple decades. Just like anything else, when you live something long enough, it becomes part of you. It becomes your lifeblood. Unfortunately, as we get older, life has a strange way of interfering with our vitality. Our passions become rooted in our souls, yet we are met with forces which attempt to distort, confuse and destroy our lifelong missions.

The anti-public education movement is one such force disguised as a faction of righteous and noble efforts to protect our children. The tactics of these forces are rather simple and effective; keep the educators on defense. Force them to be reactionary and hit them very hard with regular doses of negative rhetoric.

I’ve written before about self-limiting beliefs. If an organization or cause becomes surrounded by erroneous beliefs, as far as anyone else is concerned these beliefs can become facts and people on both sides of the discussion will begin to think, feel and act accordingly. When this happens, those on defense begin to believe they are deficient in their own talents and skills. This perpetuates the cycle like a cancer while the flawed paradigm grows and begins to prevail. Perception eventually becomes reality and overrules rational logic.

We need to reeducate the American people on the true facts about our public education system. We need to refocus ourselves on the things that should matter and the things that should define success. Comparisons do nothing when we’re stacking apples against oranges and ignoring significant variables.

As an educator, I’m sick and tired of hearing about the successes of Finland, Singapore and South Korea. I didn’t sign up for a contest, I signed up to be an educator. I don’t care to compete with other states here in our country. I want to develop better solutions for our schools residing in poverty stricken communities. I want all kids to succeed and I’ll never celebrate beating others who fall short. To me, when our mission is to teach kids to thrive, a competition seems rather distasteful. I prefer to leave such contests on the ballfields while we lift all children in our country. I don’t care to race educators to the top while leaving kids behind.

Our system focuses on the lack of success relating to impoverished schools. The bar gets raised without necessary supports. Higher standards, more accountability and punitive consequences perpetuate problems in the lower performing schools. They are labeled as failures and the crux of the blame is thrusted upon them. Their schools are destroyed and their communities are further decimated while people stand by and say, “Good, that needed to happen.” Sad but true.

Public education defines one of our most basic and necessary freedoms, yet the first inclination of many is to remove one’s right to a community school. Every community needs a public school with it’s doors open for kids to attend from every walk of life. Unfortunately, this concept doesn’t meet the needs of commercial interests and it’s easier to perpetuate the cycle to advance agendas which do not serve all children.

I am a proud public educator who has witnessed first hand the successes of our public education system. We should all find the ability to support the right causes while standing up against the negative forces which see no need for the necessary freedom of public education. Most critics of our schools haven’t set foot in a classroom for years, maybe never. If you really care, come see our schools. Visit our classrooms. Talk to our principals. Observe our teachers. Get the real facts, not the negative, invalid comparisons that prove nothing and ultimately perpetuate destruction. I am a public educator and I won’t tolerate my profession being shoved around nor will I ever be okay with groups who use kids as pawns. I will always take a stand and speak for the truth.

Public schools need support. We need to transform how we think about schools but we don’t need a political reform agenda. Schools need to be respected. If we create public school environments where people, kids and adults are made to feel extraordinary, then extraordinary results will occur. Kids cannot, under any circumstance, thrive in a negative setting. If kids don’t thrive, schools will not succeed.

The heart of an educator is a powerful thing. The future is watching and great moments are born from monumental circumstances. It’s time to turn a corner. It’s time to care about all students as individuals, not about how they compare to other people in other places. Regardless, the negative forces will not back down. They will continue with their attempts to misinform, disrupt, distort and promote their special and personal interests. If it’s a contest, then educators and supporters of public education must unite on offense for all kids. In a real system which leaves no child behind, there’s no need for defense.

As an educator, I prefer offense.

The Envy of Every Nation

In Education, Poverty Matters. It’s Not An Excuse, It’s a Necessary Conversation.

46 Million Americans live in poverty. Research has identified extraordinary disparities in the vocabulary and messages impoverished children are exposed to compared to their more affluent peers. The result? A large percentage of children who live in poverty enter kindergarten unprepared and already well behind. Disparities in those important foundational years compound over time. The dropout rate grows and when the average low income student does make it to twelfth-grade, he’s often four years behind grade level. Not an excuse, in fact, it should be inexcusable.

Our country remains alarmed by this and the reformers criticize educators for these unacceptable shortcomings. As the educational policy makers play defense, their collective efforts actually stagnate positive change while perpetuating the existing cycle. There is a malignancy in educational politics which is nourished by misinformation and a false assumption that competition will resolve these obvious disparities. This forces schools, states and even nations into competition on an ever changing, imbalanced playing field for a game of defense. The obvious occurs and the flourishing schools are exalted while the true educational needs of our lower income communities are ignored. Their schools struggle, we label them as failures and the blame game ensues.

Culpability begins on the larger map, as politicians and reformers notoriously point to discrepancies in academic successes between the U.S. and other industrialized nations. Unfortunately, most people are very limited in their ability to study these discrepancies. Instead, critics tend to rely upon and refer solely to the results published by PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment. PISA measures random samples of 15 year old students every three years in reading, math and science literacy. The results for the U.S. are consistently mediocre at best and definitely, as presented, lackluster.

Most reformers care little about further analyses. Instead, a surface level view is utilized to brainwash our nation into believing we are producing predominantly ignorant graduates. The child poverty rate in the United States ranks as one of the highest when compared to other industrialized nations. Schools in our country with less that 10% poverty actually lead the otherwise top performing countries. The successes associated with our U.S. Merit Scholars and Advanced Placement students are forgotten in an attempt to keep our educators playing defense. Lower income and lower achieving students become pawns to aid the agendas of reformers and special interest groups.

The policy makers continue to redefine and raise expectations, raise accountability, increase testing and completely define schools on how they respond to these charges. These reforms prove to be more effective for students who are already higher achieving, while the successful continue to succeed and the struggling continue to struggle. Even without accountability, schools can be easily labeled by their zip codes. Flourishing communities house succeeding school systems and poverty stricken communities usually do not. Regardless, we continue with a one-size-fits-all system and we fulfill the prophecy.

Mediocre schools are allowed to exist in their mediocre status while all sorts of threats, warnings and labels are attached. Once they are deemed a failure, their turnaround hinges on their ability to quickly perform like other successful schools. Regardless of the issues associated with poverty, their students must attend school regularly, not drop out, score in the upper tiers of high stakes tests, graduate to college and stay in college. If these things do not occur at an acceptable rate, they are deemed failures. Unaccredited school students are allowed by law to transfer to other school districts at the struggling district’s expense. While the majority of students choose to remain, resources are depleted, drastic cuts are made to staffing, schools are closed and eventually the district faces bankruptcy.

How are these students to find success in such situations?

Kids must learn to thrive in our world. Schools need to embed much more than reading, writing and math into the routines of our children. Schools have to focus on resilience, compassion, motivation, critical thinking, self-discipline, character, creativity, curiosity, persistence and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the noose of accountability that continues to tighten doesn’t acknowledge any of these needed traits which are found in all successful schools. Children must learn to thrive and their desire to thrive must be nurtured. Reading, writing and math does nothing for a child who doesn’t develop the desire and ability to thrive in our world.

Thriving is paramount. We need to transform, not reform how we think about educating kids in poverty. We need to focus on how we embed important qualities in their education instead of worrying about how our country ranks on a random test for fifteen year olds, which lacks any semblance of external validity. But as the noose tightens, education stays on defense and the same practices perpetuate regardless of the zip code.

A paradigm shift in how we educate our poverty stricken communities is needed. It’s not rocket science, it’s common sense but it takes resources and undying supports.

Hire the best administrators and hold them accountable. Support their ability to hire, develop and retain outstanding teachers. Significantly lower class sizes. Analyze and align the curriculum to the needs of the local students. Assess to inform instruction. Create and support structured early childhood efforts including Parents as Teachers, preschool beginning at age three and full day kindergarten for all students. Create home visit programs, develop extensive community engagement and implement meaningful outreach to parents. Assign champions directly to every single child. Work to identify their passions at a very early age. Recognize, nurture and develop those passions as kids grow. Make kids important and do everything possible to connect them individually to their school. Build relationships, acknowledge all accomplishments and never discourage a school that is making progress, even at a slow rate. Rally around their efforts, publicize their successes and show the community what it looks like when kids thrive. Never thwart their direction by placing them back on an uneven field of competition.

This is where the collective desire to transform underachieving schools is truly tested. It’s time to focus on what matters. Kids matter, not test scores. Communities matter, not consolidated school districts. Educational interests matter, not commercial interests. Assess kids to inform instruction and to define needed supports. Don’t let overwhelming test scores define kids, communities or our nation.

If our kids are thriving, we will be the envy of every nation.

Self-limiting Beliefs

If the “Self-Concept” of a person or organization is made up of erroneous beliefs, as far as anyone is concerned these beliefs will become facts and we will think, feel and act accordingly.

As it happens, beliefs about school districts are largely subjective. They are often not based on fact at all. They are the result of information taken in over the years and how the information has been processed. Our beliefs, both internally and externally, have been shaped and formed by friends, associates, and even ourselves….by observations and experiences…both positive and negative…and a thousand other factors.

The worst of all beliefs are self-limiting beliefs. If we believe we are limited in some way, whether or not it is true, it becomes true for us and it becomes deeply engrained in our learning community. If we believe it, we will act as if we are deficient in various areas of talent or skill. As a result, others will believe the same. If we are complacent in how we work….if our approaches, behaviors and actions of the past stay the same, then so will the perceptions about us.

Self-limiting beliefs stand between us and our desired perpetual forward motion. All improvements will come from changing our beliefs about Who we are and about our possibilities.

A Need for Unity

Unity can be defined many different ways and in numerous contexts. I am particularly fond of how about.com describes unity relating to grammar and composition: the quality of oneness in a paragraph or essay that results when all the words and sentences contribute to a single main idea. The “words and sentences” of many diverse minded stakeholders require a certain level of unity or oneness if forward motion is to be realized in any community.

Unfortunately, if not careful, careless words and sentences can contribute more to the demise of our efforts versus serving as a solid foundational structure with which to succeed. The model schools provide internally is absolutely crucial for greater unity with the external public. Our goal as educators is to contribute collectively to a single main idea. Amidst our efforts to help all kids thrive in the world, differences of opinion are sure to exist and of course, are even appropriate. However, divisive behavior compromises the integrity of forward motion. Internal divisiveness can clearly be detrimental to internal morale, but even worse, it can also perpetuate a perceived flaw within a system while quickly creating a harmful cyclical pattern.

During these significant and sometimes challenging times in our field, educators need to be seen standing tall, unified and at our best. It is essential for school districts to be perceived as the winners we know them to be. We must model a certain unity that is not only infectious, but also attractive and inviting for community residents. We simply cannot play into the hands of the cynics by ever deteriorating internally.

The 17th century philosopher, Blaise Pascal said, “The multitude which is not brought to act as a unity, is confusion.” We need greater unity and we must provide the ultimate example for which to follow. We can’t afford to be synonymous with “confusion” if we expect to be backed as a winner.

One of my favorite portrayed speeches is that of Al Pacino playing Tony D’Amato in the movie Any Given Sunday. Pacino speaks to his team on the importance of timing and the inches that matter in life. He talks about the margin for error being so small and how we fight for those inches all around us. With so much focus on educational reform and ongoing levels of unrest in the political arena, we need to fight for those inches. But it’s not only the efforts with our students that make up the inches, it’s also the simple conversations at the grocery store, how we choose to respond to varying opinions and how we react to words that upset us. The “inches” are all around us.

In short, it’s all of our “words and sentences” that matter. We need perpetual forward motion in education and it’s the inches that will make all the difference. Now more than ever, let’s make sure to provide a model of unity for all of those paying attention to public education.

Gandhi said for unity to be real it must stand the severest strain without breaking. How strong is our unity? How infectious is our unity? What are you doing individually to demonstrate such unity? Let’s give great effort to the inches all around us while remembering, we must choose to stand united to avoid the risk of crumbling individually. Thanks for your efforts to further unite around the common mission of helping kids thrive in this world.

Teach Kids to Think and Apply

What makes a school district successful? Some would say test scores but I can assure you, test scores alone are less than a reliable measure of success. We live in a time when school districts are being viewed as though we are in academic competition with one another. Why should we be? Assessing students to inform classroom instruction is absolutely a good thing. Assessing students to prove one specific student group, school, state or nation is better than the other does nothing for the overall good of our education system.

It is an effort which by default develops graduates who spent their education years doing task completion busy work while memorizing and regurgitating facts. High stakes testing to compare student groups or geographic regions is not even needed. Why? Zip codes can already predict these outcomes. It is rare to find a flourishing zip code that does not consist of flourishing schools and vice versa.

Successful schools teach kids to think and apply knowledge. The good news is there are assessments being utilized to measure application of knowledge and critical thought. Successful schools also find ways to become champions for every single child within their walls. We need to bond our young people to what makes life special and meaningful to them. Kids who fall in love with life are sure to succeed. Kids fall in love with life when adults rally around their passions, or as we like to call them, their “Sparks.”

It is my goal and the goal of many educators to wrap our efforts around teaching kids to think and apply knowledge while nurturing their passions.