What does the experience of inclusion feel like? Have you ever stopped to think about it? Our conversation with Kevin Shafer on an episode of Time for Teachership is about how diversity and inclusion is not just checking some boxes, but it’s a process that results in students—all students—experiencing inclusion. But to get there, educators and administrators need to overhaul the system. Instead of trying to fit diverse students into specific types of environments, we need to re-evaluate if the current system is even working at all. Kevin discusses an important mindset shift, how to build an inclusive system, and resources to explore. Changing Mindsets from Deficit to Asset In many schools, students with dis/abilities are often excluded. The common mainstream special education system is not built to overcome this and can widen the gap between students of different abilities. Kevin Schafer’s dream is to see special education used as a tool for social justice and equity while still providing a high-quality education to all students. But to get there, educators and administrators need to shift their mindset. Instead of viewing students with dis/abilities through a deficit mindset, it needs to shift to an asset mindset—that the diversity of abilities in a classroom is a major and important asset to everyone’s education. Building a System for Inclusion This mindset shift from deficit to asset is the beginning, but it’s not the only thing that needs to change. Kevin believes there needs to be a system overhaul—a process of building inclusive, diverse systems that help all students achieve a high-quality education. It starts with leadership and the administration team. They need to dedicate time to getting on the same page and building a vision for their school. The vision needs to be a school where all students can learn. It presumes competence, that no matter their abilities, they can learn. Leadership needs to seek input from other stakeholders, especially students and families with diverse abilities. Then, with this input, they can build a plan through a logic model, which includes:
Resources and First Steps Most educators are already on board with creating more diverse, inclusive classrooms—it’s the how that often feels overwhelming. Kevin recommends starting from a point of education and knowledge. He recommends the books “Equity by Design” by Katie Novak and Mirko Chardin and “Anti-Racism and the Universal Design for Learning” by Andratesha Fitzgerald as two places to start. As educators continue to grow in knowledge, they can also address their implicit biases—how do they see students with dis/abilities? Are they in that deficit mindset? Once the system as a whole and adult implicit biases are addressed, then things can truly start to change. Conclusion The “mythical average”—the idea that there are average students in all environments—needs to become outdated. Everyone has growth areas, areas they excel, or areas then need help in. The problem with identifying students by their dis/ability is it makes them a one-dimensional person, instead of the diverse human they are. It’s time to go broader than just the label of dis/ability but see all students as diverse. Then we can build systems that serve each of them. If you want to keep up with what Kevin is doing, make sure to visit www.sipinclusion.org. There are many resources and webinars about inclusion that walk educators through everything step by step. And, if you want to keep up with us at the Time for Teachership podcast, check out more episodes here. TRANSCRIPT get excited for my conversation with Kevin Schaeffer. The alternative title for this episode was the system has to be designed proactively. So we are talking about so many good things and so many things that are really rooted in sustainable, systematic and systemic change, Kevin Schaeffer is currently the director of equity and inclusive practices for the supporting inclusive practices project through the El Dorado County Office of Education. In this role, Mr Schaefer works to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities through providing high quality leadership and support to the California Department of Education and Elia's throughout the state. Additionally, he provides organizational support through his work in promoting continuous improvement processes and alignment of initiatives that focus on creating enabling least restrictive environments that honor the diversity of learners across general and special education settings. His varied background as a special education teacher administrator and national State Technical assistance provider has led to expertise in areas of systems change and inclusive educational practices. The result in educational benefits for all students get excited. 00:01:03 Let's dive in. Educational justice coach lindsey Lyons and here on the time for Teacher ship podcast, we learn how to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice design curricula grounded in student voice and build capacity for shared leadership. I'm a former teacher leader turned instructional coach. I'm striving to live a life full of learning, running, baking, traveling and parenting because we can be rockstar educators and be full human beings. If you're a principal Assistant Superintendent, curriculum director, instructional coach or teacher who enjoys nursing out about co creating curriculum. Students, I made this show for you. Here we go, kevin Shaffer, Welcome to the time for teacher ship podcast. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me lindsey. I'm so excited you're here and I just read your professional bio, but is there anything else you want to say to kind of conceptualize your conversation or introduce yourself to our listeners today? Yeah, I think my biggest interest is right now. Um really diving deep into how special education can be utilized as a tool for social justice and equity for students to receive deeper level support, but at the same time have that meaningful access to general education, high quality instruction. 00:02:21 So I've been spending a lot of time over the last couple of years, really diving deep into ways that we can support um students with disabilities and their families through that lens of equity and social justice. So that's really what my priorities are right now. Um but really working with teachers and administrators and families on how we can make special education, uh a positive asset based intervention within our school systems is really where my heart lies at this point. That's amazing. And I think it takes us right into this next question of, you know, dr Bettina Love talks about the idea of freedom dreaming as dreams grounded in the critique of injustice and I think your intro kind of already spoke to that. But you know what's the big dream with that in mind that you hold for education if you want to expand upon that at all? Yeah. What what comes to mind is through a special education lens too often we have students who are segregated and when we talk about freedom, when we talk about equality, um when we talk about inclusion, we're talking about special education being that um that that priority that we have to help our most marginalized students. 00:03:31 And when we look through the lens of identity work and intersectionality and privilege and marginalization, special education is too often that That um program that is off to the side that removes students and creates that that that widening of the opportunity gap and what we do in education pre-k through the age of 22, we have to realize that that impacts students either positively or negatively literally for the rest of their lives. So I think that idea of freedom through the lens of education without doing the self reflective, implicit bias work of the adults who teach students who in too many cases um segregate because of a lack of realization of the able ism in the decisions that we make, the structures that we develop and the programs that we design. 00:04:37 I hope that answers the question absolutely. A beautiful answer to that question. And I think part of what you're talking about here requires like a real mindset shift around what we've traditionally thought of as special education and special education as removal and and tagging and categorizing in this way. And so I'm curious to know in your experience, are there schools or programs that have adopted a really great mindset shift that helps people really buy into the dream that you you just spoke to? And is there something that you would recommend listeners who really their schools haven't gotten there yet? Really be able to wrap their heads around to be able to make that shift? Well, you didn't nail on the head Lindsay with this idea of mindset without a culture that is created by the leaders, by the district leaders, by the site leaders with that vision that all students can learn with this idea of presuming competence that all can learn that all students must benefit from the education that we design. 00:05:45 And if we are able to identify students that are in the margins that are segregated, If we're not able to identify those students and create systems that provide meaningful inclusion, then we are doing a disservice to way too many students. So when, um, when we look at our own design, beginning with culture, creating a vision, how are we communicating that culture of inclusion and equity? And then how do we build it? How do we build it? So that when the inclusive programs, the inclusive structures, the policies, the practices, the culture that before the teachers before the administrators before the students and family experience that idea of of what inclusion looks like they've been trained, they understand the purpose, They know why they they've been exposed to the research and then we can implement it, but it's that envisioning it's the building of the system and then it's the implementation and scaling of what we want to create. 00:06:53 So looking at it, looking at inclusion through a process as opposed to simply putting students in a classroom in a less restrictive or general education classroom and they don't have connection, they don't have belonging. We haven't focused on relationship and building community and until we do, we won't have meaningfully inclusive environments that are successful in preparing our students for a competitive, integrated family sustaining wage when they leave our system. Oh my gosh. So much of what you just said is so wonderful. I have so many follow up questions. Um so I I love that you spoke to kind of the steps and and like the culture of the vision, the community, the building and scaling aspect. I just I love that there is a process there. And so I'm wondering for someone listening who's like, yeah, I know like that sounds great and I know that my school needs to do those things and maybe we're not even at that first step. Um what would you recommend? Like, what's what's something they could do or what does that actually look like in terms of the tangible steps of that process, I think um first and foremost, when we work with leadership teams, it's about bringing the leadership team together and working with them to create that vision? 00:08:10 What is how do we define equity? How do we define inclusion? What is it, what is it not? And coming together to create that plan of what in the future we would like this to look like so on our website, we have our blueprint which includes the envisioning component and the steps, the building component, the implementing component, the scaling component, and looking at it through a lens of a logic model and creating that logic model so that you know what resources you have available to you, you know what activities you want to complete and then you want to look at your short term, your mid range and your long term outcomes. So once you put your plan together, then you're able to um calibrate the understanding of all of the stakeholders across your organization. So moving from the uh envisioning piece with your leadership team and then how does that information cascade throughout the organization, um is really your is really your starting point and changing those mindsets, analyzing your culture, the culture in the organization, but also doing that identity work with your staff, doing that, helping them to understand that we all have privilege. 00:09:36 We all feel what it's like to be marginalized and once we're able to self reflect on our own implicit biases. We can identify those policies practices, structures cultures that are in our system that creates barriers for students who are marginalized or disproportionately represented in programs that don't have positive outcomes or haven't shown positive outcomes. Yeah, excellent points. And I'm just thinking too of of that leadership team, um possibly even including families and students and you know, folks who aren't just the staff in the school. And so bringing in those perspectives as well. It can be really powerful at that visioning level and then like you're saying, cascading to everyone, each of the stakeholders, all the stakeholders involved. Um I love that plan. Well. And the other piece is we do a lot of work around Universal design for Learning and with Universal design for Learning. It's not only an academic, social, emotional behavioral framework in a classroom but it's also systemic. 00:10:42 So how you utilize um Universal design for learning principles to engage your stakeholders. So you think about how um how do we engage our parents and families, how do we represent information? So they understand what our organization's mission vision and values are that support their Children and then how do we allow for them to offer feedback And that that voice and choice for our students is also connected to how we interact with our parents and allow for engagement representation and action expression through our parents and families are stakeholders, our district level leadership framework mindset, etcetera. Um so I think I think that peace is critical Lindsay with with our families and our community stakeholders having a voice in the way that we design our educational system, so representative of who they are and what their needs are, that makes so much sense. I've never heard someone put it like that, like you d l for stakeholder engagement, but that is absolutely what it is when we think about families not being able to make it to, you know, school night, open school night or something, or not being communicative and like, well, what does that mean? 00:11:55 What options have we presented around communication? Is that communication one way street is that, you know, a two way partnership? Um there's so much there and I love that framework so much that I think if someone listening were to like actually map that out into their practices of family engagement, of student engagement, you know, how how are we doing that in both, you know, the pedagogical sense in the classroom, but also system wide and and school wide. So I really appreciate that frame. Thank you. I'm also thinking you said something about experience the experience of inclusion and how students and families experience inclusion and I think that's so profound because you spoke specifically about belonging and relationships and all of these pieces. I think often we we don't think to ask students, you know, what their experiences are, what family's experiences are. We don't seek to measure things like belonging, we focus on, you know, narrow academic measures, but I'm curious to know how, you know, you try to facilitate or you encourage educators to facilitate this idea of, you know, almost like measuring or getting a sense of like that experience of inclusion and what that experience of inclusion means for you and your organization. 00:13:08 That question has so many different layers. I love it. Um, I think I think this, um, I always go back to special education, but we also have to understand that students with disabilities aren't are made up of one identity that being disability. And when we frame students around that one identity, it's an identity of deficit in the educational system. So it's that that, that social model that students step onto a campus and now all of a sudden they have a disability within the educational system because they don't have, um, uh, maybe the skill, the knowledge, the experience to be at that grade level standards that's expected to all students. So if they're not at that grade level standard, then they need to go somewhere else to receive their services instead of bringing the services back into the classroom with this where the student is in benefiting all students. So framing for all of our educators and administrators, changing that mindset that you talked about earlier from a deficit based to an asset based, that diversity in the classroom is an asset. 00:14:22 And when we look at inclusion through this lens of, of belonging community relationships, it's not only for the students that are meaningfully included in the classroom, we're also teaching empathy to typically developing students. And it's that idea of exposure actually creates connection and ally ship for other students because now they have an understanding of and relationship with someone with a disability and you know, you're getting to that point of meaningful inclusion that when a student with a disability is leaving the classroom to receive a service and all the other students, like why, why does this student leave the classroom? We want that student to be part of our community. And when your students start, um, including the student with a disability into their activities, into their questioning into what, what, what is happening in the classroom and they see it as a deficit when the student is absent, you're getting to that point of, okay, now we can, we can talk about culture and mindset change. 00:15:33 Yes, absolutely. And I was just thinking too about um, recently I learned about like the diamond model of M. T. S. S. And and so usually we think of it as a pyramid and we think of it only as deficit based and we think here are the students who are struggling and like how do we escalate their support? Whereas like the diamond model and I'm probably explaining something you already know, but I just learn about this. I'm so excited. The diamond model is like, you know, on on one end we have students who are struggling and then on the other end we have students who are excelling and actually almost bored with stuff. And so it's like we we need to support everyone regardless of where they are. And if that extra support that intervention that you know, whatever that looks like it, it's seen as something that people are just totally it's normalized and like everyone has this and you know, you may have this in english and you may have a different support in math and like you're really great at math and you really struggle with english and you know, all the the complexity of who students are as learners and as people I think is so important and kind of what you're you're speaking to and I'm just thinking about, you know, that that idea of um you know normalizing also getting to go when it is necessary to bring students to an intervention. 00:16:44 Like getting to go have that intervention. So other students but we have tried to normalize this. Um in my school when I was a teacher, we brought students in into like it was, I can't remember what we called it, I think we called it cluster time because we were like in clusters of students and so our entire cluster grade team effectively had this personalized time. So whatever it is that they needed, they had an intervention or support for in that moment. And then it became like, oh well, you know, some students are going to native counseling and some students are going and it's just like everyone gets what they need and it became less of students are missing and it's really, we're all now going to these personalized spaces. And so I just love what you're talking about of of this idea of um you know, missing the students who aren't there for like the regular class period being this moment of like, you know, we're not all here, like this is this is a problem, right? When I go back to this idea of the mythical average, there is no average students across all contexts. 00:17:45 So we all have needs in certain areas. So if you think about a students day and all of the different contexts, they experience just like you talked about their students who excel their students who have needs. There are students who have stretches that are moving toward a particular goal. We're all at different places across all different environments. So when students are able to see that variability within themselves and they're allowed the experience of failure, like we honor failure, we honor making mistakes and that's when you start calibrating this idea that that all students have many different needs, strength stretches, etcetera. And once there, once that culture is a priority in every classroom, then we get to the point where all students can then benefit from a high quality instruction and get their needs met in the way and in the area they need it. 00:18:48 And that's not how too often our educational system is designed and we end up with disproportionate representation of other identities marginalized identities within special education and the disability category because in in education it's that that that deficit based perspective that disability then rises to the top as the identity that is most focused on and other identities then fall by the wayside and until we see students as a makeup of all identities and the way they intersect as individualized and diverse, then we're never going to honor and celebrate all identities. That's so powerful. Just this idea that disability has become its own identity and and is made up of just diverse human beings, right? When we think about like it almost is a way that we like label and individualized failure instead of recognizing system failure, like our system failed the kids here like this is not a problem with you, this is a problem with how we deem education happens and how we deem like what we deem to be outside of that and needing supports beyond that as opposed to just designing inclusively from the start that everyone however they learn is, you know, going to get that tier one level, like everyone gets this. 00:20:13 Um so that that's so, so powerful and I was just thinking the idea of normalizing failure as well, I think really is like, so I was a decent student and I did fairly well and I think it may be averse to failure. Like it made me a verse to to risk taking. And so I wasn't willing to try some creative approach to approach. I wasn't willing to take this extra hard challenging thing that may negatively impact my G. P. A. Or you know there's these ways that everyone loses even if you're not categorized as you know having an I. P. Or something. I think the systems that we have created around this idea of disability have really negatively impacted like all students. And it's terrifying to think about what that's doing to kids and to people well and the idea to that the the system has to be designed proactively. We talked earlier about really making sure we understand what the vision is and how we build it because we we don't spend enough time designing and improving the system. 00:21:20 And then we put students in situations where they're not successful and it's not because they can't be successful. It's because the adults in the system haven't designed the program to be supportive of students. So we end up especially through the lens of inclusion. It's easy for us to say, well inclusion doesn't work. Look we tried it but you also haven't set up the system to be supportive and positive in that whole mindset. Have we analyzed our policies. Have we anna our practices and we analyzed our structures that we put in place and that goes back to that self reflection around the system that we've designed as well as self reflection on adult implicit bias, which are the two major barriers for students be successful? Absolutely, yeah. The impact of adult bias and and accept expectations and perceptions is mind blowing. And just the fact that the research highlights that that's such an issue and it carries beyond, you know, just the age that you have that teacher, right? 00:22:28 It carries like to college and to your rest of your life, like you were saying earlier, this impacts kids, you know, for a long time after they leave school. And so I think this is so, so critical that we get right in the school year because it's not just that year of their life that the kids are affected, right? I just did a workshop this morning with a bunch of educators and one of the questions I asked, you know, what's what's your memory of of primary school, like what's what's your the first thing you think about and is it related to academics? Is it related to relationships that you had or extracurriculars and overwhelmingly it was relationships in the sense of belonging. It wasn't what I learned in school, it wasn't even like the sports team I played on necessarily, it was maybe that sports team in the context of how it made me feel or, you know, I felt included and I felt part of a team. And so this is so profound, I think of just like a thing that you're talking about here because it is so um it resonates so much beyond what we think it does. So I I really appreciate you naming that and I appreciate all the work that you're doing with your organization to. Is there anything that you want to highlight in terms of, I know you said on your website you have the blueprint um and kind of the logic model framework. 00:23:35 Is there anything that you want to highlight about things that people can find on your site or work that you're you're doing with folks? Yeah, if you go to our website, it's www dot sip inclusion dot org. And we have a resource page. And what we've done is we've hired or contracted with Katie Novak and Americo Chardon who released a book last year, Equity by Design. And we had a series of four webinars um twice, once in the fall last year and once in the spring we recorded them all and then we took all of the resources in that book and put everything on a pad lit that's designed or organized by chapter. So it's really one stop shopping where you can see all of the recordings, listen to all the recordings, you can do a book study. You have all of the resources at your fingertips and then our program specialists and coordinators. Um we put together modules for Universal design for learning um that go from equity into the framework into proactive lesson designed by identifying barriers. 00:24:41 Um We have co teaching modules. We have a Youtube where we've collected a lot of videos related to inclusion. Um so there's a ton of information we've created paddle. It's um and series for para educators for the L. G. B. T. Q. Community. Um and those can all be accessed um from our website. You can also contact us through the the website. Perfect. Oh my gosh. It sounds like there are so many resources on there. This is so great. And so I know we we talked about so much in this episode in such a short span of time. I'm just curious if someone's thinking about all of the various things that we said, all of the various actions that you suggested or or even resources available on the site and they're feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the amount of things. Where do you suggest people start? What would be like a good first action that really gets them started on this process of either shifting their mindset or taking action on the school. So many good resources out there. 00:25:42 Um I think um I would start with Katie Novak and miracles. Gardens, book equity by design. Um And in addition to that. Andrew Tisha Fitzgerald also released a book um this past year called anti racism and U. D. L. And the reason I would suggest starting with those two is because it's it's a really broad perspective. It's not specific to disability or racism or homophobia or able ISm. It's really looking at the system through an equity lens utilizing the voice of marginalized student populations. Um in terms of of disability I would go straight for anything judy human um releases or you know the movie Crypt Camp. Any of her her book releases any of her webinars panels that she has set in on just amazing perspective in in the identification of able ISM and the need for ally ship um within the educational system. 00:26:48 So Just three resources I would uh highly suggest oh these are great and we can include links to those two in the show notes so that people can can find those easily because I I find myself already writing down things but I'm like I need to read that or watch that, that's amazing. Um and then so one of the questions I love asking this is totally just for fun. Almost at the end of each podcast, everyone who comes on is pretty much a self described like lifelong learner, constant growth is like a priority in their lives. And so I'm just curious about something that you have been learning about lately I've been learning about. Um this is seems really off topic. Um but I've been learning about introversion and being an introvert how that impacts students in the in in education and that we we look at um methods instructional methods right? And there are some students who learn by processing who learn by quietness who learn um in in situations that provide them think time and too often we move so quickly through our instruction. 00:28:09 And then um on the flip side of that we are supporting our students to be successful in the workplace. And the workplace values collaboration the workplace values individuals who can communicate. Um So it's it's this fine line between how do you honor a student who is more introverted while at the same time teaching them the skills that will be rewarded in their future work, either workplace or college placement. I've also been um working with um Beth Forker who just became the director at U. C. Davis for the Redwood seed scholars program which is a four year college program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. So I think the other frame is if we know that there are colleges, I think there's 1918 19 colleges who offer four year college programs for students with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities that if we know that's an option? 00:29:20 And we reflect on the struck that we've created for students with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities. Is there a connection there and is what we created going to lead them to be self determined if college is a dream for them. So this this idea of how do we connect our educational system to our students who have the most extensive support needs to then experience success in a four year college program that is reflective of what they want to be as an adult and work experience that leads to uh that self self sustaining wage for themselves and if they have a family. So I think introversion has been a big focus um and uh students with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities and how we provide the level of support needed for them to be successful for the rest of their lives after they leave our system. And whether or not we do that such powerful things to think about and I think it was totally related to everything we've been talking about, so that's perfect. 00:30:30 Um The last question and I think you spoke to this earlier knowing that you have a website with a ton of resources, but where can listeners learn more about you or your organization or connect online. We have our website, so www dot zip inclusion dot org. And then we're all over social media, we're on facebook and twitter. We post not only uh the resources and the professional development that we provide but were directly connected to the California department of the ed special education division. So anything that is going on across the state with the state Department with the content leads with the system improvement leads. Um we push out over our social media, so we're trying to create a community in a really big state um, so that everyone is able to access the amazing resources uh that we design and are available throughout California. Amazing! Thank you so much. And I've really just enjoyed this conversation with you, kevin. So thank you so much for being on the podcast today. My pleasure, thank you so much for having me. 00:31:34 If you're leaving this episode wanting more, you're going to love my live coaching intensive curriculum bootcamp. I help one department or grade team create feminist anti racist curricula that challenges affirms and inspires all students. We leave current events into course content and amplify student voices, which skyrockets engagement and academic achievement. It energizes educators feeling burns out and it's just two days plus you can reuse the same process any time you create a new unit, which saves time and money. If you can't wait to bring this to your staff, I'm inviting you to sign up for a 20 minute call with me, grab a spot on my calendar at www dot lindsey Beth Lyons dot com slash contact until next time leaders continue to think big act brave and be your best self. This podcast is a proud member of the teach, better podcast network better today, better tomorrow and the podcast to get you there, explore more podcasts at teach better dot com slash podcasts and we'll see you at the next episode
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Listen to the episode by clicking the link to your preferred podcast platform below: It’s uncomfortable to talk about taking accountability. It’s uncomfortable talking about putting your job on the line. It’s uncomfortable to become self-aware. And yet, dreams have to be uncomfortable. If you want to change but aren’t willing to be uncomfortable, then it’s not real change. Dr. Kimya Nuru Dennis spoke with us on an episode of the Time for Teachership podcast, where she shared what this kind of uncomfortable change might look like in education. And it goes far beyond social media and tokenism but gets to the heart of being self-aware and honest enough to recognize where you’ve gone wrong. Dreams for Education Dr. Dennis’s dream for the field of education is simple: that we would stop being stuck in concepts, theories, and repeated readings. And that people would wake up and realize that despite a cultural narrative of change, we are clinging to the white-cisgender-heteronormative histories and curriculum that have been in place for centuries. It’s not just an American problem, but a global one. In recent years—particularly during the “awakening” period of 2016-2022—many people express a desire or interest to change. They might attempt to increase diversity by including new materials. And yet those new materials are still what passes white standards or what ended up on the bestseller’s list. Dr. Dennis wants to see us break away from this—finally. To do the work, take responsibility for what should change and what hasn’t changed, and be okay with discomfort through the process. Taking Responsibility as Educators The biggest step towards increased diversity and equity (and real change, not just lip-service), is for educators to take responsibility—not just over our own classes, but over the system we are part of. Most educators went through a very rigid teaching training model. And so, even if we acknowledge that there is a need for change, we may put the blame on someone else—our training or the board. We often just accept the curriculum given to us rather than developing something ourselves. But Dr. Dennis urges us to take responsibility for what role we are playing and not downplay the impact we have to change the system. Challenging Yourself and Others There’s a mistaken belief amongst educators that we are only responsible for what happens in the four walls of our classrooms. But the reality is that we are part of a broader community that we can influence. And if teachers are not holding each other accountable, there’s no real way to make sustainable changes. It’s important that teachers step away from social media and the “adult popularity contest,” as Dr. Dennis puts it. Instead, it’s time to be self-reflective in a few areas:
Conclusion Equity and diversity in our schools and school system will not happen with social media performances or lip-service to change. It will come when we are committed to doing our own personal inner work and then holding others around us accountable to this work as well. The work is not easy, but it is important. Dr. Dennis had so much more to share about her thoughts on the state of education, teachers’ responsibility, and how we need system-wide change. Make sure to check out her full interview on the Time for Teachership podcast. You can also follow along with her work at 365 Diversity. TRANSCRIPT if you are looking for a push. This episode is the one you need. Dr Kimia Nuru. Dennis is a sociologist and criminologist, educator and researcher. As founder of 3 65 diversity Dr Dennis helps change policy And practices curriculum and courses and evaluations and assessments for K- 12 schools, colleges and universities, businesses, human resource offices for profit and nonprofit organizations and communities. Emphasis is placed on supporting and protecting people with underserved and minority ties, identities and experiences a range of demographics and cultures captured include race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, language and communication, mental health, physical health, self harm and suicide disability, reproductive health and freedom and sexual health and freedom. Dr. Dennis Conversation was so powerful. I am so excited for you to listen for reference. This conversation was recorded November 1, 2021. 00:01:04 Let's get to it. Educational justice coach, lindsey Lyons and here on the time for Teacher Ship podcast we learn how to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice design curricula grounded in student voice and build capacity for shared leadership. I'm a former teacher leader turned instructional coach. I'm striving to live a life full of learning, running, baking, traveling and parenting because we can be rockstar educators and be full human beings if you're a principal Assistant superintendent, curriculum director, instructional coach or teacher who enjoys nursing out about co creating curriculum students. I made this show for you. Here we go dr Dennis, Welcome to the time for Teacher Ship podcast. Thank you so much for having me on Time for teacher ship podcast. I'm so excited for our conversation today and I want to just dive right in. One of the things that I I think is really important is this idea of like big thinking, big dreaming or you know, freedom dreaming as dr Bettina love talks about it as dreams grounded in the critique of injustice, which is a phrase that I just absolutely gravitate to. 00:02:12 And so I'm curious as you think about that and her description of it, you know, what is the dream that you hold for the field of education? The dream that I hold is for people to stop being stuck in concepts, theories and repeating readings and so that's a dream. But it's actually real life for when we talk about thousands of years of knowledge is and work and people who are making changes to curriculum schools. However, those changes are silenced. They're punished including by the people who claim they want changes to happen. So that's another example when we're talking about the inequities in education. That's K through 12 and colleges universities and that's nearly every K. through 12 and nearly every college university around the world. So I always want people to understand this is not just a local problem. It's not just a national problem in U. 00:03:17 S. A. And Canada. It's an international problem because if you're looking at race and white power, that's five centuries colonialism, transatlantic slavery, christian missionaries. So this notion of terrorism where you still people, you still products, you still knowledge. You put it in european white museums. You pretend that white people and not only white men but white people in general are the main creators and inventors. And it's only true knowledge to be learned and taught if white people say so. And then of course you can talk about this as well when you're addressing gender and sexuality and health and religions. And so this is something that just keeps going on and on and on. Because even the people who say they want to do the work, they don't want the follow up. They want this, add a band aid. They form all these committees. 00:04:22 And then when I tell them, well, let's look at the demographics represented in the authors. Don't tell me that you are increasing representation of black indigenous, asian non white hispanic, non white latin latin latin works, but it's the new stuff and it's mostly new based on white standard of like bestseller books despite thousands of years and then centuries let alone in the Western hemisphere for some groups of people. And then a lot of times it's still written and published by white people. And so this is just why highlight dreams have to be uncomfortable because if you're thinking that you're making changes and the people you went to lunch with yesterday are still gonna want to go to lunch with you tomorrow after you make changes and that's not really how this goes. Yeah. So well said thank you for speaking to the context to that we're having the freedom dreaming within right. And so that's a really important piece of, you know, it's not just what do I wake up today? 00:05:30 Like thinking would be cool to do in my class tomorrow, but like given this international context that you spoke about, I think that's a really important grounding to be able to think about what that looks like and what that looks like to address it in a meaningful way, in a sustainable way, in a way as you're saying that, like, has to be uncomfortable, I love that phrase. Dreams have to be uncomfortable. And so as you think about that, I think or as you speak about that, I think about, you know, the mindset shifts that are often required to do this work when we think about teacher education programs, right? There's a very rigid model of like, here's what a teacher looks like, here's what a good teacher looks like. And here's like what we were all told as we're going through these prep programs that is actively harmful in many ways to our students and ourselves and and our colleagues. And so I'm wondering what the mindset shift are that you would encourage people to adopt or that you've even seen in successful teachers who are really buying into that dream that you described that is uncomfortable and really addressing that context that you describe. 00:06:31 So so deeply thank you That's a wonderful question. And this is the tough question that most teachers ask me this question theoretically, but do not want a real answer. I blame every school decision maker. So teachers want me to blame politicians. They want me to blame school of creditors. They want me to blame the superintendent. They want me to blame the assistant principals and the principles. And I say, hello teachers, how are you doing? They want me to blame the taxpayers voters, the angry parents at school board meeting and the school board. But teachers are just supposed to be there. And I'm like, teachers are really in charge of a lot of curriculum parts, including changing what's in libraries. And I tell teachers this every single day for the past more than 10 years and I myself am a product of predominantly black rich and public schools in which predominantly black second capital confederacy, we were still taught mostly white people's version of everything from preschool to 12th grade and then in college and then in terminal degree and we are supposed to just be happy and not challenge that. 00:07:54 And so I just explained this to teachers. This is where the responsibility has to come in. I do not celebrate teachers bragging about a new book for class and that's happened all over social media during covid. Right, people like, oh, I'm doing this new book in my class between that and of course, you know, the covid oppression of teachers. And I say here's why this is annoying because a lot of things that teachers are highlighting happening during covid have happened literally for more than a century in the United States America and Canada, this is what black and brown people have talked about more than a century. And we've oftentimes been told to stop complaining. It's only being highlighted as a problem now because it's particularly white teachers who are outraged. Right? So the same thing happens when we're talking about the problems of the curriculum and then teachers say in my classes, I can't control what you all are doing. 00:08:58 Well, that's not true. And so this is why I blame teachers because as college university faculty, if you brag about having an awesome, inclusive based curriculum for your courses, but then you're sitting in faculty meetings right beside people who have exclusive curriculum and y'all are just hanging out, then you're to blame. Because if you can coexist with exclusion, coexist with educators who are not educators because I do not believe in pedagogy and education that's exclusive. So no, I'm not going to declare you an educator if you're exclusive and how you define knowledge, education information, if you're sciences, Mathematics, arts literature is musics have Children from preschool, including in PhD programs in M. D. Programs coming from all of that around the world, believing that white people discovered the most notable forms of sciences. Medicine, Mathematics and health, if you can coexist around people who perpetuate that, then you yourself a horrible teacher, no matter what you put in your own classes. 00:10:15 And this is what I always tell students in my classes at the college level. My focus is showing you how my course connects with the other courses in this department and the other courses throughout your life in schools. So that you can see the conflict. You can see the contrast and you can challenge yourself to say mm And I also believe in public knowledge, meaning I tell students all the time, I'm gonna give you a whole bunch of stuff as students are like, well, what do we have to read? I'm like, guess what? Here's the awesomeness of choice. There's a bunch of stuff that you don't have to read from my class, but you have access to this so that you never feel like you're stuck with what the teacher told you is fact. And unfortunately, most teachers don't do that and they will say that they don't have the time, the resources that they're not allowed whatever the response. But then this is why I tell teachers what is your deal breaker then? 00:11:22 Like you can't claim that you're teaching students how to learn and self reflect. But you yourself as a teacher. You're not learning and self reflecting. You're just regurgitating and doing what you're told to do yourself. So how are you teaching K through 12 in College University otherwise, wow so many great points here. I just really appreciate that you, you have made me think a lot about, you know, that idea of like not being able to coexist with exclusion really hit me specifically, because I think in so many, particularly the first few years I was teaching so many instances, I was like, okay, well I have control from my class so I can make my curriculum, you know, this way or whatever, but I do sit next to folks in the staff meetings who are not doing this and who are problems, like creating larger problems, right, That that need to be addressed. And so how do we, as, um, you know, faculty and, and staff members at all levels as you said, K through college, really think about what does that look like to hold one another accountable? 00:12:24 Not just ourselves within the four walls of our classroom, I think that's a very common phrase that teachers are like, I could control what's in the four walls of my class, I control, you know, and we are part of a larger community, You have Children that are now going into these other classes that you they're they're your students and they're in these other classes and they're, you know, that is also your responsibility even beyond who is actually on your roster of students, right? But, but I think that's a really important thing to name. And I just wanted to say thank you for naming it. I also love that idea of public knowledge and just being able to share and offer choice. I'm really a fan of like the choice and even larger like student voice and like how do we co create with students and we are not, you know, the holders of knowledge and I think all these things that you've named um that as a practice and is thinking about like how do I sustainably curate these resources that enable students to see a wide um you know, array of types of materials, of sources of materials, of all of this stuff to sense make and and really think about that from a pedagogical standpoint is helpful as well. 00:13:31 Um if there are, you know, teachers listening, but also leaders listening, how do I facilitate that capacity in my teachers and how do I encourage them to know that that's really important to do? Um I think those are, those are really powerful questions and as we move into this, this next question that I have for you, you know, what does that look like in terms of action? Right? I think a lot of this is it does require require a sense of bravery and of like discomfort like this is different. I'm challenging now, not only my own pedagogy and doing that self reflection, but I'm challenging my colleagues too and I'm I'm bringing them along for this for this bride of advancing justice and really thinking about how we do this well together. So, I'm curious to know what your thoughts are for people who want to get started with this. Yeah. So the first step is, if you are a teacher, why are you a teacher step one? Okay. And I asked the same thing when I do trainings for medical and health professionals, when I used to do trainings for police departments. Anyone who's controlling these central components of our lives that are required, parts of our lives need to first say, why am I in this? 00:14:41 Because I used to also teach teachers. They were required to take some of my sociology courses. So why are you doing this? Why are you in this field of expertise? You can say you love Children, but what does that really mean? Right. What does it actually mean? And then from there I asked teachers to self reflect on why they brag about their work quite often. So, you'll sometimes see teachers in space is who will say I am a wonderful teacher. Here's materials. I'm doing. I am exhausted. I'm spending money on my own pockets. I'm just amazing. And I say, well, I appreciate teachers. Now let's talk about the inequities part. And then teachers oftentimes step back and say, well, that's not my fault though, Right. So this is where I also have to address again. Thousands of years of education systems, thousands of years of schools, thousands of years of also informal education again, like I said earlier, whose fault is it? 00:16:00 And also why brag about yourself? If you can't explain how your part is contributing to the larger puzzle and the larger issues like are you bragging about your part so that you can be celebrated or are you now motivating people to take the knowledge you're providing so they can challenge other classes. And this very much connects with race, socioeconomic status as well. Because there's certain groups of people who are allowed to brag about outrage Like we can talk about this United States America the whole 2016-2021 outrage that new awareness that new consciousness people are saying, I did not know this about America in the world and indigenous people and black people in particular are saying, where have you been? We have literally centuries of writing, centuries of spoken words, centuries of music lyrics that address this. 00:17:04 We have centuries of photos even. And it's also scary when history teachers say that they are just realizing stuff. 2016, because you're a history teacher who has degrees in history, you're Certificate teacher teaching history, but yet you didn't realize this stuff until 2016. So you have to understand you were learning white people's version of local, national and international history. Not only did you learn that, but you've been teaching that to every generation of people from thereafter. And it took 2016 and 2021 for you to say wow and you were supposed to celebrate that like yeah you finally got here. That's I don't celebrate that. That's exhausting. That's insulting. That's condescending to people who have done this work for centuries and even thousands of years around the world who have been punished for doing this work. That includes teachers who have been fired from jobs for bringing in factual history, factual sciences, factual mathematics and arts and literature czars who've been punished and while they're being punished for facts, their colleagues have stood around compliant and complacent. 00:18:23 But yet 2016 2021. Yeah we've got this. I always tell people when you become a new voice for equity and education now you have to be honest about the people who were punished before your voice and how you allowed them to be punished and what are you doing to not just apologize and take them out to lunch but to reverse that punishment in some way. So this is where it's really difficult because the 2016 2021 outrage has just shown that despite black people, indigenous people L. G. B. T. Q. I. A. People who include black and indigenous people marching and protesting for centuries on the western hemisphere alone A lot of people did not know about protest and marching until 2016 despite the fact that Europeans when they stole this land they themselves were protesting and marching because they were mad at, you know, Britain, right? 00:19:32 So the protest and march thing is so new to these people and their teachers. And so they think that screaming in school board meetings means that something's happening. And that's why I tell people change is not a part time job. Like you can't march down the street screaming a school board meeting and then you're back to just repeating the same curriculum and materials that are the problem in the first place and blame everyone else. That's why I tell people if that's your routine, then instead of going to that school board meeting to yell instead of marching down that street and that includes, we're talking about critical race theory instead of doing all of that, sit down self marinate and do the work that you should be doing, but that you're running away from so that you can be visible all over social media bragging about yourself, but you're literally not doing anything beyond the adult popularity contest. 00:20:41 So this is where teachers need to to do that. The same thing that they tell school decision makers and school officials. If you saw your superintendent yelling at school board meetings marching down streets throwing up critical race theory flags. And then that superintendent got back in the office, like, let me take a nap, let me do this, hashtag if I take a nap, you'd be really angry because you know that that person is not doing anything and they're getting paid a whole lot of money, not do anything. Teachers are not getting paid a lot of money in most school districts. And of course that's connected to the, you know, the property value and all that in school district. But teachers have to understand how many of them are doing something very similar to what they criticize the school officials for doing. And that's where that honesty and self reflection needs to happen and hold each other accountable while saying, I appreciate you While also saying we really have this next step that we've been procrastinating on for fear of losing a job. 00:21:46 And I've had people tell me, well they can fire all of us. If you really think that then sure, You know, if you think that a school district and fire all the teachers or you know, it's not going to ever be all the teachers boycotting. But if you think that they can fire 10 teachers at the same time because you all refuse to teach white only insist gender only materials. Okay. That's what they want you to think. So this is where I just tell teachers, just to be honest. If you don't want to do more than you're doing, stop pretending you do on social media, stop pretending you do when you go to school board meetings because after a while the families and communities and students who have really bought into what you're selling them. they're gonna be like, okay, I've been lied to by school officials and by the teacher who claimed that they wanted to make changes as well. Thank you so much for making those points and, and, and really emphasizing so many pieces, right? Like let's make sure that one what we're teaching students or the things that we're practicing ourselves because we can't be teaching students to self reflect and pause and do this work without us actually doing that as well. 00:23:00 And then also it works the other way as well. If we're talking about, you know, elevating these concerns to politicians and to superintendents and those folks like being able to do that work ourselves is critical and I love your, your focus on curriculum as well to be able to say like this is where so much, so many of things are perpetuated in policy and and all that, but so much is perpetuated in curriculum in the curriculum we teach. I think the history example is a great one. And as a former history teacher, I can say like it is like, I would shudder at what I was reading was in like I taught in new york. So the regions exams that were tested, there's like this requirement to teach to the test and I remember seeing specific questions where this is the prescribed right answer that the student will get credit for this and I know that it's false. I know that it is not historically accurate. That this is like a white perception and and like like this history that has been manipulated and as the teacher you're kind of like okay I can teach you like this is what the regions will tell you is the correct answer. 00:24:02 So when you take this test, I guess you put that answer but I want you to know really what, what is true, you need this information also. And so it takes so much self work, especially as history teachers who were not properly educated by their institutions to go do that work on your own to go learn that history and yes, that should be paid work. That should be work that you know like that that educators are paid better but it's absolutely necessary if we don't want to continue having these conversations about what's actually factual and what's not in, you know to actually teach history properly for future generations. Like we need to make that investment. So I just, I really appreciate you naming all of that stuff and really resonates with me. I'm I'm wondering specifically you talked about a lot of things you talk about libraries, talk about curriculum um like accreditation and policy and things are also things that are, that are pieces here. And so I'm wondering are there specific either success stories of like this school that you know, I've worked with has really dug in and done this work and this is what it looks like or recommendations for kind of like where you would suggest people start like once they do that self reflection. 00:25:10 Like what does that look like in terms of advocating at an accreditation level and really doing the work to revamp their curriculum to be historically accurate and inclusive and responsive. Are there, are there things that you suggest there? So first we have to say, how do we define success stories? Right. So you can define success stories as schools that have said, we're going to take this next step. What does it mean for? The outcome is always the problem because a lot of people will say that they are willing to ruffle feathers and I always tell people this should not be based on political parties and a politician you like because literally every political affiliation is designed to harm schools and to harm education. It's all the same telling you to comply. So I always have to explain that because a lot of times people will say, well this political party is going to do this and this politician, I'm like, well they want you to think they're gonna make changes so that you won't challenge them to make changes. 00:26:25 So success stories oftentimes are not long term. So when I say, okay, you're gonna make this update, but now you're gonna do annual assessments just like pretend that that's a requirement for cultivation, even if it's not, but you're doing it for your yourself. The annual part is where people miss out because they're like, we did what we could do the end. This also happens with schools and the people making the changes do not fit the demographics of the school. That's part of the white savior syndrome. So even if something does change for the better. Is that really a success story? Is it really a success story when white people are the ones to say we're going to remove the prevalence of white version history who that's not successful, right? Just like if we're talking about L. G. B. T. Q. I. A. Rights and materials cis gender heterosexual people should not be the main decision makers and it should not be based on cis gendered heterosexual people's signature and approval because that's not equity and it's not freedom. 00:27:42 It's permission from the power majorities. So this is where we always have to say, How do you define success? What is the long term lasting vision? You have to remember every change can be reversed when you go to sleep because the moment you say you're going to make a change, even if you're doing it behind the scenes, you're definitely not the only person who knows what's happening. So the people who don't want that to happen, which includes many people who they themselves have minorities identities. They're working to reverse that because we have to remember the same way we critique police departments and the funds that they receive the same way we critique medical and health fields because of the billionaire pharmaceutical industry around the world, we have to also critique schools, districts and schools themselves and how they benefit from this huge publication industry. The publishers, the connections between the creditors and standardized test producers, people understand this when we talk about academia, they're like, oh my goodness, schools are making so much money. 00:28:57 Colleges, universities are profiting from this and this and this. I'm like, do you all think that that just starts at the college level? Like What do you think is happening? Not even always behind the scenes at the K through 12 level? Why do you think there's certain publishers that are the most profitable? And I tell teachers this as well, when you're talking about who chooses your books, why do you keep agreeing to use those books? And then they'll say we have no choice. But I'm like, do you not have a choice or are you scared to to say? I mean, because we have years of people who've actually done research content analysis, right? You know, you know, your historian, you know, the historian, content analysis for historians for generations have gone through journal articles, books that are published and they said, you know, we did a sample of 300 history books and here's what's in there and what they found is what we always knew, which is how they depict how this land was founded by Christopher columbus, you know, all that stuff centuries. 00:30:17 But then unfortunately even after those content analyses, people tend to just pick on texas and florida as though this doesn't happen in literally every school around the world. Like soft and polite, white dominance in history is still white dominance in history. Like even if you say, oh we'll put Frederick douglass in the textbook or Harriet tubman, I did not ask you which black people we could put in there. Why do you think that you control that? That's still like dominance. Right? So I mean there's there's so much that goes into this, but this is again where I just say people have to just sit down and say, will they do this continuous work or will they say we've made the change? We've had a committee, we've had some trainings that mean nothing. We've had some professional developments that mean nothing. We've made sure we didn't anger the decision makers and then they have to be honest about the meaning of tokenism. 00:31:23 Like if you're just adding one chapter, if you're just adding one book from Toni Morrison. For example, if you're just, you know, inviting an indigenous person to come in, do a presentation, we can still complain. And I believe in boycotting schools as much as possible as well and teachers don't want to lose their jobs. But I always tell people if we have to comply to that, then it's definitely not gonna change. Yeah, absolutely. So to to be able to dr Shelton Eakins was on my podcast before saying, you know, we teachers need to be able to put their jobs on the line, right? And then, and I love that that phrase and just thinking about um you know, what does it mean to actually do the work that people purport to do or want to do? Like you're saying, like on social media and like saying, you know, I'm interested in doing this or I'm marching or whatever. Like, are you actually willing to put your job on the line? Are you willing to and not to like reduce the the, you know, financial dependence that people have on their jobs and they provide food to their families, But also like what are we really doing if we're not risking um, you know, our jobs or that security that we have as educators um to be able to do this right? 00:32:41 Like to be able to do the education the way that education should be done and to have that freedom dream and lift that out. So I really appreciate you naming that. And I also appreciate that you you mentioned a couple different things that we talked about curriculum, but then also that decision maker piece I think is so critical. And so my research is in shared leadership and like what does that look like when you bring in various stakeholders and that to me that's like a continuous piece. It speaks to the continuity that you're emphasizing as well. So if you just have the same power structure, you can have voices here and there that like answer a survey or whatever and you make these small chances choices or changes, excuse me. And like, okay, maybe that's a little bit of something, but really what we want for that long sustainable changes, who's making these decisions? How do we bring folks together? How do we have a team that is representative? And I love that you brought up tokenism that is not token is stick because what we've seen in the research from student voice, specifically putting 1 to 2 students on a panel of 15 decision makers who are all adults is going to silence those students because their tokens, they're not actually 50% for example, of the committee. 00:33:49 And so I think that's a really important thing to, to name as we think about, you know, what it looks like to be a cow as as the school decision making body or you know, as teachers. And so I don't know if there's anything else that you wanted to add before we wrap up. I want to make sure that you're able to share everything that you want to share. And then I can move to my final questions, but I just want to appreciate to all the excellent points that you've made so far. Thank you. And I also want to call out teachers unions. Of course not every place has teachers unions, but the places that do have teachers unions, It is very rare to find a teachers union that addresses library materials accreditation and school curriculum and the text books and the demographics and cultures represented in the authors and publication. And teachers unions will address salary, but they don't show an ability to multitask in addressing health access, access to restrooms for various gender identities, non identities and so forth. 00:34:58 So this is also where I blame teachers unions, where they do exist. That's why I always, whenever teachers unions celebrate an increase in salary, I say, will now send us a report to show how this increase in salary correlates with changes in the curriculum. I can't celebrate people's increase in salary if the people, they're claiming to be there to help are still suffering in the same oppressive schools, you're getting paid more. But what else? Yes. Oh my gosh, I agree so much. I think there's, there's a whole conversation about like the, we can have around unions and like how unions can be great and also how they have been, you know, manipulated and and manipulate the system to not uphold, in fact, in many cases, like actively like uphold oppression, um, and injustice. And so I think that's, that's so important. 00:36:03 And I love the idea of like, how are they correlated and asking that question. Um, I think that's a fair one to ask. So, so thank you. Thank you for naming that. Um, as we kind of come to close what is, I know you have suggested so many things and so many, you've made so many great points that I think are really interest. They lead to introspection and they lead to really thinking a little bit more critically about what it means to be a quality teacher and the teacher who advances justice. And so as we think about all of those things, is there one particular thing that you want folks to remember? Or one thing that they can kind of do as they end the episode and start doing the sustainable pieces of work that we were talking about today. Yeah. So I will say take a pause from social media for a while, that's the first step because that's the first step required for self reflection. So many teachers and medical health professionals mirror what they say on social media. 00:37:12 They're not doing it in real life, but they're just ranting on social media, getting to get celebrated. That's why I say that again, the adult popularity contest. So I do social experiments where I just read what teachers and what medical and health professionals say on social media, giving each other high five. Talking about equity and change making and blah blah blah. And I always say if even 20 of you were doing what you claim to be doing on social media, number one, of course, you'd probably get in trouble at the work, but things would be changing a little bit more. So that's the first step, I tell people is take a pause in what you're saying and claiming to other people to get celebrated and to not be blamed. Take a break, maybe a couple of breaks and self reflect and say why do I have to convince myself and convince other people that I'm helping and am I really helping? 00:38:24 And this is also why I tell people when I do trainings, write down, what are you contributing in a good way? Then write down what is your excuse for not contributing other stuff? And I say, excuse, I don't say explanation. I say, what's your excuse? And then I say after you wrote that, excuse, what did you post on social media in the past month that pretends that you're actually doing the good work, that now you're admitting, you're not doing like literally there are teachers on social media who say that they're doing some good changes when you stay well tell us more, they don't have much to tell us because it really was a change. And this includes sometimes when you find teachers who have pages upon pages of wonderful reading lists, wonderful books, but I keep telling them we have a lot of reading lists. 00:39:31 Is this changing the curriculum? No, it's not changing the curriculum, it's still treating minorities people as special topics courses and sub topics in certain months out of the year, like you have a reading list when you're not busy reading this book created by white people, cis gender people, men, heterosexuals, religious majority. So this is where I just say first, take some time. Take a break from That popularity contest where you want to be celebrated amongst other teachers, especially during COVID-19. Take a break because you will self reflect more effectively when you don't have to put on your acting attire. You know, we talk sociologically this notion of life is a stage and symbolic interaction is um, life is a stage how we act. 00:40:35 Sometimes we act for ourselves. We we especially act based on how we're responding to other people and how we want people to see us. So I want teachers to think life is a stage. How are you performing and what do you really know is not happening but you're performing like it is happening including on social media. So that's the first step. That is a powerful first step. Thank you for sharing that. And, and I think that a lot of people are going to have either interest in following you on social media or connecting with you or or having follow up questions and follow conversations. People who are interested in your training, um where can anyone who's listening go to to get that information or to connect with you to kind of continue the conversation with you after today's episode. Thanks for asking. They can find 365 diversity, but just keep in mind, I do not forever have conversations like you're not gonna pick my ear as black women were expected to just allow people to pick our ears every day. 00:41:39 And and for free of course based on this idea that as humans, we can just keep talking, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk talk and nothing happens, nothing changes. You're just talking. So I want people to know if you contact me, we're not just gonna share ideas. I need you to be doing something more than that. And one thing I appreciate about many educators who have podcasts, they actually are doing the work. They're not just waving around signs like they're literally doing the work and their point of podcasts like yours is connecting people who are doing this work so that when people contact each other, they're talking about collaboration based on action and not event session, vent sessions are very good for mental health and physical health. But vent sessions need to have the next process because we can't vent for the rest of our lives because the power majorities if they know that all you're doing is venting at lunch meetings. 00:42:50 They know you're going to be at work the next day regardless. So people who contact me or whatever the case may be, it has to be being prepared for challenges. And if you're uncomfortable with what I say, ask yourself why because I'm saying the same thing I'm saying now, I might use stronger words. But if you're offended, think about the minorities people who don't have a voice. So that's just something to keep in mind in terms of contacting me, don't say, hey, I just want your opinion on this. No, I'm not doing that, nope, nope, nope nope. What's your opinion on that? And then let's go to the next level. Oh my gosh dr Dennis, you have been a wealth of information and insight and I have loved this conversation. So thank you so much for agreeing to come on the show. It has been an absolute pleasure to talk to you today. Thank you so much. You're amazing. If you're leaving this episode, wanting more, you're going to love my live coaching intensive curriculum bootcamp. 00:44:02 I help one department or grade team create feminist anti racist curricula that challenges affirms and inspires all students. We leave current events into course content and amplify student voices, which skyrockets engagement and academic achievement. It energizes educators feeling burns out and it's just two days plus you can reuse the same process. Any time you create a new unit, which saves time and money. If you can't wait to bring this to your staff. I'm inviting you to sign up for a 20 minute call with me, grab a spot on my calendar at www dot lindsey Beth Lyons dot com slash contact until next time. Leaders continue to think Big Act brave and be your best self. This podcast is a proud member of the teach better podcast network, better today, better tomorrow and the podcast to get you there, explore more podcasts at teach better dot com slash podcasts and we'll see you at the next episode.
 Listen to the episode by clicking the link to your preferred podcast platform below: There’s a saying that goes: “To make an omelette, you need to crack a few eggs.” Essentially, to do something good, you might have to break something. And that can be hard—even painful. But it’s a philosophy that Abbie Korman, guest on a recent episode of the Time for Teachership podcast, is passionate about. Abbie returned to her teaching profession during the pandemic after an 11-year hiatus. And she’s returned with a purpose: to become the best teacher she can be to her students while impacting structural change for the good. To reach this goal, Abbie has found a community of like-minded educators through Teachers for Good Trouble, who have a common interest in making an omelette (structural change) through their good trouble—advocacy efforts, professional development, and systemic transformation. Freedom Dreams: Goals for the Field of Education Abbie shared many “freedom dreams” she has for the field of education. Many of them relate to the systemic change that she desires to see. Instead of following the status quo, Abbie believes that many areas of education are broken and need a major overhaul. Together with her community and support system, Abbie identified just some of these goals that she’s fighting to change:
All these goals hinge on an important question: are we satisfied with the status quo or are we willing to take steps to change things for the better? Changing Personal and Structural Mindsets Looking at this list of freedom dreams might seem daunting, especially for teachers and educators who maybe haven’t thought through some of these areas yet. But change always starts with you. It starts with us. Each of us is responsible for our own mindset and growth. So, that’s why Abbie recommends starting with personal reflection. If there is something going on in your class, what can you do to change it? Where is your locus of control as a teacher? What responsibility do you have to make a difference? This kind of personal reflection is the start of any impactful mindset shift and action. From there, teachers need to tap into a mindset of larger structural changes. For example, Abbie talked about the fact that 80% of teachers are white women—why? It’s not because they make the best teachers, but because the current educational system is made for them. So to make it more inclusive and more diverse, massive structural changes need to take place. How to Take Brave Actions So how do we change things? There are many brave actions that teachers can take today. But to take brave action, it’s important to have a community of support around you. So as a step #1, Abbie recommends getting online and joining “teachergram,” or the teacher side of Instagram. This is a way to access free professional development and a community of like-minded educators. She recommends @teachersforgoodtrouble, @callmeshivy, @liberation.lab, and @kwame_the_identity_shaper as a place to start. From there, here are some brave actions that can make a big impact:
These brave actions might feel overwhelming to teachers who feel alone. But you’re not alone! As Abbie shared, there are so many teachers who are changing the field and making it a more inclusive and diverse space… you just need to find and connect with them! Let’s continue to be inspired by each other. That’s a big part of what Time for Teachership podcast is about! Make sure to listen to Abbie’s interview as well as other episodes of the podcast here. TRANSCRIPT I'm thrilled for you to hear from a guest today. Abby Corman Abby is awaits this hat woman with 12 years experience in education in her community in the bay area of California. She started her career at a comprehensive high school for five years, teaching up to three new, perhaps each year in classes of 36. Then Abby took a job at the county honor camp teaching incarcerated boys for two years burned by systems. Abby took a break from teaching and worked at a local nonprofit running a high school academic success program. Abby returned to the classroom in 2020 and she's now teaching teens reading at an elementary level and focusing on building community and highlighting student brilliance at the district level. She's using her whiteness and other privileges to make change from within the system by amplifying the needs of her community through policy. She's also focusing on self care to stay in the game long term. Let's hear from Abby Korman. I'm educational justice coach Lindsey Lyons and here on the time for teacher ship podcast, we learn how to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice design curricula grounded in student voice and build capacity for shared leadership. I'm a former teacher leader turned instructional coach. 00:01:06 I'm striving to live a life full of learning, running, baking, traveling and parenting because we can be rockstar educators and be full human beings if you're a principal assistant superintendent, curriculum director, instructional coach or teacher who enjoys nursing out about co creating curriculum with students. I made this show for you. Here we go. Abby Corman, Welcome to the time for teacher ship podcast. Thanks so much, I'm excited to be here, I'm excited you're here. And so to start us up, I just finished reading your professional bio, but do you want to add anything or say anything that really helps to really introduce yourself to our audience, helps to explain what it is you do, who you are. Sure I'm gonna stay focused on the professional side. Um but something that's been kind of new for me, as I mentioned in my bio, I've had a couple of different jobs in the past 11 years and I'm newly back into teaching. I started in the pandemic last august um and I started with this new lens feeling really empowered and focusing on balance and self care and I needed that coming back into teaching and I found a community online. 00:02:17 Um we were in the pandemic anyway and that community is called Teachers for Good Trouble and its founder is Alfred Chevy brooks, his handles at Call me Chevy um and I'm gonna highlight them later today and they're probably gonna come up a bunch, so that's why I just really wanted to add this has been really this empowering space for me, a space of community um healing and has helped me move toward being the teacher I want to be. Um so I just wanted to really highlight and shout them out at the beginning of the podcast because it has helped frame my reentry into teaching um and had me questioning and changing a lot in my classroom awesome, thank you so much for that. And so I think this is a really exciting question for me and I draw it from Dr Bettina loves the work and she talks about freedom dreaming in the following way. She says, you know, their dreams grounded in the critique of injustice. And so I'm really curious to know, considering that framing what is the big dream that you hold for the field of education, awesome. 00:03:21 So even before I answer that, but I have some exciting ideas from it. I just wanna name dr Patina loves book, I want to do more than survive. Um I did in a book club with folks from teachers for good trouble um at black girls teach deidre fogarty and um at the insightful teacher, um Rakeem Jenkins led a group of us through this book and My mind was blown right. All this history that I did not know about. Um when we integrated 38,000 teachers and black teachers and principals lost their job, right? And just this framing so many things had me rethinking and it was so appreciative, I was so appreciative of this book and the space to break down. So first, like I love that this is your first question if folks haven't read um Dr love's book, they gotta get in there, follow the abolition of speaking network on instagram donate, Have a bunch of workshops. 00:04:22 So likely that is where my heart is. So, I love this question. Um and that framing if people are interested in, I want them to check out that book. Um So for me, I'm gonna name some of my freedom dreams. One is a couple of them come out of all teachers for good trouble. We have this as a dream. We want a national teacher minimum wage, we want pay raises, we're saying 75 K minimum starting salary. We're educated, right? We have all these these degrees and we have teachers who are struggling to pay the rent. Working side, hustles multiple jobs. Um Teachers for the trouble. We also want free mental health services for all students and all teachers. If I had had a therapist, my first five years of teaching, I probably wouldn't have left the way that I did. And now I have a therapist, but I pay out of pocket. Sorry, that was the school bell. I'm at school. Um I pay out of pocket. 00:05:27 Um I this is an issue I continually fight for at my school. Um They give us those E A. P. Um services referral. You get three paid for therapy sessions. If you're in therapy, you know, three sessions is not enough, especially when we're facing dealing with this vicarious trauma from our students all day every day and then our own lived trauma, right? And then the 3rd and 4th thing that teachers for good trouble really believes in is the pandemic really showed us. Um, Wifi is a basic right? It's a need all teachers and students should get that for free, especially when we were working from home last year. How can they expect to do that? I know the majority of the teachers I know had to somehow upgrade out of their own paycheck. Some sort of tech needs specifically Wifi, right? Because if you get kicked out, then the whole class gets kicked out of your zoom. Um, and uh, diverse teaching staff, right? I think the numbers are around like upwards of 80% of our teachers are white women, which is not representative of our country, um, which does a lot of harm to our students. 00:06:39 So that's kind of um, are stated freedom dreams in um, teachers for good trouble. We also want to eliminate standardized testing. It's tied to capitalism, There's, it's a billion dollar industry. It does not measure our students accurately in any way. Um, it's biased and it does, it also does a lot of harm, personally, I hope there's a lot, there's a lot wrong in education Lindsay. So I also, um, have a lot of hope for our teacher and our teacher Ed programs. Um, I feel like in our teacher Ed programs, teachers need to be explicitly trained and pot and reflect on their own biases, their own trauma and how that can show up in the classroom. We need to understand the different the matrix of oppression and all of the different ways that we play into that, especially being a teacher, we have so much power and authority in our schools and how that can play out in the classroom. 00:07:41 I I personally believe every teacher needs to be able to say black trans lives matter, everybody's lives matter, but explicitly that, and if teachers can't say that, I don't think they should. Teachers in the classroom, I want all of our students to feel seen, heard and loved that their education is valuable to them. And that's on the teachers, not students, right, That's on the school structure, that's not about the students, that's about what we've been doing in the classroom. It does not resonate with our students. And really what that means is a lot of our structures have to change so that our students are actually at the center instead of money instead of adult comfort instead of white supremacy. Um, I think the way to get there is gonna have to be through civic engagement, a lot of us standing up and speaking up. And so then I also hope for that, that is amazing. I love that list. I think it is way more comprehensive than initially people come in with, you know, an idea or so. 00:08:44 And I love how comprehensive it is, and also how it draws from your work with other teachers who have been engaged in this work, who have been reading, dr love's book, you know, I think this is so powerful and I love that we're going to continue to shout them out because this group sounds really phenomenal and just having those conversations, and I love that you added your own personal ones as well, because there's so much like you said wrong with education, that we need to appreciate that. Um I think so many folks who are interested in maybe a bunch of the things that you said and are realizing that they are currently in a system or currently in a school that has so much like historical, traditional ways of doing things that are not all the things that you just said, and they're trying to figure out, you know, how do I operate within that, or how do I bring other folks into that dream? How do I open that up for folks who I work alongside and maybe even share a room with, you know, and I want to bring those folks with me on this, this journey. 00:09:46 I'm thinking a lot about, like, the mindset, the mindset of teachers and the mindset that teacher had programs kind of put into folks that are in the teaching profession. And so what mindset shifts do you think are really required to get people to fight for the stream that you just described? So, for me, I'm need to name, I am a white cis um straight woman um in the classroom and I am the majority, right. And I am also whose school was made for, I thrived in school and I bet most of the teachers who identify like me also thrived in school and it is not because we are inherently smarter or worked harder than any of our peers. It's because the school was made for us and I needed to see that and my whiteness before I could be effective in the classroom, that was really powerful for me. 00:10:55 That was work I did in undergrad. Even seeing my whiteness, I didn't even know that was a thing because I lived in my white bubble and nobody ever really needed to talk about my race. I knew there were racist, but I didn't know about how power, so many different levels of power tied to race. I knew there was racism. I didn't know I knew my grandpa got the G I. Bill, but I didn't know other folks of color, veterans of color didn't get the G I. Bill right. That's that critical race theory. I wasn't actually taught how race and class and all of these other identity markers kind of um overlaid onto power structures and our society is set up structurally to benefit white folks, right? So that had to be my 1st 1st mindset shift. We do not have 80% plus of white women teachers because they're the best teachers, not saying we're bad teachers right? 00:11:59 But there's a reason why. Okay, same thing too with this idea of the achievement gap, I want us to get rid of that term. We need to ask why. And it is not because our students of color are not as smart as our white students or our affluent students. That's not why that's a lazy answer. Right? That is not thinking about social political context of our country. We have an education debt. Our students who are struggling who are performing lower on these tests. When these tests are biased, they're bad, throw them out. But even if we have strong assessments that we believe in teachers for trouble isn't saying get rid of all assessments and have no tests. It's have purposeful individualized meaningful tests for students that aren't biased that are vetted, right? Not by corporations trying to get money, but by real teachers on the ground. Right? How much curriculum is not made by actual even teachers and policy? 00:13:05 And so this this idea that we owe a lot to our students in this country are under resourced, like lower achieving students are in that position because because we set them up in that position, our schools in certain neighborhoods are underfunded. I know my students in this area have had multiple subs year after year after year. So it's particularly in math and reading and their math and reading skills are so much lower. Is that their fault? Absolutely not. That's the system working against them. So a lot of those mindset shifts come around like structural power, recognizing we're part of a system and asking why and not taking that lazy answer and a lot of it. So that's the, that big picture nationally, structurally globally. 00:14:09 And then also the other mindset shift I think people need is so much is about reflecting about yourself. It's really hard for me. In the, in like the staff lounge in my first couple of years, hearing teachers say like, oh that's seven period class, they're so bad for me. If you're having trouble in your classroom, that's on you, your job is to teach whoever is in front of you exactly where they meet them, where they're at and take them to where they need to go. So if things aren't working, you need to go home and reflect for yourself. You need to find community and talk it out because you need to make changes in your classroom. You need to see what's going on within you and how you're reacting and thinking and structuring lessons. So I think that second piece mindset shift is looking back at yourself. 00:15:09 If things are going wrong, what can you do differently? We're gonna make mistakes, we make thousands of decisions in split seconds what mistakes, sorry the bell, what are you gonna reflect on and change and not put it on the students. Yeah, I think that's such a good point. I think about the strategic planning work I've done with districts and it can be immensely frustrating to hear leaders talking about, oh if only the families did this, if only the students did this. And it's like what is within our locus of control here? Like we need to be focused on us and our, like what we control what we are able to do. Like not even to get into all the other issues that are wrong with saying things like it is the families, it is the students right like, but like even just what is within our control, like why wouldn't we start there? And so I really appreciate that you naming that and I really appreciate that you are speaking to about your own journey. And I think that really resonates with me matching many of the identity markers that you shared as well about yourself. 00:16:15 Like that is also the journey that really helped me come to justice centered teaching and student voice and all of the things I'm passionate about. If if I hadn't gone through that and I hadn't had the ability in the community to help me move through that in the way that was possible in the way that you've spoken to, it would be a very, I would be a very different teacher would be in a very different place. My students would have a very different experience. And so I think that's so important that you're meaning that this is a personal journey we need to each individually go on and support each other to go on as well. So I really loved that answer that you just gave. And so and I think you're kind of speaking to to the next question I want to ask, which is about those brave action. So what are those brave actions that leaders can take? You kind of started talking about that a little bit already? Are there things you would add in terms of someone who's listening? Like, yeah, I'm buying into everything you're saying, I'm head nodding along, you know, what can I do tomorrow, next week, this year um to actually put that into practice and really improve myself as a professional. Sure. 00:17:16 So for me, um my work began, you know, first year teaching, I taught three new preps. I was working till like 9:30 p.m. Every night or later getting kicked out of the classroom by custodial staff. MS Gorman, it's time you got to leave coming in on Saturdays. I was working so much. I was doing a lot in my classroom and I think that's the first place to be brave, right? You're gonna make mistakes, but how can you be vulnerable appropriately right, know your boundaries. Um but if you're asking your students, especially I'm an english teacher in the english classroom, they're going to be sharing a lot about themselves. Like I I believe I need to show them the same respect and earlier and first and model that vulnerability for them. Um, the kinds of conversations we have in our classroom, how we structure them were responsible around them. We're not imposing our beliefs on students, but we're also not shying away from the truth of the reality of the world. 00:18:17 Um, so I think for me, in the beginning of my journey, I was really brave in my classroom and I started to try and take steps outside of my classroom. I saw things happening that were unfair for my students. I started speaking up and I kept getting shut down at my site. I'd try, I'd go, I was on like the site leadership team, we'd identify an issue, the teachers would get together, put in all this extra work, we'd research stuff, we'd find a result. We'd say we need to do this and then nothing would happen from administration. Right? And for lots, for a variety of reasons, but it was really deflating to me. It was really hard for me to know I had all this control in my classroom, I actually knew what my students needed because I was the one seeing them every single day, right? And then when I would try and go bigger outside of my classroom, I was just shut down. So I tried different means. 00:19:20 Okay, I was on the site leadership team that didn't work, okay, I'm gonna try and go to my union. Okay. No, that didn't work. Okay. I'm gonna try and like build this community of my friends and we're gonna support each other from different disciplines. We're gonna try and like tell all of our department chairs and like and then hope they bring it up to the next level, right? But like at school there's so much bureaucracy, it's like okay, I'm a teacher, I have to tell my department here and then I hope they tell the vice principal and then I hope they tell the principal and then I hope it goes to the district and then I hope it's like nobody's hearing me at the top and that was a big part of why I left. And so coming back into teaching I think is where I'm being my bravest right now and again, that's with this community that's really helped. I think the pandemic, the multiple pandemics we're facing, right? Not just around um Covid we're all facing and particularly our black students and our students of color. During the pandemic. I found Alfred Chevy brooks called me Chevy and Teachers for Good trouble, which is the organization he founded. 00:20:27 Um and it helped me have this community to recognize and see spaces where I could be braver and the pandemic again I want to talk about, I'll go back to is like not just Covid certainly Covid we were all at home and we were on social media but racism in our country is a pandemic, right? And last summer we saw George Floyd on mars are very, we saw um Brianna taylor, so many um unarmed black folks being murdered by our police um that our students were also seeing every day and facing and then not having it be addressed in their classrooms a lot of the time. Also a lot of our students and our country were facing like this economic pandemic crisis, right, stimulus packages kind of unemployment kind of, I know a majority of my students moved at least once last year. 00:21:37 Um they also live in multi family homes. I live in the bay Area, it costs three grand to have a one bedroom apartment here. And so there are homes my students live in in east Palo alto, the cheapest area, but multiple families live in that home and every family gets a room and they share the kitchen's right. And then also we're having a climate crisis, We live in California, it's a climate pandemic. We have fire season one of my former students liam Qatar is a cow fire now and we literally employ people six months of the year every year because we know we're gonna have these terrible fires and we're not doing that much to get out ahead of it as a country, as a, as a, as a world, right? And so again, these four pandemics are not mine, these are named by Gloria lads and Billings, but this idea there's a lot wrong, right and I truly believe that education is a place of transformation can be right, but, but we need to make it so, and so I felt even more responsibility in this pandemic, wow, I'm teaching, I'm guiding my students. 00:23:01 I might be one of their only contacts during the pandemic there. Seeing me every day, I had almost perfect attendance every day because I have tiny cock sizes and I felt really strong relationships with my students paying attention. So all of the things that they were probably facing right. And so then as a teacher, you really know all the, if you're building those relationships, there's a lot your students are facing and it's, it weighed heavy on my heart. It made me really want to do even more than what I was already doing, but I didn't know how and I didn't want to be, I didn't want to face what I had faced previously in my previous seven years of people, which was working really, really hard against things I didn't believe in, but then burning out because nothing actually changed. And so what that looks like, what being brave looks like now for me being inspired by folks and the teachers for good trouble um community is I started showing up to every single board meeting and not just showing up, but speaking preparing ahead of time, I'm not good on the spot. 00:24:16 So I prepare my little thing I time myself, I had all of the documents sent to me. I had to learn about board meetings in the first place, I realize no one's going there and that's actual, no one's going to those board meetings. No one except maybe a couple of really well resourced parents who are pushing their specific agenda. Right. But I wanted to be there helping amplify concerns. I was hearing from my colleagues and my students because I felt like it wasn't trickling up. Like I said, I'm going to my department chair and the vice principal and the principal and then hopefully all the way up to the board of trustees. Well, no, I don't have to do that. I'm just gonna go to the board of trustees turns out I can email them at any time. So I started doing that too. I made an anonymous instagram account trying to show this community all the things I've learned. Did you know, we have this board and this is when they meet and you can have this thing emailed to you and who are you going? 00:25:20 And I started making polls and I started um, throwing out the email sales that we were getting by the superintendent. But like wasn't being shared with the community trying to get folks in to the conversation that's happening really without most of us. Where's the power actually in our schools and then go there and try and make the change. But also I had to be strategic. Right? Because I'm not tenured yet. I lost my tenure when I left teaching. So the other space is remembering, I'm in a union and while I tried working with my union in the beginning and I didn't feel like it worked. I wasn't a big fan of my union, although they gave us like good paying, good healthcare comparatively. Um, I didn't feel like I felt like there were a lot of issues they weren't doing well now with teachers for good trouble urging. Like, well my union is only as strong as I make it. So I started pushing my union with a couple of other teachers and then we ended up connecting with our States union. 00:26:30 We ended up getting a training on how we could become this organizing committee within our union. They helped us like almost insert ourselves into our current union structure and push for the things that we want. We want more diverse representation. Our union is also all white, but that doesn't represent our staff, right? So we're pushing for these changes in the district. But then we also need them in our union. But I'm a part of the union. They have to listen to me and they have all these resources. So how can I use my power in the union to change my union and then changed my district. So we started going to these trainings. We built this organizing committee. Even if you're not in a I just learned, I learned last year through teachers for good trouble. There are some states where you're not allowed to unionize, ironically called right to work states. Well, if you're in one of those states, you don't have a union, well you can be a part of any, a national educators association, which is like a union and they have a lot of resources. 00:27:39 They have brands, they have lawyers, write your union has money and the legal protection behind you so that if you're starting to make good trouble, gonna back you up. And so I think that's like a part you gotta also remember to write, um, just for good troubles pushing teachers for good trouble, right? Make some noise, make some good trouble. But there's also strategy behind it, right? And so like using your union, using your board meetings, reaching out to community to help you think through how to send that email, to think through how to say that thing and still push but maybe put in a way where you're actually gonna be heard, right? And so that was also a learning lesson for me. But so I think that the brave actions for me now and what we need is we need people willing to speak up and make good trouble, make people uncomfortable, particularly white people in power uncomfortable. 00:28:44 We need to make hold people accountable. My district actually says all the right things were just at the place of saying, here's what you said, here's our policies, they don't match. We need to change them. Okay. You've been saying you're gonna work on it, but now we have this meeting in March and now it's august. So what's happening, Right? It's that next step of holding them accountable, speaking up regularly to them, um, and pushing and using your privilege where you can write. So also, um, I got letters of rex for this job when I came back into teaching from some pretty high people in our district. Okay, Well, that means I have a strong relationship with them. I also have some strong relationship with administrators, so I'm gonna use that, right? Because some folks who aren't tenured or who don't feel comfortable in this area, they're gonna be less likely to say something well, but I can be a voice. 00:29:48 So we would reach out in our organizing committee and specifically myself to other folks and try and ask what's bothering you, what's an issue for you? We had like student surveys, we would build a lot of relationships with folks and how could I lift up these questions, concerns and issues that other folks had, but they didn't feel comfortable. They didn't have the relation. I didn't have the time. I also work 80%. I have no Children. I have no partner, I have way more time. That's a privilege than other people. I don't have to work a second job even though I do, but I don't have to, so I can pay attention to my hours so I need to you, I believe in teachers for control will also help with this, right? I need to use that privilege to amplify the real concerns to make it be heard to get into the trouble. I got an email from the head of HR asking for a meeting, Right, That is gonna happen. 00:30:51 But I was able to navigate it and it worked out fine. You're gonna get things like that and that means I think you're on the right track. Excellent. Oh my gosh. You just gave so many great suggestions and ways that you are doing things in ways that other listeners maybe could take on and and go do those things. And so as we're kind of closing the episode, I'm wondering from the list of all that stuff that we just talked about and there's so much in there, what is something as a teacher is kind of ending the podcasting? Like, okay, what's my next step with one kind of momentum builder here that I can, can take. Um, what would that step be if you're on instagram and you don't know about teacher graham, that's where you need to focus your time. Okay. Or maybe even if you don't have instagram, get a handle, you don't have to make any posts. You can just follow people. It will help you connect with your students because they're all on instagram to not on facebook, right? And I need you to follow at call me shifty. 00:31:54 He's the founder of teachers for good trouble, donate to his campaign because he practices what he preaches. He is running for office in Atlanta to help bring change to his community because he he has already gone through all the steps. He's like our role model right? First he was speaking up at board meetings and organizing people and he organized us for the trouble and that's the level I'm at right now right. But then he's already at his next level. Once he did that and built this national committee now he's making change structurally in his city. So donate to his campaign also he's running in Atlanta um follow this instagram community. So call me Chevy Teachers for Trouble at Liberation Lab at Black Girls speech um at Yadi Mercedes at call me the identity shaper. There are phenomenal veteran, trauma informed transformative teachers online giving free P. 00:33:04 D. Every day. There's something you can pay for but you go on a live and you listen to one of those folks or some of the others. I'm gonna give lindsey in the show notes, you listen to one instagram live, it's gonna change your perspective. Kalen Lamar talks about teacher self care and teacher boundaries, right? We need pd on that in our district is not giving us that you can find a couple of teachers really strong teachers out there helping you think through that and giving you resources and it's a community, we come to you. It's not just these lives, we have monthly meetings if you want, right. We connect and check in with each other. We branch off and we made like a white affinity group and we read me and White supremacy and White supremacy by Layla Saad. Like I told you we had this book club by black girls teach and the insightful teacher, um, we've had a liberation lab to the book Club. We've done maybe like we've done a bunch of the clubs, we've done a protest. We, we coordinate and work together around issues that we all feel. 00:34:11 We talked earlier lindsey about how sometimes we felt we'd look around and how come nobody at my school is upset about this thing. I feel alone on this island. Okay, well we are in the 21st century folks. There is the Internet. You don't have to feel alone teachers for good trouble is that place where you can find the other teachers at their schools who are alone, who feel like they're the only ones and we're gonna come together and we're gonna support each other because also it's tiring. Right? And so it's inspiring to be a part of this community that refuels you, changes your lens and gives you next steps that are actually practical because there are people are actually out doing them and they can give you the feedback and the ideas and help you work through that messiness in order to make those changes and really move on. So for me this is my community, it has helped me um grow in so many ways and like if I could recommend one thing that that would be it. 00:35:25 Excellent and I love that it's a launching point to for so many other things. So it's it's a beautiful recommendation. Um this question I love asking just for fun. So everyone who comes on the podcast seems to be like a self described lifelong learner. We're committed to personal growth, professional growth and all of that as we go through life. And so I'm just curious to know something that you have been learning about lately. Sure, I just really want to highlight this is kind wasn't really lately, it was last year first I want to highlight, I'm in a non grade level class. All of my high school students read at an elementary reading level and so I had a lot of thoughts around equitable grading practices and also did like a clubhouse chat with teachers for good trouble. Right? So lots going on. Teachers for good trouble. But I spent all last year learning about other forms of grading um to be more equitable in my classroom. A lot of my work outside my learning still ties to teaching and personal growth, my my whole identity. 00:36:30 Um I think I don't really like um categorize or separate, right? It's all, it's all kind of joined together. This gives me life. Um, and so last year I spent a lot of time, my district is really big on standards based grading, but I believe that's um inherently unfair for my students who we already know are not at standard ninth grade or 10th grade standards. So we're dooming them to DSR F before they even step foot in the classroom. So I explored, I was part of an inquiry group um with respect from U. Mass. Amherst and some other folks around the country around what's labor based grading based on effort. What's contract based grading? Um What's grade lys grading? Teachers going grade list. There's a whole movement out there. Right? So I did a lot of learning and reflecting around, like if I have these issues with standardized assessments and just assessments in general, what do my assessments look like? 00:37:37 What is my grade book look like knowing that putting a zero in the grade book is gonna do a tremendous amount of harm versus a 50%. They're both Fs. Right? So last year my learning was really around that. Um, this year my learning is around phones in the classroom. So I'm going into this year, it's really hard right now. I think as educators, it's our job to help students navigate their phones and social media and I'm sick of adults talking about how kids are always on their phone and they don't know how to have a conversation and they never make eye contact cause they're looking at their texts but if we're not talking to them about it, well then whose fault is that? Really? It's ours. It'd be a lot easier for me to do what a lot of schools do which is take all the phones and put them in the phone pocket. In fact my school bought me one of those. That's easy but it's not teaching my students anything. 00:38:41 And so this year I'm doing a lot around like norms and agreements and I'm watching a lot of lives on instagram and I'm asking questions and doing P. D. Around how can we co create agreements and rules and norms and what's the difference between the two where we're actually having students recognize the difference between like oh I want to do well in class and I can see my phone is distracting me. So I'm gonna practice putting my phone down and do the work and then see the difference or like learn about the Pomodoro technique where I focus for 20 minutes and then I get a five minute phone break because really that's the things our students need. They're gonna need that when they go home and have to do their homework, they're gonna need that out in the world adults that right so I'm trying that's my learning right now. 00:39:43 Um I do the classroom around like it's hard though, it's not working great and so um uh any resources you all have, I'm open to it, but I'm trying to learn how can we, I used to be like these are the rules and now how can I, how can we co create them or students have input on them? Um, particularly around phones, but also kind of just in general trying to figure out how to make this a more student owned space. Excellent. I love that. Thank you so much for sharing your own learning and there's so much we can do a whole other podcast, just those two things that you just share. But um, as a final question people, I'm sure are gonna be really interested in following up with you, connecting with you. Um, just following what you're doing online. And so where can listeners go online to follow what you're doing or connect with you? Yeah, so instagram and then my handle is really easy. It's just my name at Abbey Corman. 00:40:47 A B B E K O R M A Excellent. Abby. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. Thank you lindsey. If you're leaving this episode, wanting more, you're going to love my live coaching intensive curriculum bootcamp. I help one department or grade team create feminist anti racist curricula that challenges affirms and inspires all students. We leave current events into course content and amplify student voices, which skyrockets engagement and academic achievement. It energizes educators feeling burned out and it's just two days plus you can reuse the same process any time you create a new unit, which saves time and money. If you can't wait to bring this to your staff, I'm inviting you to sign up for a 20 minute call with me, grab a spot on my calendar at www dot lindsey Beth Lyons dot com slash contact. Until next time. Leaders continue to think big act brave and be your best self. This podcast is a proud member of the teach, Better podcast network, better today, better tomorrow and the podcast to get you there, explore more podcasts at teach better dot com slash podcasts and we'll see you at the next episode.
 Listen to the episode by clicking the link to your preferred podcast platform below: It’s been said many times that your budget reflects your values—how you prioritize money speaks to what you care about. And this applies on a personal level, but also in an educational setting. But it’s more than just how you spend your money as a school or administrator, but how you spend your time. Dr. Kevin Ahern’s priority as a principal is to invest time into relationships with his colleagues, teachers, students, and parents. That time translates to a deeper understanding of the community, how to build a more equitable educational environment, and evaluating what changes need to be made to maximize the learning experience. To talk more about his leadership philosophy, we invited Dr. Kevin Ahern onto an episode of the Time for Teachership podcast. He had so much wisdom to share, so make sure you catch his episode to hear the full conversation! From Community to Society Dr. Ahern has worked in education for 26 years, half as a teacher and half as an administrator, both in small and large schools. And over his career, he’s developed a big dream for the field of education: that we would focus on the micro, community level to impact change and improve the lives of the students. Then, how can that translate into the broader society? Too often we think about the high-level societal impacts of education or other facets of life. But what Dr. Ahern reminds us of is that as administrators and educators, we’re collaborating with individuals. It’s our responsibility, then, to focus on our immediate community of students and do everything we can to ensure they are empowered and inspired to learn and grow. Mindset Shifts for Growth To achieve this big dream for education, there needs to be a mindset shift. Instead of coming from a place of lack or not being good enough, administrators and educators should start with what we have. What are the assets already in the school? What’s great about this place? And why is it great? From there, administrators can either “keep watering the green grass,”—i.e., keep up the good work in areas that are excelling—or devote extra attention to the places that still need work. For Dr. Ahern, this hinges on collecting feedback from all the school’s stakeholders—students, parents, and teachers. From this, you can learn:
It’s important to always be willing to gather feedback and make those changes. And yet, change can be hard for many people, so it’s wise to approach it slowly and thoughtfully. Take stock of the situation, and then use creative problem-solving to optimize your school. Increasing Equity through Relationships Building an equitable school starts with understanding the operational definition of equity. How does the school administrators and staff define it? For Dr. Ahern, it’s simple. Equity is when every student gets what they need to experience success. And it’s built on relationships with all stakeholders:
Relationships are Dr. Ahern’s priority because he knows how they have the power to transform. Through conversation and open dialogue, the school can be part of the larger community conversations that matter for diversity and equity. Dr. Ahern’s advice to administrators is this: be present, build relationships, and start with what’s already working at your school. Instead of operating from a place of lack, start with the assets, resources, and great results you already have! This positive mindset will help you be open to growth and lead your school well. We talked about so much more in the Time for Teachership podcast, so make sure you go listen to it! If you want to keep up with Dr. Ahern, feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn. TRANSCRIPT Our guest today is Dr Kevin Ahern who is in his 26th year in education and serving in his seventh year as the principle of mana vista high school in danville California, manifest as part of the san Ramon Valley Unified School District is a 2021 California Distinguished School and a designated no place for hate School. Before moving to the East Bay, kevin served as the principal at Golden Sierra Junior Senior High School in the Black Oakman Unified School district for five years before becoming the principal. He spent one year as a high school assistant principal, one year as a K eight assistant principal and 13 years as a german teacher and football coach. Dr graduated from U. C. Davis with a degree english, earned his teaching credential, administrative credential and master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Chapman University and earned his doctorate in educational leadership from ST mary's College Dr and his wife have five grown Children and three grandchildren. They are both excellent cooks, avid hikers and cross trainers. They are currently living in the East Bay with their two cocker spaniels. 00:01:02 I am thrilled for you to listen to Dr Atkins conversation and for reference, this conversation was recorded october 5th 2021. Let's get to the episode. I'm educational justice coach, lindsey Lyons and here on the time for teacher ship podcast. We learn how to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice design curricula grounded in student voice and build capacity for shared leadership. I'm a former teacher leader turned instructional coach. I'm striving to live a life full of learning, running, baking, traveling and parenting because we can be rockstar educators and be full human beings if you're a principal, assistant superintendent, curriculum director instructional coach or teacher who enjoys nursing out about co creating curriculum with students, I made this show for you. Here we go, dr kevin Ahern, Welcome to the time for teacher ship podcast. Thanks for having me, looking forward to a fun time. Here needs to be awesome, awesome. I'm so excited. I just read your professional bio. So if there's anything you want to add to that um any school context, any you know about you information that you want the listeners to know, please feel free to do that. 00:02:11 I'd love to hear some more. Sure this is my 26th year in education, 13 years as a, as a teacher and my, among other things was I taught, I taught German and I also was the head football coach. So how many people have that conversation? But I did, I did grow up bilingual e experience of having, you know, learning language the same, you know, two languages at the same time. And then um and then made that transition into in the, in the administration kate principle and then um and then vice principal and then it's just, this is principal and then um the rest, this is my 12th year now as a principal, my seventh year at Monte vista high school danville California, 2400 kids, 100 and 50 teachers and support staff and just an amazing place to be and really just just growing like crazy and and really excited to be back after the pandemic. Oh that's great, thank you so much for sharing that. I think one of the first things I like to ask is just this idea of, you know, thinking big is really important to me. And so I think our listeners, a lot of educators and so dr Bettina Love talks about the idea of freedom dreaming and she says, you know, their dreams grounded in the critique of injustice. 00:03:18 That's just a quote I just absolutely love. And so with that in mind, you know, what is the big dream that you hold for the field of education? I think that that that a lot of it based and I think that that we tend to think on society and societal levels and and what we need to do what every single school needs to do based upon what society thinks and I think that there's going to be that on the ground work as well. But I don't think that has a lot of meaningfulness unless your community can buy into what you're about. And so one of the things that really pushing our community is yes, we were a high academic school, yes, we're good in athletics, we have amazing vap a programs is to get connected to school. But despite all that the grades despite all the activities, what how does that unique experience shape our kids and because we live in a very privileged community, you know, how does that privilege allow look deeper into ourselves and come out with an experience that helps that privilege is a way to make things better around around us and as we move out to the student's school from the school, all over the US all over the world. And so what what tools students and lens is gonna give students just take a look at what, you know, what what needs to be done, what needs to be handled how they can, they can empower others to make those, those positive things happen. 00:04:26 So, um, so as a, that's my, my big dream and it's obviously it's just a micro level compared to the high schools across the US at the same time is how does that, how do you scale that comes out that if we were all working towards those ends, you know, and and then you know, what we do with that, how much better would we be? That's a wonderful dream. That's, that makes so much sense. Right? The community level and the society level and thinking about that duel like way to hold both of those things right in our minds change. So that's that's brilliant. Um, and I think one of the things that is a struggle for some people who are in a very traditional school or you know, a way in a way they may feel isolated, you know, like I want to do these things, these things sound great, but maybe no one else in my school talk about this or no one else is thinking this or maybe they're thinking it, but they're not taking action and I'm just curious to know what mindset shifts do you think are required or what mindsets do you hold or does your staff hold that would really like help people buy into and fight for the dream you describe or in the case of you and your staff, you know, that have really helped to elevate kind of that dream in your own community. 00:05:37 So I think we got to always start with what we have, you know what and you know what connects gets when I, when I speak with with incoming freshmen parents always say that, you know, our goal always have your student wake up in the morning excited about coming to school because they're to be doing work in a new work in a safe environment and going home feeling fulfilled. It's just, you know, it's not, it's just kind of Simon Sinek type concept, but I think that as a vision, you know, we want, we want adults feel the same way if I'm a teacher and if I feel as if I'm just passing papers across and I'm not giving latitude to change anything outside of my, what I'm being scripted to do, then, you know, then then boy of teaching becomes just a chore and we do and so I don't want people that want teachers to feel that their paper dispensers just as much as as um as kids feel as if there's this transaction about, you know, here here's, here's a worksheet, I'm pairing it in for x amount of points. So the question goes back into the of what latitudes do we have to create meaningful opportunities for kids because that creativity really helps keep. 00:06:40 So one of the first things I done when it came to my office, it was, you know, we don't want to be risk averse. I want to be open to the idea of trying to do things and and this whole the whole yes and concept where you know that sounds like a great idea, you know, let's take a look and and start small and and then take a look at, you know, is this and, and let's say that you have a very, you're trying to do and you and you're listening feedback from your kids and you're getting observation observation from, from your your administrators and so on what you know, what are the results, nothing's ever 100% success the first time through and nothing is ever 100% failure. Is this something that you want to be, you need to work through and and and work with if a thing that's that's you struggled with was a complete success, what do you do to further refine it in the case, it was more like this because the school has always been very high achieving school. Um, I, as, as a, as a metaphor of Formula One racing, how do you, how do you get that, that super multi million dollar car to get, you know, half a mile a gallon, better gas mileage and go five miles an hour faster. 00:07:46 I mean, so we have to, so we have to ask that question is as we walk into the new principal, you're walking into a new school, is this a complete tear down? And, and I might need to, you know, take that role or I'm gonna take some time to listen to the staff and understand the culture and then think about how I can optimize in certain areas. So, and then you might have a combination thereof, you might have to break some structure, you might have to optimize others. So go back to the original question, how do we, so, so, you know, a needs assessment going around and just really listening to people where the strengths, how are students connected to school and, and how do you build out from there because, and again, listening to parents and students and, and staff is extremely important to be able to, you know, make those changes. But I think that coming in and thinking that coming in like a wrecking wrecking ball doesn't necessarily work either. So I think that there's there's things people hold on to and most schools have have some assets to hold on to and I think you need to take a look at how those, how those are working And then how do you branch out? And so like for example you have one really strong bachelor program, how do you if you're marching band awesome but requires not what's happening, you know, where is the disconnect and then also you then and then gradually here in year seven we also have over 40 new staff members. 00:08:58 And so what happens is is that over time you can start bringing in people whose values and then you get that further tipping point for change. I love that. I love that recognition that I always think of adaptive leadership and and the idea of resistance as lost. And so sometimes when we think about like making this new change, there's there's this resistance and it's like, well I see it as like a loss of the identity I once held or the school culture we once had and I love that you're response really honors that. Like honors that loss and like okay well sometimes we're going to make these changes and then other times we want to hold on to those good pieces so we can have both. And I think that really speaks to the challenges of navigating change and leading change in those ways. So I really appreciate you saying that thank you as we think about when you started talking about this a little bit in terms of like doing a needs assessment and, and you know, what specific actions we want to take to, to really bring out those mindsets. You spoke to, you know, hiring two people who share the same values and, and there are all these these little actions that were kind of in your previous answer as well. Is there anything else you would add in terms of, you know, what can educational leaders do to continue to build those capacities in their staff and really lead an equitable school? 00:10:09 So I think the other piece too, and this has to do with really understand the priorities and, and, and let's let's take a step back and talk about what, what is your operational definition of equity. And so, and so quite often we throw that word around and we and really really understand what that means and, and, and and looking through a variety different districts and their and their visions and their and their equity statements that they've made. Um, there's some very good ones out there and and bring it down to brass tacks and kind of keep it out of the education lingo. You know, my, my, my working definition for staff is every student gets what they need just to experience success and and that and that. And then we were always in the process eliminating barriers and their race, just pretty gender. Um, you know, their sexual orientation, you know, whatever, whatever talking about um that that's not gonna that is not gonna they're not gonna have a barrier that that that there are people working towards sort of creating these pockets that were different kids. And another thing for these kids, it's we're going to eliminate barriers. 00:11:11 And insurance kids are gonna be successful and we need to listen to the students when when things come up where, you know, I mean, I have a degree in english um as well. I mean, I speak german from home so I can make it so that sounds terrible. But I but having being being bilingual, it gives you some gives you some some tools and for getting jobs. And I did enough courses to be able to get in german but also have a potential english. And it always porters when people say I want to teach this novel, and and it's always it's always the same novel, right? And it's and I think to myself, you know, why we always focus on dead white guys. And I recall when I was a student student teacher, when we were in the school I was at was was contemplating house on mangoes. And so the idea of bringing more, um, you know, in the nineties was multiculturalism into the into into into english departments. And and because there was there was there was a scene that didn't necessarily fit the maybe goes PG 13 regarding schools. People were very averse to, to, you know, having that book included in the curriculum and myself, wow, have you read experience recently? 00:12:16 There's a lot of dirty jokes buried in there that that that we seem to be okay with done, you know, 500 years ago sometimes gets the past. So I think that that really thinking about what, what's out, what books are out there that engage more kids because, you know, students want to hear about who they are too. And so as as as our our schools, you know, you know, broader diversity and broader cultures coming through and and understand we have a better understanding of that. And I think that that having our curriculum reflect that is extremely important. So the kids really listening and listening to our, to our community. Um, One of the more poignant things we did as a community, we actually, we did, we all read stamp in the beginning, the student version as so we bought, I don't know, like 2000 copies of the book and and and the we read the good parents and kids and and and and staff all read and we and we got together numerous times throughout the year to check in and talk about, you know, that the all the concepts brought up and what how we can grow as a community and make sure that we're thinking about that part of our history. 00:13:18 Uh and and it really brought some very interesting conversations. Obviously now we're gonna go and do it again, coming back from the pandemic what the next book is going to be. So I think that you can take curriculum and abroad and not just engage students and what's happened in the classroom, but also think about what really represent your community, What sort of conversations about race or ethnicity or gender, you know, L G B T Q status, whatever. I mean all these things are important because these are all examples of all representatives of people who are in our community. Yes, there's societal pieces to it. The community piece is really important because that's really where the tough conversations go on and where and where the and where we can bear fruit as well. Yeah, I love oh my gosh, I love so much about what you just said and I love that you did this book study in a way that I think sometimes schools do book studies in a way that is just restricted to teachers or educators or people on staff. But I love that you incorporated like all of the members of the community because I think like you said, that's where that's where the fruit comes, right? Like that's that's the that's the generative conversation that really move move the needle forward for your immediate community because everyone's gonna have different responses to the book, right? 00:14:24 Everyone's gonna have different ideas about how to move forward, and if we don't actually have that conversation with everyone having the same context going in of like, alright, we're grappling with these ideas and then we're bringing our own personal ideas and experiences, we're never going to get to that point of generative conversation like you did, So I'm really impressed that you guys are doing that, and I love that idea of repeating it, you know, each year with the new book. Um I also wanted to ask you a little bit about, you know, the idea of how school culture more broadly, and I think you've spoken to this in a variety of ways already really supports equity and you know, how how how was it that you kind of set up these systems and what systems, I guess, and structures exist to have family members and students and teachers have these ongoing conversations with one another, because I think just hearing, you know, that that the book was extended to all these stakeholder, there's probably would feel like a really large undertaking for a school that has not a great history in terms of having that familial involvement in the student involvement in these kinds of large scale conversations. 00:15:29 So, I'm curious to know, you know, what did that look like in terms of building that base or foundation, so it's a lot of a lot of trust a lot of empowering people, I mean, um I think that the biggest pieces is with starting with staff because we we we talk about what we could, like, I don't like to use the term that we can control, but we can be responsible for our actions in our relationships and I think that really getting the building the trust that you know, that that our our staff can trust me to do to make a tough, it may not necessarily be the most popular sometimes, but, but I will I will make it make a decision based on what, you know, um what, you know, what's what's the best for the most people and I will listen feedback. I mean, I mean my leadership team, I work with, you know with the principles, but our activity or activity director director, a number of teacher leaders are, department chairs are always involved in the decision making process, so that that trust is that we know that if you have a decision that I'm going to elicit conversation in the staff, so there's that first piece and then there's the empowerment of people that you want to really empower your teachers to, as I said earlier, doing different things, you know, give them not be risk averse start thinking about what kind of a school you really want to have. 00:16:43 And so and at that point identifying who the players are and then think about, you know, who's gonna help build this out, who's, you know, if the english department really excited about something you know that's you know let's lay it out and then and then figure out hey you know how else can we run with this? You know if you if you if the goal is to create a more diverse set of novels for students to read, how are you going to how we want to roll it out, what approvals do we need or what rears workshops you want to do and what funds are available to make that happen. Um in the shift. And so so in in the shift to two N. G. S. S. Our biology team is completely gone gun you know and taking a leadership role as initially as a school but then as a district program that they're just you know running kinds of stuff in regards to not just not just equity and and and and overall access for students and recognizing science accomplishments from all over the world. I mean it just really amazing program. So I think that giving people that latitude empowering them to make those changes then there's a student element. 00:17:43 How do you bring students in and in those conversations? And so one of the we have our site council also includes parents you know um it used to be that it was we had to harm to us people to come. We had one student rep and we had like two parents we now have contested elections for for both student and parent representatives. And so our state council is a full full group um with teachers, you know, teachers and parents and students. Um One of the first things we say is we're all equal in this in this conversation. And so this is that we're listening feedback here. And so when we're including students in the conversation and parents in the conversation and knowing that they have a role in decision making process of the school. Um And and anything, we say it's related to department chairs and then turn around and also being related into our into our staff meetings, that constant condo what is going on as well. Then we also create leadership groups on the campus. Um We obviously have your traditional S. B. Student council, We meet with the SB cabinet twice twice a month, helps meet with the senior class officers twice a month. 00:18:47 And then we also um meet what we call the the affinity affinity groups. Um So any club that's associated with an affinity group um whether it's black student union um G. S. A. Um muslim student organization, agent student. I mean we have a number of different different groups tightened but we also include, you know, um you know, for traditional fellowship of christian athletes, christian club. I mean we try to include as many of these affinity groups as possible. We meet, we meet we try to we didn't do a very good job last year, but we try to meet quarterly. Um The pandemic hit. So we'll go back into that now. Um end of this month. The point behind that is is that we want to get the feedback from those students. You know are are we really reflecting you know as a as a school community, what are we really reflecting what we're doing and how are decisions affecting you? So all those things tied together and you know with students empowerment is it creates that additional connection. Um That kind of flows active staff were brought into that content. And last we have we have very active parent groups, we have a very active um we have a very active P. 00:19:52 T. S. A. Over 1000 members. And then um and then we also have um you also have an athletic boosters boosters and numerous visual boosters clubs we meet we meet monthly um with a patient monthly boosters. Um athletic boosters meets meets monthly. Well P. T. S. A very active with them as well. So I mean basically it's from from a principle standpoint you want to make these contacts but people understand what you're trying to do and you're communicating those consistently to those groups and we're hearing the same message and and and as an offshoot as well for panda are a tendency means of growing substantially it's much easier to turn on, turn on the uh a zoom meeting or google meet, google meet as opposed to having to show up at school. So I think that all these things are ways for getting messages out and getting by into what's going on and also creating a two way opportunity to just communicate, then I also have one more less formal devices I've used in order to get communication out involved. 00:20:53 And it's been probably for parents as at least once a month, they have a coffee and once again, pandemic has gone from like five people who willing to brave early morning school traffic to, you know, anywhere between 20 to 75 people in the morning. Um and basically those are chances to sit and once again have some real one on one conversations. We do have a question sheet that goes out a couple of days earlier to kind of create some big, some big piece questions if necessary, like something's going on, but typically it's just an opportunity for parents to ask me questions about what's going on at school and, and build in the empowerment where, you know, it's it's it's b you know, you have to have to pay your way in to get an audience with the principle, it's it's it's it's, you know, just being as available as possible. I think I also, again, there's two pieces of advice for parents for principle, 11 would be to show up, you know, that that it's important for you to go to these various events and and because parents want to see you in the, in the, in the, in a less formal light, I mean we just had homecoming this last, this, um, this last weekend and one of the things that we always do for football for horse ball games and we tailgate and one of the pieces to it is, I'm, I'm, we will put this in my bio, I'm having a barbecue or grill or you know, I'm like, you know, I have, I have a smoking rig and all the different things going on, well, I always barbecue and so I barbeque for staff and students, but this time we keep the whole community and so we had all kinds of stuff rolling out and, and probably 1000 people just outside the stadium game and, and, and my activities director and I are just, you know, putting down burgers and putting down hot dog, but people see that and it's like, wow, you know, it's like, what's up with this person? 00:22:28 So I think that being out there and being engaged in the process as as opposed to, you know, um, yes, it's great if you, if you're not good at that, then find something you're good at to put yourself out in those positions and it may put your comfort level a little bit, but you know, it's, it's, it's important to be, not meet with people and be accessible to parents and students in a more informal way, whether it's walking around campus at lunchtime walking into classrooms or or or in in community events like that. And then the second piece is, this is interesting is that when I was in my doctoral program, we said, we see a lot of golden indeed. And so and these the four lenses and so you have a cultural lens of political, political, lens of human resources lens and an organizational and, and you know, and so when we, um, and when we, we did this four corners activity and, and and our instructor asshole. Where do you land? And so I went towards cultural and anyway, everything that spread from only one person in the political realm. And, and I think that people, and what's, what's the political realm about education, It's about organizing assets to prioritize, You know, it's, it's and so how do you, among other things? 00:23:34 How do you, how do you get your your your your message across? And so in thinking about that now is is that is to really, you know, how do you have to have that effect be effective? You need to be able to have at least a nugget of that where you can go out and you can, you can talk about what you're about, You can talk about what you're trying to do and really communicate that to your to the people in your community and and find a way to fit, you might have to adapt that message a little bit. Sometimes I have to tell somebody, tell people what they don't want to hear. But at the same time as you're being honest and transparent, there's also goes back to where, you know, we're talking about programs and kind of creating these, you know, honoring what's been successful, but it also means the perception something's been successful but you really doesn't fit within your concept that you might need to wait it out. And so how do you, how do you take resource? Whether it's a budget, which I always think is a value laden statement, but where your ties, um, or you know what you are or how you, how you organize your master schedule. However, it might be your assets need to reflect that what your vision is and I think that programs that, that are less effective that need to be to be worked on or or need to be removed. 00:24:40 That can be, that essentially can start working towards something else and then maybe that teacher who would be less inclined to participate in that grade english PLC might be more inclined to want to get participate because, because the, there's more assets going to those who are playing than those who are not. So, so the really forcing people to make a decision, but doing it the way that, you know, hey, you know, something, I'm not gonna take take your livelihood away, but I want you to do it my way and you get all this if you follow that direction, if that makes any sense, It's just, it's just it's just an interesting way of political lens that to get what you want. Sometimes you have to really feed you wanna feed what you're trying to um what you're trying to work with, essentially you're watering the green grass and not worrying about the brown grass, the dead grass over there. So wow, there are so much wisdom and what you just shared so many actions that people could take. And and I love, I was just thinking as you were talking about the prioritization piece and the value statement is like your budget is a value statement of what you prioritize. Oh my gosh, yes. And I also think for just what I was hearing and please correct me if this is wrong. 00:25:43 But what I'm hearing too is that you prioritize how you spend your time effectively to like you're thinking about being in classrooms, you're thinking about meeting with affinity groups and student leaders and and that takes time. But I think what I'm hearing is like that that's a priority for you, right? Like it's a priority to make time for those things, especially when educators leaders, people just in the education space collectively just never feel like they have enough time. There's always so much that we have to do, but to be able to do that to be able to make that time. It sounds like that has been a concrete priority for you to be able to be accessible. Is that a good interpretation? absolutely. I think that that's something that um that again, it's the only way I know how to do it and it made it might have helped because I started a small high school and so easier um at a high school of 550 students but experience, you know, the recession hit that community so hard. We end up having to uh to to bring the 7th and 8th grade up. 00:26:45 And so to spend time carving out going from a high school junior senior high school model. Um that was heavy lift because I want to do that. And so it was creating, you know, create some real risks in the community. But once we got through there one of the best, the best validating piece of that, that in our second year we had a, we had a, we had a blast accreditation and received a six year clear and the chair said you would never have thought you went through all this turmoil last year. It's like, yeah, well that's great. But but but but being on the ground that experience and with a smaller school, I mean you need to do it because it's just you and an assistant principal and that's it. And and so it's from a supervision standpoint, you have to be able to prioritize my priorities, my priorities paperwork or he's gonna be making building relationships and so here at a bigger school now, it's a, you know, someone just be overwhelming for you. It's like, well the scope is the same. It's just that instead of having two things to do, I now have five and so I need to be able to delegate differently, but I also imprint that on the un assistant principals and other other other leaders on the campus that it's are all responsibility to show up and be proud to be present. 00:27:54 And so it's just, it's great to have, especially great to see new teachers, we hire who, you know, come to their, that first, that first go that first band concert or they go to that first football game or they go to that first rally and they say go, wow, this is absolutely unbelievable. It's like because we're building this stuff and so, and that's the type of culture you want to be able to have, it is something that people are feeling connected and it feels good to be together and that then then, and that also pushes that idea that, you know, we can do this in the classroom to, we can do this, we can raise academic levels. It can't all be fun at the same time is that we definitely can make it continue making it meaningful and that's it really. And how do you translate those successes into into, into academic success for kids as well, wow, that's amazing. Okay, there's so much good stuff in this episode that I'm excited for people to hear. I'm imagining someone listening and being like, wow, I want to do all of this, but I want to find a place to start. So with that in mind, what would be something if someone is new to all these ideas that you've just presented? What do you think is a good first step for someone who's just finishing the episode and ready to do like one next thing. 00:28:59 I mean, I always think that culture, each, each organization, um, your culture and, and you got to figure out where assets are and so what's, what's, what's, what's great about your school, sit down and write down the great things and, and then who makes them great and you, how do you, how do you water that greengrass, How do you figure out, how do you really emphasize those things? I mean, I mean sometimes like there was, there were times at my old school, we were getting a little school were always in competition with bigger schools and it's like we, we had a really strong math program and our and our algebra one stores that was back in the old api days are our algebra one, scores were higher than than than those at the other other bigger high school, the people that I was lying. It's like, no, we have a really good math program. You just, you're just thinking of because you're small, you can't do it. So I think that you sometimes just, and and for some, some people data like that jumps out and so what what's out there that's that's quantifiable that you can share that you can really emphasize and then what's out there is quality, what qualitative things are out there that you can share. 00:30:00 So I think about just think about all those those assets and then think about how that can be communicated because if if you're a new principal, you know the expectations, it's this blur of people coming, coming to see, you gotta ask yourself, you know, what's this place about? And so I think um and and really paying attention to what's going really going on and then again and thinking about, you know, what's what's great about this place and if you're a veteran principal and you're trying to be trying to optimize and you, you got to think about again what's great about this place and what can we maybe let go? What are we not so proud of? And and how do we make those priorities to make sure that you know, something's not serving all kids then why have it um if it's, if it's something that's a novelty that you know, that serves a small population or it's a deficit thinking or, or I mean one thing we did hear a couple when I got um about seven years ago we had a life science program that was, was a graduation track, we have life science, I'm sorry, and physical science and and these two programs were designed to keep students on, on on track towards graduation, but what were they really were they were they were they were just kind of throw away grounds grounds for, for students in special education for students, for students of color. 00:31:10 And so we got rid of them. And so essentially we're going to support kids in general classes and so now take biology, students take chemistry and and for the graduation requirement we get them through because we we we we work as our respective biology and chemistry teams and our and if the students in special education to get adequate support from case managers, we do a lot of push in. We have co tots we have a lot of different opportunities for kids to be successful. So we anything we see that that's a pigeon hole we need to get rid of because kids need to be accessed in general curriculum, every student work is beginning again and kids need to be able to demonstrate their success in different ways. And so one of the big focal points in our district, you know right now is in our, in our strategic plan is to figure out what success what success looks like. And so another thing that a little bit of homework for that principle, thinking about how they want to shift some things is what does success look like on my campus and and and think about that really exemplify what we're trying to do, and if the answer is yes, then then then you have to ask yourself, and what else can I be doing? 00:32:13 If it's answer is no, then you have to say, all right, so, now, now, now, now, what's next? What do, what do I need to focus on where the areas need to build on and not be a deficit thinker? I think one of the things we get trapped into an education too much is, oh, the scores in this area are too low, or scores in this subgroup are too low. Let's build this up. Instead of, you know, let's remove some barriers for students and and and see how they can they can thrive by maybe re success and and really getting some narratives from from kids as to what the, you know, and hearing from kids what you know, what's working for them, how they're connecting. So, I think the pieces there to take into consideration, awesome. And so there's so much wisdom you you've shared. And I think one of the things that really makes I imagine you a great leader as well as all the folks who I've interviewed on this podcast is this commitment to like, lifelong growth, right? Like, I'm always learning always growing, always reading that next book and trying this new thing. And so one of the questions I just like to ask for fun at the end of the podcast is what's something you have been learning about lately? 00:33:17 Well, that's a good question. I mean, again, we're always learning, but it was funny is that, is that I get, I get much out of picking up, get a STD magazines every, every every month. And it's like just looking through what the latest stuff is and and, and and what, and a little nugget of information about the PLC and Optimize the PLC conversation or some what key questions to be asked in the PLC or how we make, what, what, what assets are we taking from the, from the pandemic. And one of the more interesting articles remember reading, um, was that, you know, what, which students were successful in remote learning and which, and which weren't really contingent upon the type of teacher in many ways, because teachers who embrace that change. And I remember, I think it was, it was on the Emmy, someone was talking about how leaders came to work today, you know, someone was giving a shout out to teachers and medical personnel that in and fire and police people came to work every day and you were leaders because you had to do something new every day. And so I really, that's a really great way of encapsulating those teachers who embraced the change and, and mind you, those tended to be those, those teachers who under normal circumstances are also going to be the ones who are early adopters just happen to expand the pool that much more. 00:34:32 And so we'll be able to take that and this article focus on what can you take from the, what you learn during the pandemic and really apply it, Like we've gone to 1 to 1 and so, you know, we see people going back to paper processing. Yeah, but but not, maybe not so much and still a lot of things being done on our on our learning management systems. And so I think I think we're we're growing, it's it's definitely it's definitely definitely a learning curve because now you have kids in front of you, but at the same time as um you have um you know, you now have news and new strategies, we have new tools, new tools to build in, what strategies do you have to build in now, they're gonna they're gonna use that tool and effective way to reach that objective. Now on the other hand, is what's interesting in the article as well is that teachers who tended to talk didn't didn't, you know, who didn't really adapt, you know, they're they're students were engaged, I mean it seems very, you know, process simple conclusion, but I think it's important that we understand that that that the teachers who really who who who stuck it out all this time, you know, have been able to adapt some skills from that pandemic experience and remote learning experience and great effective um very effective opportunity, learning opportunities for kids in class in person. 00:35:43 One thing we we did too, we we went from a seven period day, you know, you know, other than being a high school principal, I don't know how many, how many jobs you have to change, change the subject 77 times, of course of the day, we were now on a on a block system, we have one and we have 17 period anchor day and then we have rotating blocks the rest, so we go, you know, we have, you know, even odd, even odd um um schedule and that also has allowed us to have to support and it's interesting is that we talk about deep learning is one of our strategic plan as part of our plan, um I think that um that that time is so essential for that and so and so how you use time and that's what and what's interesting is and how to use and how to use visible learning book, he devotes a whole chapter of how, how how effective teachers break down time and the point of how much time is wasted doing attendance, how much time is wasted in a warm up activity or you know, and and and and how is that warm up activity connected to different elements, The lesson with yesterday is connected to the house that and so it's interesting how you can use a larger block of time and create more deep learning opportunities because you're not running out of time after 54 minutes and not having the chance to go into some me some some good levels of guided practice and ensuring students know what to do when they, when they, when they walk out the door and noticed already that students have a better understanding of what they're, what's expected of them when they, when they, when they leave as opposed to um we have work assigned and then start the whole wheel over again because I didn't get the home where I understand. 00:37:11 So now I'm gonna spend the 1st 15 minutes of my 54 minute class going over homework from last night and that then the new input is now is now compromised. I gotta rush through that and then you repeat. So it's just interesting how you, how you shape your time can even be a way of, of, of effectively changing your instruction. And so we're still figuring that out, we're still working through it. But there's some real nice glimmers of, of um real nice glimmers of success coming through that and and by and large, the staff is really embraced that concept and I think we're going to move forward with continuing this, this, this this schedule for you know that in fact you might see other schools in our district doing the same. So so these are all things, we have brought it down into that from that pandemic and and that that article I mentioned really resonated with me because those types of things we discovered and sometimes the most adverse conditions to be able to tear some things out and say that this is something we really should have been doing way before now. So now now we discovered it, I love that you name the pandemic as a learning opportunity because I think it absolutely could have been and was for many people and then, you know, if we see it as a barrier that like really inhibits our growth, so thank you so much for sharing that. 00:38:16 I love that idea of schedules too. I think it goes back to prioritization, right? It's like you have block scheduling, like, you know, maybe you have fewer days that you see them, but it's deeper learning each day. So it comes back to what we're prioritizing and and making that conversation part of the, you know, unit planning. But the last question I have for you, because I know you got to get going is where can listeners learn more about you or connect with you online? Um I think people will reach out to me, I'm on, I'm on linkedin, just under dr kevin Ahern. I'm also um I was also reach out, my email here is, is K s r B u S T dot net and and I mean welcome to anonymous website, contact me that way as well. But I'm I'm happy to meet and discuss and talk talk talk educated. It's a lot of fun and we have a number of other interesting elements. We have a A new student support, we do student support four days a week, a 33 minute period for kids or just had kind of a mental mental break and we create a really nice system of how students are checking in. Um we we we use um we use those those those scanners scanners to have kids come and they go to an area and that their their their I. 00:39:23 D. Card or they go into a classroom as opposed to simply having a set schedule. So a number of different things that you know so so if you want to visit I would love to share you know anything that would be interested in. We're just trying any it's all a learning experience for us. Nothing is perfect. But um but we're really growing and I think that we're definitely in a positive direction. This has been an amazing conversation dr arun. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today. Thanks so much for having me take care if you're leaving this episode, wanting more. You're going to love my live coaching intensive curriculum bootcamp. I help one department or grade team create feminist anti racist curricula that challenges affirms and inspires all students. We leave current events into course content and amplify student voices which skyrockets engagement and academic achievement. It energizes educators feeling burns out and it's just two days plus you can reuse the same process any time you create a new unit, which saves time and money. If you can't wait to bring this to your staff, I'm inviting you to sign up for a 20 minute call with me, grab a spot on my calendar at www dot lindsey beth Lyons dot com slash contact. 00:40:30 Until next time leaders continue to think big act, brave and be your best self. This podcast is a proud member of the teach, better podcast network, better today, better tomorrow and the podcast to get you there, explore more podcasts at teach better dot com slash podcasts and we'll see you at the next episode.
8/1/2022 The Work Less, Teach More Planner: How to Plan Your Day, Week, Month and Year for Maximum ImpactRead Now
Listen to the episode by clicking the link to your preferred podcast platform below:
Do you ever feel like you’re working to your max—maybe even more than that!—and still don’t get through your list of to-dos? Or despite all that work, you’re not seeing any tangible impact in your classroom and student outcomes? Most educators will feel this way at some point. Enter: Work Less, Teach More. It’s our signature course and a philosophy discussed many times on the Time for Teachership podcast. In this episode, I break down how to use the Work Less, Teach More planner to maximize your planning time, protect your mental health, and reach your goals. The Work Less Teach More planner is available for purchase, but you can also work on these exercises independently and use a notebook or your computer to keep track of things. Each section of the planner addresses daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly goals and priorities. Let’s look at the highlights for each. Yearly Planning We’re starting with the yearly planning because there is some big-picture goal-setting activities to do at the beginning of each school year: Clarify Your Vision: Before the school year starts, get clear on your vision and goals for the year. Do this by asking the following questions:
Take Stock of Your Health: At the root of almost any conflict are unmet needs. We have needs in four areas, which you can remember with the BASE acronym: Belonging, Autonomy, Survival, and Enjoyment. Within each category, reflect on three questions:
Monthly Planning Each month, you’ll set priorities and goals. For example, in September your first and only goal might be for everyone to feel welcomed and included in the class. For January, it might be to re-focus on establishing a routine after a holiday break. Each month you can also:
Weekly Planning Weekly planning and reflection are essential to managing your time and reaching goals. There are a few key areas in which you’ll do this: 50-40-10 Planning: You have limited planning time each week, so focus on what is proven to make the most impact on your students. This includes:
Clear Your Plate: Each week, eliminate eight unnecessary tasks from your to-do list. This can be in both your personal and work life. Be specific about what it is and how you’ll pass it off to someone else. This is part of self-care, which is preventative—you must plan ahead to protect your time and mental energy. Daily Planning Your daily responsibility is simple. Ask yourself these two questions:
There it is—the Work Less Teach More planner in a nutshell! But there is so much more to the approach. Work Less Teach More is backed by research and has helped so many educators claim back their time while making maximum impact. You can learn more about Work Less Teach More here and follow along with the Time for Teachership podcast as part of your commitment to professional learning. TRANSCRIPT educational justice coach lindsey Lyons and here on the time for Teacher ship podcast, we learn how to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice design curricula grounded in student voice and build capacity for shared leadership? I'm a former teacher leader turned instructional coach. I'm striving to live a life full of learning, running, baking, traveling and parenting because we can be rockstar educators and be full human beings if you're a principal assistant superintendent, curriculum director instructional coach or teacher who enjoys nursing out about co creating curriculum students, I made this show for you. Here we go. Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the time for teacher ship podcast. This is a solo episode. I am back recording from parental leave. This is airing far after I've returned from parental leave but I'm really excited to dive back into it. This coming season that's going to start this fall is going to be having a lot more Solo shows and kind of many teachings like we did early on in the podcast. 00:01:08 So we'll rotate guests and solo shows, but a lot more solo tutorials and this episode, I am so thrilled to talk to you about our work. Less teach more planners which are brand new this school year. So the 2022, 2023 school year, if you have not grabbed one grab one now we only printed a few of these. So they are a hot commodity. They are quite large. I immediately opened up the box and was like, whoa, these are robust so we definitely want some feedback, I can't wait to hear. Does it feel useful? What pages do not feel useful? What can we take out for next year's printing? How do we make it however, you know, you want to experience the planner in a way that's better for you in the coming years. So please grab your planners. I will link in the show notes to where you can grab that and I'll tell you again at the end, but I'm really excited to just see how they go out into the world and how you experience life as a result of using them. 00:02:12 Now, if you do not have the funds to purchase this, a planner this year, I also want you to benefit from all of the wisdom within it. So it is really a lifestyle kind of shift that the planner lends itself to. It asks you to do these things each day each week, each month, each semester to be able to actually shift your practices to teach and plan in a more sustainable way. So we avoid burnout. We show up as our best selves each day to school. We bring joy into the class and we remember why we got into this job in the first place. So that's all that the work less teach more planner aspires to do for you. You don't have to have a planner to be able to do these. So the work last teach more course is kind of the first piece of this puzzle. That's that's what I created first. Then I was like, oh, it would be so helpful to have a planner where each day I could open up and actually put into practice all the things I'm talking about in the work last teach more course. 00:03:13 So it's kind of an additional support to be able to routinized or regularly practice all the things I talked about in there. Now, you can still do it as I said, without the planner, open up a blank journal or use the notes app of your phone, whatever it is that you want to do to make these practices a regular routine in your day, week, month semester. That's what I encourage you to do. So I'm going to kind of walk you through the planner and then if you again don't have one kind of think about what's the mechanism with which I can practice these things because you can absolutely do it on your own. So here we go, at the very start of a planner, there's kind of an overview. So if you have the planner in your hands, you ordered one, you're like, how do I use this thing I want you to orient to the very start, there's also a ton of episodes that you can go back and listen to around the work. Let's teach more course that you can dive deeper into the research, you can dive deeper into what exactly does this mean? Why she asked me to do that each day. 00:04:14 So, I first want to ground what we're gonna do in the fact that there's so much more out there for you um including for free episodes that exist on this podcast in season one that you can go check out. So the first thing that we are going to do within the planner is we're going to clarify our vision. So I'm gonna open up the planner as I am sitting here talking to you and the very first thing it asks you to fill out is your vision for the year. So work goals. I will feel, right? Let's start with the feeling. How do I want to feel? I will spend most of my time doing this. So what is it that you actually want to spend the majority of your time doing? I will learn. What is it that you want to learn this year? I will embody the values of who do you want to be. How do you want to show up? What do you want your students to say about you to describe you as how do you want them to name your class values, right? And the values that you bring as an educator, my students are experiencing. 00:05:18 So what do you want your students to experience life goals? Again, I will feel I will spend most of my time doing. I will learn. I will embody the values of and my loved ones, Maybe not my students, right? My loved ones in my life are experiencing this and then I want you to think about the big shifts that you need to make to be able to achieve that goal. So I want to somewhere along the line and I don't remember where I apologize for not giving appropriate credit. I heard about the have doobie categories, so what do I want to have? What do I want to do as an activities that I want to regularly do and what I want to be? Right, who do I want to be? What do I want to be? So when I think about you know 3 to 4 game changing shifts for each one of those, when I talk about what I want to have, what I want to do, what I want to be. What are the 3 to 4 game changing shifts that will enable me to have do and be those things for example, I might want work free weekends, right? 00:06:20 I might want to have a dog, I might want to have a house on the lake, right? I might want to have these things I might want to do, could include, I wanna read 100 books this year. I want to create a justice based unit that's brand new for my students this year. I want to be might include, I might want to be an educational blogger. I might want to be a keynote speaker at a conference this year. Right? So what are the things you want to be? I want to be peaceful, right? What are the things that you want to have do and be? And then think about the big chefs that are going to get you there next. I want you to take stock of your health and I use the acronym based needs because this is what I have used before. I've talked about it in the blog before before we even had the podcast. Right? And this is belonging, autonomy, survival and enjoyment. And so when we think about the core needs of any person, I use these with conflict resolution and I teach these two students often at the source of the conflict, whether it's a student, student conflict, student teacher, conflict teacher, teacher, conflict, family conflict one of those B A. 00:07:27 S. E base needs a present again, belonging autonomy, survival and enjoyment. So I want you to think about and take stock of how am I doing right? So for belonging to, what degree is my need for belonging met right now in my life, What would it look like if I were thriving? If I had a ton of belonging, what would that actually look like for me? And then what actions can you take to make this happen to make the thriving happen within this component? So same questions for all four needs again, what degrees it meant now, what would it look like to thrive in this area and what actions can I take to make it happen? Okay, and then I want you to prioritize one of those because if we are pulled in several different directions, we are not going to make as much progress as we want. So let's highlight or prioritize one area, one need this year. You can prioritize a different need next year. But what is one area this year that you really want to prioritize? Um, and then speaking of priorities, we have a two page kind of monthly priority sheet in there in the planner as well. 00:08:32 So determine what your big priority for september, maybe that's just building class culture. I want everyone in my class to feel valued by the end of september. That is the goal. I don't care if anything else gets done. If I had to pick one thing, that is the primary goal, right? Something like that. As I'm flipping through, I'm seeing there are tabs for each month, you can kind of quickly orient yourself to a month, there's some extra notes space throughout which is fine and at the start of each month there is an inspirational quote which is just I think so fun. Uh, there's also a calendar and asks you as we prioritized for the year, a base need each month you get to prioritize a base need as well and each month you get two priors, what do I want to have do and be for this month what is coming up most important? So if I want a lake house down the road, um, that might not be my first month school. I'm just gonna get a lake house next month, right? Maybe my have for this month is um, I want to have a new shirt, right? A new shirt is a smaller goal for me, Right? 00:09:34 And so that's this month's priority. So the next pieces that we want to clear our plates as much as possible. We want to give away tasks that do not need to be on our plates. This could be at work, this could be at home, ideally both. But each week I'm going to ask you to clear out eight tasks, eight tasks each week. So that is more than one each day. If you can't quite get to eight at first, start with one, start with to start with three, whatever, wherever feels comfortable. But eventually I want you having like three a day, that's the ultimate goal. But we're gonna, we're gonna do eight as the goal for the week. I want you to name the action. So what is it? So maybe, um, you know, it is doing the dishes. So the action for, let's say monday's dishes, I'm going to assign this to another member of my household. I'm going to determine when and how I want to tell them or ask them to do this and I'm going to write it all down. Right? So I might say the action is monday's dishes. I'm assigning it to my partner when I'm going to tell them is um sunday night. 00:10:45 And how is I'm going to say, Hey, I am feeling really overwhelmed and stressed and I feel myself starting to get sick and so I don't really want to crash. Right? I need to take care of myself. And I know that self care is actually preventative, right? It's not responsive, it's not reactive. So I need to say tomorrow I need maybe like 20 more minutes to myself. So anything related to the dishes tomorrow, I need to hand off to you. Can you take that on for me please. Right. So I'm going to probably not have that much space to write all that down, but I'm going to write some notes down in the planner to prepare myself to ask or to give away that task. All right, Once we have cleared our plates, we're gonna use 50 40 10 planning. I've talked about this a ton on the podcast. This is the basis for my freebie, My 50 40 10 packet as well as the course work. Let's teach more. So what we want to do is choose activities that are going to help us make the most of the limited planning time that we have. I know we don't have as much as we want, but the goal is to not take work home? 00:11:47 So each week we're gonna have a top priority, We're gonna name it And then we're going to say, what are the key ideas that I'm going to take with me to plan lessons? 50% of my planning time. I want to spend planning lessons. So what are the big things that I need to do? What are the tasks, what are the activities I can leverage? And I list several for you? So for example, I want to plan lessons in less time 50% of the time, let's say I have, I don't know, um for easy math, let's say four hours a week for planning time. So I'm going to say that I have again 50% of that two hours just to plan my lessons for the whole week. So that means I need some lessons that are going to be quick to plan, but high impact. So Socratic seminars are always a good one. If I've been doing a lot of text stuff, I've introduced a lot of texts, videos, um content to students now, I just want them to discuss it to put it together to respond to an interesting, engaging question. I'm gonna use the Socratic seminar that's in my activity bank on this page, it reminds me, oh, I can just do that, right? 00:12:51 Oh, student presentations, so that's less work for me. Right? Students have been given a lot of stuff lately. I'm going to leverage a student presentation day, I'm going to ask them to present on a question or a topic or just to synthesize, right? You can use something else. Maybe a jigsaw. Another protocol that you usually use that is high leverage, high impact, but it's low prepped for you. Again, professional learning is going to be 40% of this time and then giving feedback is 10%. So for professional learning, identify where you're going to learn. Maybe I want to listen to a podcast as I walk to get my lunch on my lunch hour. And so that could be time that you spend and kind of do double duty there. Um giving feedback, How do you basically this one is how do you lessen the feedback? We're always giving feedback, but how do we give it more efficiently? Maybe we use auto graded quizzes. If we're giving feedback on content that has a right or wrong answer, we don't need to manually grade that right. The next piece of this planner is we have to ask what is most essential and I love this question, Greg Mcewan has a whole podcast or had a whole podcast. 00:13:57 He just recently changed his podcast. But about this question right, what is most essential? If we had to pick one thing? Just one, we cannot have two, what would it be, what is your priority for each day? So each day you're going to say what is most essential today at the start of the day. Well you could actually do it the night before, whatever, whatever works for you. Um Sometimes I do all of mine for the week at the beginning of the week. But then I usually have to edit the end of the day. How do you feel in one word you're going to focus on your feelings over how productive you were and you're gonna see a big shift in how you approach your work, in, your reflections on your work and how you change your work and are willing to let go of things when I don't do this when I forget to do this and I think about more productivity based goals than feeling goals for my workday, radical shift. I feel more burnt out. I am constantly feeling behind. I usually get sick right, these are important. So beginning of each day, what is most essential today? 00:15:02 End of each day I feel in one word at the end of the week. So that's going to happen each week. Each day you kind of have to check in around these things at the end of the week. I want you to do a time audit and inventory of how you spend your planning time. So you can do it kind of throughout the week. Just kind of noting how many hours did I spend less than planning this day. What about professional learning? Giving feedback. What's the other stuff I spent time on, how much time did I spend on it? And what was it, what got in the way, what's in the other stuff category And I want you to come up with a percentage. So how much of your time are you spending on lesson planning, professional learning, giving feedback and other stuff is your other stuff category? Like 60% of your planning time because that's nuts. That's bananas. Right? We need to clarify what that is. We need to potentially talk to our boss, figure out what it is we know based on the research, what is high impact for our students and that is spending time on lesson planning and professional learning and giving feedback. Those are the three big categories. If we are pulled in to do other things that are not supporting student instruction. 00:16:08 We have to figure out how to take them off our plates so that might necessitate a conversation with the boss. It's going to be way easier if you can identify weeks of having inventory, how you spend your planning time and note this is the next activity, how these activities are or are not affecting your big wins, your student achievement. Right? So at the end of each week you're going to write down all the things that you have done again. You can continue to do this throughout the week and just kind of note them as you go so that you don't have to try to remember things you did monday on friday. That can be hard sometimes for me and then I want you to draw a line from the activities to big wins. You categorize all you list all the things that you did, all the big wins you had this week and then you draw a line from the activity to the win. What gave you the big win, The activities that have the most wins connected to them. They get to stay, you want to do those a lot right? There's like 80, principle 80% of the results come from 20% of the things, we do. We want to keep the 20%. So this is kind of, how do I identify those? 00:17:10 20 and you want to make this a regular practice now at the end of each month it's gonna flip to the end of the month here you're going to do those things each week that we just talked about the end of the month. You are going to categorize the challenges that you had. What are the big challenges for the month? Which of them are technical. So this is from adaptive leadership scholarship here. Technical being I can fix it if I learned how to uh you know for example I have technical challenge. I spent an extra three hours trying to figure out how to do this special thing with google forms. I watched a tutorial youtube video when I fixed it. Right. So that was a huge challenge but it was technical, I just had to learn the skill to get a little tutorial fixed and which of the challenges. So that's one part or one option for challenges. The second option for challenges is that they are not technical, they are adaptive and that is about an underlying belief, have it or loyalty, it is not about learning how to, but it is stirring up intense emotion, it is something that is causing friction at a much deeper level than just not knowing how to do something. 00:18:18 So you're kind of not living in alignment with your values where there's a clash of values somewhere something is not being spoken about, it is going unspoken, a lot of organizational challenges are often unspoken adaptive challenges and that's why we don't make progress. We want to identify at the end of each month, where are our challenges lying, technical, adaptive, what's kind of the percent of each. And then at the very back of the planner, this is so exciting. I always find myself thinking kind of daydreaming about all of the potential things that I could do in the future. Unit ideas, um ideas for what I uh you know, might use as a quote for a circle that I am holding at a particular time, um professional development. I want to lead for my peers, Maybe an idea for a specific student or an idea for you know, physical wellness, I want to, you know, try this in my in my workout plan next week ideas for family activities, um maybe you're on a particular committee and you want to bring a particular idea to that committee. 00:19:28 So I have all these ideas and I just constantly want to write them down, but I never have the concrete space that's like centralized to write them down. So often I will have things in my phone in my notes app, I have some things in a google doc, some things in a different google doc, something's in google, keep some things that I email to myself, it's like, I don't know where to find all of the things and then I lose them and I have these great ideas. I come across years later when they're no longer relevant and I say, oh my gosh, I really wish I was able to find that when I actually needed it. So at the end you have several pages with all sorts of categories, so you can kind of categorize all the fun ideas that you have in your day in one central location and when you want to go back to remember them, you just flip to the end of the book and you find them there and you can implement. So I hope this was helpful as you gear up for another school year for many of you, I know you have weeks left to go. So nowhere is enjoy your summer. But if you are listening to this when it airs, um you know, the year is coming at some point and whenever you are ready to implement these ideas, I can't wait to hear how they go. 00:20:40 Whether you have the planner or not again, if you do want to act fast because there are a very, very limited supply. In fact, I'm hoping by the time this airs that we actually still have some left, you can check that information out, you can grab your calendar today and an calendar planner at bit dot li slash work less planner. So that's B I T dot L Y slash work less planner. All lower case. Thank you so much for listening. I am so excited to hear how this planner works for you. I am so excited to get all the feedback. Send me an email at hello at lindsey Beth Lyons dot com. If you want to preorder for your team next year for your staff, please let me know we are going to try to get those the order in early this year for the upcoming years. Calendars, enjoy the rest of your summer, have a wonderful school year when you get there and remember all of these strategies to implement so that you can work. I didn't teach more if you're leaving this episode, wanting more. 00:21:44 You're going to love my live coaching intensive curriculum bootcamp. I help one department or grade team create feminist anti racist curricula that challenges affirms and inspires all students. We leave current events into course content and amplify student voices, which skyrockets engagement and academic achievement. It energizes educators feeling burns out and it's just two days plus you can reuse the same process any time you create a new unit, which saves time and money. If you can't wait to bring this to your staff, I'm inviting you to sign up for a 20 minute call with me, grab a spot on my calendar at www dot lindsey beth Lyons dot com slash contact Until next time leaders continue to think Big act brave and be your best self. This podcast is a proud member of the teach Better podcast network, better today, better tomorrow and the podcast. To get you there, explore more podcasts at teach better dot com slash podcasts and we'll see you at the next episode.
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AuthorLindsay Lyons (she/her) is an educational justice coach who works with teachers and school leaders to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice, design curricula grounded in student voice, and build capacity for shared leadership. Lindsay taught in NYC public schools, holds a PhD in Leadership and Change, and is the founder of the educational blog and podcast, Time for Teachership. Archives
March 2025
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