Author: Bret Olson

5 Characteristics of Phenomenal Educators

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The other day I was talking to a good friend of mine, also a principal, about the recruiting process and what we look for in teachers as we go through the many CVs and interviews.  While we both agreed that there is no magic formula for finding excellent teachers, we did settle on a few characteristics that we look for while we’re going through the search process.  I wanted to share those with you today because I believe it’s good to take time to stop and think about ourselves from a more holistic perspective, which I’m encouraging you to do.  

  1. They are a “striver”.  I used to use the term ‘hustler’ but was never happy with that for various reasons.  However, when I imagine a teacher who is always giving their best effort to grow, improve, and help their kids succeed I get this image of a teacher who is constantly working hard and doing anything possible to get better.  A teacher who is consistently putting forth effort to improve and be better for their students is a striver, and someone I would want to hire!  (I took the term ‘striver’ from a book by Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.  Here is a cool piece that explains the idea of ‘striver’ vs ‘natural’ in a musical context.)
  2. They have balance.  It’s one thing to be a striver but it’s a total other thing to be someone who works themselves into the ground.  There is a saying that I learned from a mentor of mine that goes, “If you’re solely committed to an institution, you should be.”  The idea is, making work your only focus is completely insane.  Education is a non-stop pursuit and if you dedicated every minute of your life to it for the rest of your days, it still wouldn’t be perfect.  We need to know where to draw the line and find the balance in our lives so that we are able to work hard for our students, day in and day out, while still living our own lives beyond the walls of the school.
  3. They are positive.  This one is hard to see on a CV but it certainly shines through in an interview.  No one wants to work with people who are constantly finding problems, complaining, and bringing the overall culture of a school down.  Positivity goes a long way in any business but I believe it goes even further in a school community.  Kids are naturally positive people, why should adults be any different?
  4. They are diverse.  People demonstrate diversity in a lot of different ways.  Having a wide variety of experiences, teaching a variety of subjects and/or grade levels, supporting various extracurriculars, and showing your range as an educator, are all great ways to stand out.  People with diverse experiences tend to have more open minds about challenges and opportunities that may arise unexpectedly.  This kind of flexibility is invaluable, especially in international schools!  
  5. They love working with kids.  Again, this is tough to see on a CV but completely obvious when it comes to interviews.  Educators who love working with kids show it as soon as they start talking about their jobs.  Their eyes light up as they tell stories of their students and their energy immediately increases.  Teachers who truly love working with kids, while seemingly common, are much harder to find than most people would think.  

There are many more attributes displayed by great teachers but when I meet someone who displays these particular characteristics in a truly authentic way it is clear that I’ve found an absolute diamond in the rough.  

Take a moment today to consider yourself from a different perspective.  Try to step back and ‘zoom out’ a bit.  How do you view yourself as an educator?

Embrace Some Discomfort

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Amy and I watched a new show recently, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.  The first episode had a guest who, believe it or not, needed no introduction…Barack Obama.  It was a great interview and, whatever your political leanings, is worth watching.  One of the many topics discussed by Letterman and Obama is something I’d like to think about in our context as educators, “Nothing right in this world occurs without, at least, some discomfort.”

As educators we have our comfort zones, they are our safe little bubbles that we use to help us stay confident in the classroom.  I’m going to ask you today to take a step out of yours, and be a little uncomfortable.  I’ve got four things I’d like to ask that we all commit to doing for the rest of the year, they are things we can start today and will immediately improve the learning environment for our students.  Some of you may already be doing the some of these things but the I think, on some level, these will apply to everyone…

  1. Get a basket/box/container or something else and require that students put their phones into it before the class starts (unless you have a specific reason they need it that day.)  For our students, and all of us in fact, our handphones and other devices are distractions.  They vibrate when we get a message, they ding when we have a new Instragram follower and they overtake our concentration.  99% of the time our students don’t need a handphone in class…get the basket and have them put their phones in before the lesson begins.
  2. Make kids close their computers until they absolutely need them open.  If we remove the handphone distraction but allow students to keep their laptops open, we’ve accomplished nothing.  There is very little our kids can’t do from their computers that they can from their phones.  You’ll be amazed by the increased level of concentration from your students once you’ve removed these two distractions.  (Tip:  If you want their concentration back once they’ve opened their computers…have them close them again!)
  3. Don’t allow students to listen to music while they work.  This will come with some controversy, especially from the older students, and will put many of us out of our comfort zones.  There is a lot of research that proves that multitasking doesn’t work, it makes people worse at all of the things they’re trying to do in comparison to focusing on one task.  Here is one small study that is a good example…basically, if you want your kids to learn at an optimal level, take the headphones out of the equation. (Note:  In Arts classes, this step may be skipped…music tends to increase creativity and can be helpful for artists at work.)
  4. Now that we’ve eliminated a lot of the major distractions, get up and engage your students!  If students are using their computers, get up and move around the room so you can see their screens frequently.  Kids will still find ways to be distracted despite our best intentions.  If students are working, that is your time to be checking their work, discussing with them, and monitoring their progress.  

At the end of the day, some of these challenges will be easier for some than others but they are all sound educational practices that will improve the learning environment for our students.  As the quote above mentions, “Nothing right in this world occurs without, at least, some discomfort.”  These four things will cause some discomfort for you and the students but at the end of the day, they’re all things that are “right” for education.  

Teaching Strategy CPR

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Last week I was fortunate enough to participate in First Aide training and refresh my skills in CPR and basic immediate care.  As I waited to take my final practical assessment I pondered how important knowing these skills, as basic as they may seem, could help me professionally.  Aside from the obvious fact that I could now be at least somewhat helpful in a real emergency, I realized that CPR doesn’t always have to be taken literally to be helpful.

I think we’ve all done it, we’ve learned about a new teaching strategy, tried it out on an unsuspecting class, and…nothing…it died on the table.  More often than not, in cases like this, we move on and forget about the new strategy.  Either it failed so miserably that we were scared to try again or perhaps, it was too much effort to try another time.  We’ve all been there, I’m sure of it.  So, think back, what was the most recent new strategy you tried and abandoned?  Let’s breathe some life back into it…

The first thing we learned about helping to save someone is that we should never put ourselves in danger in order to do so.  So, if this strategy isn’t the right one, if it’s too big and will only weigh you down, then leave it and find another one.  Next, once you’ve settled on a safe strategy for saving, you need to call for help.  This isn’t something anyone wants you to do alone.  Talk with your department head, a colleague you trust, or an SLT member.  Get some advice, share ideas and develop a strong plan for breathing life back into this strategy.

CPR is a process, it takes effort and care.  So too will reviving this strategy.  As you consider trying this strategy again think about the right time to implement it.  Perhaps you’ve got a class that is more flexible and open to new ways of learning, that would be a good place to start.  If not, consider the right lesson to implement this strategy.  Review sessions are always a good time to try new things and get creative.  Whenever you decide to make the jump and try this strategy again, go in knowing that it is part of a process, one that may include multiple steps.  

One thing that became apparent during CPR training and holds true to trying out a new strategy in class is that they both take a lot of courage.  To jump in and try to save someone’s life takes a special amount of courage that, to be perfectly honest, I wonder if I’ll have should the moment ever arise.  Trying a new strategy, while not on the same level, also takes courage.  The difference, however, is that you can control the situation with a new strategy and go in confident that you’re prepared.  So, find that strategy that died on the table, work to breathe new life into it, and confidently know that you’re becoming a better educator as you do so.

New Year, Same Goals

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Happy New Year!!!

I always get a small laugh out of the fact that for most educators this isn’t really a “new year”, as that generally happens around July or August.  However, it’s actually kind of cool because we end up getting two “new years” when most people only get one.  This isn’t the time of year when books are fresh, lockers are empty, and names are new, but that doesn’t mean we have to be completely left out of the fun of the New Year celebrations.

While this is a typical time of year to set personal goals for the calendar year, I like to think about January as a time to step back and revisit my professional goals.  If you’re anything like me, then your personal New Year’s Resolution from 2017 was out the door by February, or March at the latest, and was never revisited.  I hope the same isn’t true about the goals you set for this school year.  However, in the event that they’ve managed to slip from the front of your mind, this is the perfect time to stop and revisit those goals.
One of the biggest challenges with meeting a big, longer term goal is that often times we set those goals and forget all about them as we get caught up in the craziness of our day-to-day tasks.  I’m hoping that today I can nudge you a little closer toward making sure those goals get met this school year.

So, first things first…dig up those goals.  Where are they?  What are they?  Remind yourself exactly what it was you set out to achieve in terms of professional growth this school year.

Next, why did you set those goals?  Remind yourself of the “why” behind those goals.  What was it that motivated you to choose those goals in the first place?

Now, has anything changed?  Do these goals need to be updated in any way?  Perhaps you’re not sure and this is something you’d like to talk to your faculty head or SLT member about, do it!

Once you’ve reaffirmed your goals there’s something else I want to recommend to help you keep these a little closer to the heart of your efforts for the remainder of this school year.  As with any long-term goal, setting smaller short-term checkpoints will help you to achieve the big long-term plan.  Take some time to envision what meeting your goal will look like at the end of the school year.  How will you know you’ve gotten there?  What will we be able to look at that says, ‘yes, I’ve done it!’?  Now…take that vision and break it down into smaller checkpoints along the way from today to the end of this year.  What will success toward your goal look like in April?  March?  February?  The end of January?
It’s a “new year” for everyone else but we’re already halfway through our year.  It’s been an amazing first half and the second will surely fly by at a breakneck pace.  So, take a few moments this week to sit back and revisit your goals.  Think about how you’ll be able to ensure meeting those goals by the end of the year and find those checkpoints.

Once again, Happy New Year!!!

The Art of the Mistake

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We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.  They’ve been big and they’ve been small.  Usually, in hindsight they’re really no big deal at all.  Sometimes when they happen, however, they have such an impact that they’ll never be forgotten.  We’ve all made our share of mistakes.  

Part of me wants to stop there…we’ve all made our share of mistakes.  

However, mistakes can’t just stop with the mere acknowledgement that they’ve been made.  The beautiful part of mistakes is what comes after: learning, empathy, growth.  As educators we see our fair share of mistakes made on a regular basis.  I’ve grown fond of telling students that we expect them to make mistakes and that it’s their job (with our help) to learn from them, that’s why they’re in school.

Sometimes the mistakes our students make are minor, like a computational error on a math problem, other times they’re much bigger.  However, at the end of the day the ultimate goal is still the same; they should be learning from their mistakes.  This, the learning, is the crucial part of the puzzle.  How do we ensure that the learning they take away from their mistakes is the ‘right’ learning and how do we make sure that they’ve actually learned that lesson?

In truth, the answer to that question is simply, ‘we can’t.’  For the same reason that we are prone to making mistakes, we can’t guarantee anything else in the equation – we’re all human.  This, the fact that we’re all human, is something that I believe we forget all too often when dealing with other people’s mistakes.  It’s very easy to climb up into our ivory towers and pass judgement upon other people’s mistakes, even easier when those people are teenagers who make lots of mistakes!  However, if the true goal is to help someone learn from their mistake then we have to step back and remember – we’re all human.

Now, to be sure, just because we’re all human doesn’t mean that mistakes should be allowed to go unaddressed.  Actually, it’s just the opposite, mistakes need to be identified and learning should take place.  It’s this process of identifying mistakes, acknowledging them, and going through the process of learning that is at the heart of our job.  At the end of the day, how we treat mistakes made by our students is the legacy that we’ll leave as educators.  

Herein lies, perhaps, the biggest challenge we face each and every day.  How do we deal with mistakes made by our students?  We can be too relaxed, we can be too strict, or we can be somewhere in between.  It’s a Goldilocks paradox of sorts, we’re looking for that sweet spot right in the middle, that ‘just right’ territory.  There is no right answer here, and sometimes we’re going to make our own mistakes when dealing with other people’s mistakes.  However, if we can step back and acknowledge the fact that we all make mistakes and that they are a normal part of life, then just maybe we can get a little closer to that ‘just right’ place where we can all learn from our mistakes.  

We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.  They’ve been big and they’ve been small.  Usually, in hindsight they’re really no big deal at all.  Sometimes when they happen, however, they have such an impact that they’ll never be forgotten.  We’ve all made our share of mistakes.  

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – John Powell

“Many times what we perceive as an error or failure is actually a gift. And eventually we find that lessons learned from that discouraging experience prove to be of great worth.” – Richelle E. Goodrich

“You will only fail to learn if you do not learn from failing.” – Stella Adler

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” – Neil Gaiman

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” – Oscar Wilde

“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.” – Winston Churchill

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” – Bill Gates

 

Planning for Misunderstanding

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Over the three day weekend Amy and I flew up to Jakarta to stay with some friends of ours.  Getting from the airport to their house required a ride with a Grab driver who, seemingly, was very helpful and polite.  However, the next morning I received a phone call from a Grab representative inquiring about some extra charges that the driver had added onto our fare (I paid with credit card.)  I was very impressed that this huge company was being proactive about something they could’ve easily just missed or decided to ignore.  It became clear to me that they’ve spent time anticipating potential problems or trouble areas for their clients and can now respond proactively when situations arise.

Recently I’ve been listening to a really interesting podcast by Craig Barton, a Math teacher in the UK.  On the last episode I heard, he interviewed former teacher and author of Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov.  During their conversation they discussed the idea of planning for misunderstanding, as I was reflecting on my interactions with the Grab representative I realized that this was a very similar situation – Grab had planned for my misunderstanding.

While we’re planning units and lessons for our students it’s important that we take the time to stop and think through their potential misunderstandings before we teach the lesson.  By taking the time to process the material from our students’ perspective we are able to proactively trouble shoot the challenges our students may face as learners.  By anticipating potential problems we move from being responsive teachers to proactive facilitators of learning, a huge step forward on behalf of our students.  

Over the next two weeks you’ll be very busy writing comments, marking assessments, and providing quality feedback to your students.  However, when it comes time to think about those first units of semester two, take some time to plan for misunderstandings.  Grab had the foresight to realize that extra charges added onto a ride need a little investigation and dedicated time and effort to ensure that my experience was the best it could be.  What can you do as an educator to make the experience of learning in your classroom the best it can possibly be for your students?  

Planning for misunderstandings might just be the most effective strategy you can use to help your students, take the time to do this before teaching a lesson.

Upgrading Our Practice

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Recently Amy and I had the chance to stay in a nice hotel for a night and were excited for a wonderful room, atmosphere, and a glorious night’s sleep.  Unfortunately we were awoken bright and early by the sounds of hammers, saws, and drills working on a renovation project in a nearby section of the hotel.  As I lie awake, frustrated with this early wake-up call, I began thinking about how this connected in some way to my life.

I soon recognized that this renovation was very similar to what we’re trying to do as educators. See, just like in a school, this hotel couldn’t shut itself down for a year while it did upgrades to the whole building all at the same time.  Instead, they chose to improve small sections, one at a time, over the course of a longer period.  Similarly, as educators we can’t just close the door to our classroom, forget about the kids, and work on improving.

The kids keep coming, day after day, for an entire school year.  So, if we want to improve as educators, it is a simple fact that we’re going to have to do just as this hotel and upgrade as we go along.  The hotel had chosen a small focus area to improve while continuing to run the rest of the hotel as usual.  As educators there is always something to improve and, in fact, there are usually many things to improve.  However, with limited time and energy due to the fact that students need the vast majority of our attention, the best thing for us to do is choose one small area and focus on upgrading that skill set.

If you’re anything like me when I was in the classroom, you can see multiple target areas for growth in your own practice.  However, you can’t tackle all of those areas at once, it’s time to focus in and choose one specific thing to work on for the short-term.  Perhaps, for you, this small focus area has to do with your use of formative assessment, classroom management strategies, or curriculum planning.  Maybe it is questioning strategies, creating more engaging lessons, or including opportunities for student reflection.  Whatever you decide as your area of focus, set all those other areas of growth aside for the time being and focus on that one specific skill set.

As we come to the end of the first semester I want to encourage you to be reflective about how the first half of the year has gone.  Examine your practice as a teacher and work to identify one area of growth for the second semester.  Remember, you can’t renovate the whole hotel all at once, pick an area of focus and stick with it.  Work to improve in this one area.  When you see the growth you’re looking for, then you can move on to another area of focus, one at a time, slowly upgrading your practice.

Pursuing Passions

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Last week we started our Pathways conversations with our Year 10 students.  At the beginning of this process, which will ultimately lead to their decision about whether to take Full IBDP, DP Courses, or SBDP, they are still wide-eyed and confused.  As Year 10 students, these kids are only 15 or 16 years old and many of them haven’t figured out what they’re going to do over the weekend, let alone what career path they want to follow.  Yet, as they begin to consider their Pathway for Year 11 and 12, they are being asked to simultaneously consider their field of study for university and what career they would like to pursue…yikes!

Personally, this is crazy to me!  I told these kids and their parents a little about myself as an introduction to this conversation:  When I was their age I knew I was going to be an architect, 100%.  Then, by the time I finished Year 11, I really had it figured out, I was going to be an accountant.  In fact, I was almost three years into my accounting degree when I realized I wanted to be an educator.  How could I have been so wrong and what changed for me to make such a huge jump?

I didn’t know it when I made the decision to walk into the College of Education at my university but that day, for the first time ever, I was pursuing my passion.  I can see it now in hindsight but at the time if you would’ve asked me why I was there, I would’ve had no answer for you.  I was there, however, because I was passionate about coaching.  I had begun coaching younger kids in basketball when I was in High School and had continued through university.  It was something I enjoyed and was something more than just a summer job.  It was, without even knowing it, my passion.  

I’m sharing this today because I want to ask you to do two things:

First off, take the time to step back and reflect about why you got into teaching in the first place.  I saw a great Twitter post the other day, “Said no teacher ever…’I became a teacher for the money and fame’.”  I’m guessing that money and fame weren’t your motivations, so what were your reasons?  Why are you an educator today?  

Secondly, I’m begging you, please, to take some time and share how you identified your passion(s) with your students.  Perhaps you knew when you were 15 years old, or perhaps you were more like me and had an epiphany later in life.  Whatever the case may be, take a few minutes and share that story with your kids.  Explain to them why you’re telling them this story, let them know that this process isn’t always easy and that at 15 it’s okay not to know their whole life plan.  

If you ask me, we’re lucky, we’re the wise ones who identified the passion for teaching in ourselves and were lucky enough to choose the greatest profession ever 🙂  Share that story with your students, and while you’re at it, share it with each other!  

Lining Up For Education

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This past Saturday was a busy one around the Sekolah Ciputra community.  Sembako Murah, supported by over 40 High School students, brought hundreds of local community members out to campus to take advantage of the PSG’s wonderful charity event.  A group of our Year 7 boys participated in (and won) a soccer competition at SES.  Also, at PTC, some of our High School students participated in the Jawa Pos Zetizen Conference.  It was a great weekend for our students and all of those who helped coach, mentor, and support them through their activities.  

While all of that was happening for our community and current students, we also hosted over 60 prospective new High School students and their families.  These families were at Sekolah Ciputra bright and early on Saturday morning to take enrollment tests because they want to be a part of our community.  Speaking to these students and their families was an incredibly inspiring, and humbling, experience.  As someone new to the community I try to keep my eyes and mind open about our students, community, and school.  However, this weekend took me to a whole new level of understanding about just how special our school community really can be.

Talking with the students who were arriving and nervous to be taking an enrollment test so early on a Saturday morning I was shocked and awed by their dedication and drive to, hopefully, enroll at Sekolah Ciputra.  Students had literally come from all over Indonesia (Solo, Bali, Sulawesi, and more!) just for the chance to take these enrollment tests.  Perhaps even more impressive were the kids who are currently attending other schools in the Surabaya area.  Talking to these kids and inquiring into their backgrounds and stories, I was blown away.  Comments like,  “I had to BEG my mom to come to this school”, “I know this is the best school to prepare me for university”, and “I have friends who go to this school and they love it” were all things that I heard multiple times throughout the morning.  

For those of you who’ve been here for a while this may be old news to you, but let me assure you, this is special!  I’ve worked in four international schools and visited many more, this is the first time I’ve encountered such rapid enthusiasm for potential enrollment at a school.  It truly is a humbling experience to see all of these kids (and parents) so excited for even the possibility of joining us at Sekolah Ciputra.  

Considering how excited these prospective students and families were just to have the chance to attend our school got me thinking about what it meant to already be a member of our SC community.  Often times we take our jobs and students for granted but I’d like to encourage you to step back and reflect a bit on just how wonderful a school community we have at Sekolah Ciputra.  Sure, some of our students arrive late and are inexcusably absent too often, but overall our students are fantastic young adults.  Many of our kids were saying all those previously mentioned comments not too long ago.  They look at Sekolah Ciputra as an opportunity, a chance they are excited to have.

So, take some time to reflect on what it means for our students and for you to be a member of the Sekolah Ciputra community.  People are lining up to get into our school because they see SC as the opportunity to chase their dreams.  What are we doing to help make their dreams a reality?  

 

Begin Sharpening Your Saw

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I decided to write next week’s “Nudge” a little early.  Since we won’t be here Monday I think you’ll see why I chose to write today.

This is a crazy time of year.  There are tons of things going on and we’ve been working hard for these first 14 weeks of the semester, with only a few left to go.  We’re all tired, stressed, and run down.  Sickness is becoming more common for staff and students.  

This three-day weekend couldn’t be more needed than it is right now.

The late Stephen Covey, perhaps most famous for his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was a huge proponent of “Sharpening the Saw”.  Basically, the idea is that if you are working to cut down a tree with a dull saw, then you’re not going to get very far.  The same is true of us as educators.  If you’re run down, unbalanced, and not well, then you’re not able to be your best for our students.  

“Sharpening the Saw” isn’t something that can happen over night, or even a three-day weekend, but it is a process of finding balance in your life.  Physically (working out, sleeping well, eating well), Mentally (growing as a professional and personally), and Spiritually (finding time to connect to what is important in your spiritual life)…these are all essential parts of “sharpening the saw”.  By finding the time to do the work you need to do to be best for our kids, while also finding the time to be balanced in these other areas allows you to maintain a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.

Take this three-day weekend to recharge a bit, get some rest and find the time for the things that make you happy.  Maybe that is sleeping in and eating ice cream like I always say to our students or perhaps it means checking things off your “to-do list”.   No matter if it’s one of those or something else, take the time to relax and enjoy this weekend.  Look at this weekend as a starting point for establishing that balanced lifestyle but also as a chance to recharge your batteries in preparation for the final push to Semester Break.

Sleep, rest, relax, and recharge…you deserve it!