On what's next...for me and for education...

Several months ago, I wrote an impassioned blog post about the trouble w/ education. After twenty six years in education-the last seven as a principal-I was exhausted. I was exhausted and, if I'm being honest, I was a little hurt. For these twenty six years, I had loved education deeply and passionately. I had given the profession everything thing I had (sometimes to the detriment of my personal life). To be sure, education had given me plenty in return. As Teddy Roosevelt said "Life gives no greater reward than to work hard in work worth doing" To that end, I had certainly earned plenty of rewards. That said, by the time I had walked away I had felt a little let down by the profession to which I had dedicated my life.

Fortunately, the past few months (and a very understanding spouse) have given me the gift of rest and perspective. I still fully believe all that I wrote earlier. I do feel that education is in grave (is there any other kind) jeopardy w/out some profound changes. Our culture are asking too much of educators. We are becoming increasingly afraid to have our kids struggle.  This is creating an educational environment that is hurting kids, and pushing educators to leave the profession. The only educators not feeling this are the one's that, simply, are not invested in our kids the way all of us would prefer.

Of course I believe that all of us want what's best for our kids. We want to do the right things to position our children for success. We are just acting out of fear. This fear is causing many of us to behave against their interests. This fear, when directed towards educators, causes us to behave defensively. Once educators become defensive, then. it is hard for any true collaboration to occur. Without this collaboration, parents do not trust educators, and we become trapped in a cycle of negative communication. We must break this cycle if our kids are going to have the adults in their lives working together for their best interest.

Breaking this cycle, then, has become the focus of the next stage of my life. I work w/ schools, non-profits, and parents to provide training and coaching so that we can all build positive relationships and work together for the sake of our kids. Everyone (or almost everyone) agrees that education is vital to the future of our civilization. Without learning how to communicate effectively, we risk jeopardizing this future.

‍