The Battle for Learning

After a seemingly brief hiatus from blogging and limited involvement even on Twitter the past two summer months, I have had a lot of time to think about beginning a new chapter in my professional and personal life. My wife and I are welcoming our third child in a matter of weeks, and I have begun my new role as HS principal at Charles City HS. Summers are often times when educators take a much-needed break from the daily grind to re-charge and begin planning and preparing for the next school year.  Over the years I, especially as I have entered educational leadership, have found that summer learning is as influential as any learning in our profession.

Although some of our most important work in educational leadership is done in the summer, I make a concentrated effort to not bring work home with me in the summer, hence the break from blogging and Twitter during that time. Early summer afternoon and evenings are the best family time of the year for a principal and I certainly want to take advantage of that by spending time with my wife and boys.

However, this break does not mean I stop learning, in fact these past few months have opened me up to some of the best learning I have seen all year. So much so, it inspired a change of name for my blog, as I have seen the ongoing pursuit for learning evident around me as both a father and principal.

I have fought the continuous fight to get 3 1/2 year old, Ajay, to use "please" and "thank you." Soon to be 2-year old, Dax, can't figure out that he is not quite big enough to be climbing and jumping off things. He may have to learn the hard way. It is a battle for learning everyday for Ajay and Dax, a battle they fight without really knowing, and a battle their future depends upon.

I have learned how to deal with the roller-coaster of emotions of living in limbo, when you go from having your house sold and moving, to not having your house sold and not moving.  Through that I have learned another lesson on how being surrounded by strong and caring people can help us through anything.

I have spent the better part of the last two months becoming acclimated with my new school, staff, community and responsibilities. I have begun learning with some of our staff on MTSS, competency-based education, standards-based grading, branding our school, and much more. I have been introduced to the world of designing and financing a 21st Century school and the intricacies that come with it.

I have been involved in conversation after conversation about what I have learned with comments likes, "We had success with this at Wapsie Valley!" "We started this at Starmont!" "We had something similar to this at Union!" Bringing in aspects of education that I have learned along the way has positioned me for a confident start at Charles City.

I have been fortunate in these short two months to work with a growing team of Charles City educators on our vision to change assessment and grading in our district. A team that is motivated to push our district forward to do what is right for our students. I have learned a lot from this group and look forward to learn with them for years to come.

I have heard many times learning is messy, and when we take on second order changes such as SBG, CBE & MTSS, we are going to find that learning is in fact a messy-ongoing-frustrating battle for improvement. Our initial work at Charles City has reminded me that I have a lot to learn, and this summer has reminded me how much learning is a part of life.

I could argue, this summer, all I have been doing is learning. Yet, I have a lot more to learn, and I will always have a lot more to learn. Learning that's being done now and the work that goes with it, is what separates us from the "haves" and the "have nots." It is work that puts us on the winning side in the battle for learning, a battle we must be prepared to fight on a daily basis.

A Growth Mindset, 30 years in the making.

On my drive to work listening to talk radio, I heard the end of an interview with current Boston Celtics coach, Brad Stevens. Stevens is a coach I have followed from afar and always had a high level of respect for mainly due to his well-documented and rather quick ascent in the coaching ranks. His message in this particular interview struck a cord with me. His recollection of his early professional life seemed to correspond with mine, described in this excerpt from the transcript of the interview:
Brad Stevens used to be a “box-checker,” simply studying to pass the test, get his diploma and move on. His time at Butler changed that. “One of the things I did at Butler was that I started to learn the value of learning, to learn the value of growing,” Stevens said. “It really had a huge impact on me when I started becoming a learner instead of a box-checker.” (nesn.com link)
For as far back as I can remember, to high school, college, and even my early years in education as a teacher and coach, I was always a "checklist" or "box-checker" kind of person. I was only looking forward to the next item to check off my outline for life:

Josh's Plan:

• Graduate high school.
• Enjoy the ride.
• Earn some scholarship $!
• Get into college.
• Have some fun!
• Get my degree.
• Which class is next?
• Get a job.
• Teach
• Get to Holiday Break
• When is the last day of school again?
• Coach
• What are we doing for practice today? 
• Get through the season.
• Become an Administrator
• Join the "Darkside"
• Start a family.
• Get a house.
• Get a wife.
• Have some kids.
• Live happily ever after!

There was something significantly missing from my plan, something that my personal and professional future depend on...something that took my nearly 30 years to really get a hold of...something that I have come to view as vital for the success of both students and adults that I work with on a daily basis.

Having a growth mindset.

Follow any number of Twitter ed chats, educators blogs, or read from a long list of educational leadership materials, and you are bound to find dialogue about establishing a growth mind set in our schools. Below happens to be one of my personal favorites (from Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University):

It scares me to think how "fixed" I was early in my life and career. Now, as a lead learner in my district, I am constantly trying to push our teachers to continue to grow and improve their craft, as well as asking them to foster that in our students.  How am I modeling this as a lead learner? Quite simply, I am pushing myself to improve through principles similar to what you see in the black and green columns above. The progress made in our district this year has been due in large part to a renewed focus on student learning and embracing challenges and criticism. Accepting that failure IS an option has also opened some eyes to the importance of our own learning and growth.

Like many educators, my desire comes from the work we do with students everyday.  The desire to see them get involved, succeed, get into college, get a job, or whatever it may be is and should be what drives us in education. I have often told people, if I knew then what I know now about teaching and learning, I would 100% be a better teacher than I was years ago in the classroom. The thought makes me cringe.  It took me 4 years in the classroom to figure out that it should be more about what students are learning and not what I am teaching. I have a new found desire to help others become the teacher that I never quite became, and I believe others are channeling their desire differently as well.
Just as frustrating as my slow growth as a teacher, it took over 2 years as an administrator to figure out that by accepting criticism and overcoming challenges together, we would in fact gain opportunities to build for the future. Challenges like changing our schedule, creating a new system for struggling learners, or taking on our unit design work in PD have made us stronger.  We still work out the kinks on a daily basis, but the groundwork has been laid. We overcame these challenges with a clear vision centered on student learning, a core set of instructional values, and a commitment to providing teachers with the time and resources needed to succeed. It also helps that we have a group of educators hungry for change! 

We are criticized at times in education for decisions we make or policies we uphold which is the nature of the beast.  However, accepting feedback/criticism and using it to improve ourselves, is much more difficult than getting feedback/criticism.  The bottom line is, not everything we do in education (or life) is going to work exactly the way we want it to.  Newsflash: You will fail!!  In John Hattie's, Visible Learning for Teachers, he says that, "..feedback thrives on error...acknowledging errors allows for opportunities." He provides an entire chapter covering the nature and importance of feedback in education. Intertwined throughout the chapter are constant references to the importance of accepting failure in order to improve. "A school needs to have a culture of no blame, a willingness to investigate what is not working." If we want growth and we want learning to be visible and intentional, then we are going to have to try new things. If they don't work we are going to have to accept failure and try something else!  I know we have failed at some of our attempts this past year, but because we continue to push forward, our successes overshadow our failures.

As I look back, my plan has worked out pretty well, I have been able to check off each of the major points on my outline for life.  However, I can also say that I nearly missed out on a lifetime of improving myself.  A lifetime of growing and learning and making myself a better teacher, or coach, or administrator...and now a better husband, father, and servant leader.  It is never too late to change your mindset, and it is up to us to make sure students recognize that as well.

"The 5 People You Meet in Education"

Several years ago, nearing the one year anniversary of my father's untimely death, a family friend of mine recommended that I take up more reading to help me cope. I needed to finally begin to come to terms with what had happened. He gave me a short list of novels to read and even provided me with copies of a few from his personal collection. After the toughest year of my life, I was still struggling to deal with the sudden loss of my father and the people close to me realized it. I have to admit at the time, I thought the idea was silly. I was a college student, with a decent head on my shoulders, my whole life ahead of me, and would certainly find it within myself to move on. Books were not going to make me feel any better, and they certainly were not going to replace the loss I was currently feeling.  However, when I returned to my apartment the author of one of the books caught my eye. 

Mitch Albom's name was familiar to me through his appearances on an early morning sports talk show, so I was intrigued when I saw his novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven in my stack. A quick glance of the novel, can be better explained by Amazon.com's review:  "Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park." (Find it in entirety here.)  The story is centered around the impact of his relationships with five people from his past who he meets in heaven. Each brings important values and experiences to light from Eddie's past that I saw a connection with in my father's life. Blue Man (connectedness), The Captain (sacrifice), Ruby (forgiveness), Marguerite (love), Tala (purpose).  

As I begin an important transition into a new position and a new school district, I certainly have mixed emotions. I am leaving a place that has become very special to me in two short years to take on a life-changing career opportunity that I could not be more excited about. Since my decision was made weeks ago, I have caught myself reminiscing about both my father's life and my short educational career to this point. So many people have impacted me over my life and the course of the past 8 years in education that I cannot possibly name them all in a single blog post.  However, what I have come to realize is just how much the power of relationships has lead me to where I am today thanks to my father's never ending guidance. 

My father was a successful businessman in New Hartford, Iowa. He ran Todd's Repair, an auto service shop in the middle of town.  It was a profitable business with two to three employees, but his business was built upon his strength to build relationships with people, based on trust and integrity. He was the type of guy who wanted to help people no matter what it took. He knew everyone in town and everyone knew him. He accepted spare parts, broken down vehicles, IOU slips, and just about anything the townspeople could afford to pay him if they were short on cash. He showed up early and stayed late in order to meet the needs of other's schedules.  He would literally break his back (actually his knees) to make sure people's vehicles could get them to work the next day. He just seemed to "get it," when it came to people. He was my role-model and hero. He is the reason I felt I can write so candidly on the impact that relationships play in life and "The Five People You Meet in Education."

1. Mr. Parker (The Spark)

Everyone needs a spark once in a while. Whether it is motivation to lose weight or quit a nasty habit or budget your finances, we need to be pushed in the right direction by something, someone, or some event. Coincidentally, an important spark in my life resulted in my changing from a Pre-Med major to secondary education the summer I read the story of Eddie.  The man who provided me with the spark, Mark Parker.  Mark Parker is currently wrapping up his retirement year in the Dike-New Hartford school district, a place where he has served as a teacher, coach, activities director, etc for over three decades.  That summer, Mr. Parker hired me to help coach the JH boys baseball teams.  I had previously coached youth league teams in Dike, so when the opportunity came to move up and work with Mr. Parker I was pretty excited. He was an All-American catcher (All-American quarterback and point guard as well) at Coe College and had lived around the game of baseball since he became a teacher and head baseball coach of the New Hartford Hawks.  

I knew I would learn a lot from Mr. Parker about baseball, but mostly I knew I would be around a man who reminded me of my father and who I knew as one of the best people I had ever met. After spending the summer with Mr. Parker, the boys, and other coaches, I knew this was the type of atmosphere I needed to be involved in for the rest of my life.  I began my third year at Wartburg College with a change to Secondary Education:  U.S. History.  To this day, I keep two things with me in my educational travels, a melted down ring of my fathers and this note that Mr. Parker sent me on the first day on the job at Starmont High School in August 2006.

2. Debbie Downer (The Motivation)
Early in my educational career, I was a bit of a cliche.  I was a social studies teacher.  I was a coach.  I was eventually an athletic director.  I was that guy, and I LOVED being that guy. I was decent in the classroom, but I lived day-to-day by the seat of my pants.  I planned my classes the night before and I sought out the most unique and inventive ways to teach history that I could dream up, some were successes and others epic disasters. I was determined to not just be a paper, packet, and notes teacher; I lived that in high school as a student, and in fact believed that to be a contributing factor in why I wanted to teach history. I thought I could do it better, and I really wanted the students to think I was cool and I was fairly successful at it!  

However, I overheard a colleague talking about me in the staff lounge one day that really changed my views on education.  Debbie Downer said, "That Mr. Johnson is a joke, his kids are running a muck, always laughing and making noise, and all he cares about is that the students like him!"  I slowly walked out unnoticed, and did not say much to anybody about the incident.  The following days and nights, the comments haunted me.  Was I not doing a good job?  Was it a crime that my students like me? Did I need more structure in my classroom?  I found myself paying more attention to classroom management and a traditional approach to my students.  I stopped things like sending groups in the hallway to work and telling jokes. I started saying "quiet down" a lot.  Days later a group of students asked me to work in the hallway on a video project for class, when I responded that they could not their answer seemed to snap me back to reality. "You used to be so much more fun, Mr. Johnson!"  Ouch.  From that moment on, by surrounding myself with great colleagues like Matt Lee, Deb Loftsgard (not Debbie Downer!), Jenni Schauf, Sheryl Nelson, Megan Gates, Carmen Stenger among others, we focused more on what made us great teachers, our students.  Thanks to Debbie Downer for making that clearer than ever.

3. "Boss" (The Role-Model)
I have been fortunate to move up the educational "ladder" per-say, mostly because of the opportunities provided to me early in my career by people like Matt O'Loughlin at Starmont and UNI faculty members.  It was not until I became an administrator, that I began to really appreciate the importance of the "Boss." I was hired as Dean of Students and Athletic Director at Union High School in LaPorte City, Iowa the summer of 2011.  It was a big career move for me at the time. A big reason why I knew it was the right move was because of the way Principal Travis Fleshner and I hit it off.  He had confidence and provided me with support from day one.  He allowed me to jump in with both feet and gave me exposure to more in education than just the Dean of Students/AD role that I was hired to do.  I was given everything I needed to prepare myself to lead a building of my own, and I was fortunate to gain that opportunity after one short year at Union.

When Superintendent Chad Garber hired me as the new JH/HS principal at Wapsie Valley, I had heard from numerous people about Mr. Garber's intellect and his ability to make huge strides for the WV district. What I found in my new Boss, was a man who would challenge my thinking, allow me the autonomy to lead in the best way I saw fit, and someone who would provide me with the collaborative support I needed as a beginning lead principal.  Working with Mr. Garber and the Admin team at WV has allowed me to improve my skill sets and confidence level in many aspects of leadership, and ironically has prepared me to take on a new challenge in my educational journey.  Without the relationships I have with these two "Bosses," my career  would not be where it is today.  They are my educational role-models.

4. Tommy Boy (The Constant)
The list of students that I am blessed to have developed relationships with over the years would be long and comprehensive in its entirety.  I believe that most educators have a student from early in their career's that just sets the bar pretty high. There is one particular student and family that would become a driving force throughout my important first years in education. Tommy Lowry was a braniac-wirey-artsy-left-handed freshman pitcher when I arrived at Starmont in May of 2006 to coach baseball prior to my first year in the classroom.  He had a way about him in practices, that set him apart from the other athletes.  He was not a big kid, or super strong, or super fast, but he worked his tail off.  He was a perfectionist with his mechanics and took coaching and direction like he was born to be a ballplayer.  He listened intently and he made it clear he was willing to do whatever he could for the team. He was smart, and he was driven. Tommy was involved in just about everything Starmont had to offer young people, and he excelled in everything he did through his hard work and determination.  

It may not surprise you that Tommy's family was very involved in the school.  His parents Duane and Carla were active members of the booster clubs and did not miss their three son's events. They hosted our baseball team at their indoor batting cage every Sunday, an event I looked forward to each week.  Tommy and the entire Lowry family made me feel welcome and a part of a family at Starmont for over 5 years. They took an interest in me because I took an interest in their son.  I was fortunate to coach the Lowry's younger sons, David and Jay, before my time at Starmont was up, and I continue to look forward to visiting them any chance that I get.  They and other families like the Janssen's, Vaske's, Berry's, and Moeller's serve as a constant reminder to the hundreds of students that have impacted me over the years. They made me realize the importance of connecting with students and families while serving in the educational realm.

5. Lydia (The Support)
Any person in education, especially administrators, needs to have a significant other that understands the emotional, physical, and time commitment that must be given to be successful.  I am fortunate to have a wife who gets it.  I have put my wife and family through the ringer the past couple years as I have established myself as an educational administrator.  I made the move to Union shortly after our marriage, we came to Wapsie Valley 8 months pregnant with our second son, and will now make the move to Charles City again 8 months pregnant! We sold the home we started in, rented in a home we made work (but disliked), and built (and need to sell) a home we love... She has endured the typical schedule of an AD's wife and administrator's wife since the day we meet.  She has trudged two rowdy boys under the age of three to countless school events and chased them around while I "worked."  Lydia has been an amazing wife and mother throughout the past few years. Without our relationship being as strong as it is, I would never have been able to pursue the opportunities I have in my professional and personal life. 

Perhaps, I saw some of my father's qualities in Eddie as I read his story.  Maybe, I was impacted because the book's emotional message hit me at a vulnerable time, but what was most profound to me was how the book made me look back on my father's legacy and the importance that people played in it. Coincidentally, I changed from a pre-med major to secondary education the summer I read the novel.  Recently as I look back (and forward), my thoughts keep going back to the emotions I first had when reading Albom's novel.  

Just as Eddie's story reveals five of his most influential relationships, each of us can undoubtedly reflect on the five (or many more) relationships that have impacted our lives. More than 1,000 people packed into the Dike-New Hartford High School gymnasium for my father's funeral in August 2003, each relationship playing a part in his story. My aforementioned five people and so many others have played a part in my story. I look forward to adding to that list.  I can only hope to make nearly as much of an impact that my father made on so many people.



Thank you to the students, staff, and families of Starmont, Union, and Wapsie Valley for making this such an enjoyable post to write. I know I did not include everyone, but I am grateful that the list is too long to share!