Leadership Makes a Difference
How many phones are in your house? Really...think about it. How many cell phones, cordless phones, or even (oh my) corded phones are part of your home? I did a quick check at our house. Our two daughters, my wife, and I have 4 cell phones, 4 cordless phones, and 3 corded phones. Our family of 4...our household---our home...has 11 phones!
The Novi Woods staff, where I am principal, was asked this telephone question last week as part of our district-wide Leaderin Me Implementation Day training. The facilitator helped illustrate for us the ever-widening gaps in cultural norms between recent generations. Our daughters, for example, think having 11 phones is normal, but what about our grandparents, parents, or even ourselves? My grandmothers were raised in homes where they either did not have a phone or only had one phone in the entire house. My parents each had one phone in their families even though they had many, many siblings. I, even though it was rare, was raised in a home where we had two phones and a party line (shared a line with three other households) until my middle school years!
While phones may be a simple example, our facilitator's point was very clear; the cultural norms or expectations between our generations are widening.
With such a gap, what can help bridge those generations? As a school principal, what can tie a school together? Clearly it's not just technology. What about content? Reading? Writing? Math?...
You and I know each subject is important in a school, and the technology we have and use are tools to better help us meet our goals in the 21st century. But can you build an entire school (or district) just around content?
Of course not. If you base a building on only content, you will miss the richness of nurturing the well-rounded, "whole" child. Next, the content expectations are always changing. Our kids just don't need to know how to use a slide rule any longer! While I don't shy away from being held accountable for teaching students to high academic standards, you can't build a culture of high expectations by only teaching content.
Novi elementaries, including Novi Woods, have chosen to build the culture of our schools around leadership. Why leadership? First, it's timeless. Leadership and the characteristics that make great leaders transcend generations. Unlike technology, (telephones?) leadership can help connect generations, cultures, and ultimately people of all ages. Next, leadership is empowering. In other words, leadership and the pursuit of quality leadership engages students to take control of themselves, their life, and their community. Thus, the book and training is called, Leader in Me!
Three years ago, Novi Woods adopted a vision statemt about leadership. "Novi Woods...Growing Great Leaders!" is our guiding vision, our hope, our dream. Growing great leaders in reading, math, and writing is important...in fact, it's critical, but we expect and teach our students to be great leaders on the bus, in the halls, on the playground, at home, and even in their community. This expectation is so important to us we have it posted over our main entrance.
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Fortuately, Novi Woods and our entire district is part of a remarkably supportive community. Our district works as a system to ensure all of our elementary staff are receiving training in Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. All of our students are taught how to: 1.) Be Proactive, 2.) Begin With the End in Mind, 3.) Put First Things First, 4.) Think Win-Win, 5.) Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood, 6.) Synergize, and 7.) Sharpen the Saw. Our district's educational foundation has formally committed to help fund this endeavor, and we are grateful. I believe more than anything, our efforts to build a culture of leadership in our schools has been supported by our parents.
Our Parent-Teacher Organizations and specifically, our Leader in Me Parent Group, are getting ready to host an evening where all parents in our community can learn even more about leadership and The Leader in Me. We invite as many people as possible to join us, but we are asking for people to register here.
So...how many telephones do you have? Do more phones make you a better communicator? Our school has one vision...growing great leaders, and I know this one vision is making us a better school!
"Leadership is communicating people's worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves." Stephen Covey
The Novi Woods staff, where I am principal, was asked this telephone question last week as part of our district-wide Leaderin Me Implementation Day training. The facilitator helped illustrate for us the ever-widening gaps in cultural norms between recent generations. Our daughters, for example, think having 11 phones is normal, but what about our grandparents, parents, or even ourselves? My grandmothers were raised in homes where they either did not have a phone or only had one phone in the entire house. My parents each had one phone in their families even though they had many, many siblings. I, even though it was rare, was raised in a home where we had two phones and a party line (shared a line with three other households) until my middle school years!
While phones may be a simple example, our facilitator's point was very clear; the cultural norms or expectations between our generations are widening.
With such a gap, what can help bridge those generations? As a school principal, what can tie a school together? Clearly it's not just technology. What about content? Reading? Writing? Math?...
You and I know each subject is important in a school, and the technology we have and use are tools to better help us meet our goals in the 21st century. But can you build an entire school (or district) just around content?
Of course not. If you base a building on only content, you will miss the richness of nurturing the well-rounded, "whole" child. Next, the content expectations are always changing. Our kids just don't need to know how to use a slide rule any longer! While I don't shy away from being held accountable for teaching students to high academic standards, you can't build a culture of high expectations by only teaching content.
Novi elementaries, including Novi Woods, have chosen to build the culture of our schools around leadership. Why leadership? First, it's timeless. Leadership and the characteristics that make great leaders transcend generations. Unlike technology, (telephones?) leadership can help connect generations, cultures, and ultimately people of all ages. Next, leadership is empowering. In other words, leadership and the pursuit of quality leadership engages students to take control of themselves, their life, and their community. Thus, the book and training is called, Leader in Me!
Three years ago, Novi Woods adopted a vision statemt about leadership. "Novi Woods...Growing Great Leaders!" is our guiding vision, our hope, our dream. Growing great leaders in reading, math, and writing is important...in fact, it's critical, but we expect and teach our students to be great leaders on the bus, in the halls, on the playground, at home, and even in their community. This expectation is so important to us we have it posted over our main entrance.
Fortuately, Novi Woods and our entire district is part of a remarkably supportive community. Our district works as a system to ensure all of our elementary staff are receiving training in Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. All of our students are taught how to: 1.) Be Proactive, 2.) Begin With the End in Mind, 3.) Put First Things First, 4.) Think Win-Win, 5.) Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood, 6.) Synergize, and 7.) Sharpen the Saw. Our district's educational foundation has formally committed to help fund this endeavor, and we are grateful. I believe more than anything, our efforts to build a culture of leadership in our schools has been supported by our parents.
Our Parent-Teacher Organizations and specifically, our Leader in Me Parent Group, are getting ready to host an evening where all parents in our community can learn even more about leadership and The Leader in Me. We invite as many people as possible to join us, but we are asking for people to register here.
So...how many telephones do you have? Do more phones make you a better communicator? Our school has one vision...growing great leaders, and I know this one vision is making us a better school!
"Leadership is communicating people's worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves." Stephen Covey
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