Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover
"The Drop-Off/Pick-Up Line Starts Here"
These words are posted on the large, official, blue sign at the far end of our school's front sidewalk. Each morning another staff member and I do what I call the "Novi Woods Shuffle" to get parents to quickly, efficiently, and safely drop-off their children in the front of our building.
Car duty, as you can imagine, is an important job at many levels. First, we need kids to be safe. Next, if we are not quick about drop-off time, students will be late to start their day. Finally, if our drop-off line gets too long, traffic on the road is backed-up which means our buses can't get to our school on time.
We ask parents to stay in line, pull up as far as possible, and have their children exit on the right side anywhere along the sidewalk. I've actually made it my little mission to be as efficient (and fun) as possible by wearing funny hats, waving my arms like someone guiding airplanes on the runway, and playing music over our public address system. We greet kids, unbuckle car seats, and say good morning or wave to everyone. Despite the occasional glitch, the process works well. I'd challenge any school to do this any better. In fact, I was touched last week when a parent commented out her window on a particularly cold and windy morning, "Bless you, Mr. Ascher!"
Everything works like a charm until...
Rain, cold, wind, or any other weather extremity enter the equation.
If the weather is too extreme, parents tend to only want to drop their child at the one, absolute front door spot along the sidewalk even though I am outside with an umbrella, raincoat, galoshes, winter boots, mad-bomber hat, thermal gloves, or any other weather gear you can imagine.
Now, I'm a generally cheery person. I try not to pass judgment when parents don't pull up as far as possible, but I'm also not opposed to running back to that car and asking the parent to pull up all of the way the next time. Sometimes parents don't listen. Most of the time, parents just seem to forget or are only focused on their child and not the super-long line with other children.
This has been an exceptionally frigid winter where I am a principal. In fact, as I am writing this, our school is closed because of wind-chills of -30 degrees. No getting around it, it's cold.
Yesterday was cold as well, but fortunately we were still in school. We started our normal car routine a little early, and the line was moving well. I was waving, smiling, helping, and getting the day off to a good start, and then a car stopped at the very front of the building.
Oh my. I started running back to that car while I was waving. (To be honest, I was a little frustrated because it was so cold.) Just before I got back to the car to ask the parent to pull up farther, out poked a straight leg and two crutches from one of our students. She had hurt herself over the weekend, and there was no way she was going to be able to get into school without some help over our snowy sidewalk.
Seek first to understand and then to be understood. Don't judge a book by its cover. Listen more, and talk less.
I caught myself...again. How many times do I pass judgment without trying to better understand the other person's point of view or context?
Social Justice is a pillar in our district. We have partnered with The University of Michigan, our intermediate school district, and other neighboring districts to strategically ensure "everyone has a voice." We have led capacity building workshops for cohorts of teachers, secretaries, and administrators. Students and staff across the district have been engaged in learning about how to better applying the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We've worked with our community. Our older students have participated in regional "Youth Dialogues on Race." I can't even begin to count all that we are doing or have done to make sure we are working together.
Last week I was privileged to be part of a training with our transportation department--our bus drivers. Over 35 drivers spent the morning exploring how to better listen and work together, how to more fully understand students, and how to be an even better department. I've known many of our drivers for a long time, and they are a fun, dedicated group. I don't know, however, what I was expecting before the training, but I do know I was not expecting what I discovered. Discussing social justice issues can be a touchy subject. It's personal, and it can make many people feel uncomfortable. And yet, I heard over and over from our drivers, "These are our kids." "How can we help our students?" "How can I get to know my kids better?" "What can I do to make sure my kids have a great day and they are ready to go at school?" Whatever I had expected to hear from our drivers was replaced by a genuine passion and compassion for students--their students--our students. I should not have been surprised.
Seek first to understand and then to be understood. Don't judge a book by its cover. Listen more, and talk less.
As much as I try, I'm fairly confident I will never be perfectly socially aware. I also know our district won't ever "arrive" at being 100% socially just, but our social justice work has better informed our lenses as we work with each other. And while, unfortunately, a 4th grade girl in crutches might not be the most socially unjustly treated individual in our school or district, I'm grateful that I work in a district and community that is committed to facing challenging issues. It's really the only way our world will get any better.
PS...After the crutches appeared, I asked the mother if I could carry her daughter into our school. She smiled and agreed. I used a rather large bear hug to get her daughter over the snow, ice, and salt. Later and at pick-up time, I talked with the mother of how embarrassed I was about not seeking first to understand. We laughed, and I carried her daughter back to her car. It sounds like there could be as much as 6 weeks of carrying and lifting to remind me to seek first to understand. The student is going to be fine, and I'm going to see each day as a learning opportunity.
These words are posted on the large, official, blue sign at the far end of our school's front sidewalk. Each morning another staff member and I do what I call the "Novi Woods Shuffle" to get parents to quickly, efficiently, and safely drop-off their children in the front of our building.
Car duty, as you can imagine, is an important job at many levels. First, we need kids to be safe. Next, if we are not quick about drop-off time, students will be late to start their day. Finally, if our drop-off line gets too long, traffic on the road is backed-up which means our buses can't get to our school on time.
We ask parents to stay in line, pull up as far as possible, and have their children exit on the right side anywhere along the sidewalk. I've actually made it my little mission to be as efficient (and fun) as possible by wearing funny hats, waving my arms like someone guiding airplanes on the runway, and playing music over our public address system. We greet kids, unbuckle car seats, and say good morning or wave to everyone. Despite the occasional glitch, the process works well. I'd challenge any school to do this any better. In fact, I was touched last week when a parent commented out her window on a particularly cold and windy morning, "Bless you, Mr. Ascher!"
Everything works like a charm until...
Rain, cold, wind, or any other weather extremity enter the equation.
If the weather is too extreme, parents tend to only want to drop their child at the one, absolute front door spot along the sidewalk even though I am outside with an umbrella, raincoat, galoshes, winter boots, mad-bomber hat, thermal gloves, or any other weather gear you can imagine.
Now, I'm a generally cheery person. I try not to pass judgment when parents don't pull up as far as possible, but I'm also not opposed to running back to that car and asking the parent to pull up all of the way the next time. Sometimes parents don't listen. Most of the time, parents just seem to forget or are only focused on their child and not the super-long line with other children.
This has been an exceptionally frigid winter where I am a principal. In fact, as I am writing this, our school is closed because of wind-chills of -30 degrees. No getting around it, it's cold.
Yesterday was cold as well, but fortunately we were still in school. We started our normal car routine a little early, and the line was moving well. I was waving, smiling, helping, and getting the day off to a good start, and then a car stopped at the very front of the building.
Oh my. I started running back to that car while I was waving. (To be honest, I was a little frustrated because it was so cold.) Just before I got back to the car to ask the parent to pull up farther, out poked a straight leg and two crutches from one of our students. She had hurt herself over the weekend, and there was no way she was going to be able to get into school without some help over our snowy sidewalk.
Seek first to understand and then to be understood. Don't judge a book by its cover. Listen more, and talk less.
I caught myself...again. How many times do I pass judgment without trying to better understand the other person's point of view or context?
Social Justice is a pillar in our district. We have partnered with The University of Michigan, our intermediate school district, and other neighboring districts to strategically ensure "everyone has a voice." We have led capacity building workshops for cohorts of teachers, secretaries, and administrators. Students and staff across the district have been engaged in learning about how to better applying the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We've worked with our community. Our older students have participated in regional "Youth Dialogues on Race." I can't even begin to count all that we are doing or have done to make sure we are working together.
Last week I was privileged to be part of a training with our transportation department--our bus drivers. Over 35 drivers spent the morning exploring how to better listen and work together, how to more fully understand students, and how to be an even better department. I've known many of our drivers for a long time, and they are a fun, dedicated group. I don't know, however, what I was expecting before the training, but I do know I was not expecting what I discovered. Discussing social justice issues can be a touchy subject. It's personal, and it can make many people feel uncomfortable. And yet, I heard over and over from our drivers, "These are our kids." "How can we help our students?" "How can I get to know my kids better?" "What can I do to make sure my kids have a great day and they are ready to go at school?" Whatever I had expected to hear from our drivers was replaced by a genuine passion and compassion for students--their students--our students. I should not have been surprised.
Seek first to understand and then to be understood. Don't judge a book by its cover. Listen more, and talk less.
As much as I try, I'm fairly confident I will never be perfectly socially aware. I also know our district won't ever "arrive" at being 100% socially just, but our social justice work has better informed our lenses as we work with each other. And while, unfortunately, a 4th grade girl in crutches might not be the most socially unjustly treated individual in our school or district, I'm grateful that I work in a district and community that is committed to facing challenging issues. It's really the only way our world will get any better.
PS...After the crutches appeared, I asked the mother if I could carry her daughter into our school. She smiled and agreed. I used a rather large bear hug to get her daughter over the snow, ice, and salt. Later and at pick-up time, I talked with the mother of how embarrassed I was about not seeking first to understand. We laughed, and I carried her daughter back to her car. It sounds like there could be as much as 6 weeks of carrying and lifting to remind me to seek first to understand. The student is going to be fine, and I'm going to see each day as a learning opportunity.
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