Finding Your Music

George Couros recently spoke to our leadership team about the importance of creating authentic learning experiences that extend beyond the four walls of the school.  We practiced posting videos to Twitter about the day in order to make our learning visible and connect to our audience. While live Twitter feeds each day are likely not going to be my platform, a blog where I can take our work public, get constructive feedback, and maybe create an opportunity to provoke thought is how I will carry his message forward.  So, here it goes… 

One of my favorite days of the year is our first day of new teacher training.  I love the nervous energy and enthusiasm in the room as we welcome new teachers to our district and many of them to our profession.  We used to have a new teacher training that was twelve days long. Yes, you read that right. It was cram packed with everything we had worked on for years with an in-depth look at every part of our organization.  We have scaled it back considerably in recent years to one full day and two half days with just enough information to know what is happening within our strategic plan so that they understand our vision and what we hold in common across eighteen schools without getting overwhelmed at the idea that they need to know everything on day one.  As a district leader, my learners are our teachers, administrators, and instructional coaches. Part of my job is to make the pieces of our work cohesive so that staff can connect our vision to action steps that ensure our learners get what they need to be successful well beyond high school. I get the opportunity to develop relationships with and support them, much like I used to do in my classroom, to do their best work to empower others each day.  Our first interaction needs to be one that invites them in and connects us to one another, so we welcome them with a Purpose Retreat.    

We opened the day with a Youtube video from Michael Jr. In it he asks an audience member to sing Amazing Grace and then asks him to sing a second time with some context and purpose.  The first rendition was really good, but the second blows you away. Michael says, “The first time I asked him to sing, he knew what he was doing.  The second time I asked him to sing, he knew why he was doing it. When you know your why, your what has more impact because you’re walking in or towards your purpose.”  My purpose pushes me each day to be the best mother, wife, and learner I can be. It grounds me in the why of our work which keeps me going on our tough days and makes me want to come back, try again and maybe even do better.  

Our hosts for the morning were from Youth Frontiers, a company based in Minnesota, that does retreats with staff and students on purpose, respect, and honor.  They do an awesome job of engaging our teachers in skits and small group discussions to find the “one thing” that inspires them. We spent a lot of time talking about the “music” of our work which is the sweet spot where our purpose comes through and our learners feel a sense of belonging that inspires them to create.  We also talked about our “static”- every thing that takes us away from our purpose and our sense of happiness. My static comes from budgets and state reporting, both of which I need to do, but neither of which make me feel inspired. I set aside particular times to do that work that are surrounded by learner showcases and professional development so that my static never drowns out my music. On the really long days, I go home and spend time in my kitchen baking and cooking with my children.  Sometimes the best way for me to reconnect to purpose is to distract myself by getting lost in something completely unrelated to our work.    

While I watched our new staff participate in the workshop, I felt incredibly hopeful for our learners.  The energy in the room told me that this group already knows how to drown out their static and that their music sings loud.  I asked them to share their purpose statements with me so I could use them throughout the year to check and connect and help them stay grounded.  These are a few that I got back:

• My purpose is to bring out a smile, to help you know your value to the world, accept you as you are, but drive you to persevere toward your dreams.
• My purpose is to form a safe space where students can create, express themselves, and form a more positive outlook on themselves and the world. 
• To make a positive impact on as many lives as I can.
• I want to help them find a path of interest toward a career and teach them the importance of lifelong learning.
• My purpose is to be myself and encourage others to do the same!

I couldn’t share them all, but the others have a common theme of developing meaningful relationships and inspiring your people.  Our learners are in great hands. It is going to be an amazing year!