Do You Speak Starbucks?

This past week I was traveling to the National Conference on Education, the American Association of School Administrators, and as a self-admitted aviation geek, I love to be at airports where there are big planes! While I love the BTV for the ease and convenience, the largest aircraft that comes in is a 737, and only occasionally.

While at Newark International Airport, I was spoiled to see huge planes that cross oceans and continents. And I was also able to observe a moment that reminded me, once again as an educator, that what we do is not just about content.

I was waiting in line at a Starbucks directly across from my departure gate. When I got to the counter, an older gentleman was ahead of me ordering a regular coffee and one of the sandwiches. It was clear to me that this individual did not "speak Starbucks," as he didn't know what the size translation for small, medium, and large was. The young lady behind the counter pointed to the different size options for coffee, and the gentleman selected one.

When it came to the sandwich, the gentleman chose his sandwich and then paid his bill (with cash, I might add). Even though the gentleman ahead of me stayed a the counter, the young lady behind the counter turned to me to take my order. I ordered my coffee, paid my bill (with the Starbucks app, on my phone), and began moving down to the end of the counter to put cream into my coffee.

As I passed the gentleman ahead of me, I leaned into him and explained where he should go to get his sandwich. We both walked down to the end of the counter, him waiting for his sandwich, and me making my coffee the way I like it. As I was finishing up, I saw another Starbucks employee taking his sandwich out of the oven, and I pointed to it out to the gentleman who was waiting. He nodded, smiled, and said thank you. I found a seat in the gate area, and a few minutes later was happy to see the gentleman with his coffee and sandwich.

The biggest takeaway from this situation for me as an educator is that we have so many more responsibilities in front of us than just literacy, math, science and social studies. In Vermont, we are working through the implementation of proficiencies, among them are communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking. If I were to assess those skills in the situation I described, I would have to share that both individuals "need improvement."

There were opportunities for both the gentleman and the employee to communicate better, although I would offer the responsibility is on the employee more than the customer. When thinking about problem-solving, again both could have done better, and there were a few clues the employee missed or overlooked. The first was that the gentleman wasn't familiar with the sizes, the second was that he paid with cash, and the third was that the customer didn't move after his transaction was completed. Finally, both could have benefitted from more explicit instruction in critical thinking to make this brief encounter go smoother.

Look, this was not a life and death situation. It was a moment in an airport on a busy afternoon. I have a soft spot for older men and women, having grown up with my grandparents being very present in my life. I fondly remember my grandmother being fascinated by my iPhone. The first phone she saw in her life was a single one, bolted to the wall, shared by three families in an apartment building in the Bronx. The fact that I was able to put my phone in my pocket was literally mindblowing for her.

We have to keep up with the new changes that will be coming into our world. I'm sure that there will be moments in my future that blow my mind, even given the growth in technology and education that I've witnessed in my first forty-five years on this planet. We also have a responsibility to make sure that no one is left behind, and that we're aware of where others are on their journey. When we make note of those and adjust to meet the needs of others, we prioritize relationships.

That, I believe, is lifelong learning.

Photo courtesy of www.cio.com

The Power of "And"

This past week, I had the privilege of learning with three other members of the St. Johnsbury School District Leadership team. We spent two days with Jennifer Abrams (@jenniferabrams) in two different workshops entitled "Having the Hard Conversations" and "Swimming in the Deep End." The way that I take notes when I'm in professional development days like this is by tweeting - it's easy to refer to my timeline to see the parts of the day that really impacted me.

One of my tweets this week was this one:

Abrams made many specific connections to the importance of relationships in education, specifically for leaders who are working through dynamic changes. Relationships will make or break our work in education, period. Whether it's teacher to student, student to student, leadership to teacher, teacher to family, leadership to the community; regardless of what the relationship is, this is where our work begins and ends in education.

And yet, there tends to be an either/or mentality when it comes to reasonable, professional accountability. Somehow, we can't do both. We can either care for someone else's well being (personally or professionally) or share some hard truths. We can either acknowledge that there are substantial stressors in their life (personally or professionally) or ask them to improve their practice. We can either be empathetic to where someone is in their world (personally or professionally) or give professional feedback to improve student outcomes.

Abrams reminded us very clearly about the power of and. We can care for someone else's well being and share some hard truths. We can acknowledge that there are substantial stressors in their life and ask them to improve their practice. We can be empathetic to where someone is in their world and give professional feedback to improve student outcomes.

I am not suggesting that when someone experiences trauma and returns to work to begin having hard conversations about their job performance. And, if we are waiting for the "perfect" moment (personally and professionally) to start a professional discussion about improvement on behalf of students, we will be waiting a long time. Our students and our professionals deserve more.

We can do both.

Photo courtesy of www.medicalnewstoday.com

Everyone Gets a Carnation

One of the commitments that I've made as an educator is to equity, especially when it comes to public education. Our former Secretary of Education, Rebecca Holcombe, reminded us often that "equity is not a zero-sum game," that is, there are no winners and losers when we work to make equity a reality for our students. Another way to consider that statement is that a rising tide carries all boats.

The reality of the lives of our students, in many cases, differs dramatically from my own experience growing up, the lives of my own children, and my life now. With more than sixty percent of St. Johnsbury's families eligible for free and reduced meals, I can only imagine that some hard choices are being made regularly. Will there be heat or food on the table? Will we have running hot water or new clothes? Will we pay for the prescriptions or the eyeglasses?

In addition, we must accept the fact that there are another ten percent or so of families in our school district that do not meet the federal definition of poverty. They are not "eligible" but are nowhere near close to comfortable. When families are in such dire financial circumstances, things like medical appointments, dental visits, and mental health practitioners, are pushed further and further toward the fringes of a family's capacity. A commitment to equity means that we must strive to not only recognize and honor, but also take steps to meet the unmet needs of our students.

To that end, our Leadership Team made a decision to ensure that next week every single student at the St. Johnsbury School will receive a carnation. The Parents' Group is having a fundraiser to support our school (I will save my rant on fundraisers in schools for a separate post), and as part of the fundraiser, students, faculty and staff can purchase a carnation and have one delivered to another person.

Fundraisers like this happen all across our nation, with groups finding ways to support and or fund programs in education that are not in the annual approved budget. They happen with the best of intentions, and ultimately they support the work that is happening in our schools. And yet, a blind spot of fundraisers like these is this: They ask some of our students to "display their poverty." Remember the choices I referenced earlier in this post? Imagine a child in a family where the money is tight, asking a parent or caregiver if there's any extra for carnations.

Further, imagine if you are a child that does not receive one single carnation when they are handed out.

Now, I know the naysayers will tell me that this isn't a big deal (it is - see below). And that this is like the growing sports philosophy, where everyone gets a trophy. Please let me point out that it is a big deal if you are the child that does not get a carnation next week. I have been in classrooms as a student and as a teacher and seen the looks on my classmates' and students' faces who did not receive what was being handed out. The guilt I felt when I saw their faces, while I had something (in some cases many things) on my own desk is something that confused me as a child; it is something that I work to eradicate now as an adult.

In terms of sports, let me stop you right there. Sports are a choice, a privilege. Sports are extracurricular, and while they have a place in our world, our athletes are students first. For more on the equity issues in sports, read a beautiful and provoking post by our Vermont colleague Peter Langella.

Public education is a right. Let me repeat, public education is a right, and in the state of Vermont, it is for all children aged six to sixteen. It is not a choice; it is not a privilege. Public schools should be palaces, places where the playing field is leveled, where equity lives, and where no one is asked to ever, ever show how their family struggles to make ends meet.

A commitment to this takes time and courage. I'm proud to serve with a Leadership Team that takes on the uncomfortable issues in our professional world. One flower at a time.

Photo courtesy of vectorstock.com