Remember Your ABCs - Always Be Coaching

I am a fan of Corner Office in the New York Times. I read it every Sunday and I think that there are valuable leadership lessons to be found for any career. One recent interview with John W. Rogers Jr., chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments that I read was about the influence of sports on his career. He described how his time on the Princeton basketball team taught him taught him the value of teamwork and caring about teammates more than oneself. As a former collegiate athlete and a current high school and middle school football coach, I know the valuable lessons that can be learned through sports. Lessons on teamwork, dedication, perseverance and humility are all ones that can serve athletes in any career path that they choose.

Along with reading this interview, I have also been captivated by the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito bullying and harassment case. If the John Rogers interview is the best of sports, then the sordid tale of the Miami Dolphins offensive line is the worst. As I read about the investigation and the details of the case, I can easily understand how this kind of climate could be created in a locker room. When winning, and not player development, becomes the sole focus of a team, the types of behaviors demonstrated by Incognito and others, are tolerated because of good on field play. The lessons learned in these situations are that if you are good enough on the field, no one cares how you act off the field. When winning becomes everything, anything is tolerated.

In the end, I believe the impact of sports, for better or worse, comes back to coaching. As an assistant coach, I have been lucky enough to work for some great head coaches. Each one of them focused on player development more than winning. That is not to say that they did not want to win, they wanted to win desperately, but they knew that winning took a back seat to making our young athletes into better men. If we focus on making our players better teammates, encourage and reward hard work and dedication, and support them in the classroom and their lives away from the field, we will make them better people, and the wins will take care of themselves.

As I continue to coach, there are some lessons that I have continued to use with my players on the field. As a leader in my classroom and at my school, I have found that these lessons also apply. The best of sports should be reflected in the best of our schools.

• Everyone has a role in which they can contribute to the team  - Too often we think that a team needs the best players to be successful. The best coaches I have worked for have never believed this. Those coaches have believed that it is about putting players in a position in which they can find success. In my work at school, it reminds me that all students have talents and that my job as a teacher is not to wish they were better, but to find a way for them to succeed.

• How you act off the field is how you will act on the field - Often we think that the on-field success is all that matters, but in the end, character is always revealed. If a player is not working hard in the classroom, they will fail to work hard on the field. Quitters will always be quitters as my father reminded me The best coaches and teachers will always encourage and support students to work hard and do their best in all endeavors.

• Winning is the result of doing things right - If players work well together, execute the game plan, and play hard throughout the game, the winning will take care of itself. We do not need to focus on winning, because all of the steps along the way will lead to it. In the classroom, we do not need to focus on test scores if we can make sure students do all of the steps to be successful along the way. The score will take care of itself.

In the end, it is the coach that has the ultimate responsibility. Focusing on the powerful lessons that sports can teach will lead to stories like John W. Rogers, Jr. Focusing on winning alone are much more likely to lead to situations like Martin/Incognito. My current head coach has said that we are not here to do our best, we are here to be the best. As I relate this to my players and students, I remind them that I want them to not try their best to be a good person, I want them to be the best person they know. I want them to try and exceed all of the examples they see in their surroundings. It may be the only way for them to exceed their situation and create a better life for themselves.

As a coach, and a teacher, I know the important role that we fill for many young men and women in our society. While some may remember the wins and losses, many more will remember the life lessons that they learned on the field. It is time we focus on what will leave the mark, not what will be in the paper.

Cross-posted: http://edge.ascd.org/_Remember-Your-ABCs-Always-Be-Coaching/blog/6562706/127586.html

WILL #19

What I Learned Lately (WILL 13/14 #19)

5/23/2014
By Dr. Josh Garcia, @Garciaj9Josh

“Dreaming or Awake – Is There A Difference?”
Early in my life, my mom encouraged me to dream.  I am not sure if she was teaching me to escape the present or plan for the future or both.  Recently, I have been dreaming a lot about life personally and professionally.  My dreams have not been limited to the moments of sleep.  I have often found myself “day dreaming”.  As I have reflected on why I dream, what I am dreaming of and should I share my dreams, I have been left numb by the question, “what if”?  As my body lay motionless last night, I found myself questioning was I awake or asleep?  Then, I felt a strange sense of peace – did it really matter?

I have learned that dreams can prepare us for the awaken life.  It is one thing to dream, it is another to understand the nature of the dream.  Without examining the nature of our dreams, they are merely moments in between two breathes.  As leaders we have dreams and we try to operationalize those dreams through vision and mission statements, action/improvement plans and our daily work.  In education, we often use terms like equity, access and achievement gaps as ways to add context to our dreams.  I am not sure we pause often enough to question the nature of the dreams and our actions.

I have a dream that one day our schools will rise up and lead our great nation.  Lead you ask, yes lead!  For if it is not us, then who shall? Although we the educators know that we are not all created equal, we know it is our job to create equitable opportunities for all our children.  This is the true intent of our great nation, access to the dream, the American Dream.  I have a dream that my two little boys, my daughter and every child that I serve  will one day attend schools where they will not be judged by the AYP cell they are assigned to but by the content of their character and their ability to create their own new knowledge. 

I dream that one day educators will open the doors of gifted and talented, honors and other college preparatory curriculum; one day in each of our towns, all students will be able to engage in the richness of Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate; one day in every school house, students will have one adult that believes that they deserve to and can achieve at the highest levels.  I dream that we will not place barriers in front of our students and pretend that we are trying to protect them from failing before they have tried.

I dream that one day every hidden curriculum will be revealed, every lesson will be scaffolded, teachers will work collaboratively to provide portals to language, instructional strategies will the topic of conversation around the staff room table and the glory of new knowledge shall be revealed and all students will create it for themselves.

I dream that others will recognize that this is our chance.   I dream that others will share the same conviction.  I dream that we will all go back to our schools  this year and every year until our dreams are our reality. With this conviction we will be able open the locked doors of promise for all students and be able to transform the clattering dissension of our profession into a picturesque web of support for our students.  Then we will be able to collaborate together, to learn together, to struggle together, to walk the steps of the capital together, to stand up for access together, knowing that we will all be free one day.

As we wrap up one school year and begin to plan for another, I hope we relentlessly dream and ask ourselves, “what if”.  More importantly, what if we the adults relentlessly asked our students to dream, plan and act?  What if our students felt safe enough to share their dreams?  What if we defined our work by ability to teach students how to learn and facilitated their dreams?  What if we shared our dreams with our staff and students?  What if…

Finally from, Stella Stuart “Dream - Everyday”
Behind me infinite power
Before me is endless possibility.
Around me is boundless opportunity.
Why should I fear?

Cross-posted from: http://edge.ascd.org/_What-I-Learned-Lately-WILL-1314-19/blog/6565621/127586.html

Leading through Grief

Our morning staff meeting came to a halt as a staff member shared that she visited Facebook on her phone and saw a memorial post on our counselor's Facebook wall. While our principal brought the meeting to a close, our office manager and I went to the office where I called the family. I made it about halfway through the conversation with family before starting to tear up. The family confirmed that our elementary counselor lost her multi-year battle with cancer that morning. Within an hour, the district had a counselor on campus who coordinated a crisis team that spent all week on campus supporting students and staff.

Below are some lessons I've learned so far about leading through grief.

Public displays of compassion. This goes for both staff and students.
-The crisis team taught me that, if people are interested, a staff tribute can be helpful in the grieving process. Our staff decided to invite the whole school to wear pink in honor of our counselor who passed away from cancer. Coincidentally, our monthly potluck was on the same day we wore pink. Beautiful stories of celebration and hope filled the staff room as everyone ate together and honored our counselor in pink.

-The Giving Tree was one of our counselor's favorite books so one classroom decided to create a giving tree where all students in the school could share what was on their heart.

Everyone brings their own experiences and feelings. It's important to acknowledge this as we all grieve in different ways.
-A student had his head down when I went into the lunchroom and I saw he was crying. As I walked the student to our library, where additional counselors were housed, the student shared his mom passed away from cancer two years ago. There are many stories like this, where students or staff experienced loss. These emotions can be stirred up in times of crisis, and it's important we provide avenues for sharing and support.
-Personally, the day before our counselor passed away, I found out a close relative was diagnosed with the same kind of cancer our counselor had. To take care of myself, I've taken longer walks with my dog and savored more time with family.

Find joy each day.
-I was on the playground as students exited from recess the other day. A classroom job is often "door holder". I noticed a kindergarten student going above and beyond his traditional door holder job to console his classmates. "Hug?" he asked each of his peers as they entered from recess. Most kids took him up on the offer. It's moments like this that provide me with joy each day.

My prioritization of tasks inside/outside of school is still shifting as the needs of our learning community fluctuate. I continue learning each day, and I use this learning to adjust my approach as I lead through grief.

Cross-posted: http://edge.ascd.org/_Leading-through-Grief/blog/6565673/127586.html?b=

Shaping Educational Outcomes

This weekend, my family and I visited the Oregon Coast. As I stared at the ocean, I thought: Ocean waves are one of the most powerful phenomena on Earth - they shape the Earth's coastlines. Similarly, educational systems are powerful forces that prepare students to grow up and shape the future of our economy and society. 

This got me pondering how ocean waves are made and how they crash against the shore 24/7. From a scientific perspective, waves are imparted from a combination of wind blowing over the surface of water and currents running under the water. I'm always amazed that when I simply look at the ocean, I don't see the system of wind and currents - I see their byproduct as the ocean waves crest and fall.


Just as nature puts a lot of energy into shaping waves all day every day, a multitude leaders at every level strategically create & cultivate systems that shape high quality educational outcomes on a daily basis. The educational systems that yield the highest outcomes and maintain sustainability result from a collective approach to shared responsibility and leadership that's cultivated by lead learners.

I invite you to join me in personalizing this idea by contemplating: What are the strategic approaches that lay the foundation for your educational system to generate high quality educational outcomes? How do you articulate these educational outcomes to different stakeholders? What is your role within this system?

Cross-Posted: http://edge.ascd.org/_Shaping-Ed-Outcomes/blog/6564441/127586.html 

WILL #18

What I Learned Lately (WILL 13/14 #18) by  Dr. Josh Garcia

4/16/2014
@Garciaj9Josh


“Are you OK, Am I OK?”

How do I ensure that today I am wiser, calmer, and more relentless than yesterday? As I continue to learn, I find that leadership in its easy silence of my thoughts, is truly as simple and complex as – “to be or not to be”. I have found that in this time of year, we are both tired and excited. It is an interesting time for educators, communities and most importantly our students. During the spring many would like to rest. Some lose their urgency and others may never have had it. Yet, I see others that thrive during this time. I am left to wonder if urgency is lost or mistaken for crisis when we are tired. How do we continue to be urgent until the very last minute? As an organization, can we handle relentless urgency?

For our students, this time of year is filled with the realities of time running out and excitement of the unknown. What will I do this summer? What will next year be like? What will my next school be like? What will it be like after graduation? Will I make it this year? Will I make it today? Additionally, there is a sense of running out of time. I heard one student recently say, “It is isn’t because they (staff) haven’t been telling us too, we just haven’t done it.”

As a leader how do you “check yourself”? How do you know if your vision is just? How do you know if those who you are trying to serve value your service? We are in the final stretch of the school year, we will blink and we will be headed into summer. As we relentlessly drive forward, we must be clear. For those who put their own interest ahead of the students that we serve, we must have no time. Amid the doubt and unknown, we must relentlessly put our trust in our students’ abilities and in our staffs’ commitment to serve each of them. Am I Ok? Are we Ok? Our pain and our struggle is our everyday life. I pray that we never become numb to them, for I know that we will have given up. The time is now to become urgent, one last push, our best effort, and I am confident that we will ensure student success.

Finally from, “Edmund Vance Cooke”
Did you tackle that trouble that came your way?
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it.
And it isn’t the fact you’re hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?

Cross-Posted: http://edge.ascd.org/_What-I-Learned-Lately-WILL-1314-18/blog/6564283/127586.html