Improving Adult Relationships in the Schoolhouse

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Improving Adult Relationships in the Schoolhouse

• Building Professional Learning Communities
• From the Work of . . .
• Roland S. Barth

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Essential Questions

• What are the four types of adult relationships
  within schools?
• What is collegiality and why is it good for
  schools?
• What can a school leader do to promote
  collegiality and build relationships?
• In what ways are teacher leadership and
  administrative leadership different?
• Can attempts to improve student achievement be
  sustained without improving adult relationships?

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Leadership is in the eyes of the led.
Roland Barth
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Non-discussables in Schools

• Underperforming teachers/staff
• Race and/or socio-economic level
• Leadership of the principal

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Obstacles to Professional Learning Communities

• Non-discussables are the biggest impediments to
  the culture of a school.
• The more non-discussables the less healthy the
  school culture.
• These non-discussables are not discussed in
  formal meetings parking lot conversations
• As leaders we have to demonstrate the courage to
  bring parking lot meetings into the
  schoolhouse.

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Conversation is the kind of inquiry to be taken
very seriously. Elliot Eisner
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School Reform . . .

• Examination of policy, practices and procedures
  and their importance to learning.
• School based reforms are the agents of change.
• Reform is a combination of social science,
  research and craft knowledge.

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We learn from experience if we reflect on our
experience. John Dewey
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At-risk Student

• Any student who leaves before or
• after graduation with little possibility of
• continuing learning.

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Message from Schools . . .

• Learn or we will hurt you!
• Learning should be perceived as a pleasurable
  experience.
• Life-long learner demonstrated as voracious
  learners not as a finite amount of knowledge to
  learn.

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At-risk Educator

• Any teacher or administrator who leaves school
  at the end of the day with little possibility of
  continuing learning.

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The role of leader as learner . . .

• Teaching as a profession of service and learning.
• Learning curve of both adults and students
  directly proportional.
• School environments are either learning enriched
  or learning improverished.

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Reflection on Self as a Learner . . .

• As I think about myself as a
• learner, and as I think about how
• others experience me as a learner,
• what am I thinking about right now . . .

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Learner, Learned, Learning

• Moral authority in school is derived by being a
  learning leader in the school.
• The learning leaders is the leading learner the
  one who models the most important activity in
  school . . Learning!
• Expand learning beyond the classroom and school
  experiences.

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How Do You Rate?

• How do members of your school
• community see you as a learner?
• (Teachers/staff , parents, students, parents and
  self)
• 10 1
• voracious learner not a learner

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In times of change, learners inherit the earth,
while the learned find themselves beautifully
equipped to deal with a world that no longer
exists. Eric Hoffer
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Adult Relationships in School . . .

• It is easy to get good players, the hard part is
  getting them to play together.

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Parallel Play

• Early stage of development.
• Co-existence
• Working alone but in close proximity to others.
• Example in schools the self contained
  classroom.

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Adversarial Relationships

• Keeping knowledge and skill to ourselves.
• Withholding our craft knowledge to colleagues.
• Schools that promote competition vs.
  collaboration.

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Congenial

• Adult relationships are interactive, positive,
  personal and friendly but dont advance
  professional growth.
• Usually involves food!
• People get along with each other.
• Important to the culture of the school but not
  the end result.

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Collegial Relationships

• Educators talking with one another about
  practice.
• Educators sharing their craft knowledge.
• Educators observing one another while they are
  engaged in practice.
• Educators rooting for one anothers success.
• Interdependent and working together.

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Collegiality and Leadership . . .

• Collegiality comes to a school when the leader
• Clearly states expectations for collegiality
• Models collegiality
• Rewards collegiality
• Protects collegiality

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Different People Need Different Things . . .

• 30 of staff are cheerleaders willing to do
  anything. Need help making choices and
  recognition.
• 30 naysayers wont support. Need attention
  and important responsibilities in school as a way
  to get them involved and to become cheerleaders.
• 40 on the fence unsure and waiting. Need
  respect for being cautious and not rushed into
  anything.

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Reflection on my school . . .

• I would characterize relationships
• among adults in my school as . . .