Proactive Systems and Cultures

@the_groffice Wheel of poop #teacherquittalk #teachersoftiktok #principalsoftiktok #educatorburnout #worklifebalance #mentalhealthmatters #transitioningteachers ♬ original sound - Melissa

The past few years have taken a toll on educators. We were well on our way toward the current state of exhaustion and impossibility we are currently experiencing prior to the pandemic, but I'm sure Covid sped things up exponentially. The public education system has placed its workers in a reactive firefighting mode that allows none of us to get on the "right side" of the problems. The best analogy (and a little comic relief) I have for the situation is described in the video above. 

An educational leader I once worked with gave me the most memorable response of my career when I called him with what I perceived to be a problem. He answered by saying, "Thats not a problem, that's an opportunity" and continued to guide me through some possible action steps for this new opportunity.

I spent my next ten years seeing "problems" through that same proactive lens until it became impossible and until I realized that many of the current systems in place in education are there as reactionary approaches on purpose. And the systems in place that were originally meant to be proactive are used in reactive ways now because the training, time, and ability to follow through with fidelity make it impossible to maintain proactivity.

How can we possibly see these current problems as opportunities when the system doesn't allow for us to think creatively or have the resources needed to effectively address them?

• Students in severe mental health crises, affecting the operation of school beyond the classroom
• A lack of substitutes, causing students to be split into other classrooms daily
• Vacant positions that remain open all year long
• Classrooms covered by untrained teachers, placing heavier loads on the team members
• Students that are 2+ years behind and getting retained more than once before they make it to 4th grade
• Unreachable parents 
• Piles on piles of work to do outside of contract hours

What would the world of education be like if we were able to be proactive? Think about it...

• Universal social emotional screeners used to anticipate the needs of students
• Title One dollars able to be spent on the type of personnel the school truly needs rather than more "stuff" (mental health support)
• Full-time substitutes on hand at every school to plug in as needed or work with groups of students when not
• Retention bonuses instead of sign-on bonuses
• Money for conferences and training before accountability systems say they're required and money is thrown at the "fix"
• Creative solutions for students that are significantly behind
• Required parent engagement sessions for parents of students in voluntary pre-k and beyond
• Switch to a 4 day school week for students and give teachers a day a week to do all of the tasks that they currently do outside of contract hours

Until the system can change, educational leaders (including those beyond site-based administrators) need to make a concerted effort toward ensuring that schools are able to implement a more proactive culture despite the problems. So until then, let's talk about these opportunities for creating a proactive culture...

• Give those in the trenches a VOICE and agency...like actually listen
• Co-construct plans for improvement of schools, programs, processes
• Nurture self-efficacy
• Honor time...see the contract hours of educators as student contact hours AND prep/conference/paperwork time
• Ensure that relationships are prioritized before numbers and not just by a day of cute team building exercises (in the classroom or at the faculty level)
• Provide actual time for social emotional learning
• Find a way to honor and support boundaries, encourage and equip REAL mental health support and activities instead of just talking about it
• Recognize it when you see it...don't wait until someone is at their breaking point to let them know how important they are or how hard you see them working
• Talk about, brainstorm, and plan for "what will happen if..." (behavior scenarios, class coverage plans, parents crossing boundaries, etc...)
  
  

Think about it...

A teacher's work environment becomes a child's learning environment.

​Wouldn't we want to make the environment better for everyone involved!?