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Martha Dickey is a fifth grade writing teacher at Hollingworth Elementary School.
I’ve been leading trainings for our writing program, and the Ball work syncs with what I’ve been doing as far as sharing ideas, not being leader-centered, and trying to collaboratively solve problems. Before I became a teacher, I worked for the Saturn car company where they do extensive training of the employees. They taught us that in a group, 70% of the people have the power to influence the other 30%. And I think that’s how the collaboration process that Ball has been doing with us works. It’s the 70% who are collaborating that convince the other 30% that this is a good thing, everything will work out. It’s like on the playground: A student who goes up to a child and says, “Stop being a bully” is more effective than a teacher coming out and saying, “Stop being a bully.”
I also see a parallel between this collaboration work with Ball and the turmoil that we happen to be in right now financially. We have to get creative, and we’ve got to stop looking for one person with answers – be it a president or a principal. We’ve really got to come together somehow. The world cafés we’ve done have been structured, but in a very inviting and casual way. We’ve been able to share ideas and get a glimpse of what collaboration can do. But it’s intimidating, too, because it’s making us realize that we’ve all got to step up a little bit more and be willing to give even though teaching already takes so much of us.
I think the biggest thing that I took from the Immersion Day was the opportunity to speak with principals and people from other schools. It’s kind of like you don’t know how somebody else mows their lawn until you spend time in their backyard. By talking with educators in other schools, you learned more about their successes and concerns. Despite the community or location of the school, we all have areas to improve upon.
The Immersion Day also allowed us to get to know teachers at other schools so we’re not as hesitant to approach them. Our eyes were opened to the fact that we are all a resource for each other. We just need to tap into that resource and take responsibility to actually do that. There have been many exchanges of phone numbers and e-mails, and whether or not people have followed through, I can’t tell you – but at least that door has been opened.
I think a big common question is, “Why do we keep doing this?” My response to that is, “I don’t think that’s something we can answer now.” It’s like when you go fishing and maybe you’ll catch a catfish and maybe you won’t, but it’s more about taking the time to explore a little bit and see what you find. Not everybody is comfortable with this process, but it’s what we need now because we have to be creative problem solvers. To fish you have to be patient, but this is a long process – and that’s where we’re losing a lot of our fishermen. They don’t want to wait it out. We’ve got to navigate through all the problems, and at the same time, feel good about our teaching. The bait, of course, also makes a difference. And our bait is keeping a strong focus on what is going to be best for our students. My hope is at the end we’ve found something that works and is tangible and substantial.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
Lydia Dzama is a third grade teacher at La Seda Elementary School.
When I received the invitation from the Ball Partnership to participate in a conversation about literacy, I wasn’t quite sure what it was about. I was somewhat confused because I wasn’t sure what my role was. I’ve had a lot of training with second language learners, and I’m considered an expert and lead teacher in the district on working with second language learners – and now here was a discussion on literacy.
So I went to Rincon Intermediate with no idea what to expect. For me, the experience of coming in and sitting down, the way they had set up the room with these tables, the expectation that everybody will have a voice, everyone will be speaking – it was completely different. I was very much used to sitting and being talked to, never having an opportunity to express my opinion.
As I was sitting there, I was looking around and wondering, “I don’t know most of the people in here. Is this an elementary school function?” I’m seeing office managers, PTA people, junior high teachers, high school teachers. Again, I’m very curious about what’s going on here because this is not the way we do things in the district. We’re normally very separated – “My compartment, your compartment, let’s not mix.” This was unique.
So, sitting at a table, I had the opportunity to have a long conversation with secondary teachers, and hear them express their frustrations about students. Mind you, I’m not saying they were negative – it wasn’t “the teachers before didn’t do their jobs.” These teachers just felt like, “We’re trying so hard to help these students and we don’t feel we have the strategies in place.”
So in the conversation, I told them about my GLAD training. GLAD is Guided Language Acquisition Design. It’s a program that is specially designed to help second language learners acquire vocabulary, while at the same time learning their academic content in a way that is fun and easy for them to remember – poems, chants, songs, pictures. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun. The secondary teachers were saying, “How come we can’t have that?” And I told them that I thought the person who had trained me in GLAD also trained high school teachers.
Then the secondary teachers shared a program at Giano Intermediate where second language learners get pulled out and really focused on in order to help them. I was thinking, “That’s also a really nice thing that you’re doing that I wasn’t aware of.”
So during this articulation that was happening between me as an elementary teacher and them as secondary teachers made me realize that we have the same problems, same concerns, and same passion about our students. It wasn’t negative. We all wanted to know, “What else can I do?” I love being in a group that is proactive and not negative – where we’re putting our heads together to share ideas and strategies and there’s more openness. There was bonding going on. People were saying, “You can come visit or e-mail me or just call if you want more information.” This kind of meeting was something that had never happened in this district on such a huge scale.
I walked away from the meeting still not sure exactly what was going to happen, wondering if this was going to continue. You know how some things develop, and then they’re dropped. At least I came away with an appreciation for conversation with others, and the realization that we’re so separated in this district. But we did continue the conversations. And now it is such a natural thing to be mixed up. You’ve got your high school teacher, your office manager, and there is no awkwardness. Everybody is confident that what they have to say is important, that it’s valued, and that everybody is listening to what we have to say. The biggest outcome of all this work is the collaboration.
With the restructuring that the district is doing, we’re going to have a loss of resources and we’ve got to be willing to share our expertise. And that’s what I’m seeing – this building from within the ranks of teachers. The principals aren’t saying this is what you’re going to do. It’s now coming from the teachers when we see a problem. “How can we solve the problem?” We’re going to help each other out – and that’s what I mean by collaboration. I don’t think this happened prior to the Ball Partnership because we had never taken the time to sit and talk.
I like that Ball was very clear about letting us know what they were about and what they were trying to do. They weren’t going to give us money. It wasn’t like, “Here’s your money. Go ahead.” They really wanted us to figure it out for ourselves. And that’s what this has all been about. It’s not about a school site or the elementary division; it’s about the whole district. It’s about all the students. It’s also about the teachers and the support and strategies that we need, and the opportunity to have our voices heard. Starting from that first meeting – that to me had the most impact.
I have a lot of confidence that we can withstand this restructuring trajectory. I would like to think that every school site will tap into their teacher experts. There is now this sense of respect of each other as colleagues, along with the respect to listen to each other. What Ball has done has really taken people from behind closed doors. That closed-door classroom that is across the nation could become a more open door, more transparent; to then start having those conversations about our changing belief system, and turning it all around to truly believe that all children can succeed.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
Susan Halliday was Principal at Killian Elementary School when she told this story. She is now retired.
In our first meeting with Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall, she talked about thinking within the firestorm or within the gift, which I thought was extremely powerful. The idea of the firestorm and the gift comes from her book, The Power to Transform. One year, the school she helped establish in the Chicago area had mistakenly sent out more invitations for students to enroll than the school had room for. A couple of the teachers felt that they needed to send an apology letter to those parents and say, “Oops, we made a mistake. We’re sorry, but we don’t have room for your child.” And Stephanie said, “Absolutely not. There is a reason that these letters have gone out, and we will accommodate those students. How are we going to go about doing that?”
Well, she knew that her words would be controversial and possibly create lot of turmoil. She asked someone to write down everything they heard people saying in reaction to the situation. Dr. Pace Marshall wrote all of those comments out, printed them up, and told her staff that there are two ways of thinking – the firestorm or the gift. They could live in a firestorm (believing in the negative) or they could live in the power of the gift (moving forward, making a difference in people’s lives, and thinking positively about the situation): “Okay, this has happened and there is a reason for it. We are going to welcome these students and we are going to treat them just as we treat all of the students here.” It became the staff’s choice.
I felt that (gift/firestorm) was really powerful. This way of thinking has always been a very big part of my own personal philosophy; I just had never been able to put it into such a concise package. Since hearing the story (gift/firestorm and Dr. S. Pace Marshall’s school), I’ve found that it has frequently been referred to when we’re in various staff discussions.
The gift/firestorm choice is actually reflected on a different level in the PA announcements we make every morning (which comes from Michael Josephson’s Character Counts program). The announcements always end with, “Make it a great day or not. The choice is yours.” Unbeknownst to me, the students would finish up the statement with me in the classrooms. I’d start by saying, “This is Mrs. Halliday,” and end with, “make it a great day or not. The choice is…”, and then the students would chime in with, “mine!” I feel that is so powerful because each of us has so much of a choice in how we behave and how we think and what we do.
Looking at the gift and the firestorm on an adult level with the staff brings it back to making it a great day or not, the choice is yours. It is how you see something whether it is meaningful or not. A person can sit and grumble and be totally non-productive, or he/she can move forward and do the very best possible. Education, to me, is the most important profession. We are not going to have excellent doctors or good politicians unless they have a strong education. Education is the key, especially in America. Public education is that great equalizer, but it is still a choice of what you do with it.
There appears to be a condescending pecking order in education. College professors appear to feel they know their subjects so intensely that anyone who is not a college professor but calls himself an educator really isn’t quite as important. And often teachers at the high school level appear to feel they know their subjects so well/thoroughly that anyone who teaches at a lower level aren’t as important, especially the elementary teachers who just ‘play’ with their students.
And junior high teachers apparently feel like they’re caught in the middle with the high school and college educators thinking what they do is meaningless, and the elementary teachers not preparing students for middle/intermediate school. The elementary schools/teachers get the brunt of the condescending. Interestingly, you will see it even within the elementary school among fifth or sixth grade teachers feeling that in K-3 having only 20 students in a classroom is a piece of cake. That is, until the teachers actually walk into the primary classroom, sit down and see what is really happening (the depth and intricacies of the instruction).
I believe the Ball Foundation facilitating the Immersion Days has really allowed and encouraged a deeper understanding of what each of us does and that each of us is extremely valuable in the education process. When my staff came back from their Immersion Days, a few of them felt the ‘firestorm,’ but I was really pleased because many, many, many came back with the ‘gift’ and looked at it as, “Wow. You know this was great.”
It just takes one person out of a hundred to make a negative comment to a kindergarten teacher or to any teacher to have an impact. It is that negative one that’s remembered, not the 99 positive ones. At first what tended to happen with some of our folks at the Immersion Day, especially those teaching kinder, was they clammed up because they didn’t want to be shot down. But then they felt much stronger at the next Immersion Day. So being able to walk through the experience at these Immersion Days and realize, “Gee, that negative comment was probably not that meaningful,” has made all the difference.
I’ve also seen the ‘firestorm’ and the ‘gift’ in the planning for reorganization that Ball is helping the district do. It’s just phenomenal because we are in some really difficult economic times and we are going to be running the district in a different manner because we are not able to afford all the positions (both classified and certificated). Having Ball facilitate the conversations about how we can still make this work is really having a positive impact. They are so gifted at getting the conversations and the thinking to move forward. The process is helping people to understand what’s actually occurring and to be willing to think more in the ‘gift’ instead of the ‘firestorm.’ “The sky is falling” because this is difficult, but we have been through difficulties before and we will get through this new challenge together.
During the 41 years that I have been in the district, I feel that it (the district) has been open to ideas and to new ways of thinking. However, I don’t think that it has been as open as it is right now due to the Ball Foundation facilitating and so expertly helping to drive those important conversations. I’m looking forward to seeing how we continue to provide the very best education for our students. But that is not just an elementary concern, it is not just a kindergarten concern, nor is it a just junior high concern, nor just a high school one. Instead, it is truly all of us driving and supporting this together. We need to keep our focus on what’s best for students, and what’s best for students is not adults arguing and being divisive or single focused, but being there for all and figuring out how we can best serve. We are in such an exciting and important profession. What a gift.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
Kara Heinrich was Vice Principal at La Seda Elementary School when she told this story. She is no longer with the district.
Through this work with Ball, I see the district turning into a professional learning community, knowing that the knowledge and best practices are within our own people, and within our own thoughts and actions. We’re now bringing that forth by opening the doors of classrooms. People are de-privatizing their practice. To see all this sharing going on, along with the facilitation that is encouraging people to share has been very meaningful.
One specific thing I’m seeing happen as a result of this work with Ball is that relationships are starting to form amongst the administrators. Even though we’re a unified school district, the elementary division and the secondary division pretty much keep to themselves. Ball has brought us together, and we’ve formed relationships with each other. For example, the elementary vice principals have gotten together now on our own with the secondary vice principals just to have lunch or to meet and talk. We’ve never had these relationships before and we’ve rarely shared between divisions. The elementary VPs would sit on one side of the table and the secondary on the other side of the table. Now we intermingle, and I feel I have a connection with people.
I think what prevented this from happening earlier was the lack of vehicle for collaboration. Even though we collaborated in bits and pieces, it wasn’t consistent. Ball has provided the same type of consistent vehicle for us to meet around the common goal of the strategic plan. I know these kinds of relationships are going to happen with the teachers because I’m already seeing the same sparks occur. Before, they kept everything to themselves, and now they’re asking for us to, “Come on in and watch this lesson.”
To see how Ball has facilitated this process without forcing their opinions or telling us how we should do it, but instead bringing us to our own conclusions has helped me as an administrator. Whenever I’ve met with Ball, I’ve been very conscious about watching how things are done because the process sparked something inside me. The experience was so different from what I’m used to, and I liked it because I felt like I was a participant. I felt like I was part of the whole decision-making process, and I wanted other people to feel that same way. So, I’m using some of the facilitation practices we’ve learned in my work with individuals and groups to help them come to their own conclusions, to solve their own problems, and to come up with best practices that work for our students.
Just recently, we had a team leadership meeting in which we talked about the future of La Seda, and how to move forward. We were speaking specifically about how to tie in Response to Intervention (RTI) at our school for students who are at risk. The principal and I knew what kind of direction we wanted to go in, but we needed to hear where everyone else wanted to go. We were able to use facilitation practices that we’d seen at meetings with Ball that allow people to bring up their own thoughts without feeling that they’re on the spot. Some really good things came out of the meeting about what people would like to see for the children – things that we never would have thought of.
My greatest surprise in working with the Ball Partnership has been the tremendous support they’ve given us. Their support has touched everything in the district, which is so meaningful, especially now that we’re going through tough times. Ball has helped us to be more cohesive as things get a little hairy with the budget. I think they’ve brought this out through their questions, and through laying out the brutal facts in a kind way for everyone to see. They keep telling us, “Hey, you still need to maintain that focus on moving forward. Even though you’re going through these tough times, you’re going to make it, and you’re going to be better for it.” It’s almost like having a personal therapist. Ball has been a coach, a cheerleader, and a counselor.
I feel like I’ve been blessed to be a part of this work with Ball. The people of Ball have been so genuine and great, and I’ve learned so much. I would just like to say thank you.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
George Herrera is a Cotsen Mentor teacher at Northam Elementary School.
One memorable experience completely changed the way I interact with people both on an individual basis and in group settings. It was at a meeting facilitated by Ball Foundation staff, and someone disagreed with what the majority of the group was saying. As that person spoke on and on and on, everybody in the group gradually changed their thinking and agreed with that person. Then, something else was brought up and a different person disagreed with what the majority of the group was saying. As that person spoke on and on, everybody disagreed with that person more and more.
Ordinarily I would not have thought anything of it, but Bob Hill, from the Ball Foundation, brought it to the group’s attention. He said, “I’m going to take advantage of a teachable moment because I don’t want you to lose this. Pay close attention to what just happened. In the first case, somebody disagreed. As a result of listening to this person, everybody changed their mind and agreed with that person. In the second instance, somebody disagreed. Then everybody decided that they felt even stronger about the position they held.” He explained that the reason why it’s important to pay attention to this incident is because in both instances greater clarity was brought to the group by the willingness of the individuals to share. That’s why it’s so important for people who have a different opinion to voice it. It’s critical to the overall work of the group.
This experience changed my perspective and work as a teacher, Cotsen Mentor, and Leader. Being an optimist by nature, in the past, sometimes when somebody didn’t agree with something that I perceived to be positive, instead allowing their voice to be heard, I would focus on trying to make sure that they understood how positive and important the particular matter or issue was. Now, when somebody needs to say something, I make sure that person has a safe respectful forum to say it. As a direct result of that experience, I have developed a deep appreciation for individual voices no matter their position. In my mind each and every individual voice brings greater clarity to the group. By hearing all the voices, we enter a new reality or a new understanding that would not have been possible without all voices in the group being heard.
This experience also revalidated the speaking of my own mind. I was in a class once with an awesomely insightful teacher, and I wanted to say something, but didn’t dare because I thought it might be controversial. Mrs. Bazemore could sense I wanted to say something, so she called me up afterwards and said, “I could tell that you wanted to say something and you didn’t. In the past when you have shared, I have founded incredibly valuable what you have to say. Would you please share what seems to be so important to you?” Her approach was akin to the Ball Foundation in the sense of having the skill and spirit to mine the collective wisdom within individuals.
After I spoke, she gently shared one of her insights, “Whenever you’re in a room or a space and you feel that something needs to be said, if you leave that space without saying it, you lose a little of your integrity.” This work with the Ball Foundation renewed in a professionally relevant matter what Mrs. Bazemore taught me. It’s so important for each of us to share what we think and feel, regardless of whether we agree or disagree, or if we think we’re going to be standing alone. Our integrity and candor is critical to the collective understanding of any group we belong to.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
