A Culture of Passion

"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow." Anthony J. D'Angelo

Educators are firm believers of continued education - by nature and by design. If our general mission statement is to enhance our students' lives by presenting and engaging them in information, discussions, experiences and interactions to develop and furnish them with the knowledge, skills and tools to participate in and contribute to society around them, then we, too, should be equally involved in such a worthwhile and beneficial experience. This year, I have the great fortune of taking part in a wonderful program for educational leaders, YU Lead. Working with other leaders from around the country, I have an opportunity for continued learning, focused on topics that are so vital in today's educational system.

One of the requirements of the program is to detail, develop and address a particular area of personal growth as a school leader. I have chosen to focus on the ability to craft and direct positive school culture among all stakeholders - students, staff and parents. While this task appears to be quite a challenging undertaking, the benefits of an overwhelmingly positive school culture serve as the very foundation for all progress and success. And although a school may already possess a wonderful culture and atmosphere, there is always room for growth.

There are several components of a school's culture that must be considered in forming an approach to bolster it. One particular buzzword that I believe must be part and parcel of its culture is passion. Students must be passionate about their learning and growth, teachers must be passionate about their students, subjects and engagement, and parents must be passionate and positive about their school's role in their children's lives and its meaningfulness as a force in the identity of their community. The question is, however, how do we encourage, support and promote passion? Where does passion derive from, and how can we cultivate more of it?

According to a recent study in the Journal of Neuroscience, the part of the brain that is activated during motivated activities is called the ventral striatum, and it works in concert with the amygdala, the brain’s emotional hub. Researchers observed that the ventral striatum was activated in proportion to how motivated a person felt - the higher the degree of motivation, the higher the activation level. Following the concept of neuroplasticity, namely the ability to rewire our brains using behavior, we have the power to motivate ourselves by finding passion in life through our actions and our choice of behavior. Malini Mohana, a psychology graduate from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and researcher in neuropsychology, suggests that there are three key elements in self-motivation and building passion: finding the area for which you have a natural affinity, rejecting complacency, and asking the ‘why’ question. Perhaps, these are factors to utilize while moving forward in advancing school culture.

I hope to continue posting on the topic of school culture over the course of the next several months with reflections, experiences and details of progress.

"You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support." Sabrina Bryan

R-E-S-P-E-C-T What It Should Mean to You

“Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.” - Bruce Lee

In her book The Power of Respect: Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success, Deborah Norville writes, “Nearly eight in ten Americans (79 percent) say a lack of respect and courtesy is a serious national problem, and most people say it’s getting worse (60 percent). Seventy-three percent say we used to treat one another with greater respect.” Needless to say, these statistics are truly frightening. Yet, however painful these numbers are, we must take a step back and question how this has come about. Perhaps, the solution is rooted not in how we treat one another, but how we view ourselves first and foremost.

School is predominantly identified as an institution of knowledge. More than anything else, stakeholders strive to present and promote their institutions as fountains of understanding beacons of information, and laboratories of advanced thought and reasoning. However, rarely do we see a school highlighting the character of their students as their claim to fame, certainly not in place of their scholastic acclaim. As a result, the thrust of a school’s efforts is visibly academic, a reality that students inevitably recognize and internalize. Thus, character development takes a back seat. As a result, our students deem their scores as a barometer of success. This, Dr. Carol Dweck explains, constitutes the fixed mindset as opposed to the growth mindset. Rather than encouraging healthy effort and fostering character growth through resilience where students can appreciate the process, they are focused on the results alone. In the event students cannot achieve the results they set for themselves - or the results they perceive others set for them - they incur a terrible sense of failure.

Dr. William Glasser, one of my great role models in the area of mental health (having earned certification as a Reality Therapist through his institute) says it best in his breakthrough book Schools Without Failure, “Regardless of how many failures a person has had in his past ... he will not succeed in general until he can in some way first experience success in one important part of his life.” If students do not feel success, they will not have any self-respect. Without self-respect, they cannot respect others. We must present our students with the means of success by fortifying their character, supporting their efforts as opposed to their test results, and supplying them with an environment that honors those who excel beyond academic knowledge.

“When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet in his private heart no man much respects himself.” - Mark Twain

Always In-Service

As we eagerly anticipate "opening day" in schools across the country this week, schools are engaged in spring training of sorts. For several days already, educators the world over have been engrossed in nearly non-stop workshops, pedagogical discussions, lesson planning and technology development in preparation for the new school year. We often call these sessions "teacher in-service."
From the perspective of many, the beauty of education is in the summer vacation. Oftentimes, people compare and contrast various professions, yet always marvel at this perk educators have. Although it is certainly true that the summer is an invaluable advantage, there is more than meets the eye. Enter the world of an educator. While many professionals frequently burn the midnight oil (and we certainly require the services of every profession), educators seem to be on-call all the time. During the year, class time is just the beginning. Between the weekend review and lesson planning, the early evening parent communications, the late night marking and grading, the mid and end semester reports, and the whirlwind of constant training and special evening events, educators fill their time with one common goal - enable their dear students to grow as learners, citizens and contributors to the world around them. In short, they are in-service all the time for the betterment of society.
As we kick-off the new school year and greet our precious students with a warm smile, we cannot help but be filled with a sense of deep appreciation and gratitude for educators who are now rejuvenated and ready to continue their art of inspiring the next generation of leaders. May their refreshed energy fuel the next ten months of unparalleled learning, while guiding our students to achieve the greatest results and reaching their potential.