TL;DR:
- Even when you hold a leadership position, you still learn new things every day.
- Make sure your reasons for asking staff to produce something are clear and be sure to communicate the “why.”
Even though I’m the principal, and have been doing this for a long time, doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally learn a lesson! I have a very fresh lesson I just learned that I want to share. I think it gives me a view into what is really going on with teachers and their students today. I’m still learning.
Where the Problem Began
I want to start by saying that I have a very good relationship with almost every one of the 75 staff members on campus. The culture at our school allows for honest conversation among staff members and between staff members and administration. I actually scolded one of my teachers today for allowing herself to accept lesson plans that were much less than adequate from a colleague. But the lesson I learned today is focused on me and my communication with my people.
About 3 weeks ago, I sent the following email to all my staff:
OK Rangers –
I need something from you…
I’m trying to put together a small video of who we are as people here at Salinas. I am attaching a link to a clip of what I would like you to do. It’s only 8 seconds long. Yours should be just that long but no longer than 10 seconds.
All I want you to do is film yourself in a favorite place or doing a favorite activity with this “script”: (I gave them the words to say here).
That’s it!
Then put it in the Google folder called “(name of folder)”.
Easy…
Thanks!
I realized I didn’t put a due date in the email, and I really didn’t have one in mind exactly. I just wanted the video clips as specified, and I attached a sample of one I made using the exact script. Within a few hours, I had five videos in the folder, as per directions.
It is important for me to make sure that my reasons for asking staff to produce something are clear and communicate the “why.” Click To Tweet
Where the Problem Continued
A week later, this was sent to staff. It was the same week we had an unprecedented snowfall here in South Texas. School was closed for a week and members of our community were without power and/or water for many days on end in temperatures that were lower than we’ve seen in about 30 years. Since we were out of school that week, I assumed the assignment would have been forgotten by many staff members, and so I sent out this reminder along with a deadline. Here is the follow-up email:
Hi Rangers –
I know this all happened before Snowvid, so I wanted to remind you and give you a deadline…
If you would upload your 5-10 second clip as indicated below to the Google Drive Folder as follows:
Find the Salinas Digital Resource Library Folder – In that folder, you will see a subfolder titled (name of folder). Put the clip in there. If you would rather text it to me, I can upload it for you as well.
Deadline will be Monday, (date). Do it sooner if you can!
Thanks,
Today is Monday, the deadline date. It’s just past 4:00 PM, and when I checked the folder, I found there were 25 videos for 75 employees. I mentioned to a few people that today was the deadline. Their video was not in the folder yet. I got a variety of responses including, “Oh man, I forgot!” and “~silence~.”
Still Learning: So What Have I Learned?
So here are the lessons I learned from this. I learned that I very likely did not communicate the importance of this activity with clarity. There is definitely a reason I asked people to do this assignment. However, I don’t know that they know it. It is important for me to make sure that my reasons for asking staff to produce something are clear and communicate the “why.”
I also learned that putting people in a potentially unfamiliar and uncomfortable place requires more forethought and encouragement. Not everyone likes to film themselves. The transfer of video from phone to Google folder can be multi-step and tricky if you don’t do it all the time.
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Still Learning: What Else Have I Learned?
We were able to have some epic conversations about their own communication and expectations for students. I was able to help them see from my perspective the way their students may approach potentially difficult and uncomfortable tasks.
I learned that their discomfort with this assignment, their “blatant lack of following directions,” their “I just don’t care” attitude was reflecting some of the things they have thought or expressed about their own students. The initial exposure of this caused minor defensiveness. Ultimately though, it developed a deeper understanding of how we all react when we believe students, or in my case staff, are not being compliant.
Still Learning
So…here I sit with 25 completed videos in the folder. It’s now up to me to move forward with the project and decide…is this what I accept? Perhaps I recommit to communicating the project and extend grace and the deadline to get more video clips. Or maybe I rethink the project entirely and focus on how it truly fits into the big picture of where we are right now. In any case, even though I’m the principal, I’m still learning!
About Martin Silverman
Martin Silverman is a father, grandfather, husband, and long-time educator in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. He is committed to providing the best educational experience for the students and families at Salinas Elementary school where he is principal. Martin has worked in urban, suburban, and rural districts as a teacher and administrator. His interests are in creating and nurturing school culture, providing enriching experiences for students and families, and developing future teachers and administrators.
As a former bilingual teacher and administrator, Martin is committed to providing ELL students with quality programs to develop their unique skills. He hosts a podcast called The Second Question, which highlights educators and provides them a forum to discuss ideas, and to honor the teachers that have influenced their lives.
