Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

Today we welcome someone working on the frontline of education. Elementary school principal, JoAnne Duncan, is a big-hearted, inspirational leader – just what her staff, kids, and parents need as they labor under the cloud of COVID-19. Before she became a principal, JoAnne served as a first grade teacher, kindergarten teacher, and reading specialist. She believes in the brilliance of each child and knows firsthand that when we follow a child's curiosity and interests, joyful, deep learning happens.

This week we talked with Dr. Deb Gustafson on how she is again applying Jim Collins' flywheel principle, this time as an Assistant Superintendent, to develop a district office staff that relentlessly focuses on supporting its teachers so that they can in turn relentlessly focus on supporting their kids. We extended that idea of having a disciplined mindset through Essentialism author, Greg McKeown's discussion of setting a priority versus priorities by asking the question "What's Important Now?"

We first spoke with Dr. Deborah Gustafson in December 2019 about how she had applied Jim Collins' principle of the flywheel to her work as an elementary school principal. She wanted to focus on those practices that would move the dial for her kids. Academically, yes, but even more important was the need for her kids to believe in themselves. Therefore, hiring people who were instinctively wired to support kids was essential. COVID has only intensified the need to stay focused and hire the right people.

One of the problems that plague most organizations is when and how to change. For many, the process looks like fruit-of-the-month club: they try "this" until a new "this" comes along. Jim Collins wrote about this behavior in Good to Great. To avoid this phenomenon, great organizations employ something Collins called "the flywheel" process – a process involving 4-6 elements with each element impacting driving the next. One educator, Dr. Deb Gustafson, wondered if it would work in her school.

This week we talked with three guests on the idea of unstructured play for children. One of our guests, Hannah Beach, describes "unstructured play" as invented activities from the mind of a child. Unlike adult-organized activities or technology-driven entertainment, unstructured play gives kids the opportunity to digest and make sense of their world and ultimately to grow as humans. If opportunities for unstructured play are critical for kids' sound mental health, are they also critical for adults?

When COVID first impacted education over a year ago, one of the messages we heard from educators is that "we need to address the social and emotional needs of our students." That message was driven by the concern that kids were increasingly isolated. Strong relationships that had existed began to fray. COVID also uncovered disparities in access to instruction, and so student performance suffered. But here's the sad truth: many of our kids were already in social and emotional trouble long before COVID.

Innovating in education can be challenging because of red tape, limitations, and a constant lack of funds. But this week's guest, George Couros, cautions that constraints shouldn't stop innovation. We can choose to look at a problem and the constraints that surround it, and be frustrated, or we can work with what we have to find a solution. One of the principles of innovation science is that the solution is contained in the problem. In this episode, we'll look at some innovators who used that thinking.

A recent guest on our show remarked that "The discussion in education has moved beyond the question of 'Do we need to transform education to make it more responsive to the needs of students in the 21st century?' That train has left the station. The debate now is over how." Today's guest, educator George Couros, answers that question in part by pointing to purposeful innovation. Not just innovation that changes something, but innovation that provides greater value, and makes teaching and learning better.

In this week's episode of "Getting Unstuck", we talked with Dr. Deborah MacNamara, a school counseling psychologist on why it's important for leaders to establish a healthy culture based on relationships. Interpersonal relationships are critical, but their success may be dependent on the relationship we have with ourselves. Those relationships can suffer do to what psychologists call the "empathy gap." And that's where we're going to focus in this installment of "Worth a Listen, Look, or Read."

Given what school leaders may face this fall — > lingering exhaustion brought on by managing the last year and a half under the cloud of COVID, and > the relentless academic push which manifests itself in the fear of students' loss of learning — how can they help teachers nurture a culture of collective strength, of sustaining relationship-based rituals? Counselor and educator, Dr. Deborah MacNamara provides some direction.