Modeling+Personal+Professional+Development

__life-long learner, role model, creating effective plan__

//“We're constantly caught up in "the thick of thin things"--putting out fires and never making time to do what we know would make a difference.” // --Stephen Covey  MODELING PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

August 1, 2005 is a memorable day for my husband and me. That's the day we brought home the newest member of our family: an eight-week-old yellow lab puppy we named Cody. We had carefully selected him from the litter, attracted to his energy, curiosity, and early independence. Somehow we overlooked the fact that he was five times bigger than the other puppies in the litter. Despite what some might have called red flags, we fell in love with Cody. We had no clue how much our lives would change in the next few months. His stubborn independence and his quick intelligence caused us to wonder more than once who really was the alpha dog in our house.

Our ongoing adventures with Cody often reminded me of a powerful book by John Grogan entitled //Marley and Me//. In the book he writes about his discovery that unconditional love comes in many forms, and even a dog has life lessons to teach us. Without a doubt, over the last four years, Cody has helped us learn a whole variety of life lessons while offering his unconditional love in return.

He now weighs 110 pounds and lives life to the fullest every day. We've watched him struggle with his lack of coordination during rapid growth spurts. His constant hunger and singular focus on finding new food sources have prompted some unique eating experiences. His curiosity, which more often than not gets him into trouble, constantly amazes us. I wish I could magically bottle the energy he expends on a good run in the woods just to start off one of my busy days. And through it all he gently seeks out the quiet times with us. Cody doesn't understand that he no longer fits comfortably on our laps, he just wants to be a part of the family and please those he loves most. (Do those characteristics remind you of any young adolescents in your building?)

In his early days he was a chewer and nothing was safe. After he chewed up the computer flash drive that contained the final manuscript of a book my husband had just completed as well as a rather large insurance refund check he plucked from the kitchen counter, we decided it was time to seek some dog training expertise—something we'd never done with any of our other dogs. Although we worried about finding the time to add dog training classes to our busy schedules, we knew it was necessary. Our basic “dog training 101 skills” weren’t meeting the needs of any of us. Luckily, we made the time and found a wise teacher who had the knowledge, skills, and patience to teach all three of us what we needed to know to enjoy a long life together.

So, what’s the life lesson learned this time and how does it apply to middle level leadership?

Neither my husband nor I can remember a time, as a child or as an adult, that we haven’t had a pet dog. So, naturally we felt “highly qualified” to raise Cody only to discover that we weren't being "highly effective.” If we were to change the status quo, we first needed to find the time to become actively engaged in a learning process that had a direct relationship to our specific needs and would lead to improved “student” (translate that to Cody) “achievement” (translate that to behavior).

As middle level leaders, too often we find ourselves trying to collapse 28 hours of work and commitments into 24-hour days. Our commitment to personal professional development falls by the wayside. While we recognize the positive impact effective professional development can have on the teaching and learning in our schools, we struggle with the time requirements needed to be actively involved ourselves. Could it be possible that we see ourselves as “highly qualified leaders” but may be missing the opportunity to be “highly-effective” ones when we are not engaged in our own personal professional development on an ongoing basis?

Many years ago, a colleague shared a story with me about a woodsman who worked from dawn to dusk, seven days a week chopping wood in the forest to provide for his family. Despite his best efforts, he found that chopping enough wood became harder and harder on a daily basis. One day, a man walking through the forest watched the woodsman work for awhile and then asked if he ever took time to stop and sharpen his ax, thus improving his ability to harvest more wood? The woodsman quickly replied he didn't have the time to stop and sharpen his ax! There was too much work to do and continued chopping away with an ax that became duller with every hit. For middle level educators, part of "sharpening the ax" is finding the time to fully explore, discuss, and understand the characteristics of young adolescents, the middle school concept, relevant research and practices which best serve their academic growth and personal development. Consider the following ideas as you seek ways to "sharpen your ax" and you focus on becoming a "highly effective" instructional leader. > Courageous, collaborative middle level leaders need to both “talk the talk and walk the walk” when it comes to modeling professional development. A great deal of time and effort can be put into designing a school-based professional development program that reflects what research recommends only to see it fall short of its anticipated impact on the intended learning community. Why? One key reason may be that the “chief learner” or instructional leader of the school may not be modeling a commitment to comprehensive professional development.
 * Schedule personal learning time into your weekly calendar. Take at least 30 minutes, twice a week, to catch up on reading professional magazines and journals. As you read these articles be reflective about their potential impact on your school or how something similar is already occuring. Attach sticky notes listing faculty names on articles which can be shared. You might even write a quick note to a particular teacher and then ask your administrative assistant to copy the article, attach the note, and put in the appropriate faculty mailbox. Better yet, deliver the article personally as you travel throughout the building. It's a great way to demonstrate your efforts to remain current.
 * During your personal learning time, check out new online resources. For example, NMSA's online Research Summaries are great as well as NASSP's podcasts for middle level leaders, to name a few.
 * Having trouble getting enough quiet time in your office to read? Take your current professional reading material and join a class that is involved in sustained silent reading. What a great example for both students and faculty regarding the importance of reading!
 * Build your own professional learning community with other middle level leaders. The importance of having a trusted "sounding board" to share ideas, ask advice, and discuss new research or practices shouldn't be under-estimated. Network with colleagues you meet at middle level conferences and workshops, exchange business cards, and then stay in contact to begin to build your support system. Technology is a great assistant in this endeavor. Consider setting up an online SKYPE visit. It can be an audio and/or video call, will not cost any money, and can occur when it's most convenient for the participants.
 * Plan on attending professional development offerings or school visitations as a team from your school. Having this shared experience increases the opportunities to discuss the potential impact of the things you learned during the process. While it helps you build learning opportunities with your staff, if also helps you keep your personal commitment to professional development. If tight budgets limit these opportunities then seek out online courses, webcasts, or pod casts you can experience with others or on your own. By engaging others in professional development you get a chance to role model its importance. Don't assume these things require a great deal of time. Some podcasts are 10 minutes in duration and when you add 20 minutes of immediate follow-up discussion, you've experienced a professional learning experience in 30 minutes! Even in the busiest of schedules, finding 30 minutes on a semi-regular basis for this type of activity should be doable.
 * Build a personal learning plan for yourself. Take time to examine your strengths, your weakness, how you respond to challenges and interact with others as a starting point. But it's not enough to just ask hard questions and be reflective about them. Asking for feedback from our colleagues is important as well. Comparing how you see yourself as a leader with how others see you as a leader is an important part of growing your skills. A variety of tools are available to help you accomplish this. For example, NASSP offers the web-based //Leadership Skills Assessment// that results in helping build an individualized professional learning plan. NMSA has a variety of publications which offer help as well, such as //How to Become an Exemplary Middle School Principal// which is a three-step professional growth handbook that also helps you build a personal learning plan.

As a middle level consultant for over 35 years, I've watched the looks, rolling eyes, and shrugs as a principal has introduced me as the workshop leader and then left to go do something else. The successful impact of the school-based professional development can be undermined quickly by the decision of a principal to not participate. This is one time where actions speak louder than words and the instructional leader sets the tone for genuine engagement in meaningful professional development. School leaders who help plan professional development and then are not actively engaged in it themselves send a clear message to their colleagues about its importance. Most importantly, they loose the opportunity to be engaged in reflective practice over time which, in turn, impacts their ability to be both highly-qualified and highly-effective.

Finding the time, resources, and effective strategies that support continued learning is one of the keys to successful middle level leadership. Modeling our commitment to being life-long learners and our willingness to continually seek out ways to improve ourselves, even when we are very knowledgeable about something, is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our colleagues and students. In our urgency to attend to the myriad of things we encounter on a “typical” school day, we cannot afford to set aside our own personal professional development for a more convenient time.

The Tiger Woods' Accenture billboard proclaims: "We know what it takes to be a Tiger--proving yourself 20%, improving yourself 80%." Don't get caught in the "sand trap" of thinking you don't have enough time for your own professional development. Tiger's advice--"it's 80% about improving yourself" is right on target. Effective leaders understand the importance of personal professional development and view it as an integral part of their leadership responsibilities.

We asked successful middle level leaders several questions in regard to modeling personal professional development. Here's what some of them had to say.

• I place state and national conferences on my calendar at the beginning of the school year. • Pick things I WANT to do Keep myself focused on my desired outcomes. Get a cleaning service (laugh)! in reality, turn some things over to others gives me more time. • If it's important to me, I make time for it. My professional growth and continued learning is critical to my success as a leader! It is what energizes me. I use the summer months for the most intensive PD. • I cannot expect my staff to engage in PD if I do not place value in modeling it. I feel less guilty about being out of the building because my staff knows that I am pursuing PD - they are anxious to hear about it when I return. • Made professional development for myself and staff a topic for discussion in team leader council and staff meetings. • I have a passion for learning and a passion for studying effective professional development practices - I enjoy it so I make time for it. • When professional journals arrive, I scan them immediately and highlight those articles that want to read. • If it's important to you, you find the time and schedule it. • PD is not separate from the rest of my occupation. It's part of what we do as teachers: we are life-long learners so I see myself as learning and growing from every experience and I look for ways to use every experience to improve my performance in the classroom. When PD is the same as one's teaching, one doesn't think about scheduling a special time for it. • To be honest, it takes time from personal interests but the other aspects of my life seem to benefit dramatically because of my professional fulfillment and sense of satisfaction by making a difference. This has made my personal life complete as well - I am a better husband, father and educator when I feel success in all aspects. • I'm never too busy to learn I find it to be of the many "perks" of the job. • I read the hottest and newest releases (books, magazines, websites) related to education. • I wrote an article for a publication. Submitted and was accepted to present at the conference. • I make it a practice to attend at least one professional development activity with other staff members each year. • I schedule time for professional reading and that includes journals and professional books as well as adolescent fiction so I can discuss books with our students. • I was lucky to have a superintendent that allowed me to participate in a leadership role in my state and national professional organizations. • Began an action research project with other district assistant principals. • I believe in professional organizations and attend state and national conferences because of what I learn and the opportunity to network - the value of the conversations with my colleagues is priceless. • Took a new job that stretched my skills -- took courses to prepare for it. • I leave my professional journals anywhere that I might have a little free time to read.
 * Finding the time: **
 * PD that works: **