Culturize: Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes.

by Jimmy Casas

Am I carrying the banner for my students, colleagues, and school community every day, even on the days when nothing seems to go right? If you do not bring that positive voice, how can you expect the same from others? I challenge you to infuse a sense of pride into every conversation and every action and to be intentional about

inspiring others to want to do the same.

The 10-Minute Collaborat...

Questions for Discussion What strategies can you use to respond to those in your organization who are negative or speak disparagingly about others—without alienating them? What can you do as an educator to give yourself a reprieve when

things are not going well? What are some things you or your team can start doing today to help support life-fit so that everyone is at their best? What can we do to encourage the growth of teachers and leaders to inspire people to move into education and/or into school leadership?

Picking up the Pieces

One of the most successful strategies for connecting with students and developing trusting relationships is one I picked up during my first year as an associate principal from the principal who hired me. He modeled for me over and over the value and importance of following up with students a day or two after dealing with them in any type of discipline situation. After any disciplinary action, he would seek them out and ask them if they understood why he had disciplined them. He would listen to what the student had to say

was because he had high expectations for them and cared about them. He would often say something like, “I never want you to think it is okay to behave in that manner. I have higher expectations for you than that. I am always going to encourage you to look at your own behavior and ask yourself what you did to contribute to the situation.” He

Do you feel I treated you fairly? Do you think I care about you?

sit in a circle and share their “rose and thorn” stories for the day (or week or any length of time they chose for the discussion). We decided to incorporate this practice with our new teachers during our beginning- and end-of-year new teacher socials.

Their roses included colleagues that made them feel valued and welcomed.

They expressed their gratitude for an administration that genuinely supported them. They shared their appreciation for a student-centered culture that focused on building strong relationships with students. I felt a sense of joy when I heard their responses, even when they followed up their roses with their thorns. They spoke of personal experiences that included feeling fatigued at the end of each day, working with challenging students, a desire for classroom windows, difficulty managing the workload, and the overwhelming feeling that every new teacher experiences in their first year. However, what brought me the most joy that afternoon was that each thorn was quickly followed by another rose, in almost an apologetic manner.

How

refreshing it was to listen to our teachers respond to their challenges by focusing on the positives that came from being poked by a bristle on a stem. Without hesitation, they chose to own their experiences by shifting their focus to the petals on the rose rather than the thorn on the stem. For the most part, those bristles often come in the form of our most challenging students. Yet every now and then we are reminded that many of our stu...

Here are ten ways you can challenge yourself to choose a positive response and be a merchant of hope for all students: 1. Bring your best to work every day. Be grateful you get the opportunity to make a positive impact on a child every day! 2. Give two minutes of your time to one student and one staff member every day. Be intentional with your time and then follow up with a quick word or note. The small things can make all the difference. 3. Be empathetic. Taking the time to understand, share, and be sensitive to another person’s feelings is critical in building a culture of trust.

4. Value the mistakes of others. Risk takers are born here. If you yourself make a mistake, own it, apologize, ask for forgiveness and work to make sure it doesn’t happen again. 5. Model forgiveness. If you want to be an effective leader, be willing to sincerely accept an apology and move on. Believe that most people’s intentions are good. 6. Understand you will not always see immediate results when working with kids. Be patient and think long term. Many “troubled” students are just testing a system which has failed them many times over long before you came into the picture. 7. Have high standards for all kids every day. Do not make excuses for kids based on race, socio-economic class, environment, poor parenting, etc. Believe in all kids all the time. (It also helps if you love them all the time too!) 8. Address inappropriate behavior. When you don’t address inappropriate behavior, you send a message that the students or staff in question are not worth the effort and/or that you have given up. If you hesitate to correct poor

behavior because you are worried about their response to you, you have become part of the problem. 9. Don’t be negative. Constant complaining and speaking negatively about kids, staff, work environment, etc. without offering a solution is a poorer reflection on you than those about whom you are complaining. Bring positive energy every day. 10. Take time to smile/laugh and enc...

Regardless of the number of times you are tested in your daily work as an educator, I hope you take the time in these moments to focus on the abundance of blessings rather than on scarcity or frustrations.

Teacher Calls—Take a day to call

the parent(s) of your teachers and say thank you! Inspired by ideas I took from friends and colleagues Jeff Zoul (@Jeff_Zoul) and Dr. Sue Alborn-Yilek (@dr_sue_ay),

How do you/can we create experiences for students, teachers, and families that focus on supporting one another with kindness? When meeting with students and/or staff, what are some ways we can show them that we value them and care about them so, when they leave us, they feel motivated and inspired? What are some traditions you currently practice in your school community that honor the work of your students and staff? What are some practices that need to be added, re-examined, adjusted, or eliminated altogether? If you knew then what you know now about culturizing a school

toward excellence, what is the first change you would make in your school—and why?

As Mahatma Ghandi so eloquently stated, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Lead with passion. Live with purpose. Love with pride. It’s your choice how you want to live each day!