Becoming a Better Person for Others: Faith into Action

I've been thinking a lot about Social Justice and my work as a re-engagement teacher lately. In my travels this year, I feel like I a have been putting my faith into action more than ever before. My day to day interactions tend to involve working with people who are struggling, in more ways than one. For a variety of reasons (e.g. poverty, racism, identity, learning differences, family dynamics, social issues, mental health, etc) the experience of "school" is one that they are not fully invested in or have walked away from. As I work with each student and learn more about them, I am humbled to be part of their narrative, to do what I can to build them up and assist them in finding a pathway that works for who they are and/or who they want to become.  

I recently read an article that resonates with my current job and my reflections on how I am serving others. Written by Joe Paprocki, it is entitled Social Justice - Catholic Social Teaching. The article is short and sweet but power packed for me. Paprocki recalls hearing over and over again in school that he was to become a man for others - one who would translate his faith into action and tend to the needs of others, particularly those who are less fortunate. He refers to a document entitled "Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Direction" that was written by the bishops of the United States as a guide to help put faith into action. The document outlines seven principles of social justice in Catholic teaching that can be followed in order to discover how to live as people for others. For the purposes of this blog post, I would like to focus on the following four principles:

1. Dignity of the Human Person

2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation

3. Rights and Responsibilities

4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

As I consider the four principles listed above, I wonder how have I been translating my faith into action, how my thoughts and actions connect to the Catholic leadership framework, and what I need to work on to become a better man for others. I will explore the answers to my wonderings below. 

Dignity of the Human Person

Faith into action: How do I treat people? How do I show them respect? We are all God's children - no matter our position. I think that I generally treat people well. I give them the benefit of the doubt and I enter into situations with an open mind. I try and come from a place of wonder and compassion and I listen so I can understand and offer suggestions for support. 

Catholic leadership framework: Building Relationships and Developing People ~ Leaders listen to ideas, are open to them, and genuinely considering their value. Leaders demonstrate respect, care, and personal regard for one another. Treating people with dignity helps build trusting relationships.

Next steps: I need to continue to consider how I will deal with people who don't reciprocate an openness to me. I am learning not to take things personally and to remember that I am in a privileged position within a system and society that may not "see" the people that I am trying to help.

Call to Family, Community, and Participation

Faith into action: We are called to support the family so people can participate in society, build community, and promote well being. I spend most of my time with students but I actively communicate with their parents to provide academic updates, ask questions, and provide suggestions/support. If my support is not enough, I connect the family to the social worker that is part of the re-engagement team and together, we work to move in a positive direction. 

Catholic leadership framework: Building Relationships and Developing People ~ Leaders are easily accessible to students and parents and have frequent, meaningful interactions with students and parents in order to further the academic goals. Developing the Organization to Support Desired Practices ~ Leaders create an environment in which parents are welcomed, respected and valued as partners in their children’s learning, demonstrate the type of leadership that parents can trust - confident, systematic and attentive, work directly with families of diverse backgrounds to help them provide their children with support in the home that will contribute to their success at school, and help connect families to the wider network of social services as needed.

Next steps: I need to continue to hone my understanding of my role so that I can tend to the needs of the families I serve but not overstep in areas that require more specialized assistance. I want to make sure that I refer my student's and families to the people that are trained to provide them with what they need to be active participants in their communities. 

Rights and Responsibilities

Faith into action: we are called to protect the rights that people have to things that are required to have a decent life (food, clothing, shelter). I consider education to be one of those rights. I learn about each of my students and the situation that they are in. As I collaborate with schools to assist my students I inform them of what options are available to them and the responsibilities that come with each option. The students don't always know what their rights are so I ensure that they are informed so they can assist in making decisions about their education. 

Catholic leadership framework: Securing accountability ~ Leaders promote collective responsibility and accountability for student achievement and well-being. Improving the instructional program ~ Leaders give priority to identifying those students most in need of additional support. Developing the organization to support desired practices ~ Leaders  help connect families to the wider network of social services as needed.

Next steps: It is important for me to continue to work with school staff to learn about the intricacies of each student case that I am responsible for. The more I know the better I can inform. Being honest with my students will also build trusting relationships. It is important for students to be active participants in their education. 

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

Faith into action: we are called to pay attention to the needs of the poor. Some of the students/families I work with belong to low income households. The lack of finances adds another layer of stress and causes priorities to shift. In these situations, I take great care to be compassionate and as helpful as I can be while respecting the wishes of the students/families. The schools are always helpful in these situations and will provide for the families if they are ok with it. I can't "fix" this for people but I can certainly be supportive and connect the students/families with people who can help more than I can. 

Catholic leadership framework: Developing the Organization to Support Desired Practices ~ Leaders create an environment in which parents are welcomed, respected and valued as partners in their children’s learning, demonstrate the type of leadership that parents can trust - confident, systematic and attentive, work directly with families of diverse backgrounds to help them provide their children with support in the home that will contribute to their success at school, and help connect families to the wider network of social services as needed. Building relationships and developing people ~ Leaders create and sustain a caring Catholic school culture, model responsibility, integrity and thoroughness in carrying out tasks, act in ways that consistently reflect the school’s core values and priorities in order to establish trust, demonstrate respect for students and parents by listening to their ideas, being open to those ideas, and genuinely considering their value, and demonstrate respect, care and personal regard for students and parents.

Next steps: As I stated above, this is not something I can "fix" but building trusting relationships with people by being respectful and authentic is a constant goal that I work toward. Connecting students/families from low income households with the right community supports is a start. I can do my part by assisting with academics in a way that works for the student based on their particular life situation and needs. I can be a liaison between the family and the school and I can connect the student and family with the social worker on my team. These situations are not easy to navigate but tend to get better when they know my role and see that my actions and words are aligned. 

As a Catholic teacher/leader, it is important for me to continue to grow and serve the students, families, and staff that I work with. Actioning my faith provides alignment between what I believe and how I act. Checking in on the Catholic Leadership Framework guides me with respect to how I lead and what I need to work on in order to grow as a Catholic leader. 

Taking the time to reflect is key. It is what provides me with the data I need to stay on my current course or change direction. Minor adjustments are inevitable. They are made as I continue to learn how to be a better person and how to lead. 

Leadership Portfolio: Reflect, Connect, Learn

When I started my teaching career way back in 2000, my professional portfolio was a big binder full of artifacts of my learning. It was a bunch of "stuff" that I used to show others what my learning journey looked like. That binder also included "leadership" artifacts. I combined the two at that time. 

A bunch of artifacts, but no reflections attached to them...until I participated in Part 2 of the Leadership development course in my school board. During this course, emphasis was placed on creating/revisiting/re-imagining a portfolio connected to our leadership journey. We were provided with ideas and emphasis was placed on engaging with an idea in a way that worked for each individual. That is when I decided to ditch the binder of artifacts and create what I have here today:

A blog where I reflect on leadership opportunities/experiences as they connect to the Catholic Leadership Framework and the goals of my school board. 

My participation in leading school/board/provincial initiatives is great and I can list all kinds of things I have done and been part of BUT thinking about what I learned from those experiences and how they help my leadership journey are the gold nuggets for me. 

Let me provide an example of  how I reflect on what I have done and how I learn more about my leadership style, capacity, and continued growth. 

Artifact of Leadership

After I completed the Part 2 leadership course, I was invited back to speak to Part 2 participants about my Leadership Portfolio - my blog and why I decided to use this format to track my leadership journey. The presentation I provided to the participants is a leadership artifact for me. I was invited to speak to a group of people about something I was doing - a great example of me stepping up to try something new, scaffold the process for others, to lead them to try something new, and a way to gain confidence in my leadership ability/skills. 

Connection to my Board's Goals and the Catholic Leadership Framework 

For me, it was pretty awesome to be invited to speak to participants of the Leadership course about my portfolio. Someone thought it would be great for me to do this and I did it!! I could now list this experience as an artifact of me "leading". Well, so what? 

"Leadership is the exercise of influence on organizational members and diverse stakeholders toward the identification and achievement of the organization’s vision and goals." - this is listed at the top of the Catholic Leadership Framework document. 

This is the part of my process where I reflect on what I did and how I was able to positively influence my colleagues towards my board's goals with respect to leadership development. Speaking to the course participants about my portfolio choice, my process, and the benefits to my leadership and learning provided them with "real life" application and one more option for them to consider as they journey toward leadership. My presentation to the participants of the course aligned with the goals of the district with respect to their leadership development strategy and provided me with an opportunity lead. 

I will get to my learning after I make a connection to the Catholic Leadership Framework.

With respect to the Leadership Framework, I could make a number of connections but for the purposes of this blog post, I am going to focus on the 'Building Relationships and Developing People' pillar. 

When I look at the leadership indicators under the 'building relationships' pillar, my presentation connects with the following:

• encourage staff to reflect on what they are trying to achieve and how they are doing it 
• lead discussion about the merits of current and alternative practices
• facilitate an opportunity for staff to learn from each other 
• suggest new ideas for learning 
• encourage staff to develop and review their own goals for professional growth and the relationship of those goals to board goals and priorities 
• encourage staff to try new practices that are consistent with both their interests and board goals
• demonstrate the importance of continuous learning through visible engagement in my own professional learning
• exemplify, through my actions, the board’s core values and its desired practices  

For me, making connections to the Framework provides an awareness of how my experiences align with the what is expected from Catholic leaders in Ontario. As I make connections to the Framework I also become more familiar with the indicators so I can consider incorporating them in the work that I do.  

The Learning

I've identified a leadership activity that I lead/engaged in and reflected on how it connects to Board goals and the Catholic Leadership Framework. So, what have I learned from reflecting on my experience??

• I can present my work to others and the more I do, the greater my confidence to speak to groups will grow. This is important for me because I believe it is an important skill as I work on positively influencing the people I work with to do great work.
• Leaders in my school board value my work and believe others can benefit from it. The relationships I establish with people in my district are important for my learning and hopefully for their learning as well. 
• I am in alignment with my Board's goals and the indicators listed in the Catholic Leadership Framework. It is important for me to innovate and take risks by trying new things but it is also important that I am working towards a collective goal to improve staff and student achievement. 
• I have things to work on. I need to continue to engage in leadership activities, reflect on what I did well and what I need to improve on. I speak about my lived experience but how can I improve on my communication skills to better deliver my message??

This is it, folks. This blog is how I process my leadership experiences. It's all about reflecting, connecting, and learning. The artifacts are just a small part for me. I mean, it is important to refer to the ACTIVITIES I engage in to demonstrate that I am putting in the work BUT the real work for me involves the REFLECTION on the ACTIVITIES and the LEARNING that comes from them.

Do you have a leadership portfolio? How are you learning more about you as a leader? I'd love to hear from you about your process!

Finding the Fuel to Excel

Since March 2020, I have been in a hyper state of reflective practice. The global pandemic flipped my work life upside down - causing me, and really the entire education world in Ontario, to re-evaluate how teaching and learning works when we are not face to face with our students. 

In addition to the pandemic, there have been a number of other events (George Floyd, BLM, US election, the Ford government, the 215 children in BC, etc) that have caused me to be more disciplined in looking after my mental health by entering into a reflective state with respect to my life, how I see myself, and what I need to do to become a better version of myself - in all aspects of my life (partner, parent, educator, friend/ally).

Between the curveballs thrown at me as a classroom teacher and the things happening around me with respect to race and equity, I have had to examine my personal leadership resources and take stock of what I have in abundance, what I am depleted of, and where I can get more of what I need. The Catholic Leadership Framework identifies cognitive, social, and psychological resources that effectively enact leadership practices. I have spent a significant amount of time thinking about how I am doing in terms of my problem solving ability, my professional practices and how they lead students to success, dealing with my emotions, being proactive, resilient, and optimistic. As the school year comes to an end, I can say that the reflective practice I have been engaged in has allowed me to "check in" with myself often and evaluate what I am doing well and where I need to pay more attention. 

My constant "check ins" lead me to want to engage in activities that would positively feed me. Mentorship sessions with leaders inside and outside of the WCDSB, the Catholic Leadership Through an Equity Lens initiative, and coaching the Girls Who Game program at my school are the main things that brought me a sense of value and joy. Those three things provided me with the fuel I needed to keep making a positive difference in myself and the staff and students I work with no matter what was happening around me.

  

Through the lens of The Catholic Leadership Framework, my practice of reflecting on what is working and what isn't working helps me set direction, build relationships, support desired practices, improve the instructional program, and secure accountability. When I think about the purposeful conversations I have had with formal leaders this school year, I immediately recall learning about the importance of setting high expectations and meeting the demands of the different stakeholders I work with/for. The Catholic Leadership Through an Equity Lens initiative provided me with the opportunity to share my leadership discernment story, the importance of building trusting relationships, and staffing the instructional program in a purposeful way to serve the diverse needs of our students and community. Leading the Girls Who Game program allowed me to work on being accountable to my administrators, the outside groups supporting the program, and most importantly, the students themselves. The program also stimulated growth in staff members who were part of the collaborative process, allowed me to monitor progress in student learning, and allowed me to help build a sense of internal accountability in myself and the other adults working with me. 

As I approach the end of this very interesting and unprecedented school year, I am walking away from it feeling successful. The stress and adversity lead me to dig deeper into who I am, the blessings I have in my life, and where the fuel is to keep me going in the right direction. 

Talk Me Through Your Process

I recently engaged in a conversation about the thoughts/feelings/actions connected to becoming a school principal. Ramona Meharg, Chris Cluff, and I were talking about our experiences with the Principal's Qualification Program (PQP) and the 'roads' we traveled that led us there. 

As we were talking about the thoughts, feelings, and actions that we engaged in to earn the credentials to qualify us for the PQP, Chris asked if we wanted to go deeper by starting a podcast where we could talk about our process - past, present, and future. All three of us were game and the "Talk Me Through Your Process" Podcast was born. 

It's a bit of a mouthful but if you can get past that you will quickly realize that the three of us are serious about personal and professional growth, self awareness and reflection, and continuing to learn about our process to formal leadership in education. 

Graphic created by Chris Cluff

The podcast is a great tool to assist us in sharing our perspectives, learning from each other, and learning from others outside of our immediate circle. We are modeling our process in a public way with the hope that it will start up great discussions and encourage others to do the same. As my friend Joe Marquez likes to say, education is a collaborative sport! 

One of the things that has become part of my leadership process involves making connections between the work I do and and the Catholic Leadership Framework. I would recommend this practice to anyone interested in becoming a school Principal because it can lead to a familiarity with effective individual and system practices. Becoming familiar with the expectations and then connecting them to one's practice, and vice versa, will help build the flexibility and fluency required to lead a school. This is part of my process and I suspect that it will help me as I move closer to becoming a school Principal. 

I invite you to check out the conversations we are having AND welcome you to join us! You can find the Talk Me Through Your Process Podcast on YouTube, Podbean, and Apple Podcasts. Reach out with your questions, comments, and process so we can collaborate to become the leaders that schools deserve. Feel free to comment below or connect on twitter (@rchids, @chrisjcluff, @RamonaMeharg).

Leadership During a Pandemic

The Covid-19 Pandemic has really flipped our way of living upside down.

It started on the other side of the world and has ended up in our backyard, literally. The way we live and operate day to day has changed and continues to change at a fast pace. The last time I was with people, other than my family, was March 13. It was announced on March 12 that schools would be closed for an additional two weeks after the March break ended. With those measures, we were to return to school on March 30. Today is April 13 and we have been told that we may return to school on May 4th.

In addition to getting used to teaching my class in a completely different way, I have been paying close attention to the leaders around me and how I can lead in small 'l' ways as we embark on a journey that has never been done before.

I have been thinking about and reflecting on the actions of my Principals. They have both been great at keeping us informed and connected. We have had several online staff meetings and some social ones as well. They have been bringing us together to keep us up to date about what is happening in our Board and they have provided us with optional social meetings where we can gather to talk and hang out. They have not faltered and they have not shied away from their leadership responsibilities.

In fact, as I consider the Catholic Leadership Framework and how my principals have been operating, I can say that their words and actions align with all five of the pillars of the leadership framework. Here are some examples:

1. Setting Directions: they have been building a vision of what our work will look like, establishing short term goals, and communicating with us.

2. Building Relationships and Developing People: they have been providing us with a time and place (digital) to get together and share our thoughts/feelings, have been empowering staff to share best practices and to learn more about tools and strategies that may meet their needs.

3. Developing the organization to support desired practices: they have been building collaborative cultures and distributing leadership, assisting us in continuing to improve our relationships with families and the community, and providing us with information on resources that may be valuable to us at this time.

4. Improving the Instructional Program: they have been staffing the school - we have had teachers return from maternity leave and they hired a new teacher for one that just retired, providing instructional support, and buffering staff from possible distractions from their work.

5. Securing Accountability: they have been building the staff members sense of internal accountability and meeting the demands for external accountability.

They have been, and continue to be, great examples for me as they do their work. As they lead, I can see that they meet the expectations of the framework as well as meet staff members where they are at and offer them a helping hand to continue to develop as educators and leaders (formal and informal).

As I observe them, I consider how I am leading at this time. I certainly follow their lead, but outside of their direct influence, what I am doing to lead? How do my words and actions fit within the leadership framework? As an aspiring formal leader, these questions are important for me to consider and to act upon. When I reflect on my thoughts and actions during this pandemic, I can make connections to the leadership framework as well as consider next steps to work on meeting expectations within the framework. Here are some examples of how I have been leading within the framework:

1. Setting Directions: I have been working hard with my colleagues and myself in order to set short term goals that facilitate a positive learning environment for my students while setting professional goals for myself and assisting my colleagues in doing the same for themselves.

2. Building Relationships and Developing People: I have been connecting with and helping out staff members at my school and other schools who have reached out for support and guidance. This has brought me great joy and has presented me with a collaborative model to problem solve. The best of both worlds as we work to meet our student's needs during this unprecedented time.

3. Developing the organization to support desired practices: I have initiated and joined in on collaborative ventures where leadership is distributed based on participant interest and skill set, I am aware of and working towards continuing to build positive relationships with my families and the greater community using digital means.

4.  Improving the Instructional Program: I have been researching and implementing digital practices in order to help lead my students and colleagues to success, and I am paying close attention to the progress my students have been making in order to provide them with feedback that will take them from where they are and move them forward.

5. Securing Accountability: I have been reaching out to the parents of my students and providing them with my role in our new learning environment, I communicate my expectations to my students and keep them informed on the expectations I have for myself with respect to my availability to them, and what I will be doing to support their learning and well being.

As we continue to live and learn each day during this pandemic, I will be keeping my eyes and ears open on the leaders around me. My perspective on this time is that this is a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow as a leader - acquire new perspectives and skill sets - that will benefit my growth and that of the people around me, today and in the future.

Daring Greatly

Drawing by Chris Cluff

In August I wrote about a collaboration I wanted to engage in - "Dare to Lead Collaboration - In and Out of the Classroom" - which came from my reading of Brene Brown's book 'Dare to Lead' and her Daring Classrooms initiative. The 'In the Classroom' plan involved working with other educators on ideas and activities that would assist us in providing our students with safer spaces for them to learn and grow. The 'Out of the Classroom' plan involved me working on some of the things Brene talks about in her book that would help me learn more about myself and who I am as a leader, and possibly who I can become as a leader. 

For all intents and purposes, the in the classroom component is coming along nicely. I have established some norms with my students and we are doing well at dealing with our inner critic and thinking about why we armour up when we find ourselves in certain situations. With respect to the outside of the classroom component, I am much more aware of my vulnerabilities and armour but something just isn't right. Even though I am much more aware of my thoughts/feelings and behaviours, I find myself kind of stuck and needing to take a next step.

It is almost as if the universe was feeling my pain and desire to grow when I found out that my school board NTIP Consultant was looking into finding a Dare to Lead facilitator to speak to NTIP mentors and mentees. He was able to make it happen and I was able to attend a Daring Greatly workshop.

The workshop was exactly what I needed. I spent the day learning and talking about the following concepts: 

• vulnerabiltiy
• authenticity
• boundaries
• trust
• empathy
• self-compassion
• shame
• coping

One of the activities had us provide a brief introduction to our arena (the place where we do our work) and what we would like to ask of the group - what they could help us with. My arena is my work place, my ask involved people taking the time to wonder why I would be so quick in putting my armour on in certain situations. 

Around certain people, I will not show my vulnerabilities and I will certainly clam up and keep quiet. In some situations this armoring up that I do could be interpreted as a safety mechanism - a way to protect myself from being judged by others. As the workshop progressed throughout the day I learned more about why I armour up and how I can become more resilient to the shame that causes me to shut down. Many people try to cope with shame by armouring up. People cope with their shame in different ways and I learned more about what I do when I feel shame. More importantly, I learned about what I can do to deal with my shame (my inner critic) in a way that won't cripple me. In a way that allows me to work towards being my best self rather than becoming a lesser version of who I am and what I can be. 

When I think about daring greatly, I think about how it is connected to leadership - particularly my leadership journey. When I consider the Ontario Catholic Leadership Framework I think about the section at the bottom that lists personal leadership resources that leaders draw upon to effectively lead. Cognitive, social, and psychological resources are needed in order to set directions, build relationships and develop people, support desired practices, improve the instructional program, and secure accountability. I would argue that it is necessary and important for leaders and aspiring leaders to continuously work on building up their personal leadership resources. 

For me, part of building up my personal resources means that I continue to work on building up my resilience to shame. At the workshop I learned that building up my shame resilience requires the following:

• recognizing when I'm in shame and understanding what triggered it,
• challenging my inner critic by responding with self-compassion, 
• telling my story and talking about shame with the people who have earned the right to hear it, and
• learning about what I need when I am in shame and how to ask for it

Dealing with my shame won't be easy, but I believe it is necessary. If I don't do it then my shame will get in the way of me stepping into the leadership arena - where at best I will triumph and at worst I will fail - but will have failed while daring greatly. 

Learning to Lead

How does one learn to lead?

This question has been on my mind over the past few days. A conversation with my Principal and a chance meeting with the former director of my School Board have me thinking about learning to lead.

As a child I listened to and watched my father in a variety of situations. When I take the time to really consider leadership and my interest in it, I think of my father. He had an entrepreneurial spirit and seemed to enjoy problem solving. He was also charismatic and had a great sense of humor. People seemed to like him. I watched him navigate all kinds of situations and even had a backstage pass to what he looked like outside of the public eye.

As I got older and entered my teens he provided me with advice regarding relationships and how the world works. When I was finishing up my Masters degree I got my first "real" job and he continued to offer me advice around leadership and relationships and how the two intersect. Sadly, he passed away before he could see me become a teacher and act as a sounding board for the journey I would experience over the last 17 years.

Since then, I have relied on the art of observation to get a better idea of what leadership is and means. Early on in my career it meant watching the leaders around me (great teachers, principals, and consultants) - listening to what they said, watched them as they dealt with people and situations, and paying attention to what came after they made a decision or helped in solving a problem.

With time came opportunities to work in different schools, participate in Board and Provincial committees/initiatives, formal leadership training, readings, and mentorship. All of which have provided me with the chance to learn - about myself, leadership, and how the two come together in an organic way to make me the leader that I am today.

The power of the internet has allowed me to observe from afar. Email, YouTube, and Twitter are examples of platforms and modes of communication that allow me to learn from people and situations that I would never be able to connect with in a face to face fashion.

So what have I learned? Connection and mindset are key ingredients to learning anything. With respect to my leadership journey, I use my experiences and make connections to the Catholic Leadership Framework in Ontario. The expectations of what leadership looks like are outlined in the framework. This leaves the ball in my court. It is up to me to seek out and/or create opportunities that will allow me to learn about and practice leadership and to connect my experiences to the expectations in the framework.

With an open, curious, and creative mindset, I am able to have some fun with the work I do and the connections I make to the framework. At the end of the day, the learning is mine so I try to make the best of it. My mindset has not always been this way. It has evolved over time and experiences - both good and bad. There is room for new knowledge and growth all around me.

This is how I am learning to lead.