Another installment of readings from Lead. Learn. Change., the book, pages 19 to 41. All profits from the sale of the book support the Allene Magill Memorial Scholarship fund, helping paraprofessionals pursuing their dream of becoming classroom teachers.
Another installment of readings from Lead. Learn. Change., the book, pages 19 to 41.
Book Selection installments and Guest episode pattern
Acknowledgement correction
Foreword or Forward?
This is my favorite book…
How to use this book
Your work cannot thrive in isolation
Make a difference - If a complainer whines in the woods
Great teachers impact lives
Transformation might be a synonym for learning
All of us can learn from all of us
You are creating your legacy
Your questions might be more insightful than your answers
Set your direction
David Reynolds (00:13):
Hello listeners. Thanks for joining me today. When the first audio recording from my book Lead Learn Change was released, the plan was to alternate guest and book reading episodes. Then when three outstanding guests shared their stories with us in episodes 42, 43 and 44, we detoured from the original roadmap a bit. Today we resume book readings with episode 45 and we'll catch up with a few more book installments before returning to the guest book guest book pattern. The balance of the book-based installments will include more stories and questions and quotations for reflection and information about the work of PAGE, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book support the Alene McGill Memorial Scholarship Fund. A link for the book is available in the show notes or you can simply search for the title in the Amazon bookstore before beginning a correction.
David Reynolds (01:17):
In the first book selections episode in the acknowledgements, two names were inadvertently omitted. Rebecca Penny and Raj Raj Mohan provided candid and helpful observations and suggestions as this book was being written, and I'm grateful for their support along with the others who voluntarily gave of their time and expertise to make this book a reality. Now let's get started. Today we're reading pages 19 through 41 from Lead Learn Change, including the forward and overview of the book format, what you can Expect, and a transition piece that is followed by the book's. First story, which gear, which will kick off the next book-based episode forward. The traditional forward F-O-R-E-W-O-R-D for this book has been replaced by the more aptly titled forward F-O-R-W-A-R-D. As lead learn change espouses the importance of orienting one's thinking and one's work toward the future, you are encouraged to support students, teachers, parents, in the larger community in the here and nowand service of the future toward which we strive.
David Reynolds (02:31):
The Forward, which follows was written by Hannah Talley, a caring and thoughtful educator who has made a difference for many students and families during her career. Here are Hannah's words. The first time I met David Reynolds, I laughed. It was the summer of 2001. I was a young 20 something brand new teacher. I was invited to be part of a professional learning session that David led for our school district. The topic was our district's venture into a new professional appraisal cycle for teachers. I was a bit overwhelmed and apprehensive as I still a rookie classroom teacher sat among school administrators, central office staff, and seasoned veteran teachers. Some were excited to be leaving behind our old teacher observation instrument and to be part of designing a portfolio based evaluation process for teachers while others were not so much. I remember sitting there in the preliminary minutes before the session began while folks were milling around getting coffee and making small talk about the session we were about to experience wondering what I had gotten myself into.
David Reynolds (03:38):
Truthfully, I did not feel qualified to be there. The apprehension quickly melted though as David opened the session with what I came to know as his classic humor. He shared a pictorial joke the year 2001 equivalent to a meme about ducks who attend staff development about flying only to return home the same way they had entered by walking. I laughed hard. The joke was funny, but it probably didn't quite warrant the level of laughter I gave it. Though the message of change and continuous learning was not lost on me, I think I was just relieved about the presence and demeanor David immediately brought to that session. I had an image of what I thought people of his position were like. David, however, was nothing like that image. He was transparent, affable, and attentive. Most importantly, he was genuine. David had an innovative message of change to deliver and based on the conversation around me, not everyone in the room that day was ready to receive that message just yet, but he was undeterred.
David Reynolds (04:36):
He had hope and a vision. David was blazing a trail in our district with this new idea that teachers are leaders in the classroom. They could actually have a choice in the evidence they would share that would highlight their progress toward professional goals and they could have a voice in decision-making processes. He was all about shared leadership and collegial conversation, not top-down processes throughout that day. In the sessions that followed, David modeled ways to foster engagement. He used humor, anecdotes and analogies to which I could relate. Most importantly though, I recall he made an effort. He took the time to speak to everyone in the room. He learned my name that day and he remembered it. He made me feel like I really was qualified to be there, engaged in one of the many collaborative design processes our district would undertake in the coming years.
David Reynolds (05:24):
After that initial professional learning session, I was blessed to work closely with David on many initiatives throughout the next few years. One such initiative was his vision for teacher induction and retention within our school district. With this, he co-facilitated a year long process that ensured ongoing support for teachers new to our district. Along with other teachers, I was invited to provide professional learning, addressing parent conferences, engaging work design, available resources, and understanding our district's core business beliefs, mission and vision. Later, I worked with David on obtaining grants from my school. He scaffolded and modeled the grant writing process helping me obtain funds from the Dollar General Literacy grant and the Laura Bush Foundation for American Libraries grant. Through these collaborations, I saw up close David's attention to detail and specificity. I learned from him how to utilize participant engagement, feedback and data to design future learning opportunities.
David Reynolds (06:20):
I also learned to remain future oriented and strive toward continuous improvement. Since 2001, David has been a leader, mentor, colleague and friend, but above all, David has been there. He has shown up. He has been present. He has been attuned to the details both big and small. That makes a relationship and David has been steadfast in his message that relationships are what matter. As a district level leader, he listened to me share about new teaching strategies and he found time to visit my classroom to see those strategies in action. He took time to pin a handwritten note to congratulate me when I won our district teacher the year award. David also provided me with more affirmation for that honor by recommending that I present as teacher of the year at a PAGE conference and share how I was using data to inform instruction. He knew me and he knew what I was doing in my classroom.
David Reynolds (07:12):
That mattered a lot that he knew me. Since then, with David's encouragement I have attended and presented at various PAGE functions. He extended an invitation to participate as a guest on his podcast, a podcast I might mention, that he learned how to implement from the ground up out of his own thirst for knowledge and lifelong learning. During all of these interactions, David and I seamlessly transitioned from colleagues to true friends. I'll never forget how a family emergency caused me to abruptly leave a professional learning session. David took time that evening to call me to check on my family member. Today we share the stories and sentiments that friends do. Not too long ago when my son was born, David told me of a tradition he and his son Jackson shared. When Jackson was a young reader. They would read aloud a book together and upon completion they would sign and date the book as a treasured reminder of a shared experience.
David Reynolds (08:04):
I am pleased to say my son now has a shelf full of similarly signed books. Lead Learn Change offers a glimpse into David's thinking via his humor, anecdotes, observations, and experiences. I hope that this book can help others learn how to build lasting relationships as they lead others through change. Just as David has done for me through our relationship, he has helped me to grow to keep moving forward. Hannah Talley. This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it. That is the opening line of William Goldman's book, the Princess Bride. Regarding the book we are reading now, I will be most pleased to hear you utter the first half of Goldman sentence, but disheartened. If you could also profess the latter, this book will emphasize these concepts each day. Educators make a huge positive impact for countless students. Meaningful relationships are possible in any enterprise.
David Reynolds (09:06):
Knowing one's customers separates great organizations from good ones. Committed leadership is a foundation for a focus on the future. Focus and direction grow out of asking the right questions. Intentional, customized change does not occur without learning. Using the correct data correctly is required to gauge and communicate success. One's core business must serve as the main filter for decision making and you will leave a legacy, so make it count. The Professional Association of Georgia Educators, PAGE is in a unique position to demonstrate these truths and is honored to do so on behalf of its members. Large numbers of dedicated professionals, mostly teachers who know how to impact lives, know which measurements matter, and know what learning looks like. Reading this book will enhance your understanding of education and improve your work. In any organization, you will discover and uncover ways to leverage your learning and your leadership to create change or navigate through it. Lead, learn, change.
David Reynolds (10:20):
How to use this book. The phrase How to use this book has always bugged me a little. After all, you know how to use a book footnote. This is our first footnote for these audio recordings, so we'll handle them like this. When a sentence includes the footnote, I will verbally make a note of it and we will switch gears, read the footnote, return to the sentence where the footnote was included, back up and then continue on. After all, you know how to use a book. Footnote, how to use this book is a bit different than warning. Coffee is heated to 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't pour contents in your lap or hand open container to an infant. Sometimes seemingly unnecessary directions do have their place. The need for them is nuanced through contextual details that don't warrant explication in this venue. You're intelligent. You get it.
David Reynolds (11:21):
I understand that there are often notable exceptions to some observations, views and opinions. Broad brush apply to your world as needed. Use this book as it suits your aims. Returning to the text, after all, you know how to use a book. Open it, thumb through it, read it, pause. Add notes in the margins. Reread sections of the whole thing. Look only at the pictures or draw your own pictures. Backtrack. Read front to back to front or middle out. Highlight stuff. Put it down, pick it back up or pick it apart. Tell somebody about it. Read only the stories. Skip the quotations. You know what works for you. As you read, you may notice this book occasionally breaks rank with the expected. This may surface via a broken convention of grammar, spelling, or punctuation or divergence from a commonly accepted viewpoint. You can decide if you agree with the stated approach.
David Reynolds (12:21):
As my friend Philip says to his very patient and kind wife, Sarah, “if I say or do something and it seems bad and it could be taken another way, take it the other way”. Ditto for this book. The messages contained in these pages are mine. How you apply them is yours. Any attempted humor is also mine. As I suspect that PAGE will not lay claim to all the examples, stories and footnotes that make it past the editor's desk. You are urged to consider what lessons emerged for your work. As you read, tales of rafting, excursions gone awry, juvenile delinquency, recidivism, obituaries the insights of children and encounters with blue crab. As you read, you will come across page breaks interspersed throughout the book. These sections provide additional detail about a topic that is mentioned in the text immediately preceding the page break and most often these segments highlight how PAGE approaches or considers a particular issue or challenge.
David Reynolds (13:20):
Reinforcing the notion that an organization even one serving nearly a hundred thousand members, can consistently engage in work that supports its purpose and the profession at large. You can read these sections in sequence as you move through the book or come back to them later. The same is true with the reflection pages, words to live by appendix, entries, et cetera. Not every story will be accompanied by quotations, reflections, pictures, or a page break. Elements are embedded only as they are needed and as they naturally fit. Taken together the message that teachers make a difference, that page makes a difference and that you can make a difference will emerge as an overriding truth and a practical possibility. Today when there is arguably less civility, more vicious volleys of vitriol and more polarizing public pronouncements than ever before, let's opt out of that pattern and choose to lay aside disparaging discourse and focus on creative and productive efforts to improve everyone's chances for an excellent education.
David Reynolds (14:23):
In future, will you agree to direct most of your efforts and energy on what works or might work instead of what is wrong? Sometimes of course, we must start with what is to highlight shortcomings and pitfalls, but we don't need to use repeated and stinging sarcasm as a blunt cudgel of persuasion. That really doesn't work. Take the positive path instead, if looking internally, take time to focus on gaps between stated beliefs and one's individual or group actual practices. Look forward more than you look back. PAGE is moving ahead, acting on its beliefs, pursuing its goals, and partnering with others along the way as relationships are vital to progress, success and change. I am glad to be a part of this work. The main thing is to do the work as the evangelist Dwight L Moody is said to have remarked when criticized for his methods.
David Reynolds (15:19):
I like my way of doing things better than your way of not doing them. It's easy to criticize. It's not as easy to chart a better path and choose to lead. You can do so if you really want to make things better. You will see sources footnoted or otherwise referenced that offer a defense of a particular view or belief. Undoubtedly, you can find arguments, opinions, and even research stating exactly the opposite. Instead of belaboring opposing views, this book supports acting on one's beliefs and in doing so, hopefully shouting a light that's bright enough to help others and ourselves catch a glimmer of possible solutions for complex entrenched issues. PAGE wants its work to trigger conversations about learning and all that's connected to it. Things get done when people talk with each other. Often nothing happens when people don't. PAGE also wants your feedback. Our work cannot survive absent input from others.
David Reynolds (16:16):
Contact us at book feedback@pageinc.org and tell us what you think. Better yet, tell us how you are sharing your thinking with others. Tell us what you are doing or what you've already accomplished. If you don't tell us, tell somebody. Your work cannot thrive in isolation anymore than ours can. What could your work include? You can use your connections, your relationships, and available communication tools to support the men and women who dedicate their lives to teaching your children and all children who enter places of learning. You can apply the core concepts addressed in this book to create positive disequilibrium in your own classroom or enterprise. Change your organizational culture. It can be done and it can be done better if it's not done alone. Every day provides us all with new opportunities to delight others, to lead our profession or sector in a better direction. Make a difference.
David Reynolds (17:12):
Connect lead. If a complainer whines in the woods, do you want to understand others' perspectives and share yours? Opening eyes, minds and hearts to new possibilities. Have you thought about the change you want to make in this world? I work with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, PAGE. We seek to create long-term changes in how people think about the art of teaching and by default learning. Our ultimate aim is readying the next generation and the next and the next for whatever they will face and accomplish. That's what educators do. We help others think, learn, solve problems and achieve. We lead change through learning. Each of us decides what our slice of change will look like because we get to write our own stories. No one can write them for us unless we step aside and let that happen. We have only ourselves to blame if we don't share what we've learned.
David Reynolds (18:13):
We all have a microphone, a platform from which to proclaim the good things taking place in our schools, classrooms and organizations. It really is up to us to tell the story. If you don't tell your story, who will? It's your story after all. Start a blog. Create a newsletter. Post a video, write a book. Tell people what really goes on in your world. Shine a light on a new perspective. Let people learn how your work can change lives. Have you taught a child to read? Speak another language. Tie her shoes, use a microscope. Apply the quadratic equation to a real problem. Write an app using code. Appreciate the arts or solve a problem with someone who they didn't know before they started working together. If so, you have affected a life. Teachers do this all the time. This kind of influence isn't measured, can't be measured with a test score or some other number.
David Reynolds (19:07):
It's measured in ways that might not be apparent for years, but that lag between doing and seeing those results doesn't really matter that much because the change still happened. The life of the learner is forever altered. We can continue to change things for the better one life at a time or we can sit by and accept the flawed story. We are not making a difference. Which will you choose? Will you change what others know about your work? How exactly will you do that? Might you need to change your thinking or actions first. Will you change the dynamic in your classroom or your family? Maybe you'll impact your community or the entire country. Some of you or someone you know will even change the world. This claim is not some pie in the sky philosophical pud, this mush. It's real. If you have ever taught anyone anything and I'm embedding that you have, or if you recall a teacher who taught you something, you will never forget something that changed your life.
David Reynolds (20:04):
Then you know that one person, you, me, the person next to you. A teacher can make a difference. It's up to you to decide if you will have an impact and what its direction and reach will be. Countless, nameless individuals have changed things in this world in ways that most of us will never know. Just because fame does not follow a heroic or course altering act of kindness, bravery, creativity or innovation doesn't negate the moment's value. If you believe you can't make a difference, you may prove yourself to be a prophet. That would be most unfortunate. Change the story.
David Reynolds (20:43):
Rest assured change is coming. It's inescapable. It's exciting. The world as we know it will not be the same. Five years from now, we can be swept along by the change. We can learn about the change or lead the change. What will it be? A change in your thinking or your actions, a change in your family, in your organization, your community, our world. You decide what your impact should be. Its direction, its reach. Will the change you seek benefit you only or also those with whom you interact every day. Change can indeed affect an entire generation and the next. What should you do to lead your change effort? What should you learn? When will you start innumerable books footnote have been written to persuade a reader that a particular perspective, course of action or worthy cause is the correct one, perhaps even the only one that matters.
David Reynolds (21:40):
Footnote text. Depending on your source, you'll discover that there are between half a million and a few million book titles published each year and on average, a new title will sell far less than 1000 units or more accurately somewhere in the low to mid two hundreds as they say in the real estate business. But averages are not a good metric and we are not trying to sell this book to everybody. We are interested in reaching like-minded and open-minded individuals. Even if a number is small, a small number is fine. Come with us and make something good happen. That's our goal. Stir things up as needed. Selling a cazillion books is not the objective. Back to text. While highlighting issues of importance may be a nice goal merely writing another book on a given topic might do little to move the needle of apathy or opposition off of its current resting place, wherever that may be.
David Reynolds (22:35):
It takes absolutely no effort at all to act as if an issue is unimportant, ignore it even if it matters. Throw barbs at the supporters of a particular worldview or movement or merely proclaim that your project should be embraced by everyone. These approaches have no real worth. Zero effort expended means a zero accomplished, which equals zero value. Do something that makes a difference. Instead, if a complainer whines in the woods and no one else is around, does he really make any noise? Before complaining, decide what will happen because you have spoken your mind. Will anything change because of your words? About 3000 years ago, the wise King Solomon observed that quote, “A word rightly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Footnote. That's from the JP Green Literal translation, sovereign Grace Publishers 1985, the book of Proverbs, chapter 25, verse 11, back to text.
David Reynolds (23:37):
A word rightly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. That's a stunning image. When we use the right words at the right time, the message can work wonders. Our words can lead to change. Do you want to experience and inspire exhilaration joy and a sense of accomplishment? Change something. Invest the energy, effort, and discomfort that will be required along the way. Make the difference. Make the change. It is worth it. We've collectively swallowed the lie that people are resistant to change. That assumption is not entirely true. What people often resist is the work it takes to make the change or more accurately. They fear the work involved or they fear failure or how people will react or uncertainty. They may even fear. Success things change when there is success. After all, are you afraid of what might happen if you succeed? Is the status quo more comfortable, is changing just too difficult?
David Reynolds (24:37):
The change you make today can transform things tomorrow, even for forever. Reminding ourselves of this reality highlights the personal responsibility. Each of us has to communicate clearly, truthfully, and with zeal. Change is not a nebulous concept, merely spoken to convince others that something meaningful has occurred because of something we've done. Change is an ever present reality, so we might as well think about how we will manage it. Transformation, perhaps the most profound form of change is an integral part of learning. It may even be synonymous with learning, and learning is a solid indicator of growth. With continued growth comes progress, maturity and sophistication. Along the way, we develop a sense of understanding with empathy. Alongside this is what real learning looks like. It's a metamorphosis, not a mere shift. These are the effects of our influence. We can make an impact. We can leave a lasting legacy.
David Reynolds (25:36):
Legacy building starts with change. Where we live, what inspires us or what we hold dear helps others know a bit about who we are, but those things ought not put us in a box. They should not restrict our ability or willingness to consider how others view the world. For regardless of one's vocation, official title, interests or experiences, each and every one of us has the potential for learning and by default for teaching and leading, teaching and learning exchanges. Those dynamic cycles of interacting with one another and with our world are the pivot points around which everything moves. Footnote, teaching and learning exchanges. Teaching and learning are not confined to classrooms. Schoolhouses and campuses teaching and learning are ubiquitous. Some people pursue teaching, some chase learning and others dive into both, but no one escapes the omnipresence of teaching and learning. It permeates our lives. Teach, learn, lead back to text.
David Reynolds (26:39):
Leveraging the opportunities embedded in teaching and learning moments can literally change the world. You can make an impact. You can create your legacy by intention or through inattention. You will create your legacy at PAGE. We know our work matters and our legacy matters. Why? Because our core business is supporting educators in public schools in Georgia For now, but state boundaries have been crossed more than once in our endeavors and they will probably be crossed again. The thousands of administrators and teacher leaders with whom we have been privileged to partner touch the lives of tens of thousands of young people every day, tens of thousands, every day. This is so much more than a ripple on the pond of learning. It's a huge wave on the ocean of impact. The lessons we have learned individually and collectively have greatly informed our practices and the same principles surely permeate your line of work as well.
David Reynolds (27:34):
If you are an educator, the insights and inspiration we've gleaned from working with you will resonate clearly. If you are not an educator by name or position, it's time to go back to school here within these pages, glimpse, commitment in action, and then act on your own to make a difference in your own way. At the very least, take action to make your organization a great place for a high school or college graduate to land and strengthen your organization and your community. As a result, it's a win-win. Truth, quality, commitment, integrity and focus can cut across all sectors. All of us can learn from all of us and all of us can support all of us. There is surprising energizing power in us, in transparent collaboration plus a call for positive action is surely warranted in the present social media fed climate of blaming and finger pointing, we can do better.
David Reynolds (28:28):
PAGE is taking positive action. You can take positive action as well. This book is also intended to emphasize our moral obligation to one another, to be good stewards of our resources in service of our respective organizations, members, customers, supporters, and beneficiaries of our work. Who are your customers? Who is your who? Get that right and you will be poised to do great things. Be clear about who your customers are. Anticipate their needs, design experiences to address those needs and align resources to support their efforts and their dreams. To define resources, I borrow an interesting explanation from Dr. Phil Schlechty, who viewed resources as time people, space, information and technology. Footnote footnote text from Philip Schlechty’s book schools for the 21st century Jossy bass publishers 1991, the capacity to respond quickly, building adaptability into the system. Pages 63 through 82 and from Phil Schlechty’s book, inventing Better Schools and Action Plan for Educational Reform, also published by Josie Bass, 1997.
David Reynolds (29:40):
Pages 176 to 180 and for the next footnote referencing George Thompson. George Thompson is the former president of the Schlechty Center and its current director of strategic initiatives, as well as a lifelong educator, including a number of years serving as the superintendent of the largest school district in Georgia. Back to text, I once asked George Thompson how come money was not mentioned as a resource. His response, money is a proxy for everything else on the list. It took a while for that to sink in, but many years later, I regularly see the wisdom in that mindset. Don't think of money as your main resource. It's not the most important one. Start with people and then time and then move out from there. On another occasion, in the midst of a professional learning experience with some of George's colleagues, I grew a bit frustrated with what appeared to be unsolvable vague tasks.
David Reynolds (30:39):
Participants were exposed to ideas, albeit intriguing ones, and were consistently provided with a range of terribly open-ended prompts that could take a discussion almost anywhere down myriad paths. The apparent absence of structure and direction, which turned out not to be the case, did not sit well with the traditionally trained teacher and student in me. I approached the instructor, Jack Edwards. Jack, why is it that none of you ever tell us what to do? All you ever do is ask us, ah, I got it. Jack didn't even need to answer. Since that day, I have known that it's what we decide to do with the questions far more than what our current answers are. That defines us and characterizes our work. Questions matter. Learners, teachers and leaders matter. Your work matters. Our work matters. Don't merely whine in the woods. Decide what your work is for. Be clear about who your work is for. Use the change you want to make as the driving force behind your work. Go make a difference. That's all for today. Thanks for listening. You can email me at Lead Learn change@icloud.com. Have a great day. Until next time, go lead. Go learn. Go make a change. Go.