Your Life’s Journey Is Your Education
The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book really caused me to do a great deal of reflection about education and my own education in particular. As a believer in lifelong learning, Adams assured me that investing in learning at any point in life is a sound investment. His teachings also made me reflect on the fact that living life is an education in and of itself. We need to make sure we are using the context in which we live and all the experiences to learn at the highest level. How do we do this? I believe we can learn from Adams that it is ok that we are ignorant at every new turn in life and that we need to begin learning from everyone and every experience we have. If I were to sum up the book in one statement it would be, “Your life’s journey is your education.”
In this book, Henry Adams is not talking about himself as much as he is of the education and the context in which he lived provided an education. Adams serves as the narrator in this book. At the writing he is in his late sixties and refers to himself in the third person. This is an interesting way to read an autobiography that I am not sure I like, but I got used to it. Sometimes his referring to himself in third person made it made it hard to follow, but in the context of making living life our education this was probably the right way to do it. In his “Preface,” he introduces the metaphor of a manikin, which represents Henry Adams. The various garments draped across the manikin represent his education. It was this metaphor and how all events proved learning that I formed the opinion that Adams believed in lifelong learning. He continually refers to his ignorance, which told me he was of a growth mindset long before the development of the “growth mindset” theory.
Adams tells his readers that any young man seeking education should expect no more from his teacher than the mastery of his tools. Leaning on the scientific approach that he develops in the education, he suggests that the student is merely a mass of energy. The education he seeks is a way to economize that energy. The training by the instructor is a manner of clearing obstacles from the path of the student. My take on Adams’ position is that a person’s life in its entirety is our education.
Adams wrote, “Probably no child, born in the year, held better cards than he.” Adams also told us that the world he lived was rapidly changing – as it does for all of us. It is a world of contrasts. It was this contrast that Adams used throughout the book to discuss his education. In the book Adams states that as yet he knows nothing. Even after graduating from Harvard, he did not believe his education had begun. My sense is he believed in learning by doing and being the person in the arena. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
– The Ego has … become a manikin on which the toilet of education is to be draped in order to show the fit or misfit of the clothes. The object of study is the garment, not the figure.
– Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts.
– The object of education for that mind should be the teaching itself how to react with vigor and economy. No doubt the world at large will always lag so far behind the active mind as to make a soft cushion of inertia to drop upon, as it did for Henry Adams; but education should try to lessen the obstacles, diminish the friction, invigorate the energy, and should train minds to react, not at haphazard, but by choice, on the lines of force that attract their world.
And… my favorite of all the quotes: “Man does not concern himself with understanding how discoveries can be used. He will let the discovery show him how.” I really believe this reinforces my theory that Adams believed that our life’s journey is our education. How would you write the autobiography of your education? What do you need to be doing in your context to have it read how you would like it to? This book will cause you to reflect.
~ Dr. Byron L. Ernest
The American Commonwealth
The American Commonwealth, part 1 by James Bryce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is for anyone who wants to better understand the experiment in democracy that has become our great United States. Every aspect of our local, state, and federal government is covered in great detail from the Declaration of Independence to the turn of the 20th Century (I read the 1914 edition). It was interesting to learn Bryce’s views on Lincoln, the Civil War, and how our Constitution served as the navigational guide. I particularly valued the Part V Chapters on Public Opinion, Colleges & Universities, and voter suffrage.
This is a very academic read that causes reflection and further study. It took me almost a year to read (keep in mind I was reading other books at the same time), but it is well worth the investment. Every leader who wants to serve their community, state, and nation positively and significantly should read this book.
I Get To Read!
I realize that, ideally, a fondness for books starts at home, but reading can become a habit through opportunities to read self-chosen books at school. Consumed by the urgency to raise students’ reading scores, some policy makers and school officials have forgotten that children learn to read by reading. I support “balanced literacy” instruction, which includes independent reading. All students should be given access to books they want to read throughout their schooling, and I dream of the day all pre-readers would have an adult who would read aloud to them everyday. Through independent reading children gain a wealth of background knowledge about many different things, come to understand story and non-fiction structures, absorb the essentials of English grammar, and continuously expand their vocabularies. Many also remember visually how to spell words.
Interestingly, it is the adult/child relationship to reading that prompted this post. This past week my son needed to pick a book to read for his sophomore English class. Yep, you heard me right, he got to choose. First of all, I was excited by that! In my view students should get to choose what they read. If you want to hear my story of how I got turned on to being the rabid reader I am today click here to read “Reading Big Red.” Short of the long story – I hated reading until I got to pick my first book (not till middle school mind you). Now I read 70-80 books a year. So, I’m sure you can see why I was excited for Heath to get to pick a book he wanted to read – just typing here I just can’t see why people don’t get this concept – picking your own book makes it about the reader (student centered). Research has shown that letting children choose their own books could in fact make them better readers. When you think back to your own classroom experience, being assigned one book to read as a class was often a dreadful experience. Teachers would assign students to read a some classic and, instead of being enamored with this classic tale, students were often less than thrilled. That was me and has also been my son Heath’s experience, too.
Back to the story – Heath came home all excited (think about this; he’s coming home from school excited!) about the book he had picked: Tough As They Come by Travis Mills. Heath proceeded to tell me all about the book and Travis Mills. Travis is a retired United States Army Staff Sergeant and what he calls a recalibrated warrior. He is now a motivational speaker, actor, author and an advocate for veterans and amputees. In his book, Tough as They Come, Travis shares his journey of serving our country. Despite losing portions of both arms and legs from an IED while on active duty in Afghanistan, Travis continues to overcome life’s challenges, breaking physical barriers and defying odds. Travis lives by his motto: “Never give up. Never quit.”
Think about what just happened here:
- My son chose a book
- My son wanted to read a book (Not to sound like Donald Trump, but this is HUGE!)
- My son had researched about a book and the author
- My son was going to get a role model and mentor, Travis Mills, through the power of reading
I thought this was the coolest day ever. I read to Heath when he was younger every night and then rubbed his back till he went to sleep (He would not want me to tell that, but these were some of the greatest moments as a dad), but now he was explaining a book he wanted to read to me. And… as if it could not get any better… Heath proceeded to say, “Let’s both download this book and read it together Dad. I think you’ll really like it.” I ask you you, “How does it get any better than that?” My sophomore in high school son wants to read a book with his dad! Well it does get better – Heath has agreed to write a guest blog post about the book for me! Watch for it soon.
Here’s the deal: giving students a choice has been linked with scholastic achievement. Some researchers believe that when students (especially boys) are free to choose what they want to read, they will read for pleasure. Reading for pleasure has been linked with scholastic achievement in school. Furthermore, students will read for pleasure and enjoy reading. When children can freely choose what they want to read, they will be reading for pleasure, not because there is an assignment due. A choice allows children to be enthusiastic about what they are reading, and in turn they will be engaged.
I realize there are books and other literary pieces we need to have our children reading, but I believe we need to give students control of their own reading. Allow them to make their own choices and they will explore more genres. Expose your students to books they love and you will see that they will not only read for pleasure, but enjoy what they are reading. I have always said we need to change the mindset from, “I have to read.” to “I get to read!” We can do this and student choice is one piece of it.
Think about this as a conversation starter and relationship builder with your children and students: “So, what are you reading right now?”
Generative Complexity
Yesterday I blogged about Dynamic Complexity after reading in the book by Adam Kahane and is titled Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities. Another type of complexity worth organizing our thoughts about is Generative Complexity. Kahane (2004) said, “Generative complexity requires that we talk not only about options that worked in the past, but also about ones that are emerging now” (p. 75). To me this is all about not getting caught up in thinking about how things have always been done, but about how no one has ever thought about doing them.
“We cannot develop creative solutions to complex human problems
unless we can see, hear, open up to, and include the humanity
of all the stakeholders and of ourselves. Creativity requires all
of our selves: our thoughts, feelings, personalities, histories,
desires, and spirits. It is not sufficient to listen rationally to inert
facts and ideas; we also have to listen to people in a way that
encourages them to realize their own potential and the potential
in their situation. This kind of listening is not sympathy, participating
in someone else’s feeling from alongside them. It is empathy,
participating from within them. This is the kind of listening
that enables us not only to consider alternative existing ideas but
to generate new ones.” ~ Adam Kahane
We need to remember that there are many interdependent parts of a complex system. Additionally, a complex systems world view highlights that interactions between parts of the system and the behavior of the system as a whole are critical. As leaders, we must learn to do a better job of seeking out, fostering, and sustaining generative relationships that yield new learning relevant for innovation.
When discussing leadership we tend to focus on leaders’ individual characteristics rather than on the dynamics of interactions between leaders, group members, and the context in complex organizational systems over time; and we certainly do not do enough toward our own professional growth as leaders, or those on our teams, to create conditions that allow their organizations to evolve (2006). We must also find ways to improve our own and organizations’ ability to learn continuously and implement learning in action as projects proceed.
References
Kahane, A. (2004). Solving tough problems: An open way of talking, listening, and creating new realities. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Surie, G. & Hazy, J.K. (2006). “Generative leadership: Nurturing innovation in complex systems.” E:CO Issue Vol. 8 No. 4 2006 pp. 13-26.
Dynamic Complexity
I am reading a great book for one of my Harvard courses right now. The book is by Adam Kahane and is titled Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities. The thing I am most blown away by is the reality Kahane (2004) pointed out, that “Talk by itself, even brilliant speeches by famous people, does not create new realities. Most of the time it reproduces old ones” (Kahane, 2004, p. 69). Kahane (2004) taught us that our toughest of problems can only be solved if we talk candidly and openly. As we know, this takes a lot of courage. It should also be noted that there must also be deep listening. This really hit home for me as a leader in the education arena. We have complex problems in our educational systems and we must all, as leaders, immerse ourselves in and be open to this full complexity.
“[D]ynamic complexity, situations where cause and effect are subtle and where the effects over time of interventions are not obvious. Conventional forecasting, planning and analysis methods are not equipped to deal with dynamic complexity.” ~ Peter Senge
For me, the idea of dynamic complexity really hit home. Kahane (2004) said that, “Dynamic complexity requires us to talk not just with experts close to us, but also with people on the periphery” (p. 75). This means we must “widen the circle” and “deepen the bench,” which is very uncomfortable for us (Kahane, 2004). In reality, dynamic complexity heightens the subtlety between cause and effect. This heightened subtlety not only provides the key to explaining why some over-hyped tools don’t deliver, but is consistent with how growing knowledge in a field inherently advances and generates complexity. I believe this really describes our reality in education. This is why it is so important to involve all stakeholders in our solving of complex opportunities. Then we must employ open and deep listening, as this is the basis for all creativity. We must be open to truly listening to new ideas.
“To create new realities, we have to listen reflectively. It is not
enough to be able to hear clearly the chorus of other voices; we
must also hear the contribution of our own voice. It is not enough
to be able to see others in the picture of what is going on; we must
also see what we ourselves are doing. It is not enough to be
observers of the problem situation; we must also recognize ourselves
as actors who influence the outcome.” ~ Adam Kahane
The long and the short of all this is that the world is changing at a rapid rate. This is true in all organizations and industries, but particularly in education. We had better understand this, as well as the caveat that we cannot expect more of the same when we plan for tomorrow!
Reference
Kahane, A. (2004). Solving tough problems: An open way of talking, listening, and creating new realities. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
How Can We Reinvent Ourselves?
I had the honor and pleasure of being given an Advance Copy of Indivisible: Coming Home To Deep Connection by Christine Marie Mason. I love being part of book launches for Weaving Influence. This book was absolutely awesome. In fact, my first tweet was that the book “rocked my world.” If you want to check out my tweets about the book go to @ByronErnest or use the hashtag #Indivisible. There were so many things that resonated with me as an educator and leader. Most notable were sections that discussed, “Where does our core worth come from?” or “If you want to see separation in action, go to a public school cafeteria.”
At the end of the book Christine spends time discussing resilience. This quote has stuck with me: “A long arc of a lifetime of achievement requires resilience and tenacity.” She goes on to explain her epiphany of, “I used to think that the traumatic things that happened to us in life were a curse, but I was wrong. Now I see these experiences as preparing me to serve.” Christine also taught me in the book that “A bad experience can be a point of departure from which we bring service to others.” Here’s the deal: This book is authentic! Christine wrote this book from her own perspective as what I call “the deer in the headlights.” This book will cause you to do a lot of reflection on your own life and how you lead.
Here is an excerpt selected by Christine to offer you in this post:
“The Western worldview teaches that we are independent, individual beings. In this system, our worth comes primarily from what we produce. We are always being graded by others, and our worth and security are wrapped up in how well we conform to what they expect.
This is the perspective within which I, like many other Americans, was raised. But as I grew up, moving from childhood experiences to experiences that I chose for myself, I realized that these teachings felt fundamentally untrue. My direct experience was one of increasing interdependence and interconnection. Each person was infinitely more complex than I had ever imagined.
I decided to question how I had lost touch with myself and others, and how to live better in relationship with one other person—and beyond that, to how we, as a culture, had lost touch with our interdependence in the first place. I would undertake an experiment to answer these questions, and my methods would be a combination of research and lived experience. The broader questions were: can we “hack” our own evolution, and the evolution of the collective? In other words, can we get in there and speed it up? What if everything we had taken in unconsciously was up for discussion, and we didn’t accept any of it whole hog? If we give ourselves permission to question, alone and with others, we might design any manner of new ways to live.
If we go through our lives unconsciously, the neurons and atoms that make us up will continue to play out their repeating code. But if we become conscious, we can (to a certain extent) rewire ourselves, as well as the culture we live in. Every bit of information we have about how we work – historical, sociological or scientific – can help us with this rewiring.
I’ve found that approaching this inquiry with a heart of compassion toward the institutions under inquiry, rather than a mindset of attack and critique, helps a lot. All systems are exquisite adaptations. They are contextual and place bound; they arose naturally to meet the very real needs of the time in which they were created. But as time and circumstance changed, they overstayed their welcome, and ossified.
When there’s a problem with the dominant culture, and we have the enthusiasm for reconnection and redesign, and we also join that enthusiasm with loving rather than destructive intent, we are using the force of our intention to create systemic change. In doing so, we can honor and celebrate what we’ve learned so far, and give it an honorable retirement. Of course, this requires that the whole society be willing to look together and release what isn’t working—rather than hold on tight, as if they can’t handle the coming change.
This process of questioning and reinventing may be difficult, but the result is more than worth the effort. In my experience, those who are seeking more connection and continuous reinvention are happier. They are open. They know that it is the separation that is the lie; the union is the true thing. These are people who are at ease with each other, even in conflict. They are egalitarian and able to equally commune with all. They are the ones for whom there is always a couch to sleep on, a table to sit at, a band to jam with.
I wanted to know this in my bones, not only conceptually. I wanted to investigate how will we move fully into our own lives, evolve and grow, rethink our assumptions, float above our judgments, and redesign things that aren’t working. What could I learn about disconnection and connection? About choosing to be perpetrators or healers? Who was already successful in creating a more loving and interwoven world?” ~ Christine Marie Mason in Indivisible: Coming Home to Our Deep Connection
Thank you Christine for allowing me to publish this excerpt from your book for readers of my blog to enjoy and see just how great this book is. I certainly believe everyone could benefit from reading this book!
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This post is an excerpt from Christine Marie Mason‘s new book, Indivisible: Coming Home to Our Deep Connection.
Christine has been a leader in the tech sector for 20 years, as the venture backed founder and CEO of several companies. She has always been a convener, bringing people together to have conversations around growth and change, and to spark action around new possibilities. She is the curator of 9 TEDxs, the convener of Naked Conversations and founder of LoveSpring. Her own deep journey exploring anger, violence and disconnection in the aftermath of her mother’s murder, early abandonment and general chaos have propelled her explorations into the interior life and capacity of the individual to heal and connect; her work as a victims’ right advocate for restorative justice and prison reform; and as an investigator into the neuroscience of human evolution and behavioral change.
Significance, Influence, & Leadership
It has been said that leadership is influence. This is so true, and I was reminded of this today. I had the honor of being part of a book launch and signing at one of our local Barnes and Noble stores today for author, . He wrote the book The Second Decade: Raising Kids to be Happy, Self-Sufficient Adults through Work (2016). I learned of the book through Indiana Speaker of the House, Brian Bosma. He sent me a copy of the book and asked that I read it and think about how this book could be used to influence others in helping to develop and educate our children. I was excited to get the book and, of course, immediately read it. Come on, the Speaker of the House sends you a book and asks you to read it, well, you read it! And…of course, I started tweeting about it. Next thing you know I’m tweeting back and forth with Speaker Bosma and, lo and behold I’m suddenly tweeting with Dr. Helveston. Then, I’m being invited to attend a book signing via twitter. I continue to be amazed by the power of twitter. Well, of course I am going to the book signing – one of my most valued collections is of my author signed books. So, now that I have set the stage let’s get to some content in this post.
It was such an honor to have Speaker Bosma introduce me to Dr. Helveston before the event started. Little did I know I was being introduced by a man, Speaker Bosma, who has had a great deal of influence on me (to read about that, click here) to another man, Dr. Helveston, who would influence me immensely in just the few minutes of visiting and listening to him speak at the event. One of the most powerful things he said to me was, “This research and book is a project I have started really late in my life and career.” With this statement he had me hooked as someone who absolutely knows how to be significant in life. As a believer that there is no such thing as retirement – only significance in the second half, I was certain I had met an icon of being significant, not just successful. This has been a topic of interest of mine for some time now. In fact I have blogged about it in “Significance: Impacting Outside Yourself.”
As we talked, it was evident that Dr. Helveston wants to continue to have an influence on the world and particularly on our youth. He wants to find influential ways to have the ideas and framework brought forth in his book to really make a difference. Make no mistake, Dr. Helveston is a successful doctor, but I was truly in the presence of an influential and significant person and leader. There were individuals in attendance who were mentioned in the book and I could quickly see the influence this great man had on their lives. This very humble man clearly has had an influence on everyone he has come in contact with and is significant. Leaders, like Dr. Helveston, that strive to be significant seek to create the greatest impact and influence. These are the types of leaders that we value the most; inspired by their courage and resiliency, we seek to emulate them. Here I was in the presence of two such leaders – Dr. Helveston and Speaker Bosma. These are the leaders that can get the most out of very little, are grateful for the opportunity to lead, and always treat others like family. It was very evident from all the stories that every patient of Dr. Helveston became family. Speaker Bosma told the story of how they had met when he became the doctor of his son. Now, years later, there is still a very close relationship between Dr. Helveston and the Bosma family. 
Great leaders are the most memorable, influential, and significant. They go about their day leveraging their distinction by leading in ways that come most naturally to them. This is so true, because I might not even had read the book had there not been a leader in my life that turned me on to reading. Had there not been a Mrs. Wilking in my life I might not have become the leader I have because I would not have had the learning from reading I have been afforded. You can learn of the birth of my love of reading by checking out “Reading Big Red.” Click here to read the post. Significant leaders are those who enjoy sharing their wisdom and secrets of success. Dr. Helveston has certainly done this in his book. Leadership is a process of influencing others. Dr. Helveston is without a doubt influencing others with the framework for developing our children suggested in this book.
The Second Decade: Raising Kids to be Happy, Self-Sufficient Adults through Work (2016) is an incredible book that really makes you think and want to take action. I wrote the following in both my Goodreads and Amazon five start review of the book:
“Everyone who is a parent, teacher, or in a position to influence children either directly or by policy should read this book! In this book, Dr. Helveston recognizes the need for what I will call internships – meaningful work. The five actions developed in this book of:
1. Plan ahead for a quality education pursued with an eye on the future;
2. Learn life lessons and useful skills from the work you perform and the people you meet;
3. Seek advice and inspiration from mentors throughout your life;
4. Recognized that nothing is accomplished without time and effort; and
5. Pursue honest and productive work
are well developed, researched, and referenced so the reading can use the book as a guide. This book can serve as a framework for anyone who believes as I do, that helping parents teach their children to gain academic skills through a quality education and acquire practical skills learned by working is an invaluable component to a lifetime of success. Again, this is the must read book of all who want success for all children.”
Dr. Helveston posited in the book that there is an important activity that seems to be getting lost amid meaningless structure—holding down a job outside the home, for money. He argued that more than any other activity, work adds meaning to the knowledge learned in books and gives depth to the values instilled at home. I really agree with this and the research would concur. In fact, this is why I believe internships are so important in young people’s lives. This workplace development orientation requires inculcating good character traits within the young person, which will help them to carry out their professional responsibilities throughout the rest of their lives.
The idea of the “inclusive middle class” is one that really jumped out at me in the book. This really drove home why it is important for us to make sure we are carrying out and teaching our children the five actions listed above. Dr. Helveston said:
“But the future offers a two-way street. A position attained is never guaranteed. A person can attain more or accomplish less. Success can be in the form of financial security or with the attainment of other worthwhile goals. In either case, it takes effort to keep and possibly improve one’s place in society.” ~ Dr. Eugene Helveston (2016, p. 25)
Those who understand this will certainly have a leg up in society. We have an obligation to the children of the world to be providing them with the experiences to learn these facts. One way to formalize this would be to ramp up our internship programs both at the post-secondary level and in our high school programs. What better way to give our students the real life experiences necessary to help them be successful, happy, and functional citizens. Dr. Helveston’s book provides a guide and framework for educators, parents, and policymakers to help our children understand what opportunities are available to them and facilitate the journey to become their best selves.
Career Readiness for All?
I had the privilege of meeting and hearing from Dr. Nancy Hoffman of Jobs for the Future yesterday at our fourth Panel to Study Alternatives to the ISTEP+ Program Test. Our objective of having Dr. Hoffman was to discuss how we assess career readiness under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). I really saw a great deal of the value in the information she was presenting to us and wanted to share. Here are some facts she started with:
- The unemployment rate among Hoosiers age 16 to 19 year old is about 15%.
- Missing out on jobs during the late tees can have negative effects throughout a person’s working life.
- A young person who doesn’t get work experience between 16 and 19 is missing a major developmental experience.
- The economy suffers because of the above bullet points.
I was also struck by the idea of disconnected youth: those who are not in school or working – “have lower wages and marriage rates, higher incarceration and unemployment rates, worse health, less job satisfaction, and eve less happiness as adults than people who did not experience youth disconnection. Just as early successes breed optimism, early setbacks plant the seeds of hopelessness.”
“It’s not just about young people: The economy needs prepared young people.” ~ Dr. Nancy Hoffman
- Far too many young people complete a postsecondary degree/credential.
- STEM fields hold promise; employers struggle to find skilled employees.
- High school is not working for far too many young people
- Careers increasingly require postsecondary education and work readiness skills and experience.
- Education workforce, and economic development are inextricably connected.
“In my utopia, all high school students would have a structured work experience – just as 70% of young people do in Switzerland.” ~ Dr. Nancy Hoffman
Indiana is ahead of most states in having a law requiring career readiness activities starting in elementary school. Indiana has a career readiness definition which includes all students. Additionally, Indiana has career exploration courses. We provide Career and Technical Education (CTE) dual enrollment and we have strong CTE results.
Here are some questions that states need to be asking and addressing:
- What is the state’s definition of career readiness?
- Does the state want to focus on all students or exclusively CTE students?
- Are college and career preparation the same or different?
- How should various options be valued and weighed?
Being A Multiplier
Lesson #7 in 52 Leadership Lessons: Timeless Stories For The Modern Leader by John Parker Stewart was titled “Chains and Ribbons.” It was the story about how circuses used to restrain elephants by putting a chain on their leg attached to a stake at a very young age when the chain and stake would actually restrain them. An adult elephant could easily pull up the stake, but he has been conditioned that he can’t. In other words he had been conditioned to the restraint. This can happen to those we lead too. If we chain our people down, they get used to the restraint and then their innovation, creativity, collaboration, and self-motivation go away.
Employees who don’t self-start, make decisions on their own, give input, get feedback, and grow as people with purpose, eventually suffocate under micro-management and lose the will to contribute meaningfully. Top-down bosses are notorious for killing intrinsic motivation. Then, good employees are turned into order takers. These same employees then tend not to exercise one of the better traits that we want in those we lead – being a self-starter. Great leaders are present and in the moment. They don’t need to talk over others to get their point across.
Great leaders care less about flaunting their own IQs and more about fostering a culture of intelligence in their organizations. Under this type of empowering leadership these leaders become “multipliers.” Employees don’t just feel smarter, they become smarter. I believe in shifting the responsibility for thinking from myself to those I lead. As a multiplier I work at taking the time to understand the capabilities of each individual I lead so that I can connect employees with the right people, the right opportunities, and hyper personalize their personal growth. This enables an organization to build a virtuous cycle of attraction, growth, and opportunity.
Are you restraining those you lead? How can you empower your people to collaborate in a culture of excellence that encourages dissent, growth, innovation, and creativity? Go out and be a multiplier by explicitly giving people permission to think, speak, and act with reason.
Indiana Assessment Vision
Yesterday, we had our third legislative panel meeting studying alternatives to the ISTEP Program Test. This is part of our working toward the assessment plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for Indiana. One of the things we worked on yesterday was the vision statement of the group. Using suggestions from panel members, the panel legislative staff came up with the following draft statement:
“Indiana looks to design an assessment system that is student-centered and provides meaningful and timely information to educators and parents on both a student’s on-grade proficiency level and growth toward Indiana’s College and Career Ready standards. The assessment needs to be viable, reliable, research-based, and meet the requirements of both state and federal law, while meeting the needs of all students across Indiana.”
Now, being the vision guru I am, I immediately realized it did not meet the 35 words or less rule of thumb. I did, however, quickly underline what I thought were the most important parts of the vision statement that our panel needed to do to meet the needs of our students, families, and schools (I have underlined above). Here are the points:
- student-centered
- meaningful
- timely
- information to educators and parents
- on-grade proficiency level and growth
I suggested we eliminate the last sentence, “The assessment needs to be viable, reliable, research-based, and meet the requirements of both state and federal law, while meeting the needs of all students across Indiana.” because I do not believe it is at all visionary to be valid, reliable, researched based and meeting the letter of the law. We have that obligation to Indiana and the federal government through ESSA. We don’t need a vision for that.
So, my proposed vision statement would be:
“Indiana looks to design an assessment system that is student-centered* and provides meaningful and timely information to educators and parents on both a student’s on-grade proficiency level and growth toward Indiana’s College and Career Ready standards.”
You will notice the * with student-centered. I believe we should have a definition for student-centered following the vision statement. For me, that definition could be:
*A Student-centered assessment system, which includes student performance, academic growth, and multiple measures, sets challenging items and tasks that are intended to encourage deep learning and create a sense of high expectations and mutual accountability.
Then, I believe it is even more important to develop a set of belief statements associated to this process. I took pieces from what individuals submitted as vision statements to make a list of possible belief statements. I really believe that many of what panel members submitted were belief statements, not vision statements. This was a good things because we should have belief statements guiding our work.
Here is the list I came up with:
- New assessment must be implemented with fidelity
- Timely results
- Empowers students, parents, educators, and administrators
- Includes college and career readiness metric
- Meets the needs of all students
- Cost effective
- Accurately assesses students’ learning and growth over time
- Takes less time away from instruction and learning
- Equity for all students in how they take the assessment (technology/modality)
So, put all together, here’s what my draft would look like:
“Indiana looks to design an assessment system that is student-centered* and provides meaningful and timely information to educators and parents on both a student’s on-grade proficiency level and growth toward Indiana’s College and Career Ready standards.”
*A Student-centered assessment system, which includes student performance, academic growth, and multiple measures, sets challenging items and tasks that are intended to encourage deep learning and create a sense of high expectations and mutual accountability.
Indiana’s new assessment system must:
- be implemented with fidelity.
- provide timely results.
- empower students, parents, educators, and administrators.
- include college and career readiness metric.
- meets the needs of all students.
- be cost effective.
- accurately assesses students’ learning and growth over time.
- take less time away from instruction and learning.
- provide equity for all students in how they take the assessment (technology/modality).
Because ESSA requires us to have a summative assessment in grades 3-8 and a high school component our conversation must shift from all the chatter about whether wanting to test or not or whether it is right to test. Really, that is irrelevant. What is important is that we make sure all of our stakeholders understand “why” assessment is happening and exactly how the data will be used. I believe we are on the right track to developing a vision and belief statements that can drive this work. I would love to hear feedback on additional belief statements or edits to make the belief statement suggestions better.
Byron's Babbles 
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