Reflections on Leadership and Learning

One of my professional learning areas this month was around Native American history. In addition to many microcourses, I read a number of books related to the broad topic, both fiction and nonfiction. I also read a number of quick mysteries at the end of the month during my vacation, and have continued my Stephen King Summer book club. This month I read:

• 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman and James Stavridis – When I heard this book described on Currently Reading, I knew I would enjoy it! We are transported to the not-so-far future, in 2034, when China and the US are entangled in a geopolitical game of war that quickly escalates. This is fast-paced, yet filled with specific military and historical jargon that keeps you invested and holding your breath to see what these countries, as well as a few others, will do next. I enjoyed the ride!
• Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin – I marked this book as “to be read” in Goodreads 8 years ago. I decided to look back to the beginning of my TBR list and put many books on hold at my library. This is a sweet middle grades book narrated by Jason, an Autistic boy who wants NTs, or Neurotypicals, to understand his life. We live inside his head as he takes us through some tough times in school, and his personal hobby of writing and where that leads him. It’s a good window books for many of us to have a deeper understanding.
• Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle – I love the premise of this sweet romance. Daphne has spent her life knowing how long each romantic relationship she enters will last because she receives a piece of paper with a man’s name and a time period (i.e. Hugo 3 months) near the time she meets each man. This gives her some comfort in the predictability, but she is also waiting for “the one”. When she received a note with Jake’s name and no time limit, she assumes he must be her forever love. But is he? This was a quick and fun read!
• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza – I write my thoughts on this powerful book while on land that is part of Kumeyaay land, which was much vaster before colonization. This book looks at the history of the U.S. from the lens of indigenous people, discussing who was here before colonists and explorers, how the land was taken, how people were treated and mistreated, and how the indigenous cultures, unique and different with each tribe and nation, were ignored and stamped upon over and over again. I learned so much as I read this book. Though it was adapted for young people, because of the nature of the topic there is much talk of brutality. I would not recommend this for a class under 5th grade and would hope that elementary teachers might read this for their own education and share segments with young people.
• Before You Say A Word: A School Leader’s Guide to Clear and Compelling Communication by Erik Palmer – I received a signed copy of this book directly from Erik, the author, as a thanks for sharing some snippets of information with him as we was writing this book. I connected with Erik on Twitter years ago, after loving his book Well Spoken (I still wish I had that book when I was teaching middle school English!). In that book, he teaches educators the importance and value of explicitly teaching speaking skills. In his latest book, he is focused on helping educational leaders improve their communication. He takes us through planning a message, considering authentic, content, what not to say, and how to present. I was so sad, and maybe a little embarrassed, to read that bulleted lists on slides are OUT – I immediately edited a slide deck I was working on! The second part of the book includes advice for delivering a message, with vocal and nonverbal reminders. It was fun to reread the examples I shared with him, and to see examples from so many other practitioners – their experiences are varied and bring depth to his advice. I appreciate Erik include all of those voices and I was honored to be asked!
• Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson – I first marked this book as “want to read” on Goodreads in 2015, probably because it was compared to Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. This is a sweet YA book about three teenage girls who end up stuck together working on a peach farm. Birdie, Leeda and Murphy seem like opposites in every way and it takes them quite a while to form a connection that grows into a beautiful friendship, all while Birdie’s family peach farm is close to going under. I enjoyed this sweet journey.
• The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich [audiobook] – I love Louise Erdrich’s adult fiction and this book has been on all of the lists of recommended books by Native Americans about Native Americans. This is a story set around the same time and place as Little House on the Prairie, but focused on an Ojibwa family, their customs, culture, language and traditions. It’s a beautiful look into a history we haven’t been told enough about, through the eyes of a child.
• We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay: Tips, Tales, Travels by Gary Janetti [audiobook] – I have loved listening to Gary’s other books and this one continued the tradition. Gary has wit, sarcasm, and truth telling down to an art, as he shares some of his favorite travel memories, as well as a few good tips. While I will not be following his advice to only pack a carryon for my next international trip, I appreciate the rationale he uses to explain this. I want a print out of his recommends at the end of the book for my future European trips!
• We Are the Land: A History of Native California by Damon B. Akins and William J. Bauer Jr. – This was a dense history of California and the many Native People who have been here for centuries and continue to be here, in spite of genocide, forced removal, forced service, and more harm across the state. Reading all of this history truly demonstrates the resilience of the peoples indigenous to California, and the depth of my own ignorance of this history. The majority of this book was new information to me, which makes me sad but also glad I read it.
• Turbulence by David Szalay – I used a very old gift card to a local indie bookstore recenty and picked up this tiny paperback for fun. The book is a series of interconnected short stories, where airplane travel is involved. We start in London and then go to Spain, and each chapter title is the airport codes for the beginning and ending destinations. The people’s lives were explored so vividly in such short stories and I was very interested in everything, despite the heavy, weighted topics. Great read for a day of travel!
• Never Lie by Freida McFadden – One of the principals I work with recommended this book, by an author who has penned many suspenseful books I now need to add to my TBR. This was a fun, fast-paced thriller that took place partly in a house in the middle of nowhere, where newlyweds Tricia and Ethan get snowed in over night. Throughout that night, we listen to taped therapy sessions found in the house, that connect many situations and events and lead up to a scary ending!
• You Like It Darker by Stephen King – I read two stories from this collection for our Stephen King Summer Book Club, and then I read the rest becuase they were all unique and interesting. I love King’s writing, but I really appreciate the short stories since he is often sooooo descriptive and detailed. Each of these stories was so different and I liked them all.
• It’s One of Us by J.T. Ellison – This was a fun, fast-paced mystery with enough twists and turns to keep me surprised throughout. We meet Olivia on the day of her most recent miscarriage, just as her husband Park learns that he has a biological son who is suspected of a local murder. We soon learn that Park has over 20 biological children from a sperm donation in college, and the plot unfolds from there. The supporting characters, Park’s siblings, the detectives, and the bio children, kep this moving forward and I enjoyed it!
• Picture books – I read a fun collection of picture books that I had in my office, that I received as gifts from a conference, and through equity work.

Favorite Books

Fiction: 2034: A Novel of the Next World War

Nonfiction: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People

I love this check-in style blog post because it serves as a time capsule of what life looks like in a specific moment in time. I have done three of these Currently posts in the past (3.0, 2.0, 1.0)

Currently Reading: As much as I can about Indigenous People; specifically We are the Land: A History of Native California by Damon B. Akins and Williams J. Bauer Jr. and An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza

Currently Watching: The Good Doctor, based on my father’s recommendation; Parks and Recreation as a rewatch when I need mindless entertainment that is funny and soothing

Currently Anticipating: My upcoming two week vacation where I will be cruising the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, for my first visit to South America

Blue footed Booby of Galapagos Islands

Currently Ordering: Lots of random stuff on Amazon for my vacation (water-proof shoes, bug spray, etc.) and a wearable neck fan for outdoor concerts

Currently Appreciating: The incredible staff working at our summer school programs in support of student learning, spreading joy and belonging

Currently Pondering: The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our lives and in education

Currently Craving: Sweet corn on the cob and watermelon (and always too many sweets!)

Currently Moving: My body via walks, dancing at concerts and Peloton cycle classes

Please chime in with a comment about what your life Currently looks like!

My annual Stephen Kind Summer Book Club kicked off in June, so be prepared for 3 months of Stephen King along with some other books! This was my best reading month all year in terms of number of books read, and I really embraced a wide range of genres and styles, including one poetry book, and lots of audiobooks. One of the reasons for SO MANY books this month is that I was doing a slow read of a few of these books, especially the nonfiction ones, over the course of a number of months and I just happened to finish them all in June. Reading a lot, however, did not mean I read a ton that I loved this month; only two five star reads for me this month. This month I read:

• The Librarianist by Peter deWitt – I picked this book up as an impulse at my library. I usually just run in to get the books I put on hold, but this book was in a summer reading recommendation area and I was intrigued enough to bring it home. Bob Comet is a career librarian and this is sort of his life story, told in present day (after he retires) and through flashbacks. We learn of his short marriage to Connie, who ended up leaving him for his best friend Ethan. We learn of his life of books and libraries and his simple life. This was a deep character study. While it was not fast-paced or full of adventure, it was an interesting slow read.
• The Wild Robot Escapes (#2) by Peter Brown [audiobook] – I read and loved the first in this middle grades series based on the recommendation of a number of kids in my life. I finally got around to listening to the second book, in preparation to read the third before the movie comes out, based on my nephew’s recommendation. In book two we meet our robot friend Roz after she has been fixed up and sent to work on a farm. She is there to help a widower and his children run their family farm, after a sad accident, and during good and bad times. Roz quickly befriends the cows and the children realize her special skills, all while Roz tries to figure out how to escape and get back to her son, the goose Brightbill. The second half of this story is a fast-paced adventure as we root for Roz!
• Annie Bot by Sierra Greer [audiobook]- I heard this book described by Katie on Currently Reading and knew I wanted to read it. Annie Bot is an AI robot build to look, feel, and act like a real human. She is a purchased companion for Doug, who can control her settings include her desire. She exists to please him and continues to learn and adapt as she gets to know him and what might displease him. They used the word “displease” so often it made me crazy! This is a wild ride that hints to the future of AI… the good and bad! There is some debate online about whether the author is a real person or whether this was written by AI, which is part of what intrigued me. This is not well-written literature. This was a fun, silly fluffy read which was just what I wanted! It also explored the role of gender, of control, and of AI in interesting details.
• Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Curriculum and Instruction by Gholdy Muhammad – I received a copy of this book to review for AASA’s journal. I loved Gholdy’s first book and enjoyed a deeper dive into her equity framework. In this book Gholdy weaves music, art, and joy into planning historically and culturally responsive lessons to benefit all students, especially Black students. There were sample lessons for teachers to follow the framework and specific ideas to support instructional planning.
• ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King – I’m participating in another Stephen King summer book club and this was our first read of the summer. The area of Jerusalem’s Lot in Maine has a scary old house that some people believe is haunted. When author Ben comes back to town, presumably to write a story about said house, Ben getes more than he planned on. Like most King books, there are hundreds of pages of description of the town and all the people who live there, leading up to a very fast-paced and tense ending.
• The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson – The title drew me to this book, which ended up being a cute story about a town living in the past, a little bookstore, and Maggie, who comes to help her pregnant friend out at the bookstore. Maggie quickly learns the rules of the town and then accidentally begins to break them. The book references are fun and quippy and the romance was light and fluffy. This was a quick, run read.
• The Wild Robot Protects #3 by Peter Brown – I borrowed the third book in this series from my nephew, who got me so excited about the movie coming out soon based on the wild robot books. I enjoyed this story more than the second book, even though it was mostly our favorite robot Roz traveling alone in the ocean, trying to save her island friends from the “poison tide” threatening to ruin ocean life forever. This book had a lot of messages wrapped into a fun story.
• Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult [audiobook] – My friend Lauren and I are travelling to the Galapagos Islands next month and she heard about this book and got me excited about it. I was happy to dive into a story that takes place when Diana travels to the Galapagos. Sadly, I didn’t know the story was set in 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Diana’s boyfriend was a doctor in NYC. There was a lot of darkness in this, as we relived the pandemic along with the couple. I loved the beautiful descriptions of the nature and animal life on the island, even as Diana freaks out because she is stuck on a shut down island, with no wifi, and no money. This was a bittersweet story told around trying times.
• You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson – I heard this author interviewed on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast a long time ago and I purchased their poetry book and then didn’t read it for over a year. I am not much of a poetry reader, but I enjoyed reading one a day. Andrea is known for their spoken word performances, their truth telling about their life as a queer poet with a chronic illness, and they are a talented writer. Some of the shortest poems spoke to me the most.
• Silent Witness by Robin James (Cass Leary Legal Thriller #2) – I like this series because the main character, Cass, is a smart woman who cares about her family, all of whom are flawed and continue to get mixed up into trouble she has to save them from. In this story, her sister Vangie is arrested for the murder of the couple who adopted Vangie’s daughter. Cass trusts her sister, despite all signs pointing towards her guilt. In the rush to find the missing child, we learned a lot more about this family’s backstory and what makes them tick. I enjoyed the ride!
• All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma Jones #2) – Now that I’m into book two in this cozy mystery series, I’m enjoying the main characters of Duncan and Gemma more. In this story, Duncan’s neighbor dies, which shouldn’t be unexepcted because she has terminal cancer. However, Duncan suspects that someone helped her along before her time, and he is determined to figure out what happened.
• Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom by Katie Cunningham, Jan Burkins, & Kari Yates – I borrowed this book from one of my work friends, after my travel buddy was reading the primary version on a recent trip we took. I had heard about the shifts, and knew I wanted to explore the upper grade version. We have already dialed in a good plan for our primary grades, but we are still researching options for upper grades when it comes to phonics, phonemic awareness and morphology. I appreciated the structure of the book, as there are real-life classroom examples, myths that are busted (many of which I used to believe), research, and specific ways to make a shift. The chapter on comprehension strategies was so important for me to read, as someone who paid a lot of consultants a lot of money over the years for comprehension professional learning. I appreciated the vocabulary chapter a lot more than I expected and learned a lot from all of the shifts.
• Count Your Lucky Stars (Written in the Stars #3) by Alexandria Bellefleur – I read the first in this queer rom com series, didn’t realize it had continued, and then randomly read this one, which was the third. I vaguely remembered the characters, so this could stand alone as a single read. In this story, Margot meets up with her high school BFF/ crush Olivia and there is obvious chemistry and significant miscommunication. Eventually they begin to connect, but the communication continues to be a problem up until the end, like a typical rom com. This series has a fun cast of characters and a cute, likeable style!
• Both/ And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems by Wendy Smith, and Marianne Lewis – I read about this leadership/ business book in an educational journey and was intrigued. The idea of paradoxes is not new to us. Everytime I read large scale feedback I can see competing messages back and forth across the feedback. The authors’ premise is that we need to learn to stop thinking in a binary yes/no either/or way and instead think in a both/and way. We must look at a paradox, or a situation that seems to have conflicting issues, and decide how to move forward in an innovative way. They describe a clear theory, provide lots of examples from different businesses and leaders, and share their own mistakes along the way. It was a little too long and jargony at times, but the overall message was a great reminder for leaders.
• Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie [audiobook] – This book has been on my “TBR” list in Goodreads for 3 years. I finally decided to get purposeful about cleaning up that list and found this audiobook available through my library. This is a hard story but well worth the read. We meet three orphan young adults, Isma, Aneeka, and Parvaiz, who live in London and who are of Pakistan heritage. As they each come into their own as adults, they find ways to explore who their parents were, what their religion and heritage means to them, and what it means to be a Muslim in England. This was a beautiful “window” book for me, to get a small glimpse into a lifestyle so different from my own.

Favorite Books

Fiction: Wild Robot Protects

Nonfiction: Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom

We are deep in interview season and in my 27 years in education I can estimate that I have sat in over 250 interview (from both sides of the room!). I have coached aspiring administrators and facilitated a lot of interview prep. There are certain questions that you can anticipate in an interview and I advise people to practice for those questions. In fact, I wish that every person interviewing for any position would practice their 2-3 minute elevator speech answer to what is usually the first question: Please tell us about your background and experience related to this position. When this is the first question, you can start off strong or you can get off on the wrong foot and never recover. I have had applicants spend 10 minutes on this question and then get cut off because of time and never answer the last few questions. I have had others say so little that the panel was left wondering how they passed a paper screen. The key to this question is finding a balance of details that highlight your work related to the position without reciting your entire resume. If you are interviewing soon, I highly recommend you prepare and practice for this question and time yourself!

In addition to the anticipated questions, a good panel will have some questions that are more surprising, more unique, and you need to be ready to answer anything. One way I recommend you can prepare for this style of questions is to keep a document (I keep mine in Evernote so it’s always available on my phone) of your work strengths and highlights. Right before I walk into any interview, I review my strength document. That way, I’m going in with a reminder of key programs or leadership moves I want to make sure to talk about during an interview. I am prepared with stories and I just want to find the right question to fit the highlight. Two questions we have recently been asking have led to some fascinating answers; they have also led to a lot of rambling that I wish some people could have answered better.

• What are you passionate about and how has that impacted your work?
• Share with us a leadership mistake you’ve made and how you’ve handled it.

For the first question above, I love to know that candidates are passionate about something… anything! Sometimes we hear about specific content areas, pet projects, outside hobbies, or unique skills and talents. Some people sound like they are trying to impress us by saying that they are passionate about educating all kids, or doing their best job. While I hope both of those statements are true, when I ask this question I want to get to know someone. I want to know that they have a semblance of a work-life balance, that they have interests beyond their job, and/or that they are open and willing to research something new, to life that life-long learner status.

I am passionate about traveling, reading, writing, and going to concerts. It is easy to explain how my reading and writing passions have impacted my work as a teacher, a literacy coach, and a leader. You might be wondering how I might connect my other passions to my work. My love of traveling has opened my eyes to different ways that other countries approach education, new cultures, and things that I didn’t know. By traveling, I am able to see life experiences that are vastly different that my own, which has created more empathy and curiosity. These have led to my equity work and the necessity to ensure we have greater representation in our curriculum, our staff, and our events. The joy I experience during a live concert with a friend is something that I want to see replicated in our school experience for each student. Watching talented artists do what they do best is inspiring. I want all of our students to be inspired, to find what they do best, and to live a life full of passion.

Our question about a mistake has led to some beautiful and soulful answers. I appreciate that just about every administrator we have asked this question of recently has started by saying something about how they have many examples to choose from because we are all always making mistakes and learning from them. That is the first idea that I am listening for with this question. The second part I am listening for is less about the actual mistake and more about the recovery and learning from the mistake. I want to hear that people are able to admit and own their errors, apologize when necessary, repair harm, make a plan to fix the problem, and create a system to ensure they don’t make the same mistake again.

Listening to some great responses recently had me reflecting. Though I know and believe in my heart that we all make (and should make!) mistakes often, as a Type A person I have struggled with making mistakes. I have been a recovering perfectionist for a long time and am still helping my brain learn the idea of FAIL = First Attempt In Learning. I will beat myself up after sending a message with a typo in it for way too long. I can be stubborn and I don’t like to be wrong. However, this internal anxiety is related more to easily corrected errors that come from speed and lack of attention to detail. The bigger mistakes that I make as a leader are real and I’m not ashamed of them. They give me pause for reflection and learning.

Sometimes it takes a lot of time to provide the right perspective on a past mistake. For instance, there was a situation with two people I supervised in the past. This pair attended an out-of-district professional learning event together. On the day of the event, I didn’t know where they were or why and my boss was questioning me. I sent a hasty text or email to get clarity and that communication caused a lot of stress. After the event, my colleagues explained to me when they thought they had shared the information with me in the past. While we disagreed about if or when that happened, I apologized for my hasty reaction and the unnecessary stress it caused. What I realized after the fact was that one of these people was someone I trusted fully and one was someone who was in need of a lot of coaching and support and was someone who had lost my trust. My hasty reaction was a result of the lack of trust. The person who I did trust lost trust in me because of my reaction and I had to repair our relationship with personal conversations, additional apologies, and clarifications of my actions as well as details about why I did respect and trust the person. I also learned the value of slowing down and gathering details before making a hasty decision or communication.

Interviewing candidates for a job is one of the most important parts of my role as a district leader. It is also one of the most challenging. I take the responsibility seriously. You can only tell so much about a person from an application and an interview. Until someone is in the job, doing the work with other people day after day, you cannot fully know how well they will fit the position. If you are in a season of interviewing, I wish you luck!

While this post is not directly related to Instructional Leadership, you might be interested in posts from my Explorations in Instructional Leadership:

Introduction to Explorations in Instructional Leadership

The Science of Reading

Scope and Sequence