On weeks like this one I'm forced to question
Whether any student will take my suggestion.
Work hard, be responsible and do the right thing
Let your good qualities shine, for God's sake let them sing.
We work hard at our school to develop a culture
That won't let the world eat them up like a vulture.
All jobs in the 21st century require such thinking
yet so many of my kids continue their sinking.
From cursing to ditching to smoking the weed
Why can't they pick up a book and maybe just read
Decisions, decisions are made each and every day
I watch as each child goes on their own separate way.
Why can't they see, their blind to the big picture
This little community seems like their one and only fixture.
Please look outside of this small five points town
If not your now smile will soon be a frown.
Our great kids are great, but still dissapoint
When we find them on Monday rolling a joint.
We push and we push as the year comes to a close
Get it on track, we speak with such prose.
But results are what matter, can you read, write and speak
I worry, I worry, so many students are weak.
Think of their future, the life that awaits,
Change their ways now or find a series of check mates.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Leadership through Optimism (4-15-09)
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of listening to Geoffry Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone, speak at a luncheon for urban education reformers and practitioners. His speech was insightful, engaging and most certainly energizing. Telling stories from the Harlem community he works tirelessly to serve while conveying essential information, the luncheon was a kick in the pants and in the end, a call to action. Reflecting on the speech sometime later, there is one driving message that still stands with me. "Do the work."
Canada explained a great deal about how the Children's Zone functions in Harlem and how each piece of his "support conveyor belt" is connected, but when all is said and done, his message of "do the work" remains. As he shared his experiences, both past and present, he kept coming back to the fact that we must engage in this work at full throttle. Underneath this impetus to push forward was a clear statement of "no excuse is acceptable." He may not have said those words, but it was clear from his tone and his message that there is no room for failure. His approach to problem solving was impressive, bold and a little crazy all wrapped together.
Consider his leadership approach. A staff member on the Children's Zone comes to him with an idea, could be any idea at all. If it is going to have a positive impact on the children in his community and serve their mission of preparing each and every child for college then that idea will almost certainly come to fruition. Canada's response is never in the form "sounds good, but..." or "I like what you're saying, but..." His reaction (from my reading of his text and listening to him speak) is always along the lines of "this is going to work, now let's find a way to get it done." The optimistic approach to leadership, the avoidance of excuses, these are the qualities that seem to ensure the success of his organization. It's so easy to say "sounds great, but we don't have the money," or "that would really benefit our 4 year olds, but we don't have the staff to support it." What's challenging and I'm sure exhausting is always being open to new ideas that you know are of benefit to your mission and in turn, constantly finding ways to implement rather than discussing ways to avoid.
Transfer this idea to any organization, whether in the private or public sector, and it's clear to see that leadership through optimism (as Canada referenced repeatedly in his speech) is the most valuable asset he has. On a micro level, it's easy to consider the classroom, where teachers can look out at their sea of students and say I'd really like to engage my kids with this difficult text, or I'd really like to teach these guys Pre-Calculus, but I don't think they can. Their skills are too low, their attitudes are too negative, their families don't support us. Forget about the negative and take a page from Canada's book...if you know it's in the best interest of your class or organization or business, find a way to make it happen.
When you consider the severity of problems plaguing urban education from teaching capital to funding to high drop out rates to dilapidated buildings to lack of quality leadership it's easy to say forget it. We can't do this. Instead, I urge you to consider the Canada approach. Think about what needs to get done and "do the work." Don't wait for permission, don't read all the rules, just engage in what needs to get done. Success will only come to our most troubled cities when more people follow the Canada way of leadership through optimism blended with a "no-excuse" attitude. Every beat the odds school in our nation has some version of this philosophy running through it's veins. Let's inject a dose into all of us and see what kind of results we can get.
Canada explained a great deal about how the Children's Zone functions in Harlem and how each piece of his "support conveyor belt" is connected, but when all is said and done, his message of "do the work" remains. As he shared his experiences, both past and present, he kept coming back to the fact that we must engage in this work at full throttle. Underneath this impetus to push forward was a clear statement of "no excuse is acceptable." He may not have said those words, but it was clear from his tone and his message that there is no room for failure. His approach to problem solving was impressive, bold and a little crazy all wrapped together.
Consider his leadership approach. A staff member on the Children's Zone comes to him with an idea, could be any idea at all. If it is going to have a positive impact on the children in his community and serve their mission of preparing each and every child for college then that idea will almost certainly come to fruition. Canada's response is never in the form "sounds good, but..." or "I like what you're saying, but..." His reaction (from my reading of his text and listening to him speak) is always along the lines of "this is going to work, now let's find a way to get it done." The optimistic approach to leadership, the avoidance of excuses, these are the qualities that seem to ensure the success of his organization. It's so easy to say "sounds great, but we don't have the money," or "that would really benefit our 4 year olds, but we don't have the staff to support it." What's challenging and I'm sure exhausting is always being open to new ideas that you know are of benefit to your mission and in turn, constantly finding ways to implement rather than discussing ways to avoid.
Transfer this idea to any organization, whether in the private or public sector, and it's clear to see that leadership through optimism (as Canada referenced repeatedly in his speech) is the most valuable asset he has. On a micro level, it's easy to consider the classroom, where teachers can look out at their sea of students and say I'd really like to engage my kids with this difficult text, or I'd really like to teach these guys Pre-Calculus, but I don't think they can. Their skills are too low, their attitudes are too negative, their families don't support us. Forget about the negative and take a page from Canada's book...if you know it's in the best interest of your class or organization or business, find a way to make it happen.
When you consider the severity of problems plaguing urban education from teaching capital to funding to high drop out rates to dilapidated buildings to lack of quality leadership it's easy to say forget it. We can't do this. Instead, I urge you to consider the Canada approach. Think about what needs to get done and "do the work." Don't wait for permission, don't read all the rules, just engage in what needs to get done. Success will only come to our most troubled cities when more people follow the Canada way of leadership through optimism blended with a "no-excuse" attitude. Every beat the odds school in our nation has some version of this philosophy running through it's veins. Let's inject a dose into all of us and see what kind of results we can get.
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