The Good The Bad The Ugly

My May Trustee Reflection. This maybe some what tongue & cheek and if taken out of context, thoughts behind the post will be lost. Web links were added to the enrich the Blog post. This is the most inspiring yet depressing yet hilarious yet horrifying yet heartwarming grad speech

"The Good The Bad The Ugly

 A simplistic, maybe naive look at what does the good the bad the ugly look like in an education setting/scenario.

Every meeting we have good news. Our students do great things, our staff do great things, our schools do great things. It is not fluff. We our proud of the achievements and accomplishments within our system. Can we always pin point the policy, procedure, pedagogy, practice or philosophy that nurtured that good news? Often not. Everything within the education system is so intertwined. Our students and our front line on the ground staff are our best good news. 10 Ways to Determine the Strengths of Our Students

The bad unfortunately sometimes happens. But is the bad bad? Engage Inspire Innovate .... Always Learning. We tell our students to learn from their mistakes, that mistakes are a learning experience not a failure. What about so called mistakes from staff, To Engage To Inspire To Innovate? Are they given the freedom and support to try the uncharted? Being at the forefront and jumping on the bandwagon before it is trending may leave one vulnerable to criticism and maybe the realization things are not working. Do they alter course and admit miscalculation or stay course in hopes the mistake goes unnoticed by others? What direction to take? All too often the status quo prevails which leads to the accusation that education reform/transformation is too slow or even not working. Is the resistance to making change from the fear of the unknown or the fear of what one must give up to achieve change? The conversations around these mistakes are maybe just as valuable as the good news. Advancement. The bad may ultimately be the best practice. Always Learning. When School Leaders Empower Teachers Better Ideas Emerge

The ugly, you never want to deal with. It is out there though. Whether it is an ARC decision, curriculum & programming offerings, staffing & staff issues or finance & budgeting, there will always be those that disagree with the decision. The decisions can be divisive and controversy. This is when we as trustees feel like we are under attack. How we approach the ugly, how we deal with the ugly and how we resolve the ugly can be a challenge and a building opportunity. The ugly allows for the bad and the good. Improving Schools: A Response to Kumbaya

In this scenario it almost appears the good is provided by our students, the bad by our staff and the ugly by us. I believe that is the way it should be. 4 Questions to Improve Your School

You can tell you are doing things right when the ugly and the bad empower the good."