Man in the Mirror

Yes, this entry is named after a Michael Jackson song. Read on, you'll see why. ;)

Thursday and Friday were phenomenal days, and after one week of training, meetings, and all this other stuff, it was time to see kids.

In our school, we have advisories of anywhere from 10 to 15 kids, and we work toward fostering their academic and personal growth here. We also guide them through our end-of-year requirements in advisory; from grades 7-11, students must complete a portfolio of work aligned to certain grade-wide learning goals. Seniors must successfully complete a capstone project in order to graduate (in addition to their final coursework). This makes it a stressful, yet powerful year, as students frequently choose projects pertinent to the path they want to take after graduation.

I find it hard to counsel seniors when they have no clue what they want to do with their lives. In the case of these seniors, the high school diploma becomes their end more often than not. After that, it's joining the workforce and leaving their fates to the wind, which is a scary prospect in today's world/economy/whatever. And when students don't have a goal, the incentive to succeed is less likely to exist: if a high school diploma is good enough for a basic, 40-hour-a-week job, why should they do well? Why should they aspire to the greatness we expect?

This is not the case for my advisory. Every single one of my advisees has a purpose for their lives; something to shoot for and achieve. And, I saw in their parents' eyes and in their eyes that they want to succeed badly. From careers on the stage to work in customizing cars, every one of my advisees has a dream and a possible path to get there. And it was so fantastic to hear that they were genuinely excited to have me as an advisor. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but that was feedback I got in nearly every meeting.

So, now, in my fifth year, I have one more thing to fight for. I can feel that this will be so much different from advising ninth graders, because their aspirations are immediately on the line. What I read in the feedback of 'I can't wait to have you as an advisor' was 'I know you can help me achieve what I want to achieve', and while this is flattering and empowering, this feedback implies obligation. They are telling me to help them.

I made two simple statements in every meeting: that senior year was about making sure each student was in good position to do what they want with their lives when they are done. If that requires success, I go to see that they make it happen, even if that requires prodding and insistence and annoying the crap out of them. I made that perfectly clear. I also said that this will require accountability: that each advisee be accountable to me and that I be accountable to them. These statements went really well, with both parents and advisees.

So, why the Michael Jackson reference? I won't subject you to more reading by posting the lyrics (save for one line at the end), but the song makes reference to making change happen by changing yourself. I know, I know, it's a cliché message set to 80s synthbeat, but it connected. I said last entry that I didn't know how negativity I was bringing to my own profession, and it has become more clear that I must do my part here; I must bring some of my own positive into school every day. It started with these meetings Thursday.

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Riding that positive wave, Friday was a day of planning and preparation, but it also was interrupted by a meeting with ninth- and tenth-grade teachers and P about issues relating to student safety and classroom boundaries on those grades (sorry, can't talk about them as a result). At these meetings last year, it got really easy to turn negative. It always felt like an us-versus-them, can-or-can't, admin-versus-teacher-versus-student arrangement. This year was so different; all of these teachers were on the same page, and so was P. It was time for me to get there, too.

In the middle of the meeting, P had to leave and deal with an 'urgent' issue. P was our facilitator, and a meeting without a facilitator turns into a clusterbleep, usually. So, after noticing that our notetaker was trying to facilitate and scribe, without much success, I just started facilitating. It was what the discussion required, and I just did it. I could feel that we were all on the same page when talking about the well-being and safety of 160 students. I didn't want the meeting to slip.

I am a trained facilitator; I got that training from the National School Reform Faculty last year, and so far, I've been terrible at it. This time, people followed and respected protocol. Discussion was positive. I didn't do much straight contributing, but more leading and transitioning, which is what a good meeting facilitator should do. I led the group through to a final agreement on uniform non-negotiable rules, moving the discussion when it got stale. We got done what we needed to, and in good time.

I knew, though, that it wasn't my facilitating strength getting us through. It was knowing that we ALL were right on purpose, myself included, with an understanding that the goal is essential to our success this year. And it felt GOOD. VERY GOOD.

School starts Monday.

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You've gotta get it right, while you've got the time, cause when you close your heart, then you close your mind...