Excitement Fuels Stamina

I have become increasingly interested in learning more about turning students into passionate readers. I've read quite a bit on the topic and am currently in the middle of Passionate Readers by Pernille Ripp and Readicide by Kelly Gallagher. 

(Truthfully, it's not about "turning" students into passionate readers, it's about "returning" them to being passionate readers. When students first learn to read, they are excited about reading. The challenge is sustaining that excitement throughout their school years and beyond.)

This morning, while listening to a podcast, one teacher said that "excitement fuels stamina." This got me thinking about how excitement also fuels sustained interest - especially genuine, authentic interest. In essence, excitement fuels the development of passionate readers. 

I believe the reflection which should come from this would be which of our current practices generates excitement about literature? How often do we allow students the opportunity to talk about what they read? How often do we talk to our students about what we're reading?

This is a deep, complex topic, but I hope the thoughts here help spur some reflection for you as it has for me.

Thanks for reading!

(This post was an email sent to staff on January 7, 2020.)

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

Hiring Passionate (Reading) Teachers

One common theme that keeps presenting itself when reading the works of both Donalyn Miller and Pernille Ripp is the importance of the classroom teacher being the lead reader in the classroom. Donalyn Miller writes in The Book Whisperer that "Teachers who love reading and see it as a gift have a greater impact on students than those who don't read and see reading as a skill to be mastered." When it comes to teaching students how to read (and enjoy it), our children deserve to have teachers who can maximize their impact in the short amount of time they have. As a parent, my preference is for my daughters' teachers to be passionate about literacy and learning.

I was recently listening to Pernille Ripp's book Passionate Readers in the car. The passion she has for literacy caused reflection as both a father and school administrator. As a father, my desire is for my daughters to be taught by passionate readers. As a school administrator, I desire for every student to share the same experience. 

My role in recruiting, hiring, and retaining great teachers is one of the greatest responsibilities I have. In listening to Passionate Readers, my mind wondered to a sports analogy for the hiring process.

Suppose you were charged with hiring a new coach for your school's basketball team. Expectations are high, so you want to be sure to find the best coach to achieve the greatest results possible. One candidate's credentials are the following:

• Never played organized basketball
• Only played in school when required to do so for PE class
• Went to college to be a teacher and decided to pursue coaching
• Took a couple of required coaching classes
• Doesn't really care much for the game of basketball

Would you consider hiring this candidate? Would this candidate even get an interview?

Another thought you may have is if the students deserve to have a coach who has never really shown a passion for the sport. Would this candidate be able to effectively develop basketball talent? Keep in mind, expectations are high for this basketball team.

Now, assume you are responsible for hiring a teacher for your building. For this scenario, the level is irrelevant. Literacy is equally important across all levels and content areas in elementary, middle school, and high school. And, expectations for students' literacy development is high. Consider the following applicant:

• Never really enjoyed reading in school. 
• Only read if it was required for a grade. Likely used Cliffs Notes whenever possible.
• Went to college to be a teacher. Only read when it was required for Young Adult and Children's Literature courses.
• Hasn't read a book since those classes in college and currently has no plans to do so.

Much of this is likely to present itself during an interview - if the interviewer has carefully selected questions to draw out such information. Keep in mind, developing literacy in your school is of utmost importance. How would this candidate fare if you were the one responsible for hiring?

If you were choosing your child's teacher, would you choose this candidate?

Yes, there are sometimes multiple factors in play when making hiring decisions. Sometimes there are things out of our control. And, teacher shortages are real. Qualified applicant pools are often small. 

Every student deserves a great teacher. Hiring teachers who are passionate about reading and learning should be a top priority. Finding these teachers takes a determined, intentional effort - including the questions selected for the interview process.

It is likely that few schools would hire the coaching candidate above - especially if there were high expectations for the team. I'm concerned that sometimes the standards we have for hiring athletic coaches and teachers are not the same. Yes, many coaches are outstanding teachers. Please do not miss my point. My point is about the passions we bring to the table as educators. Are our passions contagious? Do they help our students grow and develop their own passions? In this case, what impact can we expect to have with students' literacy development if we have very little passion for reading?

If literacy is important in schools, it must be a priority in the hiring process. 

I'll conclude with a quote from Donalyn Miller...

"Being a master reading teacher begins with being a master reader."

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

Talking with Students

As I continue to learn and grow as an educator, one of the things I've pondered recently is my communication with students. I'm not perfect, but I do work on growing in my ability to connect with students and (hopefully) make a difference in their lives. 

The way we speak to and treat students is very important. Both are opportunities to model appropriate communication. One negative experience a student has with an adult can undo a lot of good and be very difficult to overcome. 

I have come to believe:

• All students should be treated with dignity and respect.
• We should speak to and treat students as if their parents were right there with us.
• If we wouldn't say it in front of their parents, we shouldn't say it in front of anybody else.

One of the things I've been trying to do lately when finishing a conversation with a student is ask them 2-3 questions. Something along the lines of:

• Do you feel I've treated you fairly?
• Do you feel I've treated you respectfully?
• Do you feel I care about you?

If I know I'm going to ask those questions, it helps guide my tone of voice and choice of words. And, I hope it helps send a message to the students that I truly care about them and how I treat them.

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

Be Somebody's Belle

Note: The post below is an email I sent staff on March 20, 2017.

One of the greatest joys of being an educator is helping students discover strengths, talents, and confidence. This past weekend, Julie and I had a rare opportunity to spend an evening with just the two of us.  With all of the potential controversy surrounding Beauty and the Beast, we decided to watch it before determining if we would allow our girls to do the same. There was a particular line in one of the songs that resonated with me more than it had before. I've heard the song many times before, but it hit different this time.

The line came towards the end of the movie when the Beast was discovering his gentle, caring side. Belle sang "there's something there that wasn't there before". The Beast had been rough around the edges and constantly had his guard up. His heart was hardened. That was, of course, until Belle inspired him to become something better. It wasn't easy, and it took a great deal of patience and perseverance, but Belle helped the Beast discover his great qualities that were hidden deep inside.

As educators, that's our ultimate challenge. We don't get to choose our students. We teach the ones we have - every single one of them. Many of them carry baggage to school that causes them to harden their hearts, behave in a negative manner, or care little about school. Those students need us now more than ever. Deep within them may be hidden, untapped greatness. Our challenge is to be the "Belle" in their lives who inspires them to pursue and discover their own level of greatness.

Doug Dunn has over 20 years of experience as a teacher, coach, and administrator. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.

Seeking Better Things

Teachers are amazing people. Their work is hard, and they work hard at it. The demands placed on them can be difficult, challenging, emotionally and physically draining, stressful, and frustrating. The amount of respect and pay they receive do not correlate with the responsibilities placed on their shoulders. Simply put, teachers are modern day superheroes!

Great teachers are able to see that change is not necessarily a reflection on them, but a reflection of their students' needs. Often times, teachers are doing the best they can with the tools they have. I've recently reflected on a quote by Jeff Zoul in which he says Doing things better is good. But, doing better things is even better. 

One challenge I find with change, or even discussing change, is others feeling critiqued or attacked in a negative manner. Teachers may perceive doing things better as they aren't good enough. While this is typically not the case, the language we use in discussing change is extremely critical. I've not always been successful with this. My intentions have always been good, but I must continually work on my approach to effectively facilitating change. 

Doing better things is better. I find this part of the quote to be especially powerful. There is a wealth of research available now which tells us what the "better things" are. From Marzano to Hattie, there are many high-impact strategies we can incorporate into our classrooms that will blend well with our teaching styles and personalities to have incredible impacts on student learning. Doing better things simply means we discovered a more effective, efficient strategy. 

This is not the same thing as not being good enough. What it means is that we are growing professionally and finding ways to have a greater impact on the students we serve. Being better for students is not rooted in a personal attack; becoming better for students is a byproduct of our desire to pursue professional growth. As Todd Nesloney and Travis Crowder say in the book Sparks in the Dark, "Great teachers crave growth, and they seek challenges that will help them evolve as educators." Those challenges will come from genuine reflection and taking risks as we attempt new strategies. 

There was a time in which cash registers did not exist. The implementation of the cash register was not a personal attack on the employees at the time. Perhaps some perceived it to be such, but cash registers improved businesses by more accurately calculating totals and being able to check customers out in shorter amounts of time. Target stores recently experienced a company-wide outage in which the registers did not work. Their cashiers continued to work as hard as they could, but they simply could not get customers through the lines in a timely fashion. Businesses would not succeed today without the technology. This is not to slight the individuals who work as cashiers, but sometimes there are just better ways to do things. 

Cashiers can be hard-working, dedicated employees. However, without the cash register, the tools at their disposal just aren't efficient enough. Teaching is no different. Hard-working, dedicated teachers sometimes need more effective and efficient strategies in their toolbox. This is not a reflection on the abilities of the teacher but rather a reflection on the needs of our students.

Our ability to recognize there may be better strategies, and then successfully find and implement them, will make our impact on students great. 

Doug Dunn is superintendent and principal of a small K-8 school in rural, south central Missouri. He can be found on Twitter at DougDunnEdS.