leadership | Learning, Teaching and Leadership

Global Trends in 21st Century Education: Thinking about Technology, Teaching and Learning in the New Millennium – Speaking in Quesnel, BC

October 23, 2012

Last Friday, I was in Quesnel, British Columbia to present at the professional development day for K-12 teachers in School District 28. I was honored to be their keynote speaker, as well as do two workshops afterwards. Here is what I presented:

Keynote address – Global Trends in 21st Century Education: Thinking about Technology, Teaching and Learning in the New Millennium

This talk is based on research I have been doing since 2010 on emerging trends in education across most developed nations and what we might expect over the next 15 to 20 years. I am not a futurist by training, but there are elements of looking down the road and being able to say, “This is where we are today, and it is not impossible that this is where we are heading.”

Workshop #1 – Appreciating Innovation and Incorporating Wisdom Across the Educational Spectrum

This workshop had an educational leadership focus. We looked at how teachers with different approaches to technology can learn to work together for the benefit of students. It was a strength-based approach to working together in the digital age.

Workshop #2 – Learning the Twenty-First Century Way: Making Sense of How to Use Social Media for Classroom Learning and Student Engagement

In this workshop, I shared how I incorporated Twitter into one of my university level classes. Then we had some hands-on time in the lab and teachers got set up with their first Twitter account.

I really enjoyed my time in Quesnel, a small city of 10,000 people where the pulp mill is a major employer and residents are concerned about the land slippage into the Fraser River that is affecting homes and roadways.

I always find that I learn a lot from taxi drivers when I go somewhere to speak and Quesnel was no exception. The cab driver who picked me up at 7:15 a.m. to take me over to the high school told me that his fares so far that morning had included a round-trip drug run and that poverty was a major issue in the community.

Stories like that were countered by the one told to me by Mike Adams, the principal at Correlieu Secondary School, where our PD day was held. He told me that the young man who got the sound system set up for the day had essentially been abandoned by his parents as a teenager. Instead of turning to drugs, he was surrounded by friends, teachers and administrators who wanted to help. As a result, he was on the football team, in the band and part of the school musical. He turned his life around thanks to the strong sense of community and support he found.

Thanks to Lisa Kishkan, who organized the whole PD day for the teachers, including the other workshops that included sessions on intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation; the art of Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs); and the aboriginal medicine wheel. I really enjoyed my time in Quesnel and as always, I think I learned as much as I shared.

I am excited to try the “birch syrup” that the teachers gave to me as a thank you gift at the end of the day. And I love coffee and I’ll enjoy the new coffee mug that will always remind me of the trip. Thank you to the educators of Quesnel for the great work you do.

______________

Share or Tweet this: Global Trends in 21st Century Education: Thinking about Technology, Teaching and Learning in the New Millennium – Speaking in Quesnel, BC http://wp.me/pNAh3-1vj

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | education, leadership, social media, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged: ed tech, education, educational technology, leadership, social media, technology | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

The 50 Top Leadership Blogs to Watch in 2013

October 22, 2012

A friend just sent me a message to say, “Did you know you are on this list?” I went to check out Evan Carmichael’s blog and sure enough, there I am, #29 out of 50.

Considering Dale Carnegie, Robin Sharma and Franklin Covey are in the top 10, I’m especially honoured to be in the top 20. I am not sure how Evan chose his Top 50 Leadership Blogs to Watch in 2013, but I can say that it was a real treat to the beginning of the week to find out I was on his list. I am going to check out the other leadership blogs he mentions. No doubt I’ll subscribe to at least a few of them.

Sometimes people say to me, “I don’t get blogging. Why do you do it?” My answer is that I blog for the same reasons I would engage in a hallway conversation or water cooler chat if I worked in a traditional office: to connect, to share ideas and stories. For me, blogging is a way to reach out to others and engage in dialogue about what matters deeply to me.

Thank you, Evan, for this honour. You’ve got me thinking about what leadership topics I’ll be blogging about in 2013!

_______________

Share or Tweet this: The 50 Top Leadership Blogs to Watch in 2013 http://wp.me/pNAh3-1va

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | leadership, Uncategorized | Tagged: blog, blogging, Evan Carmichael, leadership, social media | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

10 Characteristics of Community Leaders

August 21, 2012

Traits of a good leader are common across disciplines, professions and geographical regions. Community leadership is unique in its approach and goals. Community leadership is not about managing or even coordinating. And it is certainly not about dictating or imposing your own ideas onto others.

In addition to traits of superior leadership in any discipline, such as integrity and responsibility, here are ten characteristics that are particular to excellent community leaders:

1. Maximize Individuals’ Strengths

Community leaders often work with volunteers. They may be elected by members of the community, assigned to work with a group, or they simply step forward and want to help. In any case, community leaders rarely have the luxury of choosing who they work with.

Your job involves being able to identify the strengths and interests of each person on your leadership team and maximize those talents and skills in a way that keeps your team engaged in the work. Your fellow leaders need to feel that they are making a meaningful contribution to the group, the community and the work.

2. Balance the Needs of Your Leadership Group

Some individuals may have a strong need for control. Others may have a deep need to be appreciated for their time and service. As a community leader, your job is to balance everyone’s needs, as well as keep your sights focussed on the work that needs to be done for the group to move forward.

3. Work as a Team

Let’s face it, community leadership is slow work. It is much less efficient than, say, military leadership, where underlings simply obey the orders of their superior officers. Community leadership means that one person does not do it all.

It can be useful to teach your leadership team the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. An efficient leader will take a task away from someone who is not completing their work in a timely manner. An effective leader will ensure that the person gets the support they need to complete the task. Effectiveness often takes more time than efficiency. Community leadership is about building relationships and working together. Being patient with one another and supporting one another process builds capacity and relationships. But be forewarned, this takes much more time than simply being efficient.

4. Mobilize Others

Even a leadership team can not do it all. You will likely have to work with staff and volunteers to undertake big projects. Community leadership is part education, part inspiration, part motivation and part mobilization.

Mobilizing others is not about telling them what to do, barking orders at them or dictating how things need to get done. It is about finding a balance between what needs to be done, who can do it, who is willing and has time to do it, assigning the work and then showing appreciation for others’ efforts. Learning to have some fun while you work together is an important aspect of mobilizing and motivating others.

5. Pitch In

There is a myth that leaders lead, and do-ers do. But in a community, leading by example is often the most effective way to get full buy-in for projects. Don’t schedule a community clean-up unless you are willing to get out there with a garbage bag yourself.

Community leaders are rarely have the luxury of focussing only on policy and governance. This kind of work involves arriving early, staying late, cleaning up, and generally rolling up your sleeves to pitch in.

6. Practice Stewardship

This is about getting people to take responsibility for their physical space and surroundings. This includes natural areas, structures and spaces. Stewardship means working together to protect, preserve and take care of your community. This involves renewing, repairing, rebuilding and constantly reviewing your physical community to ensure that it is healthy, strong and well-maintained.

7. Be Accountable to the Community

Above all else community leadership is about the people who live with you and near you. The people who form the community are the beneficiaries, but also those who whom you, as a leadership are accountable.

Community leadership is not just about policies, processes or procedures. More than anything, it is about people.

Often when I guide community leaders in my work, I will ask “What do you think will happen at the next Annual General Meeting if this does — or does not — move forward?” This keeps the leadership team focussed on why they are doing what they do, and why they are really making decisions.

8. Think forward

There is a saying in some Aboriginal communities about thinking five generations ahead. Being a community leader means not only thinking for today, or even tomorrow, but being able to make wise decisions that will still benefit the residents long after the current leadership team is gone.

9. Recruit and Mentor New Leaders

Speaking of the current leadership team being gone, community leaders often get so caught up in all the work that needs to be done today, that they forget to think about tomorrow. Planning for the future is an important aspect of community leadership. Having a healthy base of volunteers and having individuals ready to take on new positions are indicators of a healthy community.

Community leadership work means building a succession plan to keep the community strong as you move forward into the future.

10. Walk Beside, Don’t Lead From Above

In some models, leadership is a position in a hierarchy. Those at the top of the hierarchy have the power and make the decisions. Community leadership is about developing every persons capacity for leadership, starting with self-leadership and self-responsibility. Those who have positions of leadership must demonstrate principles and practices of good leadership by living the example. So, the community leader does not take the prime parking spot out of a sense of entitlement. There are no special privileges that put community leaders above others who live in the community. Every member of the community has responsibilities and rights. Community leaders walk beside others and listen to them.

A community leader’s job is not to take on all the problems of the world themselves and fix everything, but rather to work together with everyone in the community, to mobilize and guide others, to facilitate solutions and thing about the long-term health of the community and its people.

__________________

Update: April 17, 2017 – This is one of the more popular posts on my blog. As of this update, it has had more than $55,000 views. If you liked it, please share or Tweet it:

10 Characteristics of Community Leaders http://wp.me/pNAh3-1tI

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on 10 Characteristics of Community Leaders | leadership, Uncategorized | Tagged: community, leader, leadership, strengh-based approaches | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

A leader’s job: How I handle complaints from a volunteer board

July 23, 2012

This year, I took on the role of President for a non-profit board that I sit on. I have sat on boards before and held the position of President before. At that time, I was in my early 30s. Now, a decade later, with a completely different board, it feels very different. I feel less “attached” to the position itself, but feel a deeper responsibility to lead wisely.

I often ponder the Native American concept about considering the impact our decisions we make today will have on the people living seven generations in the future. This shifts my perspective from the idea of trying to balance everyone’s input and views today to a more complex model that also considers the long-term impact of our decisions, into a future that we can neither know, nor predict.

The decisions we make today are not just about us as a board. Our decisions are not even about our members. They are about both the elected directors and the members we represent; and not only those who are involved today but those whose lives may be impacted in the future. Our leadership decisions impact not only our work today, but also the future.

I recently had a board member come to me with a complaint. He seemed angry and insistent that his ideas be heard and implemented immediately.

As a younger leader, I may have gotten angry with another board member insisting that I do something a certain way. Or I may have caved into his insistence and done what he wanted without thinking it through, in an attempt to keep the peace.

Now, I think that my first job is to listen. Instead of being emotionally involved, I am curious as to what he has to say. I am wondering about his point of view, his insights and his concerns. I did not promise that I would agree with him and I also promised that I would not ignore him. I promised to listen.

After I have listened, I have said that I will do one of the following:

Address the concerns in a fair and just manner (take action).
Explain why the concerns cannot be addressed in the exact manner that the complainant would like (give a clear explanation that is solidly grounded in evidence).
If I lack adequate expertise, then take the concerns to either a governing body (i.e. the rest of the board) or a specialist with more more depth of experience (e.g. staff, outside consultants, etc.) who can offer guidance, provide additional knowledge and/or propose a course of action.

I take a strength-based approach to my leadership work. That means that I start with the assumption that everyone brings strengths, talent and expertise to the table.

Starting with that assumption changes the leadership game. It means that rather than reacting immediately, that I take the time to consider the strength that the individual brings to the situation. This often means setting my own opinions and feelings aside. I may be angry or frustrated, but I still have a job to do.

Being in a leadership position doesn’t mean that we have all the answers. I means that others are trusting us to be wise and fair.

I believe that as leaders, our first job is always to listen. Then ask questions. Then think seven generations ahead. Then either seek more advice or take action.

______________

Share or Tweet this post: A leader’s job: How I handle complaints from a volunteer board http://wp.me/pNAh3-1se

If you are interested in booking me (Sarah Eaton) for a presentation, keynote or workshop (either live or via webinar) contact me at sarahelaineeaton (at) gmail.com. Please visit my speaking page, too.

3 Comments | leadership | Tagged: aboriginal leadership, board, community, governance, leadership, leadership development, listening, non-profit, wisdom | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Six truths I wish I had been told when I started teaching

May 1, 2012

Here are six truths I have learned over the past eighteen years as a teacher. These are things I wish someone had sat me down and told me about when I started.

But then again, I may not have understood. These are truths about teaching that you learn by going to work every day and living a teacher’s life:

Truth #1: What we teach matters

When I first started teaching, we would teach our students to learn vocabulary by repeating new words in a given context. For example:

There are three pieces of chalk in the classroom.
There are two maps in the classroom.
There is one teacher in the classroom.
There are no bad students in the classroom.

That was boring eighteen years ago. Not only did it get more boring to teach over time, it also became less relevant for the students’ lives. Fifteen years later, the textbooks still contained the same darned examples, and by then not one piece of chalk could be found anywhere, in any of our classrooms.

Because I taught college students, I learned to change the examples. They still followed the same basic structure, but taught my 18 to 25 year old students words that they might actually use in their travels abroad:

There are three pickpockets in the subway station.
There are two drug dealers in the subway station.
There is one passenger in the subway station.
There are no police officers in the subway station.

This is the same example structurally. The location remains constant. The verbs change from plural to singular when appropriate. The nouns, however, were vocabulary words that resonated with my students. The examples also reflected a cultural reality of travelling in a large, European city… except that there may never be only one passenger on a subway station platform. But the poetic license created an example that captured my students’ imagination. They imagined that they were that one passenger in the subway station, alone in a potentially dangerous situation, as they were travelling in a new place. They went from being disengaged to intensely interested. Best of all, they learned the content.

Truth #2: What we teach does not matter

No matter how engaging our examples, I have learned that our students will not remember most of what we teach them. They will forget the vocabulary. They will forget the structures. They will forget the majority of the content.

This used to stress me out. Then I reflected on my own experience as a student and realized that most of what I had learned in school, I had not retained. And I turned out OK.

The content provides a means for students to make their own meaning, to allow their mental synapses to learn to work in new ways, to stretch their thinking and to show them they can learn more than they ever dreamed possible. It is important not to teach hatred, bigotry or facts that are just plain wrong. Apart from that, I’m not convinced that it really matters what we teach. They’ll forget most of it anyway.

Truth #3: Some students just need a hug

Sometimes a teacher’s job means reaching out to a student and letting them know it is going to be O.K. They are going to get through this… and much more than this. They are stronger than they think.

Sometimes, that lesson is more important than any content contained within the covers of a textbook.

Truth #4: Some students just need a kick in the rear end

Sometimes being a teacher means giving some very tough love, not taking the crap that a student may lay down and letting them know that there are boundaries and rules that you expect them to follow. Collaboration be darned. This is your classroom and they are there to learn. A good, swift (metaphorical) kick in the pants is what some students need to kickstart their motivation.

Truth #5: It is important to treat students equally

We do not delay the start of class because Johnny is late. If class starts at 9:00 a.m., then it is disrespectful to those who made an effort to be there on time if we delay the start. The rules apply to all students equally.

The real world has rules that people need to follow. If you break the rules, there are consequences. If you speed when you drive, the consequence may be that a police officer writes you a ticket. That’s just the way life is.

Laws impose rules on members of society. Schools and teachers can impose rules on students. It is part of the job. Teachers can prepare students for the real world by teaching them that certain rules apply to everyone. Period.

Truth #6: It is important to treat students equitably

You can treat all students exactly the same or you can treat students in a manner that is appropriate for their situation. That is treating them equitably, not equally.

This involves some wise judgement on the part of the teacher who makes the decision about what constitutes “equitable” treatment. That also reflects the real world. The police officer who stops the speeder may, at the officer’s own discretion, decide not to give the driver a ticket but instead choose to get back in the police car, turn on their lights and siren and escort the offending car to the hospital so the driver can get his wife, who is in labour, to the delivery room. In such a case, the police officer may choose not to write a ticket due to the circumstances.

If I have a student who is an absolute superstar, I will ask more of that student. It is my job to keep my students engaged and challenged. If some students need more challenge, I will give them what they need to stay interested and motivated. Not all students are created equal. My teaching needs to be flexible enough to accept that, and wise enough to know what to do about it.

Using the power of discretion wisely and sensibly is part of the job. Sometimes, treating students equitably is more important than treating them equally.

…

A paradox is a statement that “seems self-contradictory or absurd, but in reality expresses a possible truth”. Teaching is a complex profession that is full of paradoxes. Being a teacher requires us to think in complex ways, accept that much of what we do requires us to be rigid and follow rules set out for us by an administration or system that is much larger than us… and at the same time, to be flexible and choose our own actions wisely, based on a given situation at a given moment in time. That requires a great deal more skill than teaching from a book.

__________________________

Share or Tweet this post: Six truths I wish I had been told when I started teaching http://wp.me/pNAh3-1nI

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | education, leadership, teaching | Tagged: education, keynote, presenter, Sarah Eaton, Sarah Elaine Eaton, speaker, students, teachers, teaching | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Learning, Teaching and Leadership