The Belief and Faith Equation For School Change

Sometimes you have a breakthrough, a moment of clarity where you see what you have been missing. I have had one about my school. It is not easy to share, but it is important.

As many of you who follow my blog, I have been working on a school improvement and change project I call the Victory Project. I have previously blogged about it here.

My school has a belief problem.

Teachers do not believe in the students and the parents.

Administrators do not believe in the teachers and the parents.

Students do not believe in themselves.

_{^{by shesaystoomuchtoofast}}

Our belief equation does not add up to success. I shared this thought with the Twitterverse today and people were generally surprised. It is hard to imagine that there is so little faith. I struggled with it myself. I am questioning whether I believe in the staff and if I believe in myself.

This belief problem must be corrected. There must be a solution, a key, a missing piece to the puzzle. Victory depends on it.

Seth Godin writes in Tribes that all it takes is faith.

“The first thing you need to know is that individuals have far more power than ever before in history. One person can change an industry.”

I will be happy with changing just one school.

“The second thing you need to know is that the only thing holding you back from becoming the kind who changes things is this: lack of faith. Faith that you can do it. Faith that it’s worth doing. Faith that failure won’t destroy you.”

That’s it. I must have faith. I must have faith in the staff to change their belief. I must have faith in the students to change their beliefs. My faith in them is key to their belief in each other.

Seth says the secret is…
“It is merely about developing faith that it’ll work.”

“Faith is critical to all innovation.”

“Faith, as we’ve seen is the cornerstone that keeps our organizations together. Faith is the cornerstone of our humanity; we can’t live without it.”

If I want them to change their beliefs, I need to keep the faith.

Recommended Reading:

The Urgent Minority vs. The Complacent Majority

Data, Data, Everywhere

Student Behavior: Health Care vs. Criminal Justice

Comments

[PlanningQueen]

This post made me think a lot about a personal project I am tackling at the moment. I whole heartedly agree that you need to have faith in what you are doing.

[Rob Jacobs]

Thanks for your support. I wish you all the best with your project and that all is well with number 5 soon to arrive.

[Erica Hartman]

Rob,
I feel the same way. I am teaching a brand new class called Connections, a mash up of writing across the curriculum, technology, research, current events, and thinking. Many other teachers don't consider this a "core" class, but it is. It is very frustrating, but you need to "be the change you wish to see in the world."

[Rob Jacobs]

Erica, your ideas sound awesome. I would love to hear more about it. I too have advocated ideas that seem to fall of deaf ears. I have been working for the last several years as a teacher and administrator to increase the use of creative thinking, problem solving, and other thinking strategies. Nobody seems interested, but I press.

I guess it comes down to having faith in your idea, which really means having faith in yourself. Keep the faith Erica.

[Jim Lerch]

Rob,

I learned about your experiment on Tweet. I have some feedback for you. I hope I don't sound patronizing. I have traditionally taught high school students. But this year, I changed employers. When I was hired by my new employer, I told them to put me where I am needed most by the organization, and to have me teach what I am needed most for. The result is that I am teaching 12 and 13 year old students everything from English to Mathematics (small school).

I am learning so much! One of the most important lessons that I have learned is that when students stop caring about others (as demonstrated by being kind, polite, responsible, trustworthy), learning stops dead in its tracks! It might not stop for everyone, but it stops for at least some of the students, and more often than not, it really does stop for everyone.

When I see a breakdown in these ways that we expect students "to be," I now stop "the lesson," and we talk about what is really important. I am now seeing that my job as a teacher is to first remind students how "to be", then to teach skills, and after that, maybe teach a little content. The students are improving slowly, and the knowledge will come. To me, this process is all about respecting students.

I suspect that in many ways our education system is now broken, if for no other reason than it does not put the prerequisites to learning first: kindness, politeness, responsibility and trust toward and among teachers and students. And I am not talking about the fake, externally motivated stuff here. I am talking about keeping it real, if that makes sense. Can we respect a student who comes to us before class and says he is having a bad day, leave him alone, etc., and the homework that is due will just have to wait? Do we have time to show that student real respect?

So what are we left with if we don't talk about these problems as they arise? A sheen of minimally acceptable conduct that glosses over a sea of discontent.

When your students hear about your declaration of faith in them, I can imagine them asking if they can "really trust this guy." When they ask themselves that question, be ready. In my humble opinion, you will the be getting at the heart of the disfunction that presently exists (at least in most schools). Some would say you will find yourself holding a tiger by the tail. Are you ready?

[Rob Jacobs]

Jim, I think you have put your finger on a very important aspect of teaching. Your "Success Orientations" are a great way to frame the concept and have these important discussions with students.

I know your students are benefiting from your insights and your willingness to do whatever it takes for your school. It is a rare quality.