Watching the Drive Theory last Wednesday, has reemphasized my desire to want to understand how to motivate all people without the reward or the punishment that is continually failing our educational systems.
As a leader, I love the idea of giving my staff and students creative time, without the strings/requirements that administration tends to set, to discover on their own. I have appreciated the supportive admin leadership that I have received recently, to let me/my grade level try something new. We have begun a new grading policy that eliminates the unrecoverable "Zero." See Douglas Reeves: http://schools.esu13.org/bannercounty/Documents/caseagainstzero.pdf Because I had a big part in going this direction, I am motivated to see how well it turns out. And when the grading policy is questioned, I have the evidence and reasoning to defend our piloted program.
So, one trait that I hope will describe me as a leader will be a "Driver," providing a vehicle/means, a destination if needed, time and resources to get there, collaborative carpooling colleagues, and my blessing. Just tell me all about the journey when you're done.
I love the Reeves philosophy on "Zero Grading". We've looked into it in the past, but have never had a formal policy set in stone. Having the experience of seeing the defeat on students faces when they get that "0" makes anyone reevaluate their grading policy. When we take the motivation away from kids by giving them a grade there is no recovering from makes it really hard to keep pushing and pressuring those kids. I really appreciate you sharing your policy with me and my staff.
ReplyDeleteI love your "drive" metaphor! There are so many responsibilities and decisions that leaders need to make as "drivers" of a school. This goes beyond motivation and focuses on the fundamentals of knowing where your school needs to go and what it is going to take to get there (even if you're "running out of gas" or your "car" gets a flat tire and you don't have time, money, or tools to stop and fix it properly)!
ReplyDeleteVikki- I am excited to see how the new policy works. I am not excited about all the regrading I have to do, after our first Fix It Friday, but oh well. I've decided we call teaching "work," so it might as well be actual demanding WORK.
ReplyDeleteI also read the article by Doug Reeves-"The Case Against the Zero". I found it to be eye-opening and later even found myself pondering the idea of slipping a copy to one of my son's middle school teachers. (I decided that this wouldn't be the best idea and refrained, however.) The issue of grading intrigues me and I enjoy researching its purposes and effective manners of formally assessing student learning and providing feedback to students and parents. I look forward to hearing more about your ideas on this matter. Have a great week with those sixth graders! :-)
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