Blog Posts

With my last blog post as superintendent (I still have a few more to write in my retirement), I would like to close with gratitude and appreciation for the many people with whom I have travelled this thirty-six-year path. I mentioned in my last post that it was because of the inspiration and encouragement of teachers, and one in particular, why I chose to become an educator. The journey to finding and fulfilling my purpose, particularly in leadership, has been filled with meandering adventures and learning. What resonates most with me are the people who have been on the journey with me.

With all the recent retirement festivities I have had cause of late to reflect on my journey in the education system.  One of the frequent questions I have been asked is why I decide to become a teacher “all those years ago.”  I have had occasion over the years to mention it on World Teacher Day, but for me, the decision had everything to do with my school experiences, and a challenge extended to me by a very special human being.

In previous posts, I have shared my perspectives on the spectre of systemic racism in education, particularly in relation to Indigenous Peoples. I highlighted two interrelated constructs related to this issue: epistemic racism (the idea that there is only one form of true knowledge) and the related “racism of low expectations” highlighted in the 2016 Auditor General’s Report.

_{O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't.}

_{— William Shakespeare, The Tempest}

Earlier this school year I made the commitment to report back on what I had learned as a consequence of my “shadow a student” experience.  Listening to students has been a key part of my practice over the last few years, and shadowing a student is the most recent iteration of this learning journey.

Earlier this school year, leaders in our organization had the opportunity to learn from renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Shimi Kang on the subject of mental health and wellbeing.

“Now let us begin. Now let us re-dedicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world.” -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It has been my practice for the last few Januarys to make predictions about possible changes in the K-12 sector. This practice goes back as far as 2015 when I highlighted the top ten issues facing our education system and some things to watch for as we sought to transform it.

Many of you will know that I am a big football fan, (and an especially big Raider fan). The inspiration for my post this week does not come from Raider Nation, but from the Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. If you follow the Seahawks, you will know that their Super Bowl winning quarterback, Russel Wilson was traded away and that most pundits thought that with back-up quarterback Smith at the helm, the team would be lucky to win half of their games this year.

I had the pleasure this week of meeting with around fifty of Yale Secondary’s Leadership 12 students. They are an amazing and diverse group of go-getters who help to make their school and community better through service. In addition to the work they do, they are also curious about leadership and routinely invite leaders from various parts of the community to talk about their roles and perspectives on leadership. This week I was the invited guest. Among the things they wanted to learn more about were my background, how I became superintendent, as well as the joys and challenges of the job.