Learning Conversations

I spent the evening yesterday at the retirement dinner for my District, representing our parent organization (District Parent Advisory Council – or DPAC). I was so pleased to be able to attend and to have the opportunity to speak to the group for a few moments – mostly because I think it’s important for all of the partners in the education system to celebrate together!

Here’s the speech I presented:

I’d like to thank the Board of Education for including DPAC in tonight’s event. Too often, we make the time to complain about all the little stuff but forget to celebrate all of the great stuff that’s going on!

So I appreciate this opportunity to be here on behalf of DPAC and the parents in this District, to say a few words about how much we appreciate the teachers, administrators and staff in our children’s schools.

I’m going to stick my neck out a little here – I’m pretty sure you weren’t in it for the money. And it certainly wasn’t for the fame! Which leaves me to believe that you did it because you care about the kid!

Every interaction with a child brings the opportunity to support, to coach, to teach, to care.

I remember one of my teachers who, while I was writing my final exam, leaned across my desk and whispered “I expect great things from you.” I was horrified – sitting there looking at the answer to my essay question, thinking “oh man, this isn’t great!!”  But his words have often come back to me over the years, reminding me to take risks, to take on challenges, to expect more of myself – because he showed me that he believed in me.

I have no doubt that every person in this room has had that kind of lifetime impact on children’s lives – often without even realizing it. It’s the natural result of caring – of taking a moment to listen, to encourage, to expect more, and to believe in young people who don’t know how to believe in themselves yet.

As a parent, I know that my children may drive me nuts sometimes – actually, they’ve probably driven their teachers nuts sometimes too! But I also know that they are these amazing little miracles that have been entrusted in my care for a short while. Bringing them to school and having them out of my protective arms is difficult sometimes – even though I know it’s a part of the “letting go” that has to happen as they grow to adulthood. It makes it easier to know that they are with staff, administrators and teachers that are both professional and caring!

Parents aren’t perfect, teachers aren’t perfect – we’re all human. But what matters is that we care and we keep learning. Because that is an incredibly powerful gift that we can give to the next generation – a living example of how to be perfectly imperfect human beings!

On behalf of all the parents in this District, I’d like to thank you! Thank you not only for caring, but for choosing a career that put that caring into action every day.

Enjoy your well-deserved retirement!

Aside from being the place that I often meet with people to talk about education, leadership, kids & life – I’ve also been learning a whole lot from Starbucks Coffee lately.

Starbucks Corporation puts out a Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Report, complete with a summary brochure that they put out in each location, right behind the sugar/milk/lids/napkins…

The first time I noticed this brochure was in 2003 and it was the best mission/guiding principles document I had ever seen!!

• It started with a clear mission statement that explained WHY this company was in existence.
• It included six guiding principles that directly related to HOW they were going to focus their efforts in order to deliver on the mission statement.
• The inside of the brochure then went into detail for each of the six guiding principles – saying WHAT things they were doing and how they would tell they were succeeding.

What was so powerful to me was the fact that the mission was translated right down to what each person in the organization was doing on a day-to-day basis in order to contribute to that mission. Every person in that company, from the CEO all the way through stores all over the world, knows what they’re supposed to be doing, how they’re doing it and why they’re doing it – which translates into a sense of purpose that is incredibly inspiring.

This is what we all talk about doing – in project management seminars, in leadership training, all over the place on websites and in books. But it’s so darned HARD TO DO successfully!! I can’t say I knew how to achieve that clarity of vision for a team or organization, but I certainly recognized the power & possibilities.

So often, a mission or vision statement is too complex or so high level that it leaves everyone in the company thinking “well, that’s great but what does that mean?? What am I supposed to do? How does that relate to the work I do every day??”

I’ve watched Starbucks over the years to see if they walk their talk. Everything I’ve seen and heard has been completely consistent. Their staff are enthusiastic and committed. Their stores are definitely making money (which is, in fact, one of their guiding principles), but they’re also giving back to their communities, working to protect our environment, providing amazing customer service, and supporting diverse and sustainable coffee farmers.

I get a sense sometimes that educators dismiss the “corporate” world – thinking that “things are different” in education. Perhaps there is a sense that educators are serving a higher moral purpose than business – after all, schools are educating our next generation, not just making money like those big corporations.

But we don’t have to judge the global relevance of their purpose or even like the coffee in order to appreciate the lessons that we can learn from Starbucks! And there is so much knowledge out there that we can apply to education’s challenges. In fact, I think that this kind of diversity and open-minded thinking is what will allow education to move forward most effectively.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

The current Starbucks brochure caught my eye again, right with the first paragraph:

“It began as many good things do, with some heartfelt conversations. Sincere, forthright, perhaps a bit idealistic. We took a good hard look at our most cherished values and asked ourselves just how we’d integrate them into this new company we were about to create.”

As Pete Reilly mentioned recently, these passionate, slightly idealistic conversations are happening more and more in education these days. These are exciting times!