Hobbs' Highlights

During winter break, I felt like one of our Lower School’s voracious readers. The time off allowed me an opportunity to read every day ─ for an extended period of time—and the texts I read were ones that I was interested in, I had chosen, and were “just right” for me.  No wonder our Lower School students enjoy reading so much!

 I read a wide range of texts that included:

• Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn by Cathy Davidson (She will be a guest speaker on campus March 19!)
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
• Women of the Bible: 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups by Jean E. Syswerda
• Ravenscroft School Magazine (Winter 2012 edition)

These texts have nothing in common. Now You See It is a nonfiction book written by a Duke University professor who is passionate about redesigning the way our schools and workplaces function. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a work of fiction about a 9-year-old boy struggling to deal with the loss of his father after the 9/11 attacks. The 2012 winter edition of Ravenscroft magazine features articles on leadership and community giving. The Women of the Bible tells the stories of 52 female heroes in the bible, and this week my study group was reading about The Widow with Two Coins.

It was when I read the following quote by John Replogle in Ravenscroft magazine that I made a connection with a common theme in the different texts:

 “Finally, as beneficiaries of the legacy of leaders that have built the School before us and with four daughters, we felt compelled, as Steve Jobs put it, to make our dent in the world. We can’t expect other people to provide an extraordinary education for our children without being a positive contributor to that end.”

I read John’s quote shortly after I had read a chapter from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close that included this piece of dialogue between 9-year-old Oskar and his father:

 “Well, what would happen if a plane dropped you in the middle of the Sahara Desert and picked up a single grain of sand with tweezers and moved it one millimeter?”

 “I guess I would have moved a grain of sand.”

 “Which would mean?”

 “Which would mean I moved a grain of sand?”

 “Which would mean you changed the Sahara.”

 “So?”

 “So? So the Sahara is a vast desert. And it has existed for millions of years. And you changed it!”

Too often we hesitate to initiate or participate in change efforts because we question how much influence or impact we will actually have in creating substantive, positive change.

The Widow with Two Coins gave an offering of less than a penny at church; she didn’t question whether it was an amount that would make a difference, it was all the money she had and her faith led her to give everything she could.

As I read Cathy Davidson’s book and realized how her words were challenging me as an educator to change the way school is designed for students, I also recognized that thousands of other educators were also reading her book and being changed as well. One book, written by one woman, has the potential to lead and inspire countless educators to change the way schools function for children. One individual will make a positive difference for schools across the globe.

I am excited about our leadership initiatives here at Ravenscroft because I already see so many members of our community making a difference locally, nationally, and globally. I believe as we become even more intentional with our efforts, our students will become change agents that others will be reading about and learning from.

The reading I did during winter break – though the texts may have been filled with variety – inspired me with one simple realization: an individual and their actions have the power to make a difference in creating positive change.

Number one image from: http://www.richardcleaver.com/2011/11/18/the-one-percent-in-canada/

Why does it often take an unfortunate experience in our lives to make us pause long enough to reflect on important life lessons?

 My stepfather recently passed away to an illness he had been battling for a little over a year, and as my family and I have been healing together, I have spent some time thinking about my own life and what lessons I can learn from this loss.

 There are of course the obvious ones such as live life to its fullest; don’t take anyone or any experience for granted; visit the doctor regularly; and live in the moment. But I also have learned something valuable about leadership and successful teams.

 While this has certainly been a difficult time for me, my mother, and my sisters, it has been made easier knowing that the Ravenscroft Lower School was in good hands during my absence. In times of personal crisis, it is a blessing to be able to focus ones full attention where it is most needed. This was made possible for a number of reasons:

• I am surrounded by wonderfully talented people
• There is a sense of shared leadership and involvement
• I am (somewhat) comfortable with not being in control and have released responsibility to others
• Others have a sense of ownership and responsibility

 What’s the potential impact of my personal reflection for you?

 Whether you are reading this as a parent or an educator, the questions I leave you with are:

• Have you released enough responsibility in your classroom or home so all members of the team can function with confidence and independence in your absence?
• Is there a sense of shared leadership in your classroom or home so all members are involved in the decision making process and have a sense of ownership and responsibility in the team’s success?

I recently spent the weekend with a group of my college girlfriends who I was lucky enough to play basketball with during my time at Duke.  This is an amazing group of successful woman who are doctors, international development analysts,  business owners, environmentalists, educators, and mothers.  Our conversations, as you can imagine from such a diverse group, were rich and thought provoking.  What I was taken back by, however, was the person and related experiences who dominated our conversations– our college basketball coach.

Some of the women graduated 15 years ago, but because of the impact and influence this one person had on our lives, we found ourselves up at the wee hours of the night discussing our experiences with her.  The stories included the challenges and successes, and had us smiling, laughing, and reliving painful experiences.  I was amazed how each one of us could distinctly remember at least one simple act or thing that was said to us that changed us—for better and for worse.

As a coach and educator, I was reminded about the importance of leading and serving our students and athletes in a positive way, and being mindful of the power our words and actions have on these young people who are entrusted to us.

It doesn’t matter if the children are 5 or 18, or if they “like” their teacher; these adults are people they spend a considerable amount of time with and are asked by their parents to listen to and respect.  It only makes sense that what these adults say and do will make a significant impact on the lives of the children that interact with them–some for the better and some for the worse.

Our job, as educators, is to work as hard as we possibly can to monitor what we say and do to ensure that years down the road, our students will be telling stories about the positive difference we made in their lives.

Depending on where you sit in this car, or which direction you decide to focus your attention, you potentially can have a very different perspective of the journey compared to the other people riding in the same car.

As I prepare to take on a new leadership role for the Lower School, I have been thinking a lot about how I can best navigate this new journey, and this picture reminded me how important it is to value the multiple perspectives that exist in our School community.

The driver of the car often has to spend a large amount of time focused on the road ahead with occasional glances to the left, right, and rear view mirrors.  Sometimes the actual enjoyment of the ride can be lost on the driver because they get too busy concentrating on the destination and making sure to avoid any obstacles that may enter the road along the journey.

I think it is important as a leader to have a clear vision and to focus a lot of attention of accomplishing established goals, but it is equally important to respect and appreciate the past, and to slow down and take some rest stops to enjoy the present.  In order to do this successfully, a leader can’t be alone in the car.  They need multiple passengers who have the ability to provide different perspectives depending on when they get in the car and which seat they sit in.

All views are necessary in order to ensure a safe, efficient, successful, and enjoyable ride. We must have people looking into the future with a clear vision of what lies ahead; they set goals, plan strategically, anticipate challenges, and provide support and momentum to move forward. We need people looking left and right to remind us of all the amazing (and not so amazing) things happening all around us; they challenge us to stop and evaluate how things are going, remind us to celebrate what is going well, and they cause us to question whether we need to change directions.  We also need  people who remind us to look back in order to reflect on past successes and areas of difficulty that we can learn from.  And we can’t forget about the people not even in the car and the perspective they provide looking from the outside.

Which seat do you sit in and how can your perspective help the Lower School on our journey?

Photo from:

http://laxallstars.com/cajuns-corner-rearview-mirror/

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

The above picture was one I chose when asked to find one picture that represented the most important aspects of effective leadership.

Why did I choose this picture?

I was first drawn to the picture because of the young children featured; something about their curiosity and closeness made me want to look further.  When examining the picture more closely, I saw a diverse group of children gathered around someone who was barely visible, but who was clearly a key element to bringing them together as a group.  When I studied the children’s body language I saw respect, focus, curiosity, and eagerness.

How does it represent effective leadership?

I see a leader motivating a group of people to work together towards a common goal.  Regardless of the differences that exist in the collective group, the leader is finding a way to make connections between and among group members, bring out the strengths in individual members, and keep everyone focused on the mission and vision.  The leader is working hard behind the scenes and empowering the members of the group to take initiative and find innovative ways to accomplish the group’s goals.  It is clear the leader is well respected and the children are interested in what he/she has to say. Although we can’t see the person leading this group of young children, I am confident he/she is preparing to send them off to something exciting and meaningful.

What picture would you choose?

This was part of an activity that several members of the Ravenscroft faculty engaged in with representatives from the Center for Creative Leadership. The image used for this post was part of the Visual Explorer Collection.