EPISODE #351

Hey builders. Before we start today's episode, I want to talk to those of you who are district administrators, your superintendents, associate superintendents, directors of departments. A lot of the programs that we have inside of the buildoverse don't directly relate to you. They're great for you to give your principals and other people, but they're not especially designed for you. There's something that I do often. I don't talk about it a lot, but I want you to know it exists in case it could be useful to you. I do private consulting with folks at the district level. So if you are a superintendent and you are trying to get things right in your district, or you're trying to work on a strategic plan, or you're trying to get your 100% vision crafted and moving forward district wide, this would be perfect for you.

If you are a director of a department and you're trying to get your department in line and you're hitting a challenge with either working with your people or trying to get your ideas to move forward, this would be perfect for you. This is a one on one time with me. We get together for a month. We take one challenge that you are facing and we solve it in that month. You get all the tools, you get all the support that you need. It's just you and me working together to get it done. We have regular times where we meet and we're doing the work together. But you also get unlimited access to me through a private line that you can call like a bat phone if you have a question or you need some support.

Again, it's only for a month. And during that month we solve a problem. We don't talk about it and philosophize. This isn't therapy trying to get a solve a problem solved. So if this is something that you think would be interesting to you, there are slots that I open up at various times throughout the year. Right now I have two slots available and if you want one of those slots, just send an email to me at Info Info Info Mindsteps Inc. Com. You can also get the link in the show notes. Now on with the show.

You're listening to the School Leadership reimagine podcast, episode 351. How do builders like us make a dramatic difference in the lives of our students in spite of all the obstacles we face? How do you keep your vision for your school from being held hostage by resistant teachers, uncooperative parents, ridiculous district policies, or lack of time, money or resources? If you're facing those challenges right now, here is where you'll find the answers, strategies, and actionable tips you need to overcome any obstacle you face. You don't have to wait to make a difference in the lives of the people you serve. You can turn your school into a success story right now with the people and resources you already have. Let's get started. Hey, builders.

Welcome to another episode of the School Leadership Reimagined podcast.

I'm your host, Robin Jackson, and I need to talk about last episode, because last episode ruffled a lot of feathers. I was talking about and challenging that redemption arc, and there are a lot of strong reactions to the episode. A lot of people saw themselves in it. A lot of people wanted to kind of defend it because it's so ingrained in our education, in our educator DNA. But I want to talk about whether you saw yourself in it and you realize that this is an issue or you saw yourself in it and you're not ready to realize it's an issue yet. Recognition isn't enough, right? Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

But. But now the question is, what are you gonna do about it? Right? Because every. Every time we buy into that redemption arc and we make decisions from that place, we are hurting kids. And so this week, I'm gonna talk about what you do about it. Last week was about raising the awareness, and if you haven't listened to episode 350, you need to go back and listen to it. It's.

It's. It's pivotal. But this week, I wanna talk about what you actually do about it, because here's what happens. Typically, you know, we. Last week, we talked about how we romanticized student struggle, right? But typically, when we see kids struggling because we've romanticized student struggle, we typically do one of two things, right? So the first thing we do is we keep doing the same thing we've always done, but we try harder. So we vow to get into more classrooms.

We. We push, you know, teachers to get tier one tight. You know, we complain we got to get our tier one together. We try to compensate a system that's not working by working harder. And we think the reason that the system isn't working is because we need to just try harder, when, in fact, the system only works if we try harder. And if we only works if we try harder, then the system is broken. It's not a great system, right? So we see kids struggling.

We realize that we need to do something about it. 

And because we believe in that redemption arc and we have to save the kids, we think that the solution is to work harder. Right now the other thing we do is that we say, okay, we're working hard, the solution's not working. So we rush to get a new solution. So, you know, we look for best practices. And we go down 17 different rabbit holes on Google and online. And in the principal groups that we're part of, we ask other schools what they're doing, or we lurk in Facebook groups looking for answers, and we see something that that one principal posted that one time, and we think, oh, maybe this will work for us. We read a book, we listen to pod, we go to conferences, we watch 12 different YouTube videos, and then we try to Frankenstein a PD session that's going to solve all of our problems.

Or we ask our leadership team for ideas. We go to our team, we say, hey, this isn't working. And in doing so, we inadvertently resurrect a debate that resurfaces grievances for six years ago. And our leadership team goes round and round and round talking about the problem, but we don't solve the problem. And in the meantime, our kids continue to fail while the adults try to figure it out. Now, here's the problem with both approaches. Whether you are going to try to push harder and just push it through and compensate yourself, or whether you are looking for a new solution, the problem is that pushing harder or diying a new solution, they both make you feel like you are doing something about student struggle. And that is the problem.

You feel better, but things don't get better. Right? And the deeper and more insidious result of this is that because you're working really hard, because you, you know, you've surveyed all the ideas out there and, and you've tried them all and, and you're still not getting the results that you want, it makes the problem feel unsolvable. And that's the real danger. Right? Both approaches make you feel like you're doing something about student struggle, but the consequence is that you work incredibly hard, you don't get results. And instead of concluding that the system is wrong, you conclude that the problem is unsolvable because you've done everything to solve the problem, so it must not be solvable. And when that happens, it convinces good people, people who are well intentioned, that nothing will work.

And this is why, frankly, a lot of your teachers are working really hard, but they've stopped believing in 100%. And frankly, it's also why a lot of people, who are a lot of principals and administrators and coaches and district leaders, they say that they believe in all kids, but they've started to wonder if maybe they're being unduly naive. Maybe all kids isn't the answer. Maybe it doesn't work because when you work hard at the wrong thing and it doesn't work, then you think nothing will. So listen, there are no medals being given out for hard work. I know that we glorify hard work, and I probably should talk about that in another podcast, but the only medals that you get are when you actually accomplish something. So I know we sit around and talk about how hard we work, but at the end of the day, if kids aren't learning, it doesn't matter. I hate to say that, because I know a lot of people are working really hard, but if you're working hard at the wrong things and you're not seeing the results, you're wasting everybody's time.

You see, we have to let go of the idea that in order for something to be valuable, it has to be hard. Right? We think that if we are not killing ourselves for kids, then they will never, ever achieve, when, in fact, you probably could get kids achieving a lot more by working a lot less. But we don't even consider that because we think that if we're working less and we help kids achieve, well, then did we really do anything? That's that redemption arc playing there, you know, that hero thing playing out in our work. Right? And. And here's the thing.

I am not saying that helping kids achieve isn't hard work. 

It is hard work, but we gotta. We gotta rethink where that hard lives. Where that hard work lives. You see, you could work hard trying to make a broken system work, or you can work hard at the right solution and see results. Both require effort, but only one produces results. Let me give you a concrete example of what I mean so that you can see it. Okay?

So right now, you're in the middle of school year, right? You started the year, you had all this hope, but by now you're probably just thinking, survival testing is a few weeks away. The countdown has already begun. People are saying things to me like, oh, there's only 52 days left until testing. So the countdown has already started along with all the excuses. And so your days right now are probably filled with walkthroughs that catalog all the things that should be happening in classrooms, but that are not. You're reminding teachers to focus. You know, let's get tier one supports.

You're working on clarifying expectations that by this time in the year should already be clear but they're not. You're combing through data, trying to figure out what happened. What's the least you can do and still see gains? Because the counselor is going on, you have worked so hard, and yet here you are starting to wonder if there's any amount of work that will make things work. You know, you're at capacity, and still it doesn't seem like it's enough. So because you're working that hard and because you're pushing things through, you're so in that mode right now that you may not stop to ask, wait a minute, maybe it's not me, maybe it's not the kids, maybe it's not the teachers or the families. Maybe it's the system itself. And right now you don't even have the time to really kind of think that through.

And so, you know, I meet a lot of. A lot of administrators, sorry, teachers too, but administrators and teachers and district office people who are in that mode right now. And so when I talk about the collective and I tell you we've got all these done for you, systems that will work, and that all you have to do is just grab the system and put it into place, and it's going to take the work that you're already doing, make it a lot easier and make it more effective. People think, well, it's a nice idea, I'll circle back to it later. But right now you feel like, I just can't take on one more thing. And so you delay and you stay trapped in a broken system because you feel you're so busy making. Trying to make that broken system work that you don't feel like you have the capacity for a better system, right?

The solution's right there in front of you.

But because you're spending every ounce of energy, you know, compensating for a broken system, you're just. You're too exhausted to take the new solution, right? And that's the danger, right? Because the longer that you compensate for a broken system, the harder it becomes to stop. Because that compensation uses up every ounce of capacity that you have to change that, that's required to change the system. And that's how delay sustains itself. That's how we stay trapped in broken systems. You know, the same thing happens with, you know, we have these implementation kits.

We have one right now on supporting struggling students. It's. It's this ready to run system. It's designed to get Tier 1 instruction working within a month. All the training is there, the tools are already built, the rollout is Built, all you have to do is do it. And yet people are telling me that a lot of people are saying that they're too busy trying to get their current broken Tier one system to work. They're so busy doing that, they don't have time to fix it. Even if that means another intervention meeting, even if it means more kids falling through the cracks, Even if it means, you know, more time chasing, checking, and correcting teachers because they're not doing it right.

You know, they're so busy doing that that even when there's a solution in front of them that will fix things, they just don't have the capacity to take it. And those examples exist because the truth is that broken systems demand compensation. And it's a vicious cycle, right? The system is broken, so you compensate for the broken system that compensation eliminates. It just uses up all of your capacity. So the more you compensate, the less energy you have to fix the problem at the source. And so you get stuck in this cycle of compensation and being too exhausted to do anything about it. And so the real question here that we have to ask ourselves is, what is our compensation costing our students and what's it costing us?

So many of us right now are caught in this vicious cycle. We know things need to get fixed. And up until this point, we've thought that the only two solutions for us were to either work harder or try to DIY in Frankenstein a new solution. And both of those things keep us busy and make us feel like we're doing something to solve the problem. But they're really trapping us in this vicious cycle of compensating for broken systems, using up all of our capacity, compensating that we have no capacity to really put a system in place that's going to work. And so as a result, it cost us our own energy. It costs kids, you know, months of delay.

And then the dangerous thing is that over time, it erodes our belief in 100%.

Hey, builders. Real quick, before we get on with the rest of the episode, I want to talk to you about the 100% collective. If you are interested in becoming a builder and developing that 100% mindset, then the 100% collective is for you. Not only do we have monthly master classes, live masterclasses, where I show you how to take some work that you are already doing, but do it like a builder. Do it in a way that is more effective, more efficient, in a way that takes the work and stops it from being drudgery and makes it actually something that feels meaningful. That moves you forward. We also have done for you toolboxes with all the tools you need to be able to implement. And we have step by step playbooks that lay out the entire process for you so you don't have to even think about it.

You just take the playbook and you can implement it right away in your schools. And we have a supportive community. So this is a safe place where you can bring your challenges. And there are other people, other builders just like you, who are encouraging you, who are applauding you when you win, and who are giving you their experiences as well so that you can learn from each other. If you are tired of just kind of going through and doing the work the way you've always been doing it, and you're ready to stop being a leader and to start building something amazing, the 100% collective is where you need to be. Join us@brewershipuniversity.com community now. Back with the program. And so we've got to do something different, folks.

These myths that have that have trapped us into a system, a broken system that isn't serving kids, that's not serving the adults either. And the cost of staying trapped in these systems is heavy. It's heavy for kids because the kids aren't getting the help that they need. And they keep drifting further and further and further away from success till they get so far that they get frustrated and they give up. It's costing us because we work really hard. We're not getting the results we want. And we're doing everything that we think we know to do. And because we're doing everything we think we know to do, then we start secretly believing that maybe we can't reach all kids, maybe it's not going to work for all kids.

And the solution isn't to work harder. And the solution isn't to try to compensate for broken systems at the cost of your health and your energy and your belief in kids. The real solution is to stop compensating for bad systems and replace them with ones that work. You don't have to stay stuck in a system that's not working for you. And I don't think people really understand. I think that we've gotten so used to compensating for bad systems that we think that's as good as it gets. No, you don't have to stay stuck in that system.

You don't have to keep patching and band aiding systems that don't work.

You can just put in a new system. And putting in a new system doesn't mean that you throw. You know, you have to overhaul everything. So, you know, a lot of people say, I just got to wait till the summer and I'll do it in the summer. And then. And you wait till the summer, and you're so caught in the compensation cycle that the new system you put is just a compensation, just a fancy compensation for the old system. And then you wonder why it doesn't work. And then you think, nothing's going to work.

It's a vicious cycle. There's a different way. And it means interrogating the system that you're currently tolerating and really think, why is this not working? And let's get a new system, not put band aids on a system that isn't working. Get a new system, right? You don't need to stay stuck where you are. There are other solutions out there. And so if what you need right now is structure, if you need a clear system that you can use immediately, there are tons of them in the collective.

You can go in there, you can grab a system. You don't have to invent it from scratch. They're fast, they're easy to put in. It's plug and play. You, you, you just. It's ready to run. No design phase. You just, you just, Just execute.

You just take it and you say, hey, we're not doing that anymore. Here's what we're doing instead. See results right away, right? You don't have to wait till the summer. You don't have to wait till next year. You don't have to wait until. You know, so many kids are struggling that you are so overwhelmed that you feel like you can never dig your way out. You just have to.

To just decide that you're tired of compensating for broken systems and then grab the one that will work. You don't have to invent anything new. You just have to stop compensating for broken systems. Same thing is true with Tier one. We have a solution. It's done. You don't have to do anything. You just.

You take it, you implement it. A month later, Tier one's working the way you want it to be working. Done right, we glorify hard. We think that if I, you know, if I didn't sweat, shed blood over it, then. Then it's. Then it's not valuable. And so we stay trapped, trying to either make a broken system work or trying to invent something new while you were also trying to run a school. You don't have to do that.

There are systems that are out there, that work.

So you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You don't have to keep living with the system you have. All you have to do is decide. There are so many different ways that this. This redemption arc, hero story, myth that we've been telling ourselves over the years are holding us back. You know, one way is that it makes us think that it makes us romanticize students struggle, right? Like, you can't have the savior story if you don't have kids struggling.

So it keeps kids subtly trapped in struggle and allows us to tolerate long bouts of student struggle because we think that the work we're supposed to be doing is saving kids. And you can't save kids from struggle if you don't see them really struggling, right? So we get trapped in that. But the second trap that we have is that we think that the only two ways to fix it are for us to work really, really hard compensating, or for us to try to fix it ourselves with coming up with something ourselves. Both of those create more delay, and we don't have time for that. Our kids deserve more for that. There is a third way, which is that you can look at the system and say, hey, this system is broken and therefore irredeemable. I'm tired of compensating for a system that's broken, and then just get a system that works.

The difference is night and day. When you have a system that works, you're working hard, but the hard work feels good because you can see results. And those results come pretty instantly. Well, I shouldn't say instantly. I should say immediately. It's not like add water and stir instant, but. But you do the system. The system works, you see results.

It becomes pretty clear. And so now the hard work is rewarding. And the hard work isn't about you sacrificing your health and staying late and, you know, up working weekends. The hard work is about doing the work that really matters. We're so used to compensating for broken systems that we don't even know what good hard work feels like anymore. So we're working hard, and we're exhausted, and, you know, we're questioning, should I even be a principal? And we're hitting barriers on every side, and we feel like that's the gig. No, that's not the gig.

The real gig is you. You. You. You sit down with kids and you. You catch them early before they begin to fall. You. You get good at putting systems in place so that no kid slips through the cracks.

You work hard at maintaining the system because the system then does the work.

And so then your work is around making the system smoother, making sure people have what they need. When you're going in classrooms, those feedback conversations are not about all the things they're not doing, but how all the things they're doing are working and how we can make them work even more. The work shifts from compensating for a broken system to. To ensuring that the good system keeps running and keeps producing results. And a lot of us have lost sight of what that feels like. We don't even realize that that's something that could happen. We don't even realize that this work can feel good, not because of some heroic effort on your part, but it can feel good because stuff works. And we need to get back to that, because if we don't, we stay stuck in the compensation cycle and it erodes our capacity and eventually erodes our belief.

So you got a choice. Do you want to stay stuck compensating, or do you want to get out of that compensation cycle and step into a success cycle where you're doing the right work and it's making a difference for kids? Like a builder. I'll talk to you next time. Hey, if you're ready to get started being a builder right away, then I want to invite you to join us at Buildership University. It's our exclusive online community for builders just like you, where you'll be able to get the exact training that you need to turn your school into a success story. Right now, with the people and resources you already have inside, you'll find our best online courses, live trainings with me, tons of resources, templates and exemplars, and monthly live office hours with me where you can ask me anything and get my help on whatever challenge you're facing right now. If you're tired of hitting obstacle after obstacle and you're sick of tiny little incremental gains each year, if you're ready to make a dramatic difference in your school right now, then you need to join Buildership University.

Just go to buildershipuniversity.com and get started writing your school success story today. Hey, real quick, before you go, if you enjoyed today's episode and you know someone who would really benefit from what you heard here today, maybe they're struggling with the thing that we talked about in today's episode. Would you take a moment and share this episode with them? Them? You see, not only will it help us get the word about Buildership out to more people, but you're going to look like a rock star because you're going to give people something they can really use to help them get unstuck and be better at building their schools. Plus, it would mean the world to me. Thanks so much, and I'll see you next time.