Quiet Leadership and Changing Course
Topics for this week include building community to increase school success, changing classroom systems, and the power of quiet leadership.
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The Friday Five
Become a supporter.Snow has arrived in the Great Northwoods of Wisconsin. It was time to dust off the snow blower and shovels and locate my winter gear. It really does look like a winter wonderland.
I invite you to explore the Why Edify Facebook Page this week. We've created a companion group called the STRONG Teacher Sanctuary, where teachers can share ideas and support one another. This community will also host the Why Edify Review slow chat. Please check out the links below and join us!
1 - Community and School Success
Under Principal Calvin Hooks' leadership, Hyde-Addison Elementary School in Washington, D.C., has achieved remarkable success through focused diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. During the pandemic, the school saw double-digit gains in reading and math assessments, maintained a 100% staff retention rate, and reduced chronic absenteeism from 20% to 8%. Through systematic DEI practices, anti-racism training, and strong community engagement, including an after-school Acceleration Academy and weekly value-celebration meetings, Hooks transformed a once-fractured school community into a unified environment where all students can succeed regardless of their background. The key takeaway for teachers looking to implement similar success is establishing regular community meetings that recognize and celebrate core values like curiosity, diversity, integrity, kindness, and perseverance.
2 - Changing Course
Have you ever spent hours crafting the perfect teaching system only to watch it crumble in practice? Many educators can relate to designing elaborate lesson plans, interactive activities, or classroom management strategies that look promising on paper but fall short in execution. Despite careful planning and good intentions, sometimes ideas and lessons don't work out as intended. Whether it's a complex digital platform that confuses students or a creative assessment method that proves impractical, these setbacks are a natural part of teaching. Reflecting, adjusting our approach, and changing course can significantly improve student growth and teacher well-being. The key is remaining flexible and willing to adapt when our initial plans don't quite hit the mark.
3 - Introvert Power
Quiet leadership, emphasizing inner leadership and emotional intelligence, offers a powerful alternative to the traditional loud, extroverted leadership style that dominates modern workplace culture. Studies show that teams led by quieter, more introverted leaders often outperform those with domineering personalities, mainly when employees are proactive and self-motivated. The key to quiet leadership is cultivating self-awareness, emotional regulation, and clarity, transforming internal understanding into meaningful external impact. Actionable Tip: Set aside 10 minutes daily for intentional reflection through journaling or meditation to develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence - core components of effective quiet leadership.
4 - Careful Listening
“Introverts tend to assume leadership positions within groups when they really have something to contribute….they listen carefully to the ideas of the people they lead. All of this gives them a big advantage over leaders who rise to the top simply because they're comfortable talking a lot or being in control.”― Susan Cain, Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts *(ad)
5 - Teacher Commuter Playlist - Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC
Choose Your Own Adventure
- STRONG Teacher Recommendation - The ThinkPscyh Moments Gratitude Deck - 52 cards to help you reflect on what truly matters.
- Oxford Word of the Year - Brain Rot - (n.) Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also, it is something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.
- Eight winter-themed activities using Google tools.
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