Chapter 5
As I read this section of the book on business, it only makes sense that people who are open to change, open to constructive criticism, open to teamwork, and view themselves as a part rather than the whole in a company or business will generally be more successful than those that are not. Everybody in business is in it to make money and are judged by the amount of money they make and the longevity of the business. This is how most view success in the business world. This seems almost in conflict with the growth mindset which is about learning and improvement, regardless of failure or success. Don't get me wrong; I understand her point as she redundantly gives anecdotes of failed companies and the egotistical leaders of those companies. But, I see growth mindset as an opportunity to improve oneself and grow through experience and learning which includes failures. There really is no room for failure in business. Therefore, it is understandable that fear of failure is the white elephant in the room in regards to the business world. In the end, people are judged based on the "success" of that business. On page 124, Dweck states that, "When bosses become controlling and abusive, they put everyone into a fixed mindset. This means that instead of learning, growing, and moving the company forward, everyone starts worrying about being judged. It starts withe the bosses' worry about being judged, but it winds up being everybody's fear about being judged." I started really thinking about this quote in relation to our current situation in the business of running schools. The APPR is in direct contrast with a growth mindset. I have taught 26 years (including this one) and was never really fearful of being observed. Since the Danielson rubric has been put into effect, my concern is less on improving my teaching with the suggestions of an outsider observing a day in the life of Maria Shea. My focus is now on being judged and rated a particular score that may affect my standing as a competent teacher based on an observation once a year, regents scores, and other criteria which doesn't necessarily fairly assess me and definitely doesn't help me to grow. My concern is about including in my lesson what the observer wants to see so that observer can check off a checklist. I know that some teachers literally create a checklist from the rubric for that one lesson. I also know of specific situations where teachers fought for a "4" on their evaluations and may have been a bit bullyish until the score was changed. Is this practice supportive of improving teaching and an "enterprising spirit"? Dweck makes it clear that judgement does not move the "company" forward, but rather forces workers into a fixed mindset due to fear.
Maria, I find your comparison of ideas in this chapter to our APPR fascinating. You bring up some thought provoking ideas. Creating a checklist to make sure you are measuring up to what your "boss" wants to see certainly goes against the growth mindset. It perpetuates the exact opposite and the scoring on the evaluations can make our jobs much more competitive. The emphasis on teamwork that Dweck talks about in this chapter is lost to the "I" mentality that so many of the fixed mindset leaders have since how your students do on the state tests is directly linked to your success. Instead of being able to reflect self-confidence in our readiness to grow we are forced to focus on proving our genius or personal greatness in one lesson and a few tests so that we may be judged as competent or not. I have to say there is one positive I see in all of the APPR changes (at least in my building) and that is that there is an atmosphere of focusing on not only our development but that of the customer (our students) as well. The leadership is trying to create a growth-mindset environment in which we teachers can thrive.
ReplyDeleteMaria - I cannot agree with more! And you mentioned the fact about the teacher being bullyish to get the evaluator to change a score to a 4....but what about when the evaluator is the one being the "bully" and refuses to give you the 4 when you know deep inside and really believe you have provided the proof to back up your belief, yet the administrator sticks to the exact words on the page in the square? The growth mindset is definitely lost when fear has replaced trust, and eggshells have replace the confidence we have all once had with previous administrators and reviews. And with the changes that Cuomo wants to attach to the budget without any real discussion - it makes me physically ill. To know in my mind that I work damned hard every day (weekends included) to give my students the best of me so that they can reach and stretch and see the best of them... to have an administrator, a state standardize exam, or a governor who who doesn't value the same thing... makes it hard for me to want to continue to do what I do every day. And if it weren't for the small, needy, eager faces who show up in the seats of my classroom each day, each hour, I don't think I would continue. I continue for them. I have to have a growth mind set for them. Because it is for them, my students that my teaching and coming to school each day matters. *step down off soap box* We need to have leadership that inspires us...not one that instills fears or else we are all going to fail despite our best efforts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with much of what you said. It seems that there are those people who wanted the APPR in place to get rid of ineffective teachers. There are those who wanted to put the APPR or some process that really held all in a building responsible for great instruction and what that looks like. The fear of a one shot evaluation does impede growth mindset. As we move forward with the state of our state, it is important to make this part of the discussion. I totally agree with you Maria. It makes me sad actually. The business minded of Wall Street have seen a way to get their hands on public money- a lot of it. Those of us actually doing the work will need to be LOUD about educating students and how business, money, and fixed mindset do not have a place in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there can be an evaluation system that really captures the essence of sound instruction and effective teachers?
I do believe if we look only at the Danielson Framework that BCSD adopted, there are practices of strong teaching. That has made us grow as a group. How can the same thing that started growth be the thing that shuts growth down. Clearly, this is worth discussion.
Very interesting Jen! I do see the Danielson Framework definitely pushing all of us to grow and I do feel administrators are trying to create an environment where teachers can take risks in their classroom.....that's the only way we're going to be able to grow. The problem is how we're being evaluated....the numbers game is ludicrous and invalid and observations are subjective. The percentages and checklists don't define who we are or how good we are as teachers, but they're very difficult to ignore. Most teachers I talk with have basically shared their frustrations with me regarding the APPR process and have decided to simply take risks in their classrooms and do what's best for kids. I wish we could adjust the evaluative process for teachers!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Tresel.
DeleteAs I was reading this chapter it got me thinking about our hiring process. Do we take into account the mindset of prospective employees? Should we ask questions to help us determine if a prospective employee has a fixed or growth mindset? On page128 Jack Welch states, "Eventually I learned that I was really looking for people who were filled with passion and a desire to get things done. A resume didn't tell me much about the inner hunger." Because I've been involved with the interviewing process I started to think about the weight we give to experience. I think we may have to rethink what attributes we are really looking for. I think we need to be looking for people who believe they have much more to learn, are willing to develop and work with others, and simply have the desire and passion to grow.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea. Maybe this should be a focus...
DeleteLots of food for thought here, especially as I read through all the comments so far. First, as I read this chapter I kept thinking, “Are school systems business?” I found myself comparing corporations and their CEOs to school districts and administrators. I struggled. Then I read through the comments, especially about the APPR…needless to say I am now really in a quandary! I do understand, and agree with, the initial concerns from Maria. But I do also have to believe that we can and should be willing to grow and learn from this process. And as Tresel said, there is much in the Danielson Framework that pushes us to grow. As an educator I never want to stop learning and improving- there is so much I don’t know, and can learn to better prepare my students for success in the real world. However, I wish the school environment was more embracing of the growth mind set instead of basing success on the numbers that result from a snapshot that is observed in the classroom during a few observations, as Jen commented.
ReplyDeleteThe importance of communication really resonated with me as I read this chapter. One of the scenarios I was particularly drawn to was the IBM case study on page 229. The CEO in this case, Lou, emphasized communication as one of the backbones to growth. His memo was addressed to everyone up and down the company and stated, “…whenever possible I plan to meet with many of you to talk about how together we can strengthen the company.” And later in the chapter they talk about praising people for “taking initiative, for seeing a difficult task through, for struggling and learning something new, for being undaunted by a setback, or for being open to and acting on criticism.” One of the suggestions at the end of the chapter suggests getting people to wage debates that argue different sides of an issue. How great would that be? I wonder how often this happens in school districts?
I also agree with Mrs. Postilli, I think we are seeing opportunities to develop and learn, and I do think that leadership is trying to create a growth-mindset environment. I look at things like the breakout sessions in the HS and even this book discussion opportunity!
I find this conversation very interesting. I agree with much of what was said above. I am still struggling with the fact that I feel that the author has taken any positive characteristic or trait and labeled it growth mindset and the negative characteristics or traits are fixed. My first thought when reading about a variety of CEOs was that the effective CEOs were just doing their job. I felt that they were doing what they were suppose to do. By doing the job right, they are labeled as growth mindset CEOs???
ReplyDeleteOne portion of this chapter focused on superiority ego vs. fostering the needs of others. It focused on competition. Doesn't competition work? Is it bad to be competitive? Competition and business go hand in hand. For example, on page 117, Dunlap of Scott Paper stated, "If you're in business, you're in business for one thing - money." Why else would a person go into business? The ultimate goal is to make money and to make money in business you have to beat the competition.
As for the APPR, I feel that the difference between business and school is option. Students are told that they have to go to school until a certain age. A person who opts to buy a certain product or service has choices. Until that changes, I feel it is very hard to compare the two. Both tend to be evaluated on others (customers purchasing power or student performance), but the choices allowed differ.
Dawn,
DeleteI found myself shaking my head in agreement as I read your comment about competition. I flash onto to the video that recently crossed our paths in which a well respected educator said (and I am paraphrasing) that all kids should not get trophies just because they participated. If you are an MVP you deserve a trophy...not all kids are MVPs, they shouldn't all get trophies.
I think in an idealistic and rose-colored world the APPR could actually be a vehicle for encouraging a growth mindset by providing specific strategies and ideas for ways for people to improve practice. My very first observation when I began teaching said (paraphrase) Justin did a good job managing the students. The students understood the objective of the lesson. There were no areas for improvement listed, and no real feedback (specifically) about what I did well. At the very least, the APPR system encourages a real analysis of what strategies and methodologies are being used within the classroom. Now, because it has all become a numbers game, and a competition, the system that could foster growth, by providing the specific feedback needed to affect that growth, has instead become one of just trying to complete the checklist (as was mentioned above). I like the increased opportunities for feedback, but I think that the feedback is being lost by the continual quest to 'prove' that you are doing a proficient job as an educator.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the points made above and it gives me a lot to think about. As I read this chapter, I also was thinking about the APPR and the culture that it can create. The Danielson Framework is a good starting place for the development of teachers, but using it to evaluate and define teachers can easily foster an environment that forces people into a fixed mindset. The focus needs to be defining areas that we can further explore so as to develop our craft and not hunt for those who can’t cut it. When those in a place of power look to weed out people and champion their careers on this accomplishment it creates a climate of fear and anxiety. Somehow as a culture we only think that people need a safe environment to learn and grow until they are eighteen and then many assume that you must flip the switch to motivation by fear and accountability. This book highlights how those bosses that do these things shut down the creative parts of a person’s brain and force them to live in the more primitive parts of their brain as they attempt to survive another day. I believe that we need to scale back the evaluation process and focus on the enrichment of educators and this could start with the Danielson Framework. This document needs to be a living document that is updated and more specifically defined to support teachers and guide best practices at that specific level. The leadership in NYS needs to recognize from the examples in this book that more can be accomplished by inspiring people than creating a state of fear.
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