The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy May 8, 2010 Your Name Here?


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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
May 8, 2010
Your Name Here?

I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble.

Rudyard Kipling

About a year ago I read something by Seth Godin (the extraordinary web guru) that has changed the way I think about any new policy or rule at Choice Literacy. Godin asks us to imagine a world where every policy or rule in an organization is required to have someone's name on it. This person would be credited with creating the policy, which means he or she would also own it. For example, Spirit Airline's new $45 fee for carry-on luggage would be the "Spirit Airlines Vice President John Smith Carry-On Fee," and customers would then have a real person to write or call if they had questions about the policy. (I sure hope there isn't a VP at Spirit Airlines named John Smith, because this paragraph could get us both in trouble!)

What a simple and powerful idea to have in mind when you are doing the mundane work of coming up with policies that will apply to everyone in your professional community, long into the future. When the Choice Literacy policy for returning DVDs becomes the "Brenda Power Return Policy," it pushes me to come up with something that is generous and fair. Think of the most unpopular policy at your school now, whether it involves testing or sick leave or library returns. Then put your name in front of it. Would you want to own the policy that limits kids who have an overdue lunch bill to a peanut butter sandwich for weeks on end? If not, who is willing to put their name on that policy? And most important, if everyone would be embarrassed to own or defend it, why is it still in place?

The worst policies in schools are often developed in response to the bad behavior of one person eons ago, or spring forth from an environment of fatigue and irritation. They may stay in place because of inertia more than anything else. The goal in rethinking policies isn't that every rule you have in place will be popular with everyone, all the time. If you deal with parents or school board members at all, you will be faced regularly with people who question your policy on grades or field trips or after-school programs or. . .well, if you're an educator, you've learned just about anything you do can be questioned. But if it's a policy you'd put your name on, it's something you can explain. The beginnings of those conversations with unhappy people are almost always the same - "I know this isn't what you want to hear. But here is why this policy is the most fair for everyone, and why it works well. . ."

This week we continue our popular series of recommendations from favorite teacher authors for summer reading. Plus more as always - enjoy!

Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy

Free for All

This week we continue with more book recommendations from some of your favorite authors and Choice Literacy contributors in our Summer Reading List series. Louise Borden, Kathy Collins, Ralph Fletcher, Mary Lee Hahn, and Heather Rader all share their summer "must reads":

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1167.cfm

Are you making any short presentations this spring that you want to have a big impact? This brief video on Presentations That Stick explains the three elements of presentations that make a mark on their audiences:

http://bit.ly/aALm6I

If your students are antsy this time of year, you might want to revisit the steps involved in interactive modeling to reinforce behavior expectations. From the good folks at Responsive Classrooms, Behavior Challenges in the Home Stretch by Margaret Berry Wilson and Mike Anderson explains how:

http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/newsletter/22_2nl_1.html

Many of our upcoming Choice Literacy CAFE Workshops with "The Sisters" have sold out quickly, so we've decided to add a new date - Tuesday, September 28th in Phoenix, Arizona. You can download registration materials at this link (it's a two-page PDF file):

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/CAFE2010.pdf

For Members Only

From the Choice Literacy Archives, Franki Sibberson's summer reading survey is a great tool to send home with students at the end of the year, and use to launch conversations in the fall:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/883.cfm

Jennifer Allen finds experienced teachers want and need monthly support similar to what she provides to new teachers. In this start of a new series, she explains how she planned and developed a professional program for accomplished teachers in her district which includes extended monthly meetings, readings, videos, and classroom observations:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1041.cfm

We're also beginning a new video series, just in time for thinking about cleaning out and reorganizing your classroom at the end of the school year. The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help a 7th grade teacher makeover her classroom:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1166.cfm

Video Updates: We continue to repost many videos in new formats and players (with higher resolution and full-screen options). As we make these improvements, we'll announce them in the newsletter. Here is an updated video you may want to revisit. Aimee Buckner leads a small group on dialogue, using a mentor text to improve writing:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1164.cfm

That's all for this week!