The Computer and the Librarian

 Over a hundred years ago, the computer was not a machine, but a man who computed. He did what a computer does today, but a lot slower and without the fanciness of Steve Jobs. 

The librarian became a job because of an enormous need to organize the heaping piles of literature spread throughout academia, filling the walls of your school.

The computer became a machine that now fits into your pocket. And with the growing presence of students reading on iPads and Kindles (or the Nook app), what will the librarian do?

The point here is not to let go of librarians. They are brilliant organizers and incredibly highly-skilled team members. You need them. But they may not need to be spending their days anymore rifling through book orders or organizing the shelves. 

Today's newsletter addresses the need for all school faculty to think outside their job description.

Back in the halls of college, we trained to become a certain role. Lead the school, teach a content, or be the librarian. That won't work anymore.

Now, we all need to think like a start-up. That means a hodgepodge of skill-sets. That means intrinsic motivation to innovate. That means trust.

 Hodgepodge of Skill Sets

We all come to our careers with a set of skills based on our particular schooling combined with the events unfolded in our lives. These moments define us and make us unique. They also allow us to innovate. 

You each have the ability to add something extraordinary to the school that only you can bring. Dig deep and reflect on who you are that makes you different. Use this uniqueness to your advantage.

Intrinsic Motivation

We've all heard the cliche, "One man's garbage is another man's treasure". The same principle applies to duties, tasks, or a job description. 

What one team member thinks of as boring and a waste of her talent, another may find it to be the perfect addition to his day. 

So, make this clear to your staff. Let them know that you want them to be in the position where they feel empowered and truly utilized. For instance, is there a 7th grade English teacher who borders on quitting, and would feel far happier teaching 12th grade? 

Yes, it is impossible to make everyone happy. Appeasing to the will of all makes it impossible to run a school system, but you certainly can make it clear that you want everyone to feel needed.

“Creativity is as important as literacy”  - Ken Robinson (Tweet this!) 

Trust

Letting everyone be unique requires you to trust them. That's why Jim Collins said you have to have all the right team members on the bus. Then, you can just make sure you are in the right direction and drive without having to constantly check the mirror. 

Forget Cutting Costs - "Show Me the Money!"

 Why cut costs when there's so much more you want to offer your students? (Tweet this!)

There's a new division in fundraising that few schools have really taken advantage of and I want to share them with you.

In a newfound digital world of slim pickings and tight budgets, schools can now think creatively with money. 

If you're like me, cutting programs and finding loopholes is no fun. It's exhausting to try to cut more from a school system that needs so much added. It's far more fun to find easier ways to get more money and create the school you really want (Tweet this!)

More money can mean more programs for your school. More money can mean more opportunities.

Some options for school leaders when the budget shrinks (which happens a lot). 

Below are two programs for you to consider using for alternate fundraising options when you and your team run into financial roadblocks for the amazing programs you want to create for your school.

You can even offer these crowd-funding websites to your staff when they come to you with an idea they have to make their classroom better.

#1 Indiegogo

This site acts like Kickstarter, yet focuses on the non-profit social good realm. It uses crowd funding to allow your ideas to become funded. You can offer this site to teachers or even students who have an idea, but need either money or equipment to make it happen. Some school programs that have received funding include students publishing their writing, funding for a school/community pool, and even building a cleaner and nicer bathroom for students to use. Think big with Indiegogo and you may be surprised at what you will get. 

Tip: You will need to use the skills of a teacher with filming skills or a student who is savvy with the camera. 

#2 DonorsChoose

A site for teachers by teachers. This site allows philanthropic donors the ability to see and potentially interact with the programs they fund. Don't have enough pencils or laptops for your school? Consider asking for these on DonorsChoose. This site is a lot like Indiegogo, but it offers teachers the ability to ask for small things and not just high-cost initiatives.

As a school leader, I'm sure you've realized just how hard it can be to get the funds you deserve. There's no more need to solely rely on government funds, tuition dollars, or investors to cover the cost of new initiatives.

Teachers and school leaders can work together. 

Here's a simple idea that empowers students:

Link a student assessment to one of these sites and offer students the ability to put together a fundraising program for a project they want to see implemented in the school. 

Students will have a practical assessment that utilizes many of the Common Core skills. Students will learn digital literacies through uploading and creating the video and they will also learn the rules of rhetorical persuasion and what it take to be business savvy. Forget providing students with skills to get a job in a non-existent job market, this teaches entrepreneurship. 

5 Teacher Duties for the Innovative School

Education  - the intellectual railroad.  

Most schools follow a typical schedule that's hardened by contractual obligations between the administrators and teachers. 

For example, most teachers follow a schedule like this one:

Period 1 -2  Drinking Coffee and Teaching

Period 3      Duty...

Period 4 -5  Teach Like a Rockstar

Period 6      Lunch

Period 7      Prep  

Period 8      Shot of Espresso w/ Teaching

Typical duties include: hallway monitor, attendance office, study hall, lunch monitor, detention room monitor, among other similar drudgery tasks.

Don't get me wrong, many of these duties are necessary, but what about thinking creatively about what else staff can do to help build the school up?

A few schools are thinking outside the box about what else teachers can do for a "duty" that maximize teacher's creativity and abilities.

These schools start by offering teachers to create their own duty. 

Here a 5 unique duty options to offer teachers:

1. Social Media Manager:

For the social-media savvy teacher, this duty consists of sending out 5-10 tweets per day using bufferapp.com. Also, check out Hootsuite. Tweets could include a healthy lunch option offered, highlights from yesterday's sporting events, positive quotes to pique student interest. Tip: Use a hashtag appropriate for your school if you want a response. 

This teacher can also update the Facebook and Instagram pages (among others if you choose) to showcase school events, give a shout out to student exemplars, and blast out beautiful inspirational photos. 

FYI: Yes, a lot of schools fear social media because there's little control. Keep this in mind, however. Students are on social media and they need a positive role model. When schools model how to be professional with social media, students will follow. One of the leading causes of cyber bullying is a lack of a positive social media model (tweet this!). 

2. Interior Designer: 

This teacher dabbles in artistic splendor and takes charge of how to make the school look aesthetically appealing. Options include painting murals on the school and if a budget allows, adding plants and art to the school. Even better, this teacher can pull out those gifted and talented students who need some extra empowerment and use their skills to beautify the school.

3. Field Trip Organizer:

We learn best through experience and the easiest experience for students is a field trip. However, lack of money and time make this difficult. This teacher's duty is to find grants and help organize logistics for teachers who want to take their students on a field trip. This idea came from a teacher who loves to travel and was a travel agent in a past life.

4. Fundraising Planner

Last week, I talked about bringing in money through crowd funding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. This teacher loves to budget and is your go-to person to raise funds for a range of activities. Some examples include a school garden, bringing in a speaker, or new uniforms for the school teams. 

5. Dream Director

Okay, yes, this sounds super cheesy. But, I've seen this done very well. Just look at The Future Project. This teacher would meet with a group of hand-picked entrepreneurial students once per day to talk about an entrepreneurial venture students want to go on. 

For example, one student last year created a website/blog that shared her passion for natural African American hair products. It was a beautiful and expressive website that focused on female empowerment. 

On the opposite spectrum, a young boy dreamed of putting his sketches on skateboards to bring about social-change and awareness. 

This teacher's duty is to simply guide these students and attempt to Google answers with them and motivate them to continue working on an entrepreneurial venture.