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Archive for September, 2023

I Don’t Have An Opinion on That

Posted in Change, tagged on September 26, 2023| 8 Comments »

Lately I have repeatedly found myself in situations where the person I am talking to expects me to share their level of passion for a particular topic, but I have realized that I don’t have any opinion on it. 

I know strong opinions are very popular. In the media having people who come from different perspectives talk over each other is common. So often there are few efforts to seek to understand. And an important lesson we need to teach students is the value of taking a position and supporting it with evidence, not opinion. I wouldn’t want thoughtful debate to go anywhere. At times, with students, and for us as adults, it also might be OK to not have an opinion. There seems to be a rush to assume we all should have opinions on everything and every issue is a litmus test for whether you are “for” or “against” us (whoever the us is in the situation).

I appreciate that part of being a community leader, which is a key aspect of the school superintendency is taking positions, but do we need to take positions on everything?  Especially when the topic might not be that related to education.  While I regularly express views through this blog and elsewhere on hundreds of issues – from promoting safe, caring and welcoming schools for all students, to the importance of  the arts and athletics in education, when someone says I need to take a stand on issue X, before I do, a good question I am trying to ask myself is, do I really need to take a stand on issue X?

I think you can hold true to the values like those often expressed by Martin Luther King, including, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people,” by being a little more thoughtful on the topics and issues that we have opinions.

So, why not speak out on everything?  Here is what I am thinking right now:

I am not an expert on everything – I know, we all like to think sometimes, we know all about all things, but I don’t so it is best to let others who  know more on a given topic talk about it.

I want to learn – Once I have an opinion, I am stubborn and don’t like to change it.  The longer I hold out before coming to a point of view the more likely I am to be more thoughtful in my thinking.

I don’t always want to fight – I know some people love having strong opinions all the time almost daring others to oppose them.  I don’t shy away from the tension when I  care about something, but I don’t need to fight on every topic.

Issues are often complex – I miss nuance.  On so many topics in our world, we seem to obsess over black and white discussions, and not be willing to live in a world when things might be a little grey.  If I can hold off on taking a position immediately, it helps acknowledge this complexity.

Opinions can be exhausting – I wonder how people who hold strong views on everything get anything done.  And what happens when they come in conflict with each other – I think people get themselves all wrapped up in opinions that are strong but also from the outside are clearly in conflict with each other.

I do want to be clear, that there are many times having strong, thoughtful opinions are the absolute right thing.  I think of some of the social issues swirling around schools right now and we need to be unwavering in the commitment to safe, caring and inclusive schools for all students.  It is important have well-informed opinions on issues that are important to you or that directly affect your life and your work.

But maybe we don’t need to have an opinion on everything all the time.  

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Better Prompting and Other AI Stuff I Have Learned

Posted in Change, Technology, tagged , , on September 18, 2023| 1 Comment »

I first wrote about Chat GPT in January.  I asked the question, Could AI Replace School Superintendents?  At the time, I was just beginning to use Chat GPT, and treated it like I would Google. I would make a query and get a response.  So, what is something I have gotten better at over the last 8 months?  Prompting. 

As I started playing in Chat GPT at the end of last year, I would ask it a question and get an answer.  I am used to 20 years of internet searches where each question gets an answer and there is no follow-up.  So, I would ask Chat GPT questions like, “Why is it important for elementary students to know how to read,” or “What are the best ideas for an office staff party” or “Can you share a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe.”  All were fine, but these responses were just stuff I could easily get on Google. Even my blog post on AI replacing superintendents was really just a modified Google search.

Some simple advice that I found helpful are the 6 tips that Anna Bernstein shared in her YouTube video:

  1. Take advantage of synonyms
  2. Be consistent with labeling
  3. Link everything together
  4. No negativity allowed
  5. Use powerful verbs
  6. Context is your best friend

I have come to understand that my frustrations with the poor outputs wasn’t as simple as “AI just isn’t that good” but it is often that I simply need to do a better job of asking, re-asking and clarifying what it is I am looking for.  Just as we got better at searching the internet, there are definitely ways to improve getting better at using AI.  Now, my Chat GPT interactions are more conversational as I’m working on an idea or problem.  I often read that Chat GPT is like teaching something to a child  and that is a useful mindset and good reminder that AI does not come with human wisdom.

The other shift in how I have used Chat GPT over the last eight months is using it for idea generation.  Almost daily, I am asking it to give answer prompts like, “As a school superintendent what are five things I could observe when visiting a grade 3 class for 10 minutes that would be helpful to my work.”  And then, I often take one of those ideas and explore it further to help me pinpoint my purpose.   I am saving time and gaining clarity in my work.  

And back to Anna Bernstein.  It is commonly heard that new technologies, while make some jobs obsolete, they will also create new jobs that we had never heard of before.  One of those is prompt engineer.  And Bernstein is one of the trailblazers – a good reminder that we need to look beyond what is lost in these changes, to see what is also gained.

When I spoke with all our staff a couple weeks ago I used some basic prompts to expose people to Chat GPT.  When we surveyed the group, about 60% had used the tool in their personal / professional life including about 10% who had used it with students.  This digital disruption feels different that other technological tools of the last decade.

What are you doing with students and AI?  How are you using it in your professional lives?  Has your thinking changed on it over the last few months?

I will regularly check back in and share what is shifting for me – I am definitely in the joy of learning stage as I try to figure out how tools like Chat GPT will help me while also trying to be sure it is not the case of the technology being the driver of thinking and the work.

 

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People Want Community

Posted in Change, tagged , , , on September 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

There is a teacher shortage in British Columbia. And it is actually much larger than just here. As schools go back in session there are reports from across the continent of a shortage of qualified staff. 

The reasons are not simple  One often hears a range of reasons including:   compensation levels, high workload and stress, lack of support, aging workforce, changing demographics, and credentialing barriers.  And just as the reasons are not simple to pinpoint, neither are the solutions.  It definitely seems like COVID changed some things for people.  We are seeing more people wanting part-time work, and an interest in more flexible work.  The challenge of teaching (at least as we largely know it) is that it is a face-to-face job with regular hours – it is not one of those jobs that can be that flexible (again, at least as we traditionally know it).

Digging deeper into the reasons for the shortage and possible solutions is for another post at another time. 

We do have some particularly unique challenges in West Vancouver.  In particular, as a result of local housing prices, about 80% of the workforce lives outside of the school boundaries.  As I said to staff as we started the school year, I need them to commute through one or more other school districts where they could likely get a job to work here.   And in a profession that largely pays the same salary across the province we are having to find what makes our district unique so people will commute longer for work.  

At our Opening Day with staff we ran a simple poll with the 400+ teachers in the theatre, asking them, “Why Do You Work in West Vancouver?”  The answers were telling.  What teachers are looking for is community.  Here is the visual that their answers produced:

The words that stand out are striking – community, connections, relationships, colleagues, support.  All things that are often difficult to measure but speak to the culture of the kind of workplace we are typically seeking.  And what is true about all of them is that the ways to improve them are free.  Looking at the other words that came up – from supportive, to connections, to working environment to innovation – there is a lot there we can work with.  Also great to see the names of specific people or schools as reasons why people work in our district – a reminder that we are in the “people” business.  If we want to be a destination district we need to focus on culture.

Of course, this work does little to improve the teacher shortages – we are really just stealing from our neighbours to meet our teaching needs.  This list does give us a starting place on where we should focus as we change perceptions of teaching and attract the next generations of teachers.  

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First Week Excitement

Posted in Change, tagged , , on September 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

There is a great buzz this week in schools.

I love the ritual of the first week of school. It is a timeless and cherished experience for all of those involved – those of us working in the system along with the students (and their parents) who are heading to school.

I wrote at this time last year about how we are truly the possibility profession. And I just love the optimism that comes with a new school year.

For those of us working in the system, there is the opportunity for us to connect and inspire the new students.  Much is often made of the fresh-start the school year brings for students, but this is also true for the adults in the system as we consider new ways to connect with learners.  And the opportunity to channel the enthusiasm that students bring into learning is a wonderful challenge.

For students, the first week marks a new beginning, a clean slate, an opportunity to make new friends and establish connections that can last a lifetime. This social aspect of school, the chance to bond with peers, is incredibly exciting, offering the prospect of shared experiences and new opportunities.  And of course there is the promise of learning – often new courses, and almost certainly with new teachers.  

And for parents it is often about setting routines for the fall and tone setting for the year – it is also bittersweet as it hits hard to think how quickly one’s kids are growing up.

So go and post those back-to-school photos and be excited to wear your new fall clothes and embrace one of the most special times of the year as we head back to school.  

 

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