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~ J Clay Norton, Ed.D.

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Category Archives: Whole

Why you need to be an idealist educator right now…

21 Friday Aug 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Attitude, Change, coronavirus, covid19, Education, Educational Leadership, Effective, Idealist, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Teachers, Whole

≈ 3 Comments

Regardless of how long you have been in education, I believe you fall into one of three categories… Idealist, Contented, or Disheartened (I will discuss the last two at a later date).

If there was ever a time for a need of quality education and educators, it is now (really all the time for that matter). You ask, why do I say that? Well, for starters, look at where we are with teaching and all that is going on with the current pandemic. Learning is in the form of… Zoom, virtual, digital, distance, hybrid, traditional, non-traditional, etc…

So, why idealist?

An idealist teacher is going to focus on the student while at the same time threading the curriculum into the lesson. Students are in a class for a brief period of time, and we really do not know where their mind wanders off to or even where it has been. But to engage a student in an environment that is inviting, where they enjoy the setting, creates an opportunity for success for both the teacher and the student.

Idealist teachers have vision. They see what is on the side, and they help pull a student’s imagination to reality. Classroom instruction becomes an invitation to students instead of a demand. Students have the opportunity to be part of “something” and possibly experience a deeper understanding of not only the material being taught but, more importantly, themselves.

I also believe that idealist teaching enables a student to become an idealist learner. Where lessons can educate the whole child instead of “just learn this now” mentality. Idealist teachers teach growth of a student’s mind instead of force-feeding them information. Straight methods of lecture should not be the norm of teaching. Allow students to think out loud and draw from different perspectives.

Now, to those who say idealist teaching doesn’t work… You might possibly hear that idealist teachers are young and have little classroom experience. They try too hard to be “friends” of students. They allow things to go undisciplined. They are not concerned about the curriculum. They…

Well, my answer to that is… I know many educators who are not young and have many years of teaching experience who have the same “so-called” characteristics I stated above as why an idealist teaching does not work. Great teachers can exhibit mutual respect from relationships formed in the classroom. When it comes to being a quality educator, no one really cares about your age or your years of experience. Ultimately, the one concept that matters is can you, as a teacher, provide an education for a student that helps them succeed. Be that change agent for them.

Think on it this way… Are you the type of teacher that you would want your child to have as a teacher? Hello, maybe someone might have just had the OMG moment…

So, are you already an idealist teacher? If not, can you become one? Better yet, do you want to be one?

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2020 J Clay Norton

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An Educational Pandemic…?

15 Friday May 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in coronavirus, covid19, Culture, Education, Educational Leadership, Intentions, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Teachers, Whole

≈ 6 Comments

A little long today, but it is the last one for the year…

Well, here we are again at the end of another school year. And yes, it has gone by very fast considering what education has been through this spring semester with the Covid19 and the effects of the pandemic.

As always, many people have many opinions about many things they know nothing about… Just stand in line and take a number to be heard… However, one thing teachers know is education, and I believe that this is an excellent thought to end the 2019-2020 school year.

The Covid19 pandemic has caused a significant shift in many areas of our lives; education being one of them. As a person who is passionate about educational leadership, I feel that we have this one chance to help change education, as a whole, for the better. If we do not, then our future generations will continue on the same path education is now.

Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with my daughter. Now, understand we are a family of educators. My wife is also in education as a school counselor. We were discussing the idea of our “distance learning” and how it is either helping or hurting students. As we talked, I stated that I believe if done correctly on both ends, teacher and student, it would be beneficial. I also told her, that in all practical matters, “education” has this one chance, as I said above, to get “how we educate” right for the future. I gave her the following example, which I saw in a YouTube video…

A long time ago a phone looked like this…images

Now, it looks like this..iphone-xs-iphone-xs-max-21-1

A long time ago, an automobile looked like this…images-3

Now, it looks like this… (I hope you see where this is going)141843-cars-feature-techrules-at96-trev-image1-lffzvrp3ql

A long time ago, a school classroom looked like this…old-school-sarah-akers

And now…?
What has changed?Empty classroom with whiteboard

The above picture can probably be the standard of most classrooms across America.  Desks are lined up neatly, 25 to 30 in a classroom, teacher desk up front, etc. If this continues to be our model, then we might as just well label a school as a factory setting. I am sure many teachers would want to change the look of their classroom, but either they are told they cannot due to “classroom management” concerns or the school does not have the financial resources to change. Which leads me to this…

Educators are the experts in their field of study, yet we are told how and what we are to teach. Now, I am not saying we do not need direction and structure… However, I am saying that if we are going to educate the whole child and help them to become productive citizens of society, we must stop viewing them as a “test score” sitting in a desk… Like then, Like now…

I like reading articles that pertain to schools that are changing the paradigm shift to how they instruct. With that being said, I recently read an article where it stated that when school does start back (whenever that may be) that teachers should focus on students’ social and emotional learning due to the Covid19.

i-am-more-than-just-a-test-score-1024x683My mental response to that is this: If we were educating the whole child, to begin with, then we would not have to worry about their social and emotional learning because it should be an innate teaching characteristic, to start with. It seems that we would be trying to do what was undone, to begin with, somewhere down the road in the past when the education system sold its soul to the idea that we need a “score” to be labeled a success.

School should be a place that edifies a student. Where teachers lead by example and can provide positive emulation. I like to call that the “3 E’s of teaching, which provides “ease.” (I hope you got that)… When we do that, we are actually building the social and emotional aspects of students. Too many times, just as in life, we look to see what makes us look good (test scores) instead of focusing on the whole so we can all look good.

We have a chance to revamp, reconstruct, reorganize, re… “whatever” education, and now is the time. It will take a group of people who are willing to listen to teachers first and set aside predetermined thoughts as to what they think is best for a school. Every school is different, but if we continue to gauge every school’s success the same way, we will create another pandemic, one that there might not be a cure for…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2020 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts?  Follow me on…

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The Intrinsic Value of Teaching…

08 Friday May 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in Appreciation, confidence, Education, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers, Value, Whole

≈ 1 Comment

Fictional conversation…
“It’s Teacher Appreciation Week.
Are you serious?
Yes!
I thought we just had Teacher Appreciation Week.
No, that was this same time last year.
Oh… Well, I guess we need to do or say something for them?
Are you saying or asking?
Both, I guess.
We could put something on Social Media.
Probably, but do you think that is enough?
Well, even though we don’t tell them often enough, they know we do.
Yea, they know we appreciate them.
But, do they?”

It amazes me how often groups have to have a “week” named for them to see or hear words of appreciation…

First of all, let me say Happy Teacher Appreciation Week. As I have stated before, “Educators might be the last great hope to help change society for the better.”

I like the word “intrinsic.” A quick lookup would give you this as a definition: “belonging to a thing by its very nature.”

Here are a few thoughts I have…

The fulness of a teacher’s purpose is to totally give of themselves to the absorption of others, where they are seen through eyes that want learning and understand the value it brings. This can only be done with intrinsic value. This is my perspective of what an appreciated teacher is and should look like.

If there was never an “Appreciation Week” or if teachers were never given praise, teachers would still have value, by virtue of who they are. Take a teacher out of the school building and let them “be normal,” you would never know the difference between them and other people. That is one of the beauties of being an educator, we are just like everyone else, while at the same time, totally different. You see, the only agenda a teacher has is to want what is best for students now and for the future. Society is fueled by competition to reward the individual, education is fueled by collaborative work to reward the whole.

The value of an educator can never be taken away. It may be attacked (usually by jealously or ignorance), but it cannot be diminished. A teacher’s value is it’s being. We are nothing more than the sum of what we do; that is to teach. We are one of a few professions that give of ourselves, and the really good teachers do not seek any glory. The glory they find is often seen in the transformation of students, and there you will find that the glory resides within the hearts and minds of those students.

Here is the deal with teachers… We have good days, we have bad days. Each day we try to make it better than the last one. We want to be the best at our jobs. The more our goal is to get everyone on the same page, the more perfect our job becomes. The success of a teacher is found when we can duplicate that day after day.

Intrinsic… “belonging to a thing by its very nature.” A teacher’s value will never be adequately measured.  However, educators know their true value, and maybe that is why they do what many choose not to.

The role of what a teacher does is extraordinary. Make an effort today to say thank you to one. Teaching, an appreciation? YES… All-day, every day – THANK YOU, TEACHERS!

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others

©2020 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts?  Follow me on…

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There Is A “Whole” In My Leadership

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Choice, Clarity, Essence, Ideals, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Servant, Useful, Whole

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What does it mean to be whole? A quick definition search will yield meanings such as; “a thing that is complete in itself,” or “all of something.”

So, the question today and every day for that matter, “Does your leadership have wholeness?”

Leadership2

How does leadership fit wholeness? A few ideas come to mind. The “fit” has to be complete and carried out to the finish; making it whole. It does not take people long to see if your leadership is whole or has a “hole” in it.

Leadership wholeness is about…

THE ESSENCE
It is what it is… We must devote ourselves to finding and knowing what whole leadership is. It must be an ideal we long for. Leadership is a part of life, and we all long for it in one sense or another. Not everyone is a leader, and that is ok. However, there is that innate feeling inside each of us that wants to lead.

OTHER PEOPLE
True leadership gets in your business. This is where other people come in. We have to have people in our lives that complete us (Jerry Maguire quote here…). Having like-minded, kindred-spirited people in our lives is what makes our leadership whole. It is nothing more than accountability. The problem is we all want accountability for others, not so much for ourselves.

PROTECTION
Leadership permeates our lives and where it is lacking, we become vulnerable. When our leadership is whole, we deflect outside forces that can cause our leadership to weaken (think of a force field). Someone is going to try to find a “hole” in your leadership. Whole leadership fills all the holes per se. As a leader, you know what should and should not be in your heart, your mind, and your soul. Do not allow yourself to be affected by “all the stuff out there.”

There are also a few tangible benefits to having leadership wholeness. I believe leaders who are whole have joy about them and are thankful. There is a personal commitment to both. They are the results of the above thoughts.

We all know those leaders who are joyful and thankful.  We also know those who are not.   For those who are not, odds are they have a “hole” in their leadership. The funny thing is, they try to fill that “hole” mostly with their ego and the “hole” gets bigger and bigger.

Striving to have leadership wholeness should be one of the most exciting concepts we chase. We need to be careful though; you never know what you might catch.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

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