How About a Lifeline

QUICK... Think back to your first year teaching. What was one of your biggest struggles that made you feel like you took a wrong turn on the college career path? Did you ever feel like quitting that first year? Yea, me too. What got you through?

For me, it was a group of veteran teachers I could turn to for help. It was a very stressful time and all of my idealistic thinking was not going to make it better, but that group of teachers did. I lesaned quickly to use them to bounce ideas off of almost on a daily basis. Sometimes I did not like what they were telling me, but I listened and tried to do what it was they were telling me in my classroom. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. It was a long, hard, and sometimes painful year that I finally got through and can look back on to help me empathize with todays new teacher. I made it through and now it is my job as a veteran in the education field to throw a lifeline to my fellow new teacher.

So what is my point? My point is that education can sometimes be hard. No amount of college courses can prepare a new teacher for that first day when the door closes and they are the person in charge of their classroom. They are going to struggle and get it wrong. They are going to get frustrated and want to give up... especially if we do not throw them a lifeline. Yes, it is still early in this school year but I bet if you think back long and hard you will remember that it was about this time that you too were fantasizing about what else you could be doing as you "just looked" at the help wanted ads. So now is the time, if you haven't done so already to go talk to the new teachers in your building and see how you can help.

If you are doing so already that is awesome! I would love to hear from you to see what or how you are helping. I would also love to hear how your were given a lifeline to help you through your first years as an educator. By sharing and learning form each other we help insure the continued success in our profession.

There is Always a Bottom 10 Percent

We are now well over a month into the school year and I want to bring something to light from Winning, by Jack Welch. Yes, this is a a book about what he learned while running a corporation, but he was able to turn a $13 billion company into a $500 billion enterprise over the course of a 20-year tenure at the helm of General Electric.

In this book, just like many others I have read, Welch preachers about the importance of candor and honest feedback with his employees. At GE, he put these principles into action by implementing a ranking system that divided employees into three distinct segments: the top 20 percent of performers, the middle 70 percent, and the bottom 10 percent. Even if GE's "20-70-10" system appears a bit too candid—which methodically manages out the bottom 10 percent of employees each year— it is still something that we in education may need to take a look at as well.

"Why are grades OK from the time you're in fourth grade to the time you get your MBA, but not OK once you're an adult?" Welch questions. If Welch were to talk about education he may say "You need to use the same rigor to evaluate (teachers) that you use to evaluate your (test scores)." Using a ranking system requires administrators to be honest about what they are seeing and teachers to be honest about how they are performing in the classroom.

Managing out the bottom 10 percent of performers will be one of the hardest things to do, but is necessary not only for a school to continue to succeed but also for the sake of employees affected when the bottom performers are allowed to stay. "People need to know where they stand," Welch said. "Failing to differentiate among employees—and holding on to bottom-tier performers—is actually the cruelest form of (leadership) there is." As an administrator I work under the motto that my job is to "Help them out, or Help them out." Comments?