Finding JOY, even on the tough days...

In the spirit of JOY this season, it seems fitting to share how I find JOY when it seems the negative can quickly become the focus.  The last year and half have been a challenge for me as a professional and I have learned first hand that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! No, I don't mean physically kill me (although some days I did feel like I was being run over by a Mack truck), but my soul...the place where my joy resides was under attack.  There were times I questioned my expectations of what the educational experience should look like; however, at the end of the day my bar remained, what would I want for my own child?      

The profession I have chosen allows me the privilege to experience joy on a daily basis.  I love serving people and the fact that I get to collaborate and work alongside students and teachers who love learning on a daily basis makes my heart overflow with joy.  Of course there are days that we miss the mark, there are days where everyone is tired, there are days that the beast of curriculum and the number of days to cover curriculum can creep in and steal our joy.  

During the last school year in fact, it has been aired very publicly and politically that I had a fifty percent turnover rate in teachers. Many of those individuals have aired their side in the public and I have remained focused on my commitment to the greatest profession that exists.  If I become distracted, those who will pay are the very individuals I am fighting for and there is no time for counterproductive behavior in education.  The stakes are high and every minute matters.  I am committed to the students and teachers in my care, they are my JOY and they are my focus. In fact, I owe it to every mentor who has invested in me for this work over the course of the last sixteen years to continue the work to improve education.  

From the time I was a mess of a high school student to the present, I can articulate how the village allowed a rural teenager who knew much about surviving on a dairy farm and could back a four wheel wagon into a tobacco barn lickity split to grow into an educator who has a passion for doing for others what has been provided to me on a regular basis by so many individuals.  All of these individuals had joy from within that could be experienced in nearly every interaction, I strive to be like them and make a difference for the students and staff I serve daily.

That stated, JOY does not always show up on your front porch neatly, packaged with a bow on top. Sometimes it is found in the most difficult times.  I learned in the last year and half that the difficult times require us to reflect on our experiences and confirm that our focus is worthy or needs adjusting. A year ago, I was questioning my expectations and reached out to many of my mentors as I was reflecting on what was happening in our school.  I had truly never experienced a culture that was as challenging as this particular school and I thought I had been in some tough environments.  Nonetheless, it was a learning experience.  Each of my mentors encouraged me and shared with me some of their own experiences and how they overcame similar challenges in cultures.  In those conversations I was reminded to:

• Be bold.  Big, hairy, audacious goals are the only way to go in this day and age.  If you know where you are going, go! Take along those who are ready for the new journey, support their learning, and allow the rest to find where they belong (even if it results in 50% turnover, mostly because culture matters more than I realized).  I can say in hindsight, one year later...our school environment is a place where I would want my own child and that is my bar.
• Be flexible and firm.  I am willing to negotiate the terms to arrive at the destination, but not at any cost to the vision for student learning.  If I would not be ok with the environment for my own child, then it should not be ok for the children entrusted to my care.  High expectations matter and, at the end of the day, I need to be able to lay my head down and sleep. I am sleeping well these days.  
• Fail fast.  This I accredit to my dear friend Carmen Coleman, she sold me on this one.  When seeking innovative practices in the work it requires a willingness to move beyond the box and take risks.  There is learning in failure for adults and students.     
• Focus on those that are willing to work hard for children and do not be distracted by those who are professional complainers and suck your energy with their victim mentality.  Hold those individuals accountable, but invest your time in those who are willing to serve children and are determined to meet the needs of every learner.
• Grit is necessary.  I am not exactly sure how you articulate this, but I am pretty sure Ms. Tipton that, when the ox is in the ditch, grit is required.  I am super thankful I have a lot of this in my blood through my life experiences (while I hated growing up on a dairy farm...I thought at the time, it certainly prepared me for life).    

The truth is that leadership is tough, but it is an incredible experience that provides a journey through joy on a variety of levels.  There are days that my joy is found in a bathroom break or simply eating lunch.  Then there are the days where students fly drones they built from scratch using technology that is free and 3D printing the parts, where students study culture and share their learning with the community based on their own research, or when high school students take the lead on a project with Habitat for Humanity and change the lives of others through their selfless commitment, and especially when teachers step up and show a desire to not only learn, but reach out to help others.    

Leaders are required to meet the needs of teachers of our next generation learners and that requires a different thinking and approach to education than we experienced.  There is acknowledgement in many realms that our education system in America needs improvement and this will only be accomplished through collaborative, innovative best practices, that respond to the learning needs of each individual learner.  

I will conclude with my greatest joy that seems to be overlooked each time the negative conversation around the loss of teachers emerges.  There were 50% of our teachers who chose to stay and for this I find much JOY!  These are the teachers who chose to make a difference and stay committed to the work, even though the vision is big, requires a ton of work, and is pretty much never ending.  Here is to the JOY of being a leader who is focused on what matters, the children we serve each and every day.  The work is tough, but find your joy in always doing what is best for the children.  This does not mean it will happen without criticism, just know that joy is found from within when you know you are responding to the needs of the students you serve.  It is in making the tough decisions and pressing forward even when the world seems against you.  

Remember, the world only knows what is told and in many cases there is much more to the story than what is told.  As a professional leader you cannot share most information due to confidentiality and your high level of professionalism, this does not mean your side does not matter.  In fact, I have learned in the last year and a half that knowing my side is what is most important.  I am responsible for the learning and culture in the building and at the end of the day today, I can sleep knowing that our school is better this year for the students we serve.  The true JOY is seeing the difference a healthy school culture can have on everyone and what the commitment to JOY can accomplish.  It is not easy, but it is worth it.  Cheers to a continued focus on joy in the work, even on the tough days!