Clarity AND Coherence

Shared language in an organization helps to provide clarity as to what the community values and holds as important. Whether the explicit words of the school's mission, values, and/or beliefs or consistent evaluation forms or standardized operating procedures, using the same language within an organization contributes to greater consistency.

When people know what to expect, they more consistently hit those targets. Clarity in language helps provide direction and guidance.

Imagine the difference between "no running in the hallways" and "we use walking feet in the hallways." The latter eliminates "jogging" or "skipping" or "shuffling" that the former doesn't explicitly rule out.

In this way, shared language can strengthen organizations and communities.

In addition to shared language, though, we must also create shared understanding across our communities. This can take place by offering the rationale for something - this is why we say this in our mission, this is why we expect walking feet in the hallways - or by providing definitions and/or models of excellence - this is what we mean when we say we value "tradition", this is an example of student engagement throughout a lesson/this is not an example of student engagement throughout a lesson.

Put another way, in addition to clarity of language across our school communities, we also need coherence of understanding.

These can and often do happen simultaneously. While we consistently use the words of the mission statement in our meetings, presentations, and general conversations, we can also provide more context about what the words mean. We can also more explicitly provide the rationale that serves as the foundation for the sticky phrases used to provide direction and inspiration to our communities. We can anchor these foundational explanations in scripture (Jesus empowered His disciples when He sent them two by two), in our school's rich histories (the Ursulines and the Marianists value an integral formation), and in the hope we have for the vision of our schools (embracing the future with confidence and hope is demonstrated by our students applying to colleges and universities).

As mentioned previously, if you feel overly repetitive you're doing it right (see what I did there). If you feel like a broken record, trust that the tune is starting to sink in. If you feel as though there is no way that someone couldn't know the mission by now, remember that about 1/3 of a high school community (new students and families, new faculty/staff) is new each year (with this fraction being a bit smaller in grade schools due to the larger number of grades). Even those you have readmitted (as in added once again to your mission for another year) have varying amounts of experiences with your school's mission.

Couple these repetitive messages with explanations about the meaning of these words, phrases and statements that our schools hold sacred.

Clarity and coherence.

Shared language and shared understanding.

Clarity and coherence.

Shared language and shared understanding.

Clear

Catholic school leaders, as you begin the 25-26 academic year, take time to focus your efforts on offering clarity to your school communities. 

Clarity about the purpose of the school - the mission. 

Clarity about the preferred future for the school - its vision. 

Clarity about expectations for performance - policies, procedures, standards of excellence for teachers, staff, students, families, volunteers, board members, fans, alumni. 

From budgets that manage and direct school funding to ways in which personnel receive approval for various permissions to how teachers will be evaluated to the school's code of conduct for students, clearly stating these aspects of our schools provides guardrails within which these stakeholder groups can support the advancement of our school's missions.

As a starting point, focus singularly on your school's mission. From Mission Moments (where you celebrate something that happened that directly relates to your school's mission) during your board meetings to including it on agendas to referencing parts of it during communications to considering ways in which we can measure our effectiveness in accomplishing/advancing it, may we take advantage of these threshold moments in our schools this year - orientations, first days of school, back to school meetings, opening assemblies, kickoff pep rallies, and beginning celebrations of the Eucharist - to proclaim our schools' missions.

If you feel overly repetitive regarding your school's mission, you're doing it right. If you feel like a broken record, trust that the tune is starting to sink in. If you feel as though there is no way that someone couldn't know the mission by now, remember that at the high school level about 1/3 of your school community (new students and families, new faculty/staff) is new each year (the grade school level would be smaller based on more grade levels). Even those you have readmitted (as in added once again to your mission for another year) have varying amounts of experiences with and understanding of your school's mission.

In other words, say it again.

And again.

And again.

And...you get it.

Celebrate the successes of your missions, rally the school around their noble pursuits, use them as a way to inspire even greater levels of excellence.

In other words, just to be clear, concentrate on advancing the mission of your schools.

Concentrate on advancing the mission of your schools.

Teaching Like a Champion

Last month, over 200 teachers and administrators from 15 of the schools across our Diocese gathered for a workshop presented by the team from Teach Like a Champion (TLAC).

For those in attendance, it was a day filled with adult learning – silent solos, everybody writes, turn and talks, cold calls and many other strategies to enhance the teaching and learning in our classrooms.

One of the reflections I had throughout the day centered on how aligned these best pedagogical strategies are with our Catholic faith.

When we consider the model and example of Christ the Teacher, we should be inspired to employ the strategies that He used.

For example, much of the content from that day centered on asking questions. Christ did this masterfully. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus asked 183 questions, offered 3 answers, and asked 307 questions as the answer to a question (Weddell, 2012). In shifting the cognitive load to our students, we must question like Christ did.

Another key component that aligns with a pedagogy of Christ is the importance of dialogue in the learning process. We are made in the image and likeness of a triune God and as such learning is inherently social. Allowing students the opportunities to talk with classmates in low stakes ways honors our communal nature as humans. Frequent turn and talks provide social opportunities to test learning and fine tune answers,.

A final connection – and there are probably many more – is the importance of using names. Our presenters, Doug Lemov and Denarius Frazier, used the names of participants throughout our time together. Doing so honors the inherent dignity and worth of our students and helps to build a classroom culture that is positive, supportive, and safe. The use of names was one of the many reasons that within about 15 minutes the TLAC team created such an environment in a room filled with over 200 educators.

God's Divine Providence weaves together research-based strategies with a pedagogy of Christ.

Teaching like a champion, especially in Catholic schools, should be synonymous with teaching like a Christian.

Reference:

Weddell, S. A. (2012). Forming intentional disciples. Our Sunday Visitor.