What's your impact on your school and district climate?

We've Got Enough To Deal With! 
Let's focus on what's important... what's best for kids. 

I’m sitting here at NCCE 2019 listening to Gerry Brooks and I am inspired. He is presenting about school climate and how we each play a role in developing and maintaining this climate. And let's face it... nowhere is perfect. It is so easy to listen to a topic like this and immediately place blame or identify other people that contribute to a negative environment but Gerry points out that we need to take responsibility for our role in it all. 

Here are are a handful of points I took away from his presentation.

• Everyone makes mistakes that annoy or affect other people. We need to be understanding when other people make mistakes because mistakes will also be made by us.
• Get on the same page. This one is so important! How many times can you think of that a staff meeting wraps up and then staff continue their own semi-secret second meeting right after in the hallways, in their classrooms, in the parking lot...? I think we have all been a part of this. We have to recognize how detrimental this can be to a school climate and work to stop it. After all, it's really unproductive.
• Accept differences. This is a hard one. It is difficult to be okay with someone who has different views. We often try to come up with a bunch of reasons why they are wrong rather than try to find what they are saying that may have value.
• Share it or shut it. This is probably one of my favorite points Gerry made and yet it seems to be one of the most challenging. If you have a problem with someone or something, you either need share it with someone who has the power to solve the problem or you shut your mouth. This is so true! It's so easy to say, "I need someone to vent to!" Let's face it, teaching is stressful! But, let's be real... when we "vent" we are really just enlarging a problem and we are often just seeking out someone to make us feel that we are right even when we are not. This just amplifies the problem. 

Gerry also explained a couple points that can help us keep our sanity!

• Everybody ain’t gonna like you - Your goal should be that everyone will respect you even if they don't like you. If you make decisions based on what’s best for the kids, it's hard for people to not respect that!
• Remind yourself of two things when you are criticized.
• Whose opinion matters to you? It shouldn't be the person who complains non-stop 😊
• But make sure to ask yourself... Is there any truth to their claim?

As I’m listening to Gerry, I’m finding myself wanting to own my own role in it all. Although I'm going to work on all the bullet points listed above, I'm going to specifically focus on "Share it or shut it." I believe in problem solving rather than complaining and I want people to know they can mess up with me and still feel comfortable knowing it stays with me.

Thank you Gerry Brooks! Because of your speech today, I'm taking a vow to "share it or shut it." Join me in making a vow to improve your role in your school and district climate. No matter how good or bad you think your school or district climate is, we can always get better.

If you feel comfortable, comment below with one of the goals from above, or one of your own, that you are going to focus on to improve your work environment.

You can find more of Gerry's videos on YouTube. They are hilarious and have some great points.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-6WUaQSC_AfKZrinPuhVFw