On Monday of this week I was blown away by the best podcast I’ve heard in a long time (it also happens to be the featured podcast in this week’s teaching thoughts too). It’s from Entreleadership, and it’s an interview with Scott Mann, a former Green Beret. The episode is called “The Generosity of Scars.” There is so much in this one podcast that it could have a full semester class built around it.
The key point is that you have to be vulnerable and authentic to lead. You need to be honest and tell a compelling story in order to build relationships. Reluctant leaders – or leaders who aren’t the first to pound their chests and yell “Follow me!” – have become the most effective today.
Why? Because our trust factor is so low.
Mann speaks of his experience in the military fighting the Taliban in Afghan villages. It was there that he developed what he calls “rooftop leadership.” He knew going in that just because the US military showed up with their weapons and technology, the villagers weren’t going to trust them, nor were they going to join them in fighting the Taliban. This is where “rooftop leadership” came in for Mann.
He sat down with tribal leaders and told them, “When the bad guys come, we are going to go up on the rooftops and fight them. You can come if you want, but, either way, we are going up there to fight them in order to protect you.”
It took awhile, but once the villagers saw the American solders coming down off their rooftops with their own men injured or dead, that created trust. That showed the Afghan’s the military was willing to risk everything to help them. On top of that Mann began finding common ground with the village leaders via telling stories. He realized that the villagers were farming much like his ancestors back home farmed tobacco. They bonded.
With that trust and knowledge, soon the Americans and Afghans were all up on the rooftops fighting together.
I think the biggest takeaway for us as teachers is how Mann talks about how people and generations have certainly changed (just look at how much we’ve changed in the 12 years since iPhones have been around). But despite those recent changes, you can’t take away thousands (heck, tens of thousands) of years of human nature and the need for community and storytelling.
That resonated with me as a teacher because I love using technology and trying to engage and entertain my students, BUT the most important thing (and what I do almost unconsciously in my classroom) is being vulnerable with kids, so I build relationships with them.
As a teacher, you have to tap into that. If you can’t be vulnerable with your students and tell them stories of how you overcame obstacles, developed your passions, and handled successes and failures, you’re losing out.
As teachers if all you do is deliver curriculum where you go through the motions and basically babysit kids, you’re going to go nuts. There isn’t a pay raise high enough, summer vacations long enough, or mental health days enough that will make doing that for 25 years worth it.
Build relationships. Tell stories that resonate with your kids. Grow culture.
Inside this week’s Teaching Thoughts –
The World is a Fine Place and Worth Fighting For – A Minnesota school sets up “The Nest,” a ‘store’ where students in need can go for free supplies and food. This is very similar to what we do with our Prowler Pantry.
Book of the week – Better Learning Through Structured Teaching. This was a staff read for us. While some of it was quite basic, there were parts that really impacted how I teach. I’ve always done the “I do,” “we do,” and now “you do it alone.” BUT what I was missing out on was a key step: I do, we do, you do together, and then you do it alone.
Podcast of the Week – “The Generosity of Scars.” If you do anything, check that podcasts out. You won’t regret it. So amazing.
Vide of the week – All That We Are. This is a video from Denmark. But imagine if a school did this, first with the faculty during inservice and then with the student body perhaps by grade or subject area. How you choose to set up the categories is up to you. Talk about a game changer. The ultimate point is simple: “There is more that brings us together than we think.” Wow.
Thoughts from Twitter – I love this one from Danny Steel (@SteeleThoughts) – “You can’t control the quality of weekend they just had … but you can have a huge impact on their Monday morning. If you work in a school, you will make a difference tomorrow.”
Finally, Where are they Now? I catch up with former Prowler (and now an English teacher) Drew Kjono who is in his sixth year at Grygla. It doesn’t seem that long ago that Drew was playing fullback for me in 9th grade football and then sitting in my British Literature class. So proud of you Drew!!! Let that freak flag fly!
Have a great week and make Monday morning (or Tuesday morning for us since we have an inservice on Monday) great for your students! Our work matters! Every. Day. Especially Mondays.
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