Empower
Robert Kaplinsky
• ShadowCon Session
Description
People may think that they want power, but what they really desire is influence. At a glance, both look similar, but the differences have huge implications in society and math education. Learn how to differentiate between them and how to use that knowledge to create a win/win situation that helps yourself and others at the same time.
Robert’s Talk
Call to Action
Links
- Here is the Storify’ed version of my talk.
- Here is the Storify’ed version of my Twitter chat.
- Here are some differences between Power and Influence that I referenced during my talk.
Featured Comments
What about those who it isn’t in their nature to ask for help. There are many cultures where it is not a customary thing to ask someone for help and also most cultures of classrooms don’t create an environment where students feel comfortable to ask for help. For the students (who eventually become teachers or adults in this world), who have learned that this is what it should be like (not asking for help or being berated for asking for help) how do we address this?
It’s important that there is a common understanding of empowerment bc some thrive while others feel like the “district office” is making them do more work. Ts need to feel supported while empowered. The idea of empowerment has led to lots of eye opening conversations about power vs influence vs self-direction vs autonomy
1. How often are Ts powerless to act & teach & lead b/c admins fear losing power?
2. How often are Ss powerless to notice & question, lead & learn b/c Ts fear losing power?
3. When will we recognize that giving power away gives us more influence?
Looking at the CTA and noticed that “less power” was a phrase: We can empower people who have more power and can influence people at our level and above and below.
Empowerment includes pointing out the good/great and helping generate ideas thru questioning
as well as challenging convos. As a leader/empowerer it is super important to refuel as we are giving our energy to help others.
I realized that it was the idea of giving power with the expectation of gaining influence that was throwing me off. I absolutely understand that was not the underlying message of Robert’s talk, but it was, ultimately, what was holding me back from participating. I kept thinking “who am I going to influence?” when I should have been thinking “who needs more power.”
This is a tweet from Avery Pickford: https://twitter.com/woutgeo/status/721735025117437953
Today at our staff wellness fair, one of my 6th grade students was spitting me on a traverse rock climbing wall. I was halfway across and let go. I was going to quit when she said, “Get back up there, Mrs. Schaefer. You’re not done yet. You never let me quit on a problem. You can solve this one, too.” I guess she’s been listening to me hoping to empower her!
*spotting!
Hahaha. This was a good laugh with the first read. How cool is her comment though? It clearly shows how you empowering affected her. What a great value to have!
I have learned one of the most meaningful ways to empower teachers is praising them for the things they do WELL with their students and colleagues. By acknowledging their strengths and efforts, it opened the door to conversations about embracing change and stepping out of their comfort zone. It couldn’t have been done without trust and focusing on the tracher’s core beliefs and self.
That’s a great reflection Denise. My boss taught me to aim for a ratio of at least 5 positive observations to 1 suggestion when giving feedback. It has really helped give me the necessary perspective to build relationships.
Thank you for sharing this piece of wisdom.
I am a veteran teacher but the newbie at a new school site. Surrounded by very traditional teachers of which I never really consider myself traditional. Spent the last few days at the NCTM with a fellow teacher and through conversations and sharing of resources she is willing to try some Project Based Learning ideas, open ended questioning, and non-traditional warm-ups. She even came today and watched me teach my lesson. Sure hope she enjoyed it and is willing to try something new in the near future. Feeling excited that others are open for change in math education!!
So the way I interpret this is that you used your power and experience to empower your colleague to feel that it is safe to try out a non-traditional technique. It sounds like this is certainly the beginning of a win/win/win situation as your colleague’s students will win from richer learning, she will win from enjoying her profession more, and you will win from having additional people to collaborate with. Awesome!
I was talking with a custodian after school. She was frustrated about things not getting done and felt shot down when she brought it up to her boss. I shared with her one of my big take-aways from#NCTMannual. How math educators and researchers were willing to face opposition to their ideas and practices because we believe it will make a difference. We brainstormed ways her voice could be heard. It made me think about how empowerment can happen in many different contexts.
Heather, how did you feel about this? I know how I would feel if I was the custodian. Please follow up with her and let us know what happened.
Hey Robert,
I am a TOSA at a middle school this year. One thing I am working on this year is building relationships with fellow teachers. I asked an 8th grade math teacher if she could show me some strategies she uses in her classroom so I could share them with others. After she gave her lesson, I asked if SHE wouldn’t mind presenting the strategies at our next math PLC because she really would do a much better job than me. She said she would to!
Love…she would love to! Left out the most important word.
This is so fun to read. Think about this: you have power from your position as a TOSA. You could have chosen to hold onto it and been the “TOSA who doesn’t need help because you know everything.” With this one act, you empowered your colleague and she is going to be so excited to share what she knows with others. You have become more influential in her eyes and you haven’t really lost anything in the process.
Great job. This could get addicting!
Well just this morning a substitute stopped me and thanked me for showing her a different way to think about multiplication last year using strategies because yesterday she was tutoring a child who no way was successful with memorizing the facts. She showed him some of the strategies to try. She said he was so excited that he said that he could now figure this stuff out in no time! So without realizing it I empowered the substitute and she in turn payed it forward to empower the child. WOW.
This is really interesting. You’re making me want to modify my call to action. I am seeing how there is great value in telling empowers how they made you feel. For example, the substitute sharing her experiences was very validating for you. I have to imagine that this experience makes you more likely to empower someone else in the future, helping reinforce the chain.
That’s settled, I need to add your experience to the call to action!
Robert,
Thanks so much for sharing this important perspective. It’s so meaningful and a great reminder of why we teach. I can’t think of any teacher I’ve met in my long career who said, “I want to be a teacher so I can lord over others”, but I’ve met many who end up (perhaps subconsciously) doing so and who would benefit from hearing your call to action. I wish I could have been there to hear the whole thing. I’m missing the most intimate piece, your personal story. That’s the part that makes you such an engaging person, your willingness to be vulnerable and immediately available without judgement. So glad I know you! Carry on being your lovely self.
Best,
t
Thank you Turtle. I greatly appreciate your unwavering support. Yes, it is hard to see change over time. It isn’t really until you reflect back on how it began that you see the difference.
I look forward to having the videos available to provide more context. Thanks!
Reflecting on your presentation, I realized ppl need to learn how to empower but also need to step up when being empowered.
That’s a great point. There are likely many people who have had so little power for so long that they may not be sure what to do or how to do it when given the chance. I guess the person being empowered would be wise to ask for help or guidance if they need it.
So now I want to push back a bit. What about those who it isn’t in their nature to ask for help. There are many cultures where it is not a customary thing to ask someone for help and also most cultures of classrooms don’t create an environment where students feel comfortable to ask for help. For the students (who eventually become teachers or adults in this world), who have learned that this is what it should be like (not asking for help or being berated for asking for help) how do we address this? In my state this is a big thing for me.
I love push back. Perhaps this issue is similar to something we deal with in Southern California. We have a large Latino population, and many have stated that their respect for teachers make it awkward to display intellectual autonomy for fear of being disrespectful to what the teacher is saying. For example, a student may not state “This question makes no sense.” when exposed to the Shepherd question (http://robertkaplinsky.com/how-old-is-the-shepherd/) because they don’t want to seem disrespectful.
Where we have found compromise in this issue is by explaining that there is a line between feeling like your ideas have value & are worth sharing and being disrespectful. It’s all in the manner in which you share your thoughts.
So, perhaps the goal should be answering the question, “How can we ask for or accept help AND not feel like we are doing something wrong?” Perhaps part of it is in the way the help is offered. The empowerer might be able to begin by explaining that she is offering the help unconditionally because she cares about the person being empowered. There are no strings attached. This might just be one person, but it will help the person to know that not everyone will treat her that way.
Thoughts?
I felt the most empowered when I learned to asks questions. We need to create a place for question asking and time to discuss questions. For students or adults who aren’t comfortable asking questions, online forums are a help. Verso allows anonymous interactions in a classroom. I’ve seen people (happened myself) be empowered to speak up after gaining confidence in an onlinesetting.
I like this. So you realized you had power when if felt like you understanding the material was so important that you could ask a question. I guess I take that assumption for granted.
Again, I keep coming back to Kaneka’s language of inviting people, but perhaps students need to be explicitly told that they have an all-access pass to ask questions because they matter.
Thanks for making me reflect.
I think I should state a question here….
How do we support those people who don’t know what to do when they are in the position of empowerment. How do I help them rise to their greatest potential and grab those reigns!
Great question. My gut tells me that I will spend the rest of my life trying to answer it. I know that I have tried to empower many people with very little visible returns. I think that at a minimum, the people I tried to empower appreciate the effort and feel like someone believes in them.
There is a line there between too much support and too little support and each person’s will be drawn in a different place. Depending on the person and the context, it may be a direct conversation worth having.
I am a 4th year teacher, but new to my current school. My principal is also new to my school. She has been very supportive of me since the beginning of the school year. She took the time to individually meet with the teachers at the school one-on-one to get to know us better. When I meet with her she eager to know more about me, my philosophy about teaching mathematics and suggestions to help improve the quality of the math classes at my high school. She was open and willing to hear my suggestions and supported me with my ideas. Thanks to her, I was able to attend my first CMC-North (Asylomar) conference in November and first NCTM annual conference.
She supports my teaching philosophy and has guided me towards becoming a better educator. Her support and guidance has definitely empowered me this school year.
For my call to action, I let my principal know that I am grateful and appreciative of everything she has done for me this school year. I have also been sharing with her information from NCTM, including the links to last years ShawdowCon talks. I am hopeful that the video of your talk will be up so I can also share that with her.
Thank you for sharing your story and giving me the motivation to empower others.
How is anyone supposed to read this and not think of how validating your actions must have made your principal feel? She is new to a school where she is hoping to build relationships and she is clearly going out of her way to connect with her colleagues. Just like with students though, you don’t always know if they appreciate your efforts, so it must have made her day/week/year to hear your words. You have to realize now that you’ve reinforced her actions and made her even more likely to continue to empower others.
Great job Jesus. Thanks for sharing. Let us know if you find other opportunities to empower others.
Not sure if this fits…
Today, I somewhat spontaneously gave out some small snacks to my Algebra 2 class. I handed out small granola bars which didn’t cost much (Costco’s Kirkland brand, 60 for $8.99), less than 5$. I just did it because it was Friday, everyone seemed tired, and I had them. So, I shared.
I said, “You guys wanna snack?” at the start of class, as they were coming in the room. And started to hand them out, with a page of warm-up/review/delving deeper problems. I sat them in groups, instead of rows and let them work as I circulated. They felt good. They had something to eat. They were working and asking questions and helping each other. There was no pressure. The first problem was easier, more closed in process and solutions. The last two problems were related and kind of easy at first glance, then much more involved as you got into them. The solutions seemed to contradict each other, but they made sense individually. So, they really had to stick with the problems as they deepened and we discussed those ideas. I think the snack, the seating, the small number of problems, with varying complexity had students feeling good physically and mentally. Most of the kids said thanks, of course, for the snacks. Others said more and really expressed their appreciation. Another kid said, “Well, this has been a fantastic day in math class” as he was leaving.
I think I’m empowering them to at least enjoy coming to class. 🙂 It’s a really good feeling that they know and appreciate how much I really care about them and their interest in school and learning math. I also think that the group seating and me circulating allowed me to check in with each student and have conversations with everyone. I think those kinds of things empower them. I think it was a really great day.
Thank you so much for sharing this Laurie. I interpret this as you using your power to make sure students feel welcomed and cared for. That relatively small act obviously meant a huge deal to your students. They felt valued enough to take charge of their learning. I’d also argue that, like Kaneka talked about, they felt like you’ve invited them and given them an all-access pass.
Way to go!
Thanks, Robert. Now, to extend this to my colleagues. We have a dynamic group and a mixed group in terms of willingness to try new things. We are sometimes at odds with each other and/or administration. I’d like to find a way to invite a conversation where no one is feeling pushed or threatened. Suggestions welcomed…
I wonder if this might be related to something like a Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs where people must have some basic needs met before they feel comfortable empowering others. For example, if you don’t feel safe in your position or valued, it would probably be hard to make an effort to use your power to help others.
Perhaps my video will be useful a conversation starter when it comes out in a couple of days? You could use it to show what your goal is? Thoughts?
I want to begin by telling you how much I was moved by your talk and call to action. I feel as though I already try to empower my teachers, as I am a math curriculum coordinator. However, when I have to assign teaching schedules for high school teachers for the following school year it is impossible to make everyone happy. It just so happens that this is occurring this week and so I have decided to empower my teachers to try and determine who will be teaching what courses and levels. We spent time at a department meeting to do this and although it is not completed, teachers felt very excited to be involved in the process. I have taken their preferences into account in the past, but have now empowered them to make an administrative decision.
Thank you for the kind words Matthew. It means a lot to get that kind of feedback after a talk like that. Think about the many wins that came out of your simple action. Here’s a feeble attempt to list some of the ones that pop out:
– The teachers will feel that you care more about what they want than what you want.
– The schedule might even wind up being better and making everyone happier
– You reduce your workload
– When you actually need them to do what you say, they will be more likely to realize that you would have involved them if you could
I could go on. I can’t think of anyone that loses in this situation. Thank you for sharing this story. Clearly you are an influential leader.
I want to thank you for sharing your personal story. As you shared all I could picture in my mind was a particular student of mine. This student of mine is living a childhood has been very similar to yours. This is my second year as his math teacher in a cohorted academy and he has struggled to “play school” even though he understands the content better then many other kids. 2 months ago he told me he was not returning to our cohort next year because it just wasn’t for him. Monday after your talk I reached out to him and asked if he would consider just staying with the group for my algebra 2H class. He told me he wasn’t signed up to take math next year but he’d give up an elective if he could stay without taking the other cohorted classes. I’m so happy that I reached out to him and now he will graduate A-G and maybe in the next 2 years I can empower him to further his education after high school.
Thank you for being courageous and sharing your personal story. I love my students and see them as people first but I still get busy and forget to reach out. You reminded me how important our job is and I thank you with all my heart.
Wow Tina. This is amazing. If your student is really like me, then he is going to remember teachers like you who went out of their way to reach out and show that he is important. I still do remember those teachers and I’ve made sure to contact each one of them to let them know what an impact they made.
You may not immediately see the ripple you’ve made but someone going out of their way to let you know that you are important is such a big deal.
Thanks to Dan, Eric, Fawn, and you, Robert. I appreciate all the support you’ve given me and some of the ideas I’ve contributed to the #MTBoS. Thank you for the encouragement, advice, and recommendations over the past couple years.
I’ve been working on empowering a few of my fellows in my district over the past couple of months. I’m fortunate to work with hard-working teachers with great ideas that others can benefit from. I’d like to use my position to empower them in the #MTBoS by amplifying the work they are doing with tools such as Desmos and Google Apps. More important than technology is there genuine passion for teaching and student well-being. It is definitely displayed in their classrooms along with the time and energy they put into rich activities for their students. I would like to continue empowering other teachers by encouraging them to present at conferences or co-presenting with them.
Thanks Andrew. I like this comment specifically because it shows your place in the ecosystem. It’s not a matter of some people being the empowerers and some people being the receiver of empowerment. EVERYONE is both. I know for sure that I am fortunate to be the constant receiver of empowerment, which is part of the reason why it is so important to me to keep passing it on. I’m sure your fellows are appreciative of you amplifying their voices by leveraging your influence in the #MTBoS. Thanks again.
My district is working on this idea of empowering teachers. The CCSS is not optional BUT how Ts approach every day/lesson is up to them. It’s important that there is a common understanding of empowerment bc some thrive while others feel like the “district office” is making them do more work. Ts need to feel supported while empowered. The idea of empowerment has led to lots of eye opening conversations about power vs influence vs self-direction vs autonomy…. There is still work to be done!
Your point is well taken. It emphasizes the reality that a person can not make assumptions about how another person wants to be empowered. Giving teachers autonomy without specific instructions may be intended to empower teachers… and for some it just might be. However for others they may want more guidance and feel like they are being left unsupported.
My takeaway is that empowering is more than just doing an act. It involves building a trusting relationship where the parties can share their thoughts and goals and help each other achieve them.
What do you think, Jill?
Robert, such a pleasure hearing this talk. I also had the chance to hear you on the MathEd Out podcast recently and the similarities between our professional experiences are strangely similar.
19 years ago I entered a department which, while well-intentioned, was stuck in time in terms of math offerings and student opportunity. I came in as the crazy young idea guy. Within a year or two I was given a blank check to write a new course which eventually blossomed into a rich 9-12 stats program. Looking back, I am thankful that I was surrounded by administrators who encouraged me and empowered me to become a thought leader; and for having trusting colleagues who (mostly) pushed me and provided helpful guidance.
Now, as a veteran teacher, I hope that I have shared enough of what I know and have learned to pay back some of the interest. And I am grateful for outlets like the #MTBoS which allow for meaningful connections. It’s overwhelming to think about where my connections and ideas have taken me as a classroom teacher, and I’ll continue to preach the gospel of connections.
Thanks Bob. It’s hard not to see your comment through the lens of Malcom Gladwell’s book Outliers, which I am currently listening to during my commutes. In it he makes a convincing argument that success is not solely a measure of ability and hard work but also a good measure of fortunate circumstances. It sounds like you had one of those fortunate circumstances in being “administrators who encouraged me and empowered me to become a thought leader; and for having trusting colleagues who (mostly) pushed me and provided helpful guidance.” We’ve also had the good fortune of coming of age right when the #MTBoS kicked into high gear. If that did not exist yet, our lives would be entirely different.
As you articulated, the best way we can show our gratitude for our experiences is to keep paying it forward to those who have all the right traits but just need the opportunity, which we can help provide them.
As our school is talking about Standards Based Grading, there is a fear among teachers that a grade will not reflect behavior and students meeting homework deadlines etc. On the other hand, meany teachers are very excited about reporting about what a student understands about the curriculum standards. The teachers who want the grade to be inclusive of behavior and timelines and teaching from a position of power. The classroom is more about them and their authority. The teachers who are teaching from a position of influence are looking at ways to promote student learning. The grade isn’t the focus, but moving students along the continuum of learning is.
Thanks Rachel. I have a few thoughts here.
First, your point about grading reminds me of the subjective nature of grading. This is VERY WELL illustrated by something Doug Reeves wrote. I am copy and pasting this bit from (http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb08/vol65/num05/Effective-Grading-Practices.aspx) and he states:
Try this experiment in your next faculty meeting. Ask your colleagues to calculate the final grade for a student who receives the following 10 grades during a semester: C, C, MA (Missing Assignment), D, C, B, MA, MA, B, A. I have done this experiment with thousands of teachers and administrators in the United States, Canada, and Argentina. Every time—bar none—I get the same results: The final grades range from F to A and include everything in between.
So that leads me to the conclusion that even if you start with the same grades, you can get different final grades based on your assumptions.
The other thing I would be careful about is separating fact and story. This is something I learned about in Crucial Conversations (the single most important book I have ever read). The facts are that some teachers want to include behavior and timeliness in their grades. Your story is that they want to teach from a position of power. Another potential story is they’ve been doing it that way for so long that they don’t know another way and feel awkward going out of their comfort zone. They might just need more motivation, guidance, and reassurance.
Another point I’m taking from you though is that not everyone will feel equally comfortable giving up their power. As I said, they may feel like they’d have no power left. So, it is probably best to begin encouraging the ones who are open to the idea and take baby steps.
Hi Rachel. Our school just went to full standards based grading this year (our math department piloted it last year) and there was definitely fear among many of our teachers as well. It seemed like, while most intuitively understood that standards based was better for kids, their fear stemmed from the idea that without grades we weren’t appropriately preparing the students for high school. The great thing about our transition to standards based grading is that our principal basically said “we are going to standards based” but how that looked was up to the teachers. We met about it, discussed it at length and came up with something that most teachers were mostly comfortable with. That sense of having the power to decide what standards based meant to us was important in getting the buy in from the teachers that were hesitant. If you have questions about SBG I’m more than happy to give you our perspective of it. Honestly, I’d have a hard time going back to a percent scale after this! Good luck in your potential path to SBG. 🙂
Robert,
These were my tweets that didn’t get tweeted during your talk:
1. How often are Ts powerless to act & teach & lead b/c admins fear losing power?
2. How often are Ss powerless to notice & question, lead & learn b/c Ts fear losing power?
3. When will we recognize that giving power away gives us more influence?
I received an email from a teacher about an upcoming Teacher Leader meeting for our district. I read her email differently because of your call to action. So thank you for your message. I can hear it now every time I talk with a student, and I can hear it now every time I meet with a teacher.
Her email:
I’m a little nervous! 🙂 Is there anything I need to prepare for this or anything I need to bring? I wasn’t sure if I was the best choice since my partner is so much more experienced than I am and has been working with our curriculum for much longer than I have.
Wow. Each of your questions are written so well and profoundly but clearly nobody is able to answer them. They are all worth reflecting on though.
My gut tells me that this is more about the journey than the destination. The cool thing though is that this movement has the potential to grow exponentially. One person can empower several who can each empower several more.
I also love your reflection on the email. Clearly this is a teacher who has been invited (a la Kaneka) and would love some encouragement that he or she belongs. You can now use your positional power to allay his or her fears. She’ll be empowered and you’ll gain more influence. Win/Win.
Thank you Robert for the wonderful video and for hosting a Twitter chat to generate ideas on empowerment of teachers and students and admin.
I spend a lot of time thinking about leadership and influence and find that when the main objective is student learning, ppl are receptive to the dialogue.
Looking at the CTA and noticed that “less power” was a phrase: We can empower people who have more power and can influence people at our level and above and below.
Empowerment includes pointing out the good/great and helping generate ideas thru questioning
as well as challenging convos. As a leader/empowerer it is super important to refuel as we are giving our energy to help others. This morning was empowered by Chris Lee on http://lewishowes.com/podcast/chris-lee-repeat/ and as always many many #mtbos ppl
PS One more group to empower: parents/families
You are totally right. I see what you mean about giving power not having to be a top down commodity. It’s very post-dictable in that I did not think of it at all before you mentioned it but now it seems so obvious.
How do you suggest rephrasing the C2A? Maybe, “Find one person in need of empowerment”? I feel like that is too vague and “Find one person with more or less power than you” sounds goofy. Thoughts?
I posted on twitter about leaders in our district who have helped me see math instruction in a totally different light and I became addicted! I am so very grateful to them. I was so excited about the empowerment they gave me that I want to share it with all. Your talk helped me clearly understand what I want to do with my knowledge. I want to INFLUENCE. I do not want to be pushy or resented. I want to help. I want to persuade and be respected. I am so inspired by your talk, Robert. Your personal story really helped bring it all together. I’m going to respond to your call to action. Thank you for helping see things differently.
Thanks for this very validating comment. As I mentioned on Twitter, I am certain that those who empowered you will find no better form of gratitude than you using your positional power to empower others.
What also stands out for me about what you wrote is what I experienced from watching Kaneka’s talk (which you will LOVE). She gave me vocabulary to describe things that I was aware of but had trouble articulating. Now that I can articulate it better, I feel like I can plan what I’m going to do about it as well.
First of all, thank you to NCTM and Robert for hosting the twitter conversation tonight. I have to admit, this Call to Action was the hardest for me to wrap my mind around. I joined the twitter convo tonight to see if anyone would say anything that would help….and I think it did!
I started with this tweet: “This was a hard CTA for me, I think because as a Teachers we have so many little moments when we give Power that it’s hard to see the Inf”. But thanks to the wonderful 140 character limitation, that wasn’t able to give my thoughts justice….so I still didn’t know why I was finding this CTA so difficult.
Then, Robert posted the following: “How else do articulate the differences between power and influence?” and I replied with “I feel like power has an ‘expected following’ when influence has a ‘natural following'” and I think that’s what helped clarify things for me.
I realized that it was the idea of giving power with the expectation of gaining influence that was throwing me off. I absolutely understand that was not the underlying message of Robert’s talk, but it was, ultimately, what was holding me back from participating. I kept thinking “who am I going to influence?” when I should have been thinking “who needs more power.” I know this should have been an easy conclusion (especially since that’s specifically what the CTA says) but it took tonight’s conversation to make it clear in my muddled brain. 🙂
So now, my first response to this CTA (since I imagine there will be many more in the future.)
I can’t think of one particular person who has less power than me at the moment, but I can think of about 120…and I can’t think about 1 big thing I can do to empower them, but I can think about all the little things I try to do on a daily basis. Giving them choices in assignments and assessment questions, allowing them to reassess until the last day of school, giving them opportunities to discuss their thinking with their peers just to name a few. I also have no idea of the impact. I like to hope that those few opportunities of choice and moments of empowerment make a difference in the lives of the students, but typically it’s not until years later (and only if students reach out to tell you) that we, as teachers, ever know our influence…and just the possibility that it left the student with a sense of empowerment feels indescribably good. (Y’all know what I mean, right?)
So…cop out? Maybe 🙂 Therefore, I’ll answer the question where I have felt empowered. And it, again, is on a daily basis from our principal. She is one of the biggest advocates for teachers I have ever met in my life. Writing personal notes when she comes in to observe, allowing us to basically create our middle school schedule (as long as it fits in the bell times), getting teacher input for almost every facet of school and providing numerous opportunities for collaboration are just to name a few. I have felt so empowered the last 2 years I’ve worked with her. I try to tell her as often as I can which she is grateful for, but it’s obvious she doesn’t do it for the compliments. I wish all teachers were able to work with someone so amazing.
Thanks again for this CTA. It was the most difficult for me, but by far my favorite.
Thanks Elizabeth for sharing such an honest reflection on your journey towards empowering others. I have lots of thoughts on what you wrote:
– Your comment about “so many little moments when we give Power that it’s hard to see the Inf” made me think of the saying “can’t see the forest for the trees.” Sometimes when we are in the middle of these interactions, it’s hard to see that any one act makes a difference. It’s only when you step back and gain perspective that you see how much things have changed. I can see from your Twitter picture that you’re a mother. So, you’ll understand the sentiment I have about my son. I frequently see him as exactly the same boy he’s always been. He’s always looked and acted this way. Then I see videos or pictures from when he was even younger and I have the perspective to see how much he’s really changed.
– I totally get why you stated that it threw you off when it seemed like it was wrong to empower with the seemingly ulterior motive of gaining influence. I remember why I chose to make that point so clear. I was reading Made to Stick and it talked about how people want to be seen as doing things for purely altruistic reasons. However, clearly they also want to look out for themselves too, so if you have something that benefits both parties, don’t hide that information. So, that is why I decided to make it obvious. If we’re being honest, I started out helping people because I knew I would want someone to help me out. However, now it is almost an addiction. I love how great people feel when they’re empowered and that makes me feel great. Influence is the amazing love child of that choice. I don’t think there is anything to feel guilty about here.
– Great points about it empowerment being a long term process in some cases. Even picking out one statement “allowing them to reassess until the last day of school” gives so many positive messages including: “I care so much about what you learn that I will give you as many chance as possible.” So, while you may not see the end results, you know they’re there because you probably have been on the receiving end as a student as well.
– That’s wonderful that you have such a supportive administrator. It’s even better that you tell her. It will be fuel for her on the days when she’s not sure that she doing a great job.
Thanks again and I look forward to reading about more of your adventures.
Thanks for sharing your reasoning for connecting influence and the giving of power. I’m definitely going to look in to that book…sounds fascinating! I’ve struggled with the idea of doing good for your sake as opposed for goodness’ sake for a long time…it’s nice to think there can be a happy medium.
I have been leading math learning groups for the past few years. This year, in working with a small group of teachers, I asked 1 to take the lead and plan what our focus is. We have spent time discussing together our goals and how we will spend our time. Not sure she had ever been asked about her ideas or opinions before! It is great to see the spark that happens when we give away our power:)
I can see your point Robert about it being addictive. I think this is something I need to do more often:)
Thanks for your inspiring words!
So great to read Mark. I can totally visualize how empowered that teacher must have felt. Words that also come to mind are: validated, enthusiastic, excited, ownership
The great part is that you lose nothing and gain even more. Way to go. Please feel free share more of your addictive experiences here.
I hope to empower teachers who are just beginning to lean into change or even just open up to the idea of change in pedagogy. I want to share my own journey with them so they gain the confidence to do it themselves and then become future teacher leaders to the next round of “leaners.”
That’s great Jamie. I interpret this as you are using your power as a respected leader to be vulnerable and show the successes and challenges you face daily in the never-ending attempt to be a better educator. I am certain that it will be very well received. It’s so funny how showing your flaws make people only respect you more. I don’t totally get why that is, but I do get that your colleagues are lucky to have someone as thoughtful as you to work with.
I share ur passion & call to action! Yr talk 2 empower our District elem math leader team (50 Teachers & Coaches) We choose influence!
Thank you! I look forward to reading more about how that actually plays out and any lessons you learn along the way.
Making me wonder..Is there also power with influence? Can this exist?
Interesting Kellie. So the way I’m interpreting your question, you’re asking about whether there exist shades of gray between the black and white of power and influence.
My belief is that they definitely do constantly coexist, it is more a measure of how the power is used. Consider a school principal. She certainly has power and no matter what she does with it, she still has power as long as she holds her position. However she may also have influence if she uses her power to empower others.
What do you think?
So killer…and called for. As a former principal, I have first-hand experience that it is more difficult to “influence” when you have positional authority. Working with teachers in a non-supervisory role is a dream come true…for all of the reasons you made explicit, particularly seeing how they feel energized to influence and empower others. It’s contagious.
Well Ryan, you seem to be doing a hell of job at being an empowerer from what Stephanie has to say. One thing you say that makes me reflect is your statement that you “have first-hand experience that it is more difficult to ‘influence’ when you have positional authority.” That thought hadn’t occurred to me.
For example, if we say that the NCTM president has more power than an NCTM member, I would say that the president could easily use his or her power, but he or she could also easily use that power to empower others. For example, Matt Larson has already been using his power to invite people (a la Kaneka) to the math party and put them on important committees. I don’t see that being more difficult to do as he gains more power. I do see how people could potentially confuse empowerment with using positional power to force people to comply, but it seems like that could be avoided. Please help me see what I am missing.
Sorry for the delay on the response. I’m a new math coordinator for our district. Listening to your talk caused me to consider who may feel powerless in our district. Sadly, I think it’s our math chairs. Historically, they haven’t had regular, physical access to my position and it’s something I’m looking to change for next year. I’m confident that investing in them and showing openness to their thoughts and concerns will have a trickle-down effect for math teachers and students across our district. Thanks for challenging us at Shadowcon. You’re greatly appreciated!!
Thank you Jeffrey. You’re probably right on you hunch as to who you think may feel powerless in your district. Simply listening to them and asking them how they would like you to support them will go a long way. Would you please report back and update us all on how it goes and anything you learn along the way?
I taught in the brick and mortar setting up until about a year ago when I started teaching for an online high school. Students meet the teachers in an online classroom, where they can hear and see what we are doing on the virtual whiteboard. Even for my online students, the same peer pressure exists. They are afraid to be wrong. They are hesitant to volunteer. They are unsure of how much risk to take. After a chat with my supervisor last Friday, I have been doing some serious reflection. In a non-threatening way, she encouraged me to make some immediate changes. I decided to go live on video camera during my class sessions (not the norm). Today at the beginning of my session, I told my students that I am taking risks, making changes, and trying to be better – for them. Something wonderful happened. Makayla, who initially said that the beginning of the session, “I’m not good at math,” started typing away, sharing her thoughts via chat. By the end of the session, she can shown her work TWICE on the whiteboard. Before she left, she said to write something positive. She did. 🙂 It was quite obvious that Makayla had been empowered. That made me feel like a teacher again (since becoming an online HS teacher). I was reminded that I can empower (and disarm) my students with a smile, reassurance that I’m going to make the effort, and proof by taking action!
Way to go Gabrielle! I’m familiar with CAVA and I can appreciate how challenging it can be to make connections with students you rarely meet in person. It’s great that you used your power to empower your student. I’m sure she appreciates you taking a risk and making yourself vulnerable.
Thanks for sharing this experience with all of us.
Robert, hearing you share your personal story hit me hard. Thank you for opening up like that! I have been a reader of your blog for some time now, and it was really interesting to learn about your background. Keep doing great work.
Thanks James. The best validation of taking the risk to share my story has been all the positive feedback I’ve received. So, your comment is much appreciated.
Robert, What an inspiring talk. And very courageous of you to share your story.
I spent over 20 years teaching second and third grade. It was not until our district’s math supervisor approached me and encouraged me to apply for the position of math specialist that I had even considered a position like that. She saw something in me that I didn’t know was there. I try to return this act by encouraging colleagues of mine to apply for similar positions of leadership. Often they’ll say something like, “Really? I never thought I could do something like that!” But knowing that someone they respect has confidence in them is very empowering, whether they wind up applying for the job or not.
The colleagues in this virtual faculty lounge we call the MTBoS have done nothing but provide me with feelings of empowerment. For example, last fall Graham was asked (last minute) to do a presentation at the NCTM regional in Atlantic City, and he agreed but insisted that I co-present with him. This gave me my first experience presenting at a conference. Then I encouraged a colleague of mine in my district to co-present with me at our state conference in February. I was just following Graham’s example. Your words to me last summer at TMC empowered me to present at TMC this coming summer. Who knows? Maybe my words this summer will encourage someone to present in the summer of 2017!
In fact, it seems to me that empowerment is at the crux of the MTBoS project. Taking a picture with their phone and bringing it into class for their students to notice and wonder about, creating an activity in Desmos, submitting a Which One Doesn’t Belong task, or an Open Middle task, and seeing it up on the site, creating a 3-Act or an estimation180 activity…these are all incredibly empowering experiences for teachers who are used to just opening a manual and following a script written by someone they’ve never met. And they can also be used by teachers to empower their students.
Thank you for your talk and call to action. It’s both timely and timeless.
Thanks for the kind words Joe. This line really resonates with me: “knowing that someone they respect has confidence in them is very empowering.” If that isn’t the most amazing return on investment: empowerment via expressing confidence!
In general, I think that people are not particularly good at having perspective as to their own value within a community. To an outsider, it is a much easier observation to make. Perhaps it’s not much different than noticing how my son is growing up. I swear he looks the same as he always has. Then I see pictures from only a year earlier and I realize how much he’s grown.
To everyone who meets you or learns about your work, it’s so obvious how talented you are… to the point that it is a disservice to the educators everywhere when you don’t share your perspective. It’s just hard to notice that reality about yourself.
I’m glad that you are already paying that perspective forward and sharing your encouraging observations with others. Yes, I do agree that the MTBoS is a particularly amazing culture. I have a feeling that some time in the future, people will look back at it as petri dish that made some amazing advances.
Thanks again Joe and please do share any more examples of empowering you encounter so that others can see how much you can do with small gestures.
I watched your talk a week ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. Your words echo in my thoughts. I am a district math coach. I have no administrative power. I only have the opportunity to influence. Sometimes, my influence is positive. Sometimes my influence is negative. Often, the difference between the two is how honest I am with myself about my intentions and how intentionally I reflect.
Last week, I led a learning round in an elementary school. I watched an exceptional lesson in a third grade classroom. What made the lesson exceptional was how little the teacher said. For ten minutes, 9 different students participated in a student generated investigation about how many lines you need to draw to show fourths on a number line. These students presented, questioned, and defended their own and each other’s reasoning. The teacher listened. She endured silent pauses in the conversation. I was participating in this learning rounds with an interventionist from another building. She didn’t know these students at all. Afterwards, I asked her, “Would you be able to guess which students received “gifted and talented” services?” She said she would have no idea. Then, I asked her, “Would you be able to guess which students receive interventions?” She said she would have no idea. I pushed. I asked her, based on the thinking she just observed, choose a student who you think sounded like a typical “gifted and talented” student. She chose the only student who receives math interventions.
We can use our power to speak for others or empower others to speak for themselves. Great Ts empower Ss with silence.
Holy mole. That story gave me chills. You HAVE to write it down and save it. It is so powerful at illustrating so many things including empowering students by giving them a voice.
Yes, as a fellow district math coach, I know what you mean about not having administrative power. However, we do have the power to encourage others, listen, and make ourselves vulnerable. Those have the potential to take us farther in a more meaningful way than the positional power we would get through an administrative position.
Thanks again for sharing that story. It’s wonderful.
Absolutely! In fact, it was your talk that helped me realize that having no administrative power is a wonderful thing because my power is directly related to my ability to influence. I am brand new to twitter and blogging, but you have inspired me to write my third blogpost on the story above. Thank you for empowering me.
Hi Robert,
You have presented us with such a well thought out call to action. Love your train of thought and your personal experience brings it all home, not to mention tug at the heart. Thanks for the CMC shout out. The organization does try to highlight teachers and give an on the ground platform to #MTBoS stars. You, Dan, Andrew, Fenton, Flynn, Stevens, Vaudry, Fletchy, Fawn and all the educators in all corners of the USA-Canada have done a wonderful job of building a collaborative, virtual community. I often wonder how many out there read and follow, like me, yet don’t post or comment much or at all. I do believe, and unlike Dan Meyer am not surprised, people still like the face to face, and it is this great MTBoS community, fun camaraderie, and deep, real teacher sharing that results in a large percentage wishing to attend conferences to be around the super stars. Plus you have provided fun meet up ideas (trivia/games/shadowcon…) to give educators, who although surrounded by students and colleagues can still feel like a lonely job or one where you question yourself and want input/validation–no matter the role: teacher, coach, admin…By building its following and emphasizing the importance of #mtbos, we’ll also be supporting organizations like NCTM and CMC and influencing the teaching and learning of so many students and educators! Many thanks and cheers to you, Robert, and to our MTBoS colleagues!
Rosa @serratore4
@CAMathCouncil
Thank you Rosa. My hunch is that most people take teacher associations for granted (I certainly know I used to!) and don’t see their role as an influential group that empowers teachers by giving them a voice and opportunities. I am very grateful to be a part of the California Math Council. Thanks for all the hard work you do to empower others.
You could think of associations as providing forums that help empower educators. Affiliates have opportunities to lead and put together their own local forums to allow for learning and sharing and larger conferences to impact many at one time. As a nonprofit, CMC has insurance umbrella coverage and seed money to support events and scholarships, and has an advocacy voice in state government. This assists any and all educators in our math community to step up. We’re all about teacher and teacher leader voices, and it feels like NCTM is leaning more that way too:) It’s a matter of understanding associations’ missions and workings. I was clueless five years ago….
Thanks again for your guidance and facilitation of today’s SoCal math leaders’ network. It was great!
Rosa
I wasn’t at the conference, but just listened to your talk online. I am the math department head at my small school and I have been feeling burdened about having been given more responsibility without enough commensurate pay or time in which to accomplish the extra tasks. But your talk gave me the idea that I should ask my colleagues to each plan one of our math department meetings next year and share something that they are passionate about with the rest of us. Why did I think that I had to do it all?
Thanks Jane. How is your idea not a win/win? Your colleagues will appreciate your empowerment and everyone will get to know others better and learn more along the way. Please share back with how this act is received by them? How did they react? What would you do the same or differently?
Thanks for the inspiration, Robert: https://mathontheedge.wordpress.com/
Very cool, Sarah. Thank you for sharing how you implemented my call to action here: https://mathontheedge.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/power-or-influence/
I was lucky enough to have a chance to empower a new employee last week. The new employee is a recent graduate student who was coming on as a student assistant. Students in this role usually answer the phone, stuff envelopes, and get paid minimum wage, not necessarily take the lead on projects. With this student I decided to try something different, I was going to empower him to be the lead on a big project right from the start. Before we finished telling him where he should store his punch card I led him into a mess of a room that we had all been avoiding for the last two months. This unused office was going to be converted into a conference room, but no one would be able to do it. I walked him back there and said “this is your new project. Sit and think for a while, then tell your plan to make this into a conference room.” 15 minutes later he explained his plan, we talked about the kind of help he would need and what should happen first, and then he went to work. By the end of the week he had finished his plan. He did most of the work without me having to prompt him. He was even comfortable reaching out to custodians and getting them to help move unused tables in our basement up to the 2nd floor.
Giving up the need to control and micromanage a new employee felt scary at first. By the end of the week I fell proud, and hopeful for what could be possible if I empowered people, and focused more on supporting them reaching their goals.
Wow. That’s especially awesome as everyone won and more got accomplished than you could have done. Delegating can be very scary but it sounds like you had some key check in points as well. I’m certain this new employee also has increased respect for you too.
Thanks for sharing this as an example of what can be done by an influential leader.
In class the other day, I started to talk to students about what passive learning looks like from the outside, but how that might differ from what’s happening inside. We also talked about what active learning looks like but what it should feel like on the inside. We talked about our thoughts and our actions and whether they correlate well. We talked about goals versus wishes and how active learning moves us towards our goals and how passive learning turn those goals into wishes.
Ideally, I’d have given these writing prompts after the discussion:
1. Active, goal oriented education looks and feels like….
2. Passive, wishful learning looks and feels like….
Even without the writing prompts, after this 5 minute talk, students sat up, took notes and asked each other questions. Problems were solved. That was really something.
Very interesting. So it sounds like you defined empowering your students as helping them realize that they can take charge of their learning rather than being a passive recipient of knowledge. How validating it must have been for both you and the students to immediately experience the effect of their changes. Thanks for sharing!