Transformative Principal Jethro Jones

In this episode of Transformative Principal, Jethro Jones engages in a profound discussion with Sean Slade, co-head of North America at BTS Spark, about reevaluating traditional perceptions of leadership, particularly around the management of emotions. Sean challenges the archetype of the stoic, emotionless leader, suggesting that vulnerability, emotion, and personal connection are crucial elements for effective leadership, especially highlighted by observations from the first year of the pandemic. The conversation delves into how leaders who embraced their humanity, admitting uncertainty and fostering relationships, tended to succeed more. Drawing on a study and the insights from the book Embracing MESSY Leadership, Sean emphasizes the critical role of emotions in building trust, cultivating teamwork, and enhancing problem-solving capacities. He argues for a shift from controlling to exercising and utilizing emotions as strategic tools in leadership. The podcast also touches on the practical aspects of having difficult conversations and the importance of authenticity, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness in leadership roles. Sean concludes by underscoring the evolving understanding of leadership as beyond a series of tasks, advocating for emotional adeptness as a key leadership skill.
Maybe the emotionless leader is not quite correct. MESSY Leadership came out of the pandemicThe leaders who were able to make personal connections, build relationships and show vulnerability did quite well. Exercise your emotion rather than controlling your emotions.Admit uncertaintyPose questions back to teamHigh level of self-awareness and self-confidenceEveryone wants to feel like they matter and they want to belong. You are part of this community. Don’t we want to be authentic ourselves?Get communication cards.Leadership as a series of tasks and duties. Making people feel happy on a surface level. What’s putting you in the box? And how do you get out of it? Leadership is not a series of checklists. Links:
Sean Slade's website: https://www.seanslade.com/ MESSY LeadershipJethro’s Communication Cards: https://www.jethrojones.com/communication-cards About Sean Slade
Sean is the Co-Head of North America at BTS Spark. He is an education leader, speaker and author, with nearly three decades of experience in education, both in the US and globally. With a strong background in education reform and wellbeing, he has driven policy change, implemented initiatives, and developed educational leaders, to enhance the social impact of education. As Senior Director of Global Outreach at ASCD, Sean launched and grew the ASCD Whole Child Network to 1,800 members, 350 school districts and 56 countries. He is a Social & Emotional Learning expert for NBC Today, advisory member for OECD’s Future of Education & Skills 2030, a founding member of the UNESCO Chair on Global Health & Education. He has written for the Washington Post, Huffington Post, EdWeek, and is a frequent keynote speaker.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex t

In this episode, Jethro is joined by Danny Bauer and Glenn Robbins, author of the book Calm In The Chaos: Ancient Stoic Wisdom for Successful School Leadership. We talk about how to be stoic as a leader in schools and apply that wisdom to your daily. Plus, you won’t believe the sign we saw in a school!

How to get people on the same page when you’re not physically on an island. Community had come together before when they’ve been through something together. Starting from negative emotions doesn’t help you find success. When you come from a place of gratitude, it’s great. This is my roadmap for connecting with people. You’re still a human being, but you still have to rise up and be your best. Your pride sometimes takes away your willingness to share what you’re going through. We often don’t have models showing us how we do things different. Key piece is mentoring, models, and psychologically safe spaces where you can admit that you’re struggling. Expect people to be wrong, evil, tortuous, dishonest.Vulnerability can be perceived in many different waysStoicism is constancy. Be the rock, that is immovable. A lot of the expectation is expecting the sea to not rage, but that is not realistic. Mastering what is in your control. How we help people see they can choose what they control.How to be a transformative principal? Own your mistakes - DannyPsychological safety
About Danny Bauer
Danny Bauer helps Ruckus Makers Do School Different™ which means shifting from old, traditional, and often broken ways of educating to new, different, and innovative ways of educating.
He’s written multiple bestselling books and hosts the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast which is the most downloaded show in school leadership and ranks in the TOP 0.5% of all shows worldwide.

About Glenn Robbins
Glenn Robbins is the proud Superintendent of the Brigantine Public School District in Brigantine, New Jersey. His passion is harnessing a district culture that thrives on positive psychology, design thinking, futurism, innovative digital spaces, technology integration, esports, cybersecurity, Social Emotional Learning Zen Dens, and Maker cultures. In addition, Glenn encourages all students to have a voice, not only in building a school culture, but also in designing student led entrepreneur opportunities.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year. 

Aspirational Model  Shifting MindsetEmotional Connection - Research in MESSY started at the beginning of the pandemic. There will always be the next crisis. Expectation of leaders - what’s important? Professional veneer - leave our personal outside our workplace.Establishing themselves as larger than life.Authenticity - personal and professional are more blurred. Heart, Head, and Hands - Dr. Marvin BerkowitzPresence triangle - think about the other person and how you’re delivering your message. Self-other-outsideTaking a deep breath, thinking about the relationship, moving to the perspective of the other individual. You matter, you’re not alone. Schools need you. Coaching creates a confidential space. Challenges: courage, empowering and coaching others, taken servant leadership too far, influence others to change their practice, lack of confidence, slowing down and not reacting all the time. Pleaser and MartyrDe-implementationLeaders get things done through influence.This is a Choose Your Own Adventure style of book. Two voices in our heads - Judge and PessimistHow to be a transformative principal? Carve out time to reflect. • Meaning Making: Create a shared vision and engage others by collaborating more effectively.
• Emotional Connection: Build deeper, more trusting relationships to give feedback and hold difficult conversations.
• Sensing the Future: Think creatively and tackle entrenched school improvement problems through experimentation and innovation.
• Seizing Momentum: Be proactive, gain control of how you prioritize your time, and embrace new ways of working.
• Your Presence: Build confidence by identifying the barriers that hold you back and learning how to overcome them.

About Alyssa Gallagher
Alyssa Gallagher is the author of the book Embracing MESSY Leadership: How the Experience of 20,000 School Leaders Can Transform You and Your School. She is also the Co-Head of BTS Spark, North America, for BTS Spark, a not-for profit practice focused on bringing executive level coaching to every school leader.  She has extensive experience leading schools and districts to revolutionize learning for students. Under Alyssa’s guidance Los Altos School District became a nationally recognized leader in education innovation with her work featured in Forbes, Wired, The Economist magazine and on CNN and CBS’ 60 Minutes.  After two decades working within k12 education, Alyssa led the global leadership practice for The Wiseman Group, co-designing executive development strategies to enable leaders to become better ‘multipliers’ of their people’s talent.  Alyssa has worked with a wide spectrum of leaders, ranging from early career professionals in her local school district to seasoned executives in Fortune 500 Companies.  Alyssa enjoys working with leaders to design strategies that leverage the capability, creativity and intelligence of everyone on their team. 

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off

Worthwhile Links: 
Range by David EpsteinDrip7Readwise
About Ryan Palmbaum
Ryan Palmbaum is the founder and CEO of Dabbl Discovery, an educational, bite-sized video learning platform designed to help people discover and follow new interests and career paths through short videos created exclusively by experienced experts and educators in a wide variety of industries. Dabbl combines the engaging, concise, 1-3 minute format of TikTok with the quality content and creators of Masterclass or Ted Talks to sit at the peak of engaging education. 

Before entering the EdTech space, Ryan was a world-traveled, ex-collegiate and professional soccer player having lived in 10+ countries, across 3 different continents, all before he turned 20. Throughout his travels, he decided to become a jack of all trades and a master of some. He was a commissioned painter, graphic designer, and musician–while also studying video game programming, finance, psychology, nutrition and much more. Ryan moved back to the United States in 2019 and obtained his bachelor’s degree in Finance & Management from SUNY University at Albany.

Rather than pursuing a normal finance career out of college, he decided to pursue his passion of making the top educational content in the world accessible to everyone, no matter their financial situation or social status. Dabbl is excited to be a hub for the top educational video creators to share their unique experiences in a more streamlined way without being diluted down with misinformation and dangerous content that dominates conventional social media platforms.

Ryan and Dabbl are focused on learning from the market and listening to their creators and users to develop the best platform for career and interest discovery possible for everyone involved.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.
MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year. 

In this episode, we explore the power of purposeful play in education. Join us as we discuss the importance of play in the learning process, the Connecticut legislation about play in elementary grades, and the benefits of purposeful play for students. We also delve into LEGO Education that highlights the positive impact of play on learning in K-8 students.

We emphasize the importance of putting kids in the driver's seat, exploring concepts, making connections, and conducting experiments. We also discuss how building models and using natural curiosity can help students learn effectively. We encourage teachers to allow kids to find their own solutions and provide time for them to share and discuss their thought process.

We believe that purposeful play empowers students and reimagines the classroom experience. It allows everyone to find success and reach their full potential. We acknowledge the challenges of implementing purposeful play, but we emphasize the importance of engaging with the information, discussing it, and using ideas in different ways. We also highlight the need for teachers to experience playful learning firsthand and to receive ongoing professional learning. Finally, we discuss the role of principals in creating a culture of purposeful play in schools.

Play is about being in the moment. Purposeful play happening when we get to the goal of learning. CT Legislation about play in elementary gradesOver-engineering vs. open ended play. LEGO Education about K-8 students - play is a great way to help them learn. Students were more excited to go to school when they had play. Play can take so many different forms. Putting kids in the driver’s seatExploring conceptsMaking connectionsExperimentsBuilding modelsUse natural curiosity. Allow kids to find their own solutionsTime to share and discuss how they got there. When we can really interact with the informationPurposeful play will empower us to reimagine the classroom experience. Everybody can find success with purposeful play. Everybody can reach the bar that is appropriate for them. The challenge is that it takes so long to do these other thingsEngage with the information, discussion, then use ideas in a different way. How we wrap them together really matters. It can feel uncomfortable to do something new. Teachers need the love and opportunities, too. Teachers deserve some playful learning, too. Give teachers that experience first as a learner, and here are tools for you to use as well. Ongoing professional learning.How to be a transformative principal? Think about where students are and how can we bring playful learning back to them. 2. Be thoughtful about what engagement really looks likeDr. Jenny Bio, Headshot & LEGO® Education Logo: 

 
About Dr. Jenny Nash, Head of Education Impact, U.S., LEGO® Education: 
Dr. Jenny Nash serves as Head of Education Impact, U.S. for LEGO® Education, where she provides leadership in delivering meaningful learning experiences for students. As an advocate for playful hands-on learning, she is focused on instilling confidence in learning in students and teachers to build academic and 21st-century skills that will create active, collaborative, lifelong learners. 
She has worked in various levels of education, including as a middle and high school science teacher, professional development provider, and educational specialist. Dr. Jenny has presented at SXSW EDU, ISTE, CSTA, and NSTA among others; been quoted in publications such as Fast Company, TODAY, and District Administration; and was recognized as an Influential Woman in STEM and Tech.  
Dr. Nash received her doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Florida, along with her master’s in teaching and bachelor’s in accounting from Marshall University. Dr. Nash is based in Wisconsin and enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and anything Disney. 

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning. 

I

In this episode, Jethro talks with James Anderson, who has been on the show three previous times: 
The Learner Agency Model with James Anderson Transformative Principal 351Learnership with James Anderson Transformative Principal 455 Learnership: The Skill of Learning with James Anderson Transformative Principal 570 In this episode, we talk about teaching cultures and learning cultures, take a sidewalk into some deep thoughts about moral development, and finish with a bang. 
Do you have a sense of power and that you get to choose what you do in your life?Agency makes you the master of your circumstances, not the victim. Voice and Choice lip servicePower to choose vs. permission to choose. Agency is an outcome, not a pedagogy. There are some things we don’t have agency - the student needs to change and be capable over something that they weren’t capable of it before. Learning culture vs. teaching culture. Default ways we go about learning - teaching and performing. Learning is not the product of teaching, but the product of the activity of learners - John HoltTeacher doing all the heavy lifting in the classroom. Kids were coming to school to watch her work. Kids had been learning, but hadn’t yet become learners. Diagnostic tool to determine the level of learnership. Where kids are at in their own learning. Clear snapshot of where learners are at. Hidden Potential by Adam GrantTwo sides of the same coin. Character development or learnership are two sides of the same coin. Where habits of mind fit in the bigger picture. Teaching content, thinking models, within the context of good moral dimensions. How developing disposition is vital and important. Teachers are too busy “saving kids” from the challenges they are facing. Helping kids become creatures of discomfort. Help kids be safe while climbing, not taking away the opportunity to climb. Torvill and Dean - figure skating. So much more fun. If the results aren’t there, the teachers get the blame. It’s not up to me, it’s up to the learners. We’ve each got a role to play. Eduardo Briceño Performance ParadoxLearnship matrix shows them what it looks like. Expertise has a rich language to describe their area of expertise. Rich language of teaching, but impoverished language of learning. Teachers are expert teachers, but they are not expert learners. People become adequate and then they stop growing. Stop growing, start performing. Teachers may not have needed to be effective learners for a long time. Creatures of discomfort. About James Anderson
James Anderson is a prominent Australian-based international speaker, author, and educator deeply committed to enhancing our capacity for effective learning. Central to his philosophy is the "Mindset Continuum," an extension of Carol Dweck's groundbreaking work on Growth Mindsets, providing practical tools to cultivate a profound understanding of ourselves as learners. His notable concept of Learnership, raising the status of learning from an act to an art, offers a powerful framework to comprehend and enhance our engagement in the learning process, ultimately helping schools to create the paradigm shift that is needed.
With a rich background as a teacher and school leader, James has spent the past two decades collaborating with schools to create more thoughtful learning environments. He challenges educators to critically reflect on their own Mindsets and how these beliefs are subtly communicated to students, offering tangible strategies beyond clichés to instigate genuine shifts in learners' mindsets.
James places immense value on the relationships he establishes with the schools and teachers he engages with, providing sustained support and follow-through often absent in professional development. Demonstrating the impact of his approach, a three-year partnership with Asquith Girls High School in Sydney led to students displaying increased persistence, embracing challenges, and teacher