M.E.+Steele-Pierce+-+West+Clermont

M.E. Steele-Pierce @steelepierce Cincinnati OH
//K-12 educator, leader, seeking positive change for 21C schools.// //Interested in how we learn and how we change.//  //Also: Locavore. Books. Film. Arts. Still learning.// Hello! I'm M.E.Steele-Pierce with West Clermont Schools, a suburban district in Southwest Ohio, with 9200 students and 12 schools. I've been an educator for 28 years.Currently I'm assistant superintendent for teaching & learning. I believe that leadership is teaching. You'll find me on twitter and also at: @http://tlcommunity.com  http://www.linkedin.com/in/mesteelepierce/  @http://www.delicious.com/steelepierce  steelepierce1 on skype My latest adventure is sharing in the creation of the first edu UNconference in Cincinnati, edcamp Cincy, October 9. Check us out at www.edcampcincy.org Looking forward to unlearning, relearning, growing, and changing with you at PLP.

Here's something I wrote for Scholastic's Educators' Royal Treatment. It'll tell you a bit about me:

Last week, Jeff Goldstein (@doctorjeff) posted this provocative tweet: “Shouldn’t it be joyful employment? Shouldn’t that be THE goal?” As I recall, he was talking about the goal of schooling. But I was stunned by the juxtaposition of those two words: joyful employment.

I love my work.

I began thinking about why on earth I love working as a district administrator. After all, change is messy. You can’t please everyone. Bureaucracy abounds. There are no summers off. Nonetheless.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I get to teach, every single day.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I remember when I first read James McGregor Burns definitive work Leadership. “Leaders shape and alter and elevate the motives and values and goals of followers through the vital teaching role of leadership,” he claimed. I leaned forward in my chair. "Yes," I thought. This is exactly what I love about my work.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A decade ago I had the opportunity to work with coaches from the Change Leadership Group (CLG) at Harvard. Our district was a beta site for the CLG’s early work in building capacity in school leadership teams to move from school re-formation to school trans-formation. I was fascinated to watch our CLG leaders at work. Their leadership reminded me of how I thought good teaching looked. Whenever I practiced what I they preached, it always felt like doing my best teaching.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Eventually, this led me to formal research—and lots of informal observations—of good teaching and good leading. Really, they’re much the same, aren’t they?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So as long as I get to teach (almost) every single day, that’s joyful employment.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Like Good Teachers, Good Leaders…
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Build trust
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Form community
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Clarify expectations
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Break tasks into manageable chunks
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Promote dialogue
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ask provocative questions

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Good teachers and leaders use processes that help others to consider, connect, and reshape their thinking. They’re change agents. Simply put, they help us change our minds.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9px; line-height: 13px;">Posted June 17, 2010 at []