It is a new month at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School and that means…a new Habit!

Habits of Kindness has become our shorthand for how we are utilizing the “7 Habits” to approach our “Community of Kindness” initiative.  As part of the first Habit, “Be Proactive”, I blogged about my commitment to blog each month about that month’s Habit and we spent August & September on the first Habit.  October had us spending time on the second Habit, “Beginning With End in Mind”, and like many of our teachers and students, I created my own personal mission statement.  (For ongoing information about our “Community of Kindness” program, please visit its blog…or even better, subscribe to it!)

November and December has us exploring the third Habit, “Put First Things First”.

There are 525,600 minutes in one year.  However, when you consider that approximately 175,200 minutes of that time will be spent sleeping, 16,425 minutes spent eating, and if you’re a student, 72,000 minutes spent in school, you have less than half that total to spend on the rest of your life. Therefore, it is essential to do the important things first—if you leave them until last, you might run out of time.

You know how something is so obvious that you dismiss it?

That’s how I feel about this habit.

You have likely heard that song and/or seen that video numerous times in the past and you know that the moral of the story is to remember that your big rocks are your family and friends and to not get bogged down in the sands of workaholism.

So why did I get to work yesterday at 7:00 AM and come home at 9:15 PM?

Why do so many of us struggle with finding balance when we know where our true priorities lie?

I don’t have an answer…but I do have an opportunity!  It just so happens that the theme of this year’s Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI) Alumni Retreat – which is this Sunday-Tuesday – is on issues of health and wellness.  I welcome the opportunity to share and reflect with colleagues about how we try to keep ourselves spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically prepared to passionately pursue our profession while remaining loving and present spouses, partners, parents, children and friends.

I look forward to updating this post next week.

And in the meanwhile, feel free to share your secrets via a quality comment on this blog!

UPDATED 12/13/13

I wish I could say I came back with a secret success to wellness.  But I did come back with a commitment to take my wellness more seriously and that the only way to do that is to schedule wellness into my day.  Exercise, sleep, eating well…we all know these are among the keys to wellness.  Making them a priority is the trick.  Here’s hoping when I re-read this blog post in a few months that I have put my time where my words are!

Last month I blogged about how our school had decided to attack “Community of Kindness” through the “7 Habits” – which is how I have come to the appellation “Habits of Kindness” as a shorthand for ongoing kindness activities.  August & September were spent on the first Habit: “Be Proactive” and I committed to blogging each month about that month’s habit.

October has us spending time on the second Habit: Beginning With End in Mind. Students, teachers, and classes have all been charged with creating individual and class “mission statements”.  I invite you to tour the MJGDS Blogosphere for examples.  [For one excellent example, check out Kitah Dalet’s latest blog post.]

So…what is my “mission statement” as a head of school?  I realize that “mission statements” are supposed to be brief.  Any reader of my blog knows that I don’t do “brief” all that well.  So let me be a bit more creative and supply a mission/vision statement…here’s my crack at it:

Statement of Educational Philosophy & Practice

Background

There is no theory or idea that when put into practice works equally well in all or even many situations.  My experiences in the field coupled with my experiences in academia have lead me to conclude that pragmatism is truly the best philosophy.  As I have moved on in my career – from different kinds of jobs (informal Jewish educator/congregational educator/day school head) in all kinds of different communities (Los Angeles/New York/Las Vegas/Jacksonville), I have taken that pragmatism with me. I believe that every educational situation is different, and that to be successful one needs to be willing to try anything and everything to fulfill one’s mission.

Overarching Goals for Jewish Day School Students

• Students will be academically prepared for advanced and rigorous study at the next school of their choice.
• Students will see education and Jewish education as life-long endeavors in which they are active participants.
• Students develop a sense of independence, positive self-esteem, and are encouraged to reach their truest and highest potential.

Pedagogy – Na’aseh V’Nishma

This quotation from the Torah, “Na’aseh V’Nishma” (Exodus 24:7), has been interpreted in many ways in Jewish tradition.  The meaning, which speaks most deeply to me, is: “We will do and then we will understand.”  I believe strongly that children learn best by doing.

In addition, I believe the following:

• Children learn best through experiences in which they are able to construct personal meaning.
• Jewish children deserve the opportunity to experiment with authentic Jewish ritual practice.
• Students learn in different ways and have varying needs.  It is our responsibility to provide a wide array of learning experiences to meet those needs.
• Each student is unique and benefits from the freedom and responsibility involved in developing his or her own identity.
• Jewish tradition provides a wealth of wisdom and insight that contributes to one’s whole life; therefore, Judaic and secular curricula are treated with equal respect (if not always time).
• Family and community are critical partners in a child’s education.
• An experiential approach to learning compels one to aim not only for students’ minds, but their hearts, bodies, and souls as well.
• 21st Century Learning – technology, second-language acquisition, global connectedness, collaboration and transparency – is an essential pedagogy for today’s school.

Jewish Education

American values are not necessarily Jewish values and vice versa.  Integration cannot be imposed by the school; it is constructed by the student.  Jewish education does not reflect a synthesis of the secular and Judaic, but rather an interaction.  Academic excellence within the disciplines only serves as a prerequisite.  Schools have a responsibility to let students struggle with authentic examples of these interactions, as they exist in the world around them.

Jewish education has a stake in the choices students make.  Schools must make clear which choices are considered more preferable than others and why.  What those desired choices are and why they should be so desired will naturally differ from school to school. The basic pedagogic principle, however, ought to be consistent.  Students learn best by doing.  Jewish students learn best to make Jewish choices by choosing.

Vision of How to Lead a School

To be a Head of School is to have primary responsibility for enacting the mission of his/her school as determined by its primary stakeholders: board, parents, professionals, students, donors, and community partners.  Being a Head of School requires infinite pragmatism and the ability to actualize a varied set of skills across ever-shifting contexts. One has to see both the forest through the trees (focus on the mission) and the trees through the forest (focus on the details) in order to be successful.  The job requires one to be comfortable functioning as a bundle of contradictions – knowing when to listen and when to speak; when to inspire and when to be inspired; when to act and when not acting is the best course of action; when to lead and when to allow others to lead; etc.  Context – and the ability to recognize contextual cues – is paramount.

Do you have have a professional or personal mission/vision statement?  If you want to begin with the end in mind, you’ll need to create one!