Building Tomorrow: Avoiding the Quick Fix in Education with Dr. Joe Johnson

An Imperfect Leader

NEW EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

"What do we want to create together?" So proud to have co-written the foreword with Zach Taylor to this essential book on Human-Centered School Transformation. If you're a school leader looking to make sense of what you know to be true about schools, check it out. If you're a corporate leader, you will find a pathway to better results in every page.

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INTRO: In systems thinking, there are stories or archetypes to help leaders map out situations. One archetype I particularly like is called avoiding the quick fix.

I’ll give you an example. Recruitment. School districts are determined to recruit teachers of color because they know the decision is backed by research. The studies show:

The effect of having a black male teacher, especially between grades 3 and 5, decreases the dropout rate among black male students by 30 percent and increases the likelihood of black students aspiring to higher education.

Sometimes, though, districts will try and recruit from far away with the hope that this quick fix will help them achieve this goal. It doesn’t work. You get a teacher for a year or so and then they return home where they have genuine community. The better approach is to avoid the quick fix and build a sustainable and lasting system. The school districts who have created Grow Your Own programs are doing it the right way.

There’s a part of my conversation with my guest this week that brought to mind time-lapse photography – you know, like when someone wants to capture a project from its inception to completion? Joe Johnson is my guest and when he was describing the cultural field that schools create to demonstrate their love and trust and faith in the children in their care, it made me think about time-lapse images of planning the construction of a building, breaking ground, documenting its progress, and the final image.

Well-conceived plans and avoiding the quick fix. You’re going to want to hear what Joe has to say, for he provides optimism for all of us working to make our nation’s greatest treasure, public education, a reality for all.

It’s a great one. Thanks for tuning in!

BIO: Dr. Joe Johnson is the founding executive director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST) at San Diego State University Research Foundation (SDSURF). While serving at NCUST, he was also a professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University (SDSU), then Dean of the College of Education, and finally the university’s interim provost and senior vice president. Now retired, he exclusively works with and for NCUST.

He is considered an elite leader and thinker in his field and his passion and deep practical study of what works in urban education is groundbreaking!

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An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

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AN IMPERFECT LEADER IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.