Treat People Better than You Want to be Treated

#9 Treat People Better than You Want to be Treated.” From 50 Great Things Leaders Do: Let’s Get Fired Up!

It always works, and it worked again yesterday. It can work in any organization. We always look for ways to inspire our workforce (staffulty) prior to the new school year. We have done a lot of research, trial and error, and just asked people.

When I was a teacher, there was a lot of complacency. It wasn’t acceptable then and it certainly isn’t now. Our future depends on commitment, hard work, and fun. The start of each year begins with some old traditions and some new events. After an opening “state of the district” address, we stand in front of the oldest part of our building for a team photo (below).

We start each year with a theme and service learning platform. Our theme this year: You Are A+ Star. There will be a lot of Hollywood types of events. For instance, each employee had a star with their name on it hung on the wall. We rolled out the red carpet in the front of the building. Paparazzi were snapping photos all day.

Many people, over the years, have expressed their boredom on opening day activities. And I know that we are required by state law to cover certain items, however, inspiration must come in many forms. It did yesterday. We had a four hour block that included an opening, inspiring video, barbeque, and leadership Olympics. The Olympics consisted of a number of team building and problem-solving competitions.

One of the funniest events of the day included a fashion show. Before lunch we divided the teams by movies. Each person received a card with a movie character. All of characters from the same movie found each other and formed a team.

The culminating event was a fashion show down the red carpet. Each team received a trash bag, aluminum foil, and tape. They chose a model and dressed him or her in three minutes. The models paraded down the red carpet, and they were judged (below). Tomorrow it’s back to a full day of teacher evaluation training but we started on an inspirational, fun day.

Lights, Camera, Action

People keep asking me how my summer is going. I tell them I’m waiting for it to start. As principal of a middle school, I work all year. Don’t get me wrong, I spend a lot more time with family and friends than during the school year; however, there is a lot of work to get done. It was time well spent. 

This just out: the governor called, “Do more with less. I don’t mean just money but time as well.” We will get it done in a timely, exemplary fashion but it can be done in a much more efficient way if I were the commissioner of education. I’ll save that topic for another blog post. Educators will never get their “just desserts” and that’s a shame because great teachers should be the most revered people on earth.

Back to the topic, we are ready to break out our new theme. Each year since 2005, we have started the new school year with a school-wide theme. This year’s theme: (drum roll please)  “You Are A+ Star.” We will have a Hollywood type of atmosphere with our students and staffulty starring in hard work, commitment, great character, leadership, and participation by involving students, staffulty, parents, and the community in sharing the fun and passion for excellence in education. 

We are looking for a service learning platform to accompany our school-wide theme. Hopefully, we can lay it out shortly. We will juice up the kids this week when they come in for leadership camp then our staffulty next week. Creating a place where everyone wants to be will enable all stakeholders to take an active role in their success. 

During the year, we will have themed events starting with a red carpet event next week. Our paparazzi will be everywhere taking pictures when are teachers arrive. The students will be greeted with similar fanfare and enthusiasm. Our traditional “Happy New Year” always gets the kids excited. I know we can make a difference in our students this year, and we will make a positive difference. Passion beats data every time.

It’s all quiet now as I walk down the halls but I cannot wait to open the doors on a new school year! There is always something to be said by the smiles I will see in a few weeks, and that is how I will measure our success. Peace in the new school year.