Culture Builder/Culture Protector

This summer I spent a lot of time reading, reflecting and trying to find my "purpose." It was quite a process, as it required me to really go beyond "surface" answers such as to be the best principal or best person I can be each day. I believe I am still reflecting today on this question, but I do believe I now know my true purpose. My true purpose is to be a culture builder and culture protector....let me explain. 

I firmly believe culture matters. Culture can inspire. Culture can promote kindness. Culture can change lives for the better. As a staff at THE Heritage Middle School, we spent time at our summer retreat talking about what matters to us as a school staff. It boiled down to 3 things.... Passion, Purpose and Partnerships. If we can share our passion for kids each day, if we can LIVE our purpose out each day in the classroom and if we can develop positive and meaningful partnerships with our school community, our kids will experience growth and success in all they do. 

At the beginning of each school year, as most schools do, we have class meetings. However, our class meetings do not center on what kids, "can and can not do"; We do not go over the "rules" rather we spend time talking about what it means to be a student at THE Heritage. We believe it is a tremendous privilege to be a part of this school. We share with the students that we have one "rule." When that one rule is followed not only will you have a great year, but you will leave THE Heritage better than you found it. That one rule comes from a book I read a few years ago from Duke University Men’s Basketball Coach K in his book Leading with Heart. It states, “Don't do anything that is detrimental to yourself, because if it's detrimental to you it is detrimental to our team." Now as you can imagine we had to explain this a bit further to our middle schoolers. We did this by talking about daily actions and behaviors. We do this through our PRIDE acronym (P-Perseverance, R-Respect, I- Integrity, D- Dependability, Enthusiasm), our Start a Legacy theme, our "21 Ways to be a Great Teammate" (Jon Gordon), and our work on a growth mindset. 

As we were sharing our passions and our beliefs with the students, a good friend and colleague stopped in and listened to our discussion. After the meeting was over, he approached me and said, "Would you consider yourself a culture builder or culture protector?" I paused and said, "Can I say both?"  It was at that moment that my summer reflections and my search for my true purpose were revealed so clearly. So thank you, Brian Lidle for helping me identify my true purpose. 

Culture is never accomplished, that is why I responded the way I did to Brian. I firmly believe it is a relentless pursuit to leave the world better than you found it. Recently we had the great fortune of working with two amazing people to continue our journey toward a growth mindset. Mark Tremayne and Sharon Esswein are two of the most genuine people I have ever known. They LIVE with purpose and passion. They spent 2 days working with our students on the power of the growth mindset. They shared that if students and adults will embrace this notion of a growth mindset, we can change the world. I believe that. We at THE Heritage MS believe that. Our passion and purpose, in the words of Will Smith are, "We want to do good. We want the world to be better because we were in it!" We want our students to know, these messages are not about school and they are not about sports. Rather, these messages are about life! If we can instill these values into our students, there is nothing they can't accomplish. We WILL change the world - TOGETHER. 

References:

Leading with Heart - http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Heart-Successful-Strategies-Basketball/dp/0446676780

Growth Mindset – Carol Dweck - http://www.mindsetonline.com/

Jon Gordon - http://hardhat21.com/

Will Smith – http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=will+smith+growth+mindset+clip+youtube&FORM=VIRE8 - view=detail&mid=18F1FACE7F1E9AB44FB318F1FACE7F1E9AB44FB3