C4T #2 - John Bernia

My second C4T is the blog of middle school principal Mr. Bernia. His blog is aptly named The Principal's Principles. I read his blog post titled Compliance or Creativity? In this post he discusses the difference between these two environments. In an environment of compliance there are strict guidelines and rules to be followed. When these rules are not followed, there are consequences, and there is no doubt about who is in charge. He says this environment "stifles ideas and is often toxic." Conversely, in an environment of creativity, there are some timelines and deadlines to meet, but as a whole, educators are allowed to collaborate and use their professional judgment. This is Mr. Bernia's preferred method of leading -- leading with colloboration. He argues that in this way he is creating a culture that "creates innovation and is a place where elite professionals want to work." I would have to agree with Mr. Bernia. I took the time to visit his twitter page, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that he is a leader who is completely engaged with the students and teachers of his school. He certainly practices what he preaches. My only comment was to emphasize the importance of trust in this type of environment. The administration needs to be able to trust that the teachers are using their professional judgment. I believe that Mr. Bernia's involvement in the day to day happenings of his school has helped to build this immense trust that he has in his teachers.

Mr. Bernia's most recent blog post is titled Attendance Matters. In this brief post, he points out the importance of student attendance. Teachers cannot teach students who do not come to school. He quotes Woody Allen who said, "80% of success is showing up." While there is not a lot that educators can do to physically get children into the doors, Mr. Bernia challenges teachers to ask themselves three questions.
          - Do you foster an environment that makes students want to come to school?
          - Do you monitor and follow up to find out why students are not attending?
          - When you discover issues that are hindering student attendance, do you address them, or do you place blame on the student who is not showing up?
One thing that teachers absolutely do have the power to do is to instill in their students the importance of coming to school. If teachers can make children want to come to school and if they can show them how important it is to learn, they can help to keep the attendance numbers up.