Inside the Launch Window

I am one of approximately 3 million people in America living with Crohn’s Disease.

After years of skating by with mostly good health, my system started to flare up again in early 2011.

At the time, my gastroenterologist had tried several rounds of tests and medications only to find that nothing was working to combat the inflammation.

The news came in a follow-up appointment after I was sent to the emergency room because a routine colonoscopy went sideways. “I will continue to treat you locally,” he said to me, “but I need guidance from someone who has experience working with more complex cases like yours.”

He then referred me to a colleague affiliated with Mount Sinai hospital in New York.

To make a long story short, I saw his colleague in the city. I needed surgery. I was told after the fact that the inflammation in a large section of my small intestine was so bad that I was perhaps months away from a far more scary health situation.

Flash forward to the present day… I am much better now. Since my surgery in 2012, the medications that had originally done nothing seem to be working. I am still being treated by my local gastroenterologist who frequently consults with my doctor in the city any time he has a question regarding my care.

I will never leave him.

The truth is that I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he did. He knew his limitations, and in his focus on doing what was best for me, his patient, he referred me to a colleague who he knew could do better.

Had he led with his pride rather than what was best for me overall, it’s quite possible that my story would have a different outcome.

I often tell this story when speaking of those qualities of leadership that I think are most important. One is our ability to recognize our shortcomings and ask for help.

How many leaders have I worked with… how many leaders have YOU worked with… would just assume sweep their shortcomings under the rug and move forward pretending that they didn’t exist?

But I think the real point of this metaphor is to illustrate the power of collaboration.

We are now moving into week nine of remote instruction here in New York State. As time passes, I’m learning that school districts all over Long Island have had vastly different approaches in navigating the shift from brick-and-mortar instruction to working in an online environment. Suffice it to say, some are doing as well as can be expected, some are doing more, and some are doing less.

What is needed, more than ever, is collaboration. At all levels. Especially in the glaring absence of straightforward guidance from central powers such as the State Education Department.

I often hear Governor Cuomo referencing that many decisions about remote instruction are to be left with the local school districts. Ironically, this is the same governor who pointed out shortcomings in leadership coming from the federal government and worked to form a coalition of northeast governors to make somewhat of a shared decision-making team for our states.

There is an opportunity, at every level, to do better through collaboration. And I think that there is a huge missed opportunity on the part of the State Education Department and even, to an extent, our local BOCES, to make opportunities for collaboration much easier through the power of leadership and organization. Perhaps that’s a topic for another blog post.

In this moment, wherever we all are in the pecking order of the educational system, we need to find that important quality of leadership within ourselves. We all need to acknowledge our shortcomings and identify those people who we know can do better, and we need to reach out to those people and ask for help.

Teachers should not be working in isolation trying to figure out how to use a technological tool they’ve never seen before. Curriculum leaders should not miss out on opportunities to reach out to colleagues in other areas for frank discussion about successes and shortcomings of our practice. A central administrator shouldn’t exist as an island, but instead consult with a wide range of stakeholders to establish a three hundred and sixty degree view of what is, what should be, and what could be.

Now more than ever, it’s important for all of us to look for and to acknowledge our shortcomings and ask for help.

Today, May 11th, we should all be acutely aware that there is a very real chance that school will not be able to open “business as usual” in September. This realization should serve as a call to action for all of us working in brick-and-mortar schools: What are we doing TODAY that will prepare ourselves for whatever happens then? With whom will we collaborate to make the best decisions?

Teacher leaders – What will you do today to improve your craft should you need to teach online in September? Who will you ask for help?

Department leaders – What will you do today to ensure that the teachers with whom you work have the professional development and resources that they need to do this effectively? Who will you ask for help?

Building and District leaders – What will you do today to improve equity among the families in your district to ensure all have the ability to connect and engage in a virtual classroom environment? Who will you ask for help?

Parent leaders – What will you do today to prepare your children for success in this model moving forward? Who will you ask for help?

My hometown gastroenterolgist is a great guy. He’s treated me well for ten years and counting. I will stay with him until he decides to retire.

Why? Not because he’s the best at everything on his own, but because he is better through collaboration with others in his field.