If someone had told me in 2004 when I started teaching with Beth Houf that one day she would receive the National Principal of the Year award, I would have wholeheartedly reacted with, “Of course she will.” There was something unique about my amazing friend and mentor that stood out even then. Her level of talent, passion for education, and fight to do what is right for kids were and always will be remarkable.
When I was recently in Washington DC, for the famous first pitch at the Nationals game, I found myself explaining to several principals how I know Beth. What I realized is that I seem to tell the same story, that I started my career with her before moving back to Massachusetts, that she was hard to keep up with, and that we planned everything together and had a blast. Yet I usually don’t go into much detail. As I thought more deeply about what I would say if I did, it hit me hard that the lessons I learned in the first two years of my career drive me today even more than I realized. So I will do my best to capture them in this post.
Strive to be a Forever Learner
If you know Beth, you know she reads at warp speed and takes it all in. Her hunger for knowledge even years ago was contagious. Her lessons were always based on research and best practices as she was not only reading, but attending conferences and pushing herself to present (and convincing me to join her!). I learned from Beth the importance of soaking up and sharing ideas and stories to grow, connect, and enrich our lives as well as the lives of others. As someone who did not like to read as a child, I learned to find the joy as we were constantly reading and discussing books with students to expand their world and ours. “Yo Yes?!” was certainly a favorite and I still read it today.
Make Students Leading the Norm
When we have the perspective that we are meant to learn and not only teach, it opens the doors to empowering our students and colleagues to lead with us and to even lead us. Every time I visit Fulton, Missouri and pass by the speed limit sign in front of the school in which we taught, I am blown away by the fact that our students convinced the town to lower it. Beth could not only whip up a lesson plan like nobody’s business, she was exceptional at challenging students to use their strengths and passions to make meaningful contributions, to lead change. Whether it was being on the budget, research, or poster committees, or even presenting at the town meeting, every student found a role and led together. As you can imagine, students were invested to show up and so were we.
Honor the Unique Stories of Others
I would show up at school many mornings before Beth. I was there too much, putting unnecessary pressure on myself. She would come into school after taking care of Paul, who is now a senior but was just a baby then, an adorable one. One day she was running late and had some spit-up on her shirt. I’m pretty sure I talked her ear off about school, asked her questions, and most likely drove her a little crazy. I am not exactly sure when I realized this, but it was a wake-up call to tune into the idea that we are all coming from a different place. If our drive to do well surpasses our empathy for each other, we need to call ourselves out and do better. I would like to say this is what I did soon after and it certainly helped me in future moments to catch myself, take a step back, and honor those in front of me.
When You Can, Have a Crazy Good Time
I believe that Beth was always a PIRATE. Whether we were hyping up classrooms jobs which of course came with applications, asking students to act out the cardiovascular system, dancing to our “line up” music (I can still hear the songs), putting on musicals, dressing up as museum curators, or throwing rolled up socks at each other to make up for not having a snow day (and so much more!), we had FUN. We also made time to socialize outside of school, including a Sunday night ritual of planning and watching the Sopranos. And there is a whole lot of fun in traveling to conferences with your colleagues. We may have never discovered our passion for sushi, Thai food, and playing the same math game over and over for hours.
Take Care of Your People
Beth taught me that hugging students, helping them after school, pulling small groups as often as it took to help them succeed, and making time to talk with them one on one were all invaluable. She took care of her students, inspired me to do the best I could to take care of mine, and she certainly took care of me. So when I was nervous about walking into my first classroom stocked with big old Mac computers, a Smartboard, and a document camera, her outlook was simply “Don’t worry. You’ll learn and I’ll help you.” This is where my passion for technology began.
Today, as a veteran educator, I know with every ounce of my being that what I learned during my adventure in the classroom with Beth remains a huge part of who I am. I developed a passion for reading, writing, learning new ideas, and attending and presenting at conferences. Co-designing experiences with students and colleagues is why I show up and I am incredibly passionate about student leadership. Valuing the stories of my colleagues and students is at the heart of my work every day and I love to use technology to elevate their voices. I absolutely love any time I have with my colleagues inside and outside of school and I look forward to every outing we have. I care deeply about the kids and adults I work with and am unafraid to have fun, be human, and be there for them however I can.
We always hear that a future president of the United States could be sitting in our classroom. This statement holds so much power and inspires us to honor every student, their contributions, and their potential. Writing this post has reminded me to do the same for our colleagues. If the teacher next door can become one of the most recognized educational leaders in the country, we should probably be talking to them as much as possible! And why not the colleagues down the hall and those on the other side of our buildings. I try to do this as much as I can but admittedly there are people I never see and I need to do better. It might just change us. We might just change each other.
Beth, you will only continue to do big things and I couldn’t possibly be prouder of you, but a part of me will always see you as that teacher next door and I will always be grateful for the lessons you taught me.
It took one person to encourage me to write my first blog post and since then, I have decided to keep writing about anything I’m truly inspired by. This led to writing a Lead Like a PIRATE series guidebook, Lead beyond Your Title: Creating Change in School From Any Role.
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