Episode Details

Jethro Jones, host of the show, counts down the ten things he put into practice in 2017 after interviewing guests such as Adam Pisoni, Tom Hierck, Zaretta Hammond and David Smith. It reads as a list of best practices for principals, each with a clip from the original interview.

The most concrete result: after Tom Hierck said he had yet to meet a connected kid who disappoints, Jethro stood with his arms out and waited 30 seconds while a student who had thrown trash in the cafeteria decided to clean it up. The student did it, and Jethro credits the relationship they had built.

What you'll learn

• Ask what prevents your school from iterating, as Adam Pisoni did, then work on those blockers on purpose.
• Set a daily goal for classrooms visited, even five minutes in three of them, and send the teacher an email about what you saw.
• Build the relationship with a student first, then give that student time to fix the mistake.
• Use trust generators such as selective vulnerability, like the teacher who taped her eighth grade photo to her desk.
• Draw a line between work and home so you are home when you are home.

Chapters

• 1:13 Fix the master schedule with Adam Pisoni
• 5:11 Jethro's four-year plan and flexible learning block
• 11:04 Tom Hierck on positive relationships and connected kids
• 17:02 Self-care and passion over career readiness
• 21:32 Spend time in every classroom with David Smith
• 25:40 Daily routines and an earlier bedtime
• 28:50 Trust generators with Zaretta Hammond
• 32:19 Impacting 100 million students in ten years

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Questions this episode answers

How can a principal find time to visit classrooms every day?
David Smith suggests deciding that you will spend time in classrooms every week and setting that time aside. One principal told her secretary not to disturb her while she visited. Jethro set a goal of three classrooms a day, even if only for five minutes on busy days.

How do you build trust with students and teachers quickly?
Zaretta Hammond says leaders can use trust generators. One is selective vulnerability: you share something about yourself and others usually share back. She tells of a teacher who taped her eighth grade photo to her desk, and her students then shared their own struggles.

What can a principal do when a student breaks a rule?
Tom Hierck says he has yet to meet a kid who is connected who disappoints. Jethro worked on relationships and found it true: when a student threw trash in the cafeteria, a gesture and 30 seconds of patience was enough for him to clean it up.

Links and resources

• Schedule a call with Jethro
• Top 10 podcasts of 2017
• Adam Pisoni on the scheduling nightmare
• Enjoy the Journey with Jethro Jones
• Tom Hierck: change behavior, not people
• Tom Hierck: rules and classroom lawyers
• What I wish I knew as a first-year principal
• End College and Career Readiness
• Facebook post with Darren