Episode Details

This week Jen Schwanke and Will Parker share updates from their work, travels and lives. They talk about Will’s dad who passed away recently, and they share updates (including changes from last week’s announcements) on the professional development each of them is participating in over the summer.

In addition, they share lessons related to the three R’s from Dr. Bill Daggett, the founder of the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). Dr. Daggett is well known for his research on Model Schools. He shares that effective schools display three R’s: Rigor, Relevance and Relationship in the way students engage with learning (Dewitt, 2012). 

Listen-in to the entire conversation as Jen and Will both tell stories about their dads, and how your service in leadership is leaving a lasting legacy for others. 

Will also references a book by Emily Paschall, Eyes on Culture: Multiply Excellence in Your School. Listen to his interview with the author here.

Find out more about Will’s services through Principal Matters here.

Stay connected with Jen’s work here.

Below is a full post of the story Will shares to set up this week’s conversation:

Leaders Digging Deeper with the Three “R’s”

By William D. Parker

When I was growing up, we enjoyed a spring-fed creek that flowed below the woods near our house. In the summer, you could wade into the water on the hottest day, and you’d still be startled by the frigid cold.

We had a trail marked from our house and through the woods to this area we called the swamp. The cool waters were filled with lily pads that bloomed yellow blossoms all summer, and an open space was our place for swimming and fishing. A large oak tree stood at the base of the trail that followed the water’s edge. It was at the bottom of this oak where my father dug earthen steps that led to a source of water flowing directly under the bank and into the boggy waters beyond. 

When we first moved there, my father took a shovel and began digging in this spot below the oak and its bank. With the mud removed, he soon found a layer of golden sand. Here my father dug three feet in depth and four to five feet in diameter. Together we cleared the mud and leaves around the hole and placed rocks and bricks around the edges to form a small pool. Then we dug a small trench for overflowing water from the small pool to drift away into the swampy creek bed. 

The next day, we returned and found the small pool a glistening clear basin of spring water. Dad brought a small aluminum drinking dipper that he hung from the nearest tree. The spring became the place where we dipped water into a thermos jug we would carry back to the house for drinking water. After my dad installed plumbing in our home, the spring was still our favorite place to go for a special drink.

One day in my 7th grade class at school, my teacher, Mr. Adams was reading a poem that contained a line about water. Although I cannot remember its title or author, the poem said something about water’s lack of taste, and my teacher paused to emphasize the writer’s meaning. 

“As you know,” he said, “Water doesn’t have a taste. So the author is making the point here that this moment or experience must have had little or no meaning for him.” 

I raised my hand.

“Yes, William?”

“Well,” I said, “I don’t agree. You see, when we drink water from the spring back home, it has the freshest and most wholesome taste of any water I’ve ever had.”

Mr. Adams paused to p