Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

In this conversation, we hear from elementary school principal Dr. Melissa "Missie" Patschke, a leader who instinctively gets how you build capacity in others. This interview is part of our "Unstuck" series, which focuses on school leaders who are not just getting unstuck, they're already "unstuck." They're doing things better, not just differently, not just as part of the most recent trend, but because they want to increase the likelihood that they can achieve desired outcomes on behalf of their students.

This week we chatted with Assistant Superintendent Constantino "Costa" Aquilar regarding his district's now six-year shift to broaden its students' post high school opportunities. The district's shift is remarkable not only for its scope, but also because of the extensive communication that fosters it. We dug deeper into that idea of communication by looking at an ongoing process of adaptation and change in a forest where "communication" is required for survival

In this interview, "Costa" Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of the Merced Union High School District details the shift his district started six years ago. This interview is part of our "Unstuck" series, which focuses on school leaders who are not just getting unstuck, they're already "unstuck." They're doing things better, not just differently, not just as part of the most recent trend, but because they want to increase the likelihood that they can achieve desired outcomes on behalf of their students.

This week we enjoyed getting an update from Principal JoAnne Duncan. JoAnne first appeared on our show last October. She impressed us with how she tried to simplify her staff's approach to managing COVID by keeping them focused on what they could control. We extended the idea of simple through the work of Carl Richards, a certified financial planner. Richards has a knack for recasting complex ideas as simple illustrations with a few strokes of a felt-tip marker and paper no bigger than a napkin.

We aired our first interview with Principal JoAnne Duncan in October 2020. With that challenge staring this young principal in the face, we focused our conversation on leadership. If her leadership could be boiled down to one word, it would have to be "caring." With the challenging year of COVID somewhat in the rearview mirror, we caught up with JoAnne and asked her to reflect on what guided her this past year and provide some guidance to educators who will again be facing a challenging school year.

Today we welcome someone working on the frontline of education. Elementary school principal, JoAnne Duncan, is a big-hearted, inspirational leader – just what her staff, kids, and parents need as they labor under the cloud of COVID-19. Before she became a principal, JoAnne served as a first grade teacher, kindergarten teacher, and reading specialist. She believes in the brilliance of each child and knows firsthand that when we follow a child's curiosity and interests, joyful, deep learning happens.

This week we talked with Dr. Deb Gustafson on how she is again applying Jim Collins' flywheel principle, this time as an Assistant Superintendent, to develop a district office staff that relentlessly focuses on supporting its teachers so that they can in turn relentlessly focus on supporting their kids. We extended that idea of having a disciplined mindset through Essentialism author, Greg McKeown's discussion of setting a priority versus priorities by asking the question "What's Important Now?"

We first spoke with Dr. Deborah Gustafson in December 2019 about how she had applied Jim Collins' principle of the flywheel to her work as an elementary school principal. She wanted to focus on those practices that would move the dial for her kids. Academically, yes, but even more important was the need for her kids to believe in themselves. Therefore, hiring people who were instinctively wired to support kids was essential. COVID has only intensified the need to stay focused and hire the right people.

One of the problems that plague most organizations is when and how to change. For many, the process looks like fruit-of-the-month club: they try "this" until a new "this" comes along. Jim Collins wrote about this behavior in Good to Great. To avoid this phenomenon, great organizations employ something Collins called "the flywheel" process – a process involving 4-6 elements with each element impacting driving the next. One educator, Dr. Deb Gustafson, wondered if it would work in her school.

This week we talked with three guests on the idea of unstructured play for children. One of our guests, Hannah Beach, describes "unstructured play" as invented activities from the mind of a child. Unlike adult-organized activities or technology-driven entertainment, unstructured play gives kids the opportunity to digest and make sense of their world and ultimately to grow as humans. If opportunities for unstructured play are critical for kids' sound mental health, are they also critical for adults?