Born to Rise by Deborah Kenny

I first heard about Deborah Kenny on FB when I saw that a colleague (Darren Beck) had "liked" her and the short blurp about her said she was successful with low-income learners in Harlem.  That fascinated me so I did a google search on her and found that she had written the book Born to Rise.  Decided to use the last of the money on my Barnes and Noble card that I received last Christmas and buy it.  What a gift!

She mentions people in her book that have had an impact on me.  People such as Martin Seligman, Marian Wright Edelman, Geoffrey Canada, James Comer, Peter Drucker (kaizen--The Japanese concept of workers continually improving the organization), Chester Finn, Ted Sizer, Debbie Meier, Viktor Frankl

Some great quotes from her book:

• "Revolutions need to be bottom-up."
• "Education is not about developing products.  It's about developing people."

Developing Products:
Get "Buy-In"/ Sell Product
Support Product Implementation
Quality Control/ Compliance

Developing People:
Empower People
Develop & Support People
Accountability                               

• "We will never fix education in America by trying to figure out the single best product design, then imposing it on teachers and mandating their compliance.  We need to stop dictating teaching methods and curriculum.  Instead, we need to figure out how to cultivate the passion and talent of teachers." 
• "There is only one common element of excellent schools.  Talented people who are exceptionally motivated."
• "To me, teaching was not a job, it was a sacred mission--and I wanted to hire people who felt the same way."
• "whatever it takes"
• About a classroom she visited:  "And the books!  ... there were books displayed everywhere in the room, covering every possible surface:  books on windowsills, books on the chalk trays, books on top of cabinets, books absolutely everywhere!"
• "the students should do the intellectual heavy lifting"
• About a classroom she visited:  "Nick didn't need songs to help him 'make math interesting' or fun, because he made the math itself interesting."
• "At Starbucks, I noticed their small chalkboards with the daily coffee specials handwritten in colored chalk.  It was a nice touch that gave customers a warm and welcoming feeling.  That inspired me to buy a few little chalkboards to place at our entrance with welcome messages, a word of  the day, and quote of the week."
• "I brought in my collection of CDs so our students would be exposed to Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and other classical composers during arrival, dismissal and transitions--so much better than those jarring school bells."
• "I felt strongly that incentives and consequences were not the best way to influence behavior...And the most important preventive discipline strategy of all was an interesting, challenging, and well-planned lesson." 
• "Repetition is education." 
• "It occurred to me that any school principal who didn't enjoy a picnic with parents and students was in the wrong profession."
• "We wanted to inspire students to read for pleasure; improve their vocabulary; and catch them up to grade level."
• "Let's get all our kids to fall in love with reading!"
• "I had convened an optional Friday literacy meeting, open to all teachers, principals, and academic directors, in which we talked about everything from comprehension and vocabulary to writing and grammar.  We read books and articles, hired experts, observed other schools, and shared ideas."
• "...we want to teach above the test."
• The management philosophy of a corporate leader:  "It's people and culture--all the results follow from there...Culture is about how people feel at work."
• "I realized that I had to stop wanting everything to be perfect."
• "Our teachers became their best selves once we learned how to develop a culture that brought out the passion and best performance in each person."
• "...three aspects of culture:  teamwork, learning, and ownership."
• "Culture is a fragile ecosystem.  It is impossible to nurture a positive culture without the right to hire and fire at will, and to do so freely based not just on performance but also on values.  Leaders need to be completely free to build teams of people who are committed to our shared values and will support one another."
• "Our approach to professional development is based on the Japanese practice of kounaikenshuu,in which teachers collaborate to continually improve all aspects of the school." 
• "A culture of learning is when a community of knowledge workers is empowered and inspired to continually learn and develop as professionals."
• "We all need to be the culture." 
• "Negativity has disproportionate influence...Negativity is dominant." 
• "Talented people drive results, innovate, and push past obstacles.  And talented people, working togther, can turn idealistic visions and even the most challenging goals into reality."