How YOU, WE, and I can build positive school culture.

In the words of Junie B. Jones, "Wowwy, wow, wow, wow!" I've just finished reading The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor which is a must-read for anyone and everyone. The book addresses the importance of positive psychology and the fact that each and every one of us is responsible for our own morale. This is no longer opinion as once thought but it is now a fact as Shawn highlights in research throughout his book. It is my hope to provide you with my favorite take-a-ways in this blog entry.

Shawn sets the stage by providing the research behind the idea that if we all focus on ourselves and work on our own mindsets, we can all be positive contributors to our environments. He lays out seven principles to work on in an effort to create a more positive self. 

1. The Happiness Advantage

As with anything we want to be good at, it takes practice. Being happy is no different. We have to work on it and be intentional about that work. A couple of ways that I’ve applied this principle are as follows:

• A Positive Note
• Three Points of Appreciation

A Positive Note

Each day I find someone in my contact list and send them a message of gratitude. Here is one such message: “I know you don’t text but I need to get something off my chest. So, I thought I’d text some kind words as you start your hunting excursion. Thanks for being such a great uncle and one we should all strive to be. You would literally do anything at anytime for anyone. I know from first hand experience as you’ve come to my rescue in the past. You’re pretty special and I’m certainly beyond happy that my aunt found you. You’re a good man. It was great seeing you yesterday. Lots of love to you Uncle.”

By doing this each day, it sets a tone of positivity and assists me in seeing the positives that we encounter throughout our lives and often take for granted. In many cases, we allow the negative things we’ve experienced in life to overshadow the positives.

Three Points of Appreciation

Every day I close out with a reflection period. During this brief time I reflect on the days happenings and identify three things that occurred in which I find appreciation. For me, thinking about them is not enough so I write them down. By taking that action, it further develops my appreciation. Here is one example as written on August 8, 2022.

1. I’m thankful for a tremendous family and the outstanding family reunion we hosted over the weekend. 125+ family members joined us at our place to celebrate our aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and all others.
2. The fact that mom is still alive and is hanging out at our place this week is something worth appreciating. I am really happy about the fact that mom hung out with the girls today as well albeit it was their third trip to Walmart 😜.
3. I’m appreciating the work that I’m engaging in here at Willmar Public Schools and the relationships being built. 

In order to be effective with principle 1, The Happiness Advantage, you must commit to working on it and putting in the practice. Each of you will go about this differently. For me, sending a positive note through text message was easy as its generally how I start my day. The daily reflection was difficult to remember so now I’ve just added it to my daily calendar as a reminder. It is pretty amazing to look back on the past 60 days and see all of things positive in my life. Give these a shot, I’m certain you’ll find joy in the work.

2. The Fulcrum and the Lever

This principle highlights the fact that we can control the way we see the world and the events we’ve experienced. We can also control the way we react to events. We’ve probably all heard the phrase, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” In many cases, we’ve probably all bought that as truth. However, research continues to support the idea that mindsets can be molded throughout our lifetime. The possibility of achieving a growth mindset is up to each individual.

The author describes this principle using a teeter totter as an example. The closer you move the fulcrum to give the positive side of seeing the advantage, the move likely your mind will develop negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Mr. Achor also points out the fact that we can’t look at things through rose colored classes but should view the world through rose tinted glasses. Here is one quick example I can use to illustrate this situation.

As a district leader during the COVID-19 pandemic it was challenging to balance all of the perspectives while maintaining positivity about the work we were called to do. I spent a lot of time with other superintendents throughout the state discussing the trials and tribulations we were facing. This was a challenging time and extremely challenging to remain positive. 

However, I continued to focus on the idea that our district administrators had access to all of the information needed to make an informed decision. That information included, MDH and CDC guidance, calls with Governor Walz, legislators, health professionals, survey data, family input, staff input, student input, and many other sources. That information drove our decision making. When people were frustrated and airing their concerns on social media, via email, and in other venues, it was hard to stay positive. During those situations it was important to assume positive intent as those individuals only had a portion of the information and were doing what they thought was right. By assuming positive intent and moving the fulcrum, I was able to use the lever to more easily maintain a positive outlook.

3. The Tetris Effect

Many of you have played the game Tetris and after extensive amounts of time playing have taken a break, or so you thought. You may have walked away from the game and found that everything you looked at comprised of those Tetris blocks. This may happen to Dr. Mario players or even those folks that have engaged in some Clash Royale play. You just cannot get away from it! This is called the Tetris Effect and can be applied in the workplace but leveraged for positivity.

What researchers have found is that if you’re looking for something, you’ll eventually find it. It is likely that each of us have encountered a situation we did not like and found things to poke holes at. Although some of that is important, generally speaking we need to move forward with skepticism but find the positives in the change. Again, we can apply this to our experiences with COVID-19 as outlined below.

Negatives:

1. Distance learning did not work for most of our students.
2. Zoom was not effective for all students as a learning platform.
3. The pandemic created hostility in our school communities as there were disagreements with quarantining, masking, and different learning platforms.

Positives:

1. Distance learning did work for some of our students and we learned that there are some opportunities for educational growth.
2. Zoom was effective for some students as a learning platform and was also recognized as a platform for enhance community engagement and involvement.
3. The pandemic created wonderful opportunities for community engagement and collaboration which allowed for trust building and strengthening of school and community partnerships.

The examples above clearly provide evidence that if you look for something, you’ll find it. In order to build a positive school culture, each of us is responsible for finding the positive, with caution, in all things educational related. Start with positive intent.

4. Falling Up

John Wooden, the famous basketball coach from UCLA firmly believed that if he focused on his internal locus of control, his teams would be successful. He was correct. His teams won 10 NCAA titles under his leadership. Essentially, he focused on what he could control and spent no time on what others controlled.

This happens all the time in the world of education. Since I’ve exhausted the COVID-19 pandemic I’ll jump into Minnesota’s World’s Best Workforce Legislation. As much as we’d like, school personnel cannot control the legislature but what we can control is our response to legislation. The more time we spend critiquing legislation, the less time we spend moving our learning organizations forward. 

When the World’s Best Workforce Legislation was released in Minnesota after the 2013 legislative session, our team at the time spent a lot of time discussing its downfalls. We did catch ourselves and started to focus on how we would work to improve the five critical areas covered by this new legislation:

1. All students are kindergarten ready.
2. All third graders can read at grade level.
3. All achievement gaps are closed.
4. All students are career and college ready.
5. All students graduate from high school.

These five areas are critical and we could have spent more time discussing the weaknesses in the new legislation, however, it was outside of our internal locus of control. We all benefit when we focus on what we can control. In this case, our own mindsets.

5. The Zorro Circle

The Zorro Circle consists of focusing on what you can control and then drawing a small circle around those items to begin chipping away to completion. In the workplace and in family life it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the responsibilities. Some of those things we control and others we do not. The Zorro Circle brings focus to the work.

I’ll use some a real world example to convey this concept. Our school district is facing a budget shortfall and needs to make some decisions in the very near future. Items to consider:

1. Determination of a final number for reductions and when those decisions need to be finalized and then backward design from there. (Internal Locus of Control)

2. Determination of whether an operating levy will be sought. If so, determine dollar amount and tax impacts on different options for the board to choose and create a marketing plan. (Internal Locus of Control)

3. Consider potential special session and upcoming funding session (External Locus of Control). Create assumptions about special session and upcoming funding session (Internal Locus of Control).

4. Develop marketing and campaigning strategies for potential operating levy (Internal Locus of Control).

In the interest of time, we’ll cut the list at those four. As I look at what to pursue, I’ll eliminate anything that is designated as an external locus of control, those things in which we do not control. From there, I’ll prioritize little by little. The first priority would be to determine what dollar amount will be reduced and the development of a timeline and engagement strategies. From there, we should begin gathering data for tax impacts and different funding levels and develop a timeline and marketing strategies. In order to maintain positivity in chaotic times, we must move forward, step by step.

6. The 20-Second Rule

The theory here is that most of us take the path of least resistance. All too often the easy way out is to choose the negative path or mindset because many folks do. It’s easier because you don’t have to defend your positive thoughts. However, in order to change this, we need to take steps to be intentional about being positive and developing our mindset of positivity.

An example provided by the author is to schedule and develop a process for providing recognition and thanks. Put in your calendar a timeframe to write a thank you note to someone and then schedule a time to deliver it. In addition, schedule a time to publicly recognize this person. Repeat, repeat, repeat until it becomes your new practice. Research supports that is takes 21 days to make a habit. Do this 21 days in a row and it will become part of your new professional practice. Give it a try.

7. Social Investment

The more socially involved you are with family, friends, and colleagues, the more positive one becomes. Yes, even for those introverts who believe isolation makes them happy. For introverts, being introverted is what they’ve practiced. Practice makes perfect and practicing socializing will assist them in being more social and over time will lead to more positivity.

Social interactions provide benefits to the family, to your friends, and to your colleagues. This doesn’t mean attending large gatherings and working the room. It simply means making social connections whether they are check-ins with a friend you haven’t connected with in while or stopping by to chat with a parent. Being social means engaging in communication activities with others while building on foundational relationships. Connecting with others is good for the soul.

These are only a few highlights from this outstanding book. Although I’ve provided you with a good understanding of the principles of the Happiness Advantage, I still encourage you to read this book from cover to cover. Positive psychology is still rather new in the world of research and the more each of us can learn about our abilities to take responsibility for our mindsets, the better our learning organizations will come. We’re all in this together, let’s all do our part. This is how YOU, WE, and I can build positive school culture.

Living the Mission

In July 2022 Aaron Pilarski, Willmar’s Director of Buildings and Grounds earned his Building Operator Certification. The initial certification earned is classified as Level I which consisted of 74 hours of classroom training in buildings and operations, seven open-book tests, and five project assignments.

Continuing education is a critical function of all our positions here at Willmar Public Schools. We are proud of Aaron's accomplishment and sincerely appreciate his modeling of a commitment to lifelong learning. The mission of the Willmar Public School District is to inspire and prepare all learners for their future in our community and the world. Aaron's accomplishment is a true example of living our district's mission. Congratulations Aaron!