One More Thing...

Steve Jobs: Quirks

I was reading recently about Steve Jobs, the brilliant co-founder of Apple.  Jobs had a quirky personality, which allowed him to look at the world differently than most of us and undoubtedly contributed to his incredible success. One of his quirks, which may reflect his sense of humor and showmanship as well, is he would often end his annual product introduction speeches by saying, “Oh yeah, there’s one more thing….”  At this point he would proceed to introduce something spectacular: the iPod, the Mac Book Pro, the iPad, or the iPhone.

The “one more thing” was actually “the thing.”  Over time, people identified this pattern and would wait in anticipation for the “end” knowing something big was still coming along.

HSE: Not Again

Unfortunately, in education “one more thing” doesn’t generate nearly as much excitement.  In fact, the usual response is a groan followed by protestations that we are still trying to figure out the last “one more thing.”  This is certainly understandable.

Look at the list of “one more things” we have going right now: Common Core State Standards; Curriculum Mapping, including Scope and Sequence; Teacher Evaluation and Development System; adding new Dual Credit Courses; School Expansion; and now we are moving forward on the 1:1 initiative.  This last initiative means you will be getting iPads and Apple TV next year.  As great as that is, it is also “one more thing.”  (See why I was thinking about Steve Jobs?)

Steve Jobs: A Unified Philosophy

The following is what Cliff Kuang, who works for NBC News, says about Steve Jobs:

Jobs was both lucky and smart in that all of the lessons he got were additive — that is, you could fit them all together in a single, coherent design philosophy. Compare that to what happens when you engage with someone who has definite opinions about design, but no real philosophy behind it: It's a maddening experience because the definition of what works and what doesn't, what's good and what's not, can change so often in different circumstances. I'd argue that this has been the chief failing of most consumer electronics makers: There's no deep-seated ideology behind their designs, so the products themselves never feel linked by what Jobs liked to call "soul."

If you are an avid Apple fan, you may have experience this intangible thing that links Apple products.  All of the products have different designs and purposes, but they are bound together by the “coherent design philosophy,” the soul that Jobs referenced.

HSE: Our Soul is Student Learning

In education, we do not always feel the soul, the thing that links all the new “one more things” together in a unified whole.  Maybe that is because we don’t have the time or take the time to intentionally make the connections and see the links.  Perhaps we miss the coherent design philosophy of where we are going.  Let me try to make a few connections with the list of “one more things” from above:

If everything we do is about improving student learning….

• Common Core State Standards, the new dual credit classes, and the Curriculum Maps clarify for us the content of our instruction: the What.

• The Scope and Sequence documents clarify the When.

• The school expansion project gives us the Where.

• The 1:1 initiative and the Teacher Evaluation and Development System give us tools and help with How and ensures continual growth.

Without a doubt, these individual initiatives feel like one more thing.  In no way am I trying to dismiss how overwhelming this can feel.  I am, however, making the argument that these “things” are linked.  Each one can be seen as a step of the same journey toward improved student learning.

Steve Jobs when asked about his approach to life said:

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.  So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future.  You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.  This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I think we can connect the dots.  We can get a glimpse of how these things do connect and will connect in the future.  If our soul is improved student learning, we are on the right path.

Have a great week, Southeastern.

Phil

One more thing from Steve Jobs….

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.  And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.