Superpowers!

Following are excerpts from my address to faculty and staff at the first meeting of the 2023-24 school year.

Do you ever consider the energy, the power you possess?  

As an educator, regardless of the role you play in the school setting all of you have the extraordinary power - super powers, really - to change lives! And your super powers are subtle, sophisticated, and often understated but they are real nonetheless. Sometimes, it’s the very simple things you do, things that positively impact a child:  A quick glance of approval, the correct pronunciation of a child’s name, even a smile - all of these and more are the superpower moves educators make to lift young hearts and minds.

In fact, research backs up this truth about a teacher’s influence and power.  A recent RAND Corporation study concluded that the teacher in the classroom has the greatest influence on student achievement - teachers, the report concludes, matter more than the neighborhood and background of a student, more than the building in which they teach, and more than the leadership in a district.

John Hattie out of the University of Melbourne has spent his career studying the influence of teachers on the lives of children, and his research shows that teachers, especially teachers who collaborate on behalf of their students and work together on behalf of their students are the number one influence on student success. His conclusion? Teachers have the power to strengthen individual lives; and collectively, working together, educators have the power to shape a community, to build a nation.

You, as Needham educators, have the superpower to shape the young lives of the children before you: How you arrange your classroom; whether or not you invite young minds to participate in the development of class rules; how you encourage student voice and choice… learning their stories so you can both understand these young people and then use their knowledge and background to shape the instruction.

You have the superpower to create a safe and supportive environment in which all students feel valued and connected; to nurture a sense of security and build a space where students can take risks and shake off their mistakes and missteps.

You have the power to expect great things from your students; you can’t let them wallow in their insecurities or pity their circumstances. Use their existing skills and stories to build the lesson, complement the curriculum and create the conditions for learning. Use your super power to build up each child.

Here’s what superpowers look like in the Needham Public Schools:

• A preschool teacher guides a non verbal 3 year old to express herself for the first time through an app on an iPad.

• An elementary teacher curates a set of literature and books that represent the faces and diversity of the new students before him.

• An 8th grade teacher acknowledges and honors a student’s request to be referred to with the pronoun “they” and not she/her.

• A high school teacher consistently recommends underrepresented students into advanced levels of science coursework knowing two things: The work will be a challenge and her students can absolutely succeed.

Teacher superpower moves set the conditions for learning, for success.  And your superpowers are unique to you; not everyone is the same. Some of your superpowers are subtle; each one has different gifts and strengths that we can wield in the school, in the classroom.  It’s not a cookie cutter approach.

In Needham, we don’t write off kids! With a laser-like focus and a powerful belief in the possibility of each student, we lift them up. Using your superpowers you model a deep respect for human differences and the unique qualities of each child.

One of your other superpowers is recognizing that what works for one will not work for another; with x-ray vision, you must discern the right move for each student.  And it is not easy; it is complex trying to determine how you can elevate, impact, and attend to the unique needs and characteristics of so many young people. You must be vigilant and intentional about how you use the power you have to inspire students.

You are powerful.  But you are not omnipotent. It’s important to recognize that you’ll make mistakes and you can change and grow; you can improve. Don’t let failure or criticism be the kryptonite that takes you down. And remember that all of us have the responsibility to wield our superpower in service to our students and to propel and build up their learning.  

Haim Ginott, teacher and psychologist, once observed: “I am the decisive element in the classroom.  It is my personal approach that creates the climate; it is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous.  I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.  I can humiliate, hurt, or heal.  In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or dehumanized.”

As Ginott suggests, if we are not careful, we can easily tear down and turn off a student; we can marginalize and alienate young minds. 

Now if we, as educators, possess superpowers, what about our students?  How can we help supercharge them? What do they require to grow and achieve? What do they need to change their lives and lift this world?

I will argue that we have identified the superpowers they need within the competencies outlined in the Portrait of a Needham Graduate The competencies detail the superpowers our students need to learn, grow, and achieve.  And our collective responsibility as adult learners and leaders is to ensure we use our superpowers to, in turn, help them develop the superpowers embedded in the Portrait - superpowers that we believe will further strengthen and enhance their lives.  

Beginning tomorrow, and each day of the school year, demonstrate your superpowers with energy, imagination, humility, and a profound sense of hope and love in our young people.