Engagement, not compliance

A parent once asked me why her son volunteered to stay at school until 11:00pm setting up a stage for an all-school Mass, but couldn't spend 15 minutes taking out the trash to earn his allowance.  Teachers often wonder why students will fail to submit an easy vocabulary sheet to help their grade, and then spend hours on a video presentation or art project that doesn't have nearly the impact on their academic standing.  My wife questions why it's easier for me to help with someone else's backyard improvement project than finish the list I have waiting for me here at home.

Daniel Pink, a noted author and speaker, explains in the animated video below that studies have demonstrated that for most behaviors we value in communities and the workforce, rewards such as money or grades are actually de-motivators.  Instead, people are looking for the opportunity to self-direct, and master skills in an environment that has a real and lasting purpose.  It's not to say that money and grades are unimportant, rather, that they are poor motivators.



This explains why when we eliminated the 10 hour per year service hour requirement at Cardinal Gibbons, the amount of volunteerism and service on campus doubled or even tripled in many cases.  It also helps to explain why, when a teacher is able to take unnecessary grading issues off the table, students are far more motivated to learn in that classroom.  It certainly doesn't mean that a teacher should be an "easy grader" - far from it.  Once students are confident that the grading process is fair, they are free to attempt to master skills in the class.

At Cardinal Gibbons, just as in companies, parishes and communities, we want engagement not compliance. Therefore, we need to become comfortable with, as Daniel Pink says, "radical forms of self-direction."  Allowing students making mistakes and being creative.  Encouraging teachers to challenge long-standing assumptions in school environments.  Welcoming the creative talents of parents and friends of the school.  Although Pink cites several examples of successful, creative visions we must also be prepared for some setbacks and failures.  Risk-taking is easier in a healthy community that acknowledges the possible downside of creativity, and creates a support network for creative individuals.

It's important to remember that community integrity is a vital part of this motivation.  If people work alone on an island, they won't see how their efforts make an impact, leading to a diminished sense of purpose.  Paradoxically, those who care most about the community will be the most reluctant to be creative, fearing the potential backlash of unintended or unanticipated consequences.  A parent running an annual event in isolation is more likely to make decisions based upon "that's the way we've always done it" because that thought process is the most likely to do no harm.  But it's also least likely to move us forward.

Leadership is vital in clearly articulating a community vision, and fostering each individual's connection to the organization's vision.  Students need to know "how this relates to the real world."  Teachers need to know how their decisions will be supported and implemented.  Parents need to know how their volunteering and attending events helps to accomplish the school's mission.  The motivation of working for the benefit of others is very powerful, which is why we'll often drop our own projects to work on someone else's tasks.  Most exciting of all, students can be an integral part of leading to ensure each member of the community knows the value of their contributions, and learning something very important about leadership in the process.

Time to get back to my household to-do list ...

The New Gibbons "Spirit Logo"

I posted a sneak peek of the new logo to my Twitter account last week, and found that in just 1 hour, over 60 people had visited the bit.ly link to my homepage. One person a minute!  I certainly don't get that kind of traffic when I normally post links to articles or my blog.  Clearly, students, alumni and parents have some interest in the new "spirit logo."  A parent suggested that I give a little more background about how we arrived at this logo. 

The process was important, as we had been thinking about a consistent logo for Athletics and other co-curricular activities ever since the "CG" logo was adopted four years ago. We decided to enlist the help of a professional communications agency, and we were lucky enough to find a designer who knew and loved the school already, as a graduate of Cardinal Gibbons. Many thanks to Greg Galloway '95 and the team at Signal who helped us through the process, designed the logo, and put together a style sheet to help us stay true to the original design.

A rumor had been circulating around campus that the school was going to abandon the "Crusaders" mascot, and some alumni mentioned the rumor to me at Homecoming. Of course, we were not originally known as the "Crusaders" - that mascot was adopted when the students at Nazareth Orphanage officially joined Cathedral Latin High School during the 1949-1950 school year (read this portion of the school's history on our centennial website), but there was never a part of the process where changing or eliminating the mascot was discussed.  As you can see from the logo at the top of the page, it remains our school mascot and a part of the school's spirit logo.

We consulted with coaches, teachers, parents, alumni, and most importantly, students on the essential qualities of our school that should be represented in this type of logo, or as the design folks like to call it, a "mark."  Interestingly, while terms like "excellence" and "successful" were important, just as common were words like "welcoming" and "sportsmanship."  It was refreshing to hear that in competition, it was important to our student-athletes and coaches that we focus on being hospitable and welcoming to teams and fans from other schools, and that it should somehow be reflected in the logo.  That discussion ruled out some of the ideas seen in other logos.

There was also a discussion on the name - in other words, what would be the focus of the logo when people referred to our school. We really had four options: 1) Cardinal Gibbons, 2) Gibbons, 3) CGHS and 4) Crusaders. Everyone agreed that we were known on campus, by alumni and in the public arena as "Gibbons," and that the logo should reflect that common usage. So, the "G," referring to "Gibbons" quickly became the focus of the logo.

In searching logos and crusader mascots, the most creative one was from another Catholic preparatory school: Mercy High School, in Burlingame, CA. Although we had a lot of interesting suggestions during brainstorming sessions, supporters of the rabbit crusader were never able to sway the majority.  For those of you in favor of a more quirky logo, you missed your chance to get on the rabbit bandwagon.  Also, for the many fans of the Green Army's famous "Banana Cheer," the "Crusading Bananas" did not make it very far in the process.

It was at this point that we were presented with several different versions, and the group decided to move forward with a design that incorporated a shield and flag (the original was different than the final version).  People liked the shield idea, for its connection to the Crusaders mascot and its timelessness, and the flag for the "movement" it added to the logo and the fact that it was distinctive.  Groups also liked that the cross in the flag reflected the "CG" logo we've been using, and will continue to use.

So far, everything had been pretty smooth, however, when it came to the "G," that's where the group had difficulty making a decision.  We went through several versions of the "G," everything from a very traditional "Block G" (which we use for our Athletic Varsity Letters) to some diverse versions that were crafted by Greg and the team at Signal.  The challenge was to come up with something distinctive, however not so different that it was either difficult to read or would quickly become dated.  After several variations on the "G" we finally agreed on the letter you see in the middle of the shield, which we hoped would be clear, strong and distinctive enough to remain the letter we will continue to use in applications of the spirit logo.  Additionally, it gives us the font that we use for "GIBBONS" in the logo.

The most exciting part of the new logo is that it will be worn by our community of faculty, parents, and friends of the school, and of course alumni and students (both current and future).  We're proud of our school: our long and storied history in Raleigh, our tradition of success in athletics and fine arts, and the tremendous spirit of our school community. There was a lot of thought and work put into the development of a logo that would represent all that we love about our school, and I look forward to seeing the "spirit logo" around campus this fall.

Trust Me

The following article was published in the Spring 2010 edition of "Voices":

Alumni will remember from their high school days that nothing heightens parental suspicion faster than a teenager saying, “trust me” as they leave the house on a Friday night. Parents who hear “trust me” can be pretty sure that their child is up to something.

Yet, “trust me” is exactly what we want to hear from our students.

Losing Control

The other night I drove my son and some of his friends to a basketball skills clinic, and quickly buried myself into a corner of the gym with a pile of work from school that had to be finished by the next day.  However, in only a few minutes I found myself totally distracted from my work, watching one of the most impressive teaching demonstrations I'd ever seen.

Easy Solutions

This is an interesting video from Dan Meyer, a math teacher from Santa Cruz, CA (It was forwarded to me by a CGHS parent who discovered it being used informally as a resource at their company for "Take Your Children to Work Day" - thank you!).

Planned Unorganization

Friday night at Cardinal Gibbons: the gymnasium, filled with hundreds of teenagers, playing an all-out version of loosely officiated dodge ball. It's the grand finale to a night with games against teachers and other class teams in volleyball, basketball and now dodge ball. In many schools, these events can develop into a highly organized class competition, with many hours devoted to the planning, rules, and structure of the evening.

Immediate Blog Feedback

Fr. Scott was kind enough to give me immediate feedback on the blog, asking if I would be updating at least a couple of times each day.

My response: I will only be updating twice a day if he's OK with concise posts.

Concision is not my specialty.

CGHS Spiritus article: "Forming Our Future"

Education articles today make constant reference to the future: “21st century learning,” “emerging technologies,” “education 3.0.” Educators discuss how to prepare students for an uncertain and challenging future, as if the light at the end of the educational tunnel is the headlamp of an oncoming train.

So, what's with the blog title?

Because I've been known to struggle with semantics, the thought of naming a blog for eternity causes procrastination. I decided in the meantime to pick a point that causes me to chuckle for a variety of reasons: (assumption: you know the difference between "principal" and "principle")

The beginning

At the suggestion of a good friend and colleague, I'm going to try my hand at blogging. Since all it usually takes is a suggestion, here we go ...

One of the challenges of being a principal is making time to sit down and synthesize the thoughts that occur throughout the day, especially as they relate to my vocation, our school, and Catholic education. Even more challenging is finding the opportunity to share those thoughts in a forum that allows for feedback and discourse. The vision for this blog would be a place where students, parents, alumni and friends of Cardinal Gibbons could weigh in on the many possibilities that lie in store for our school.

Hopefully this blog will serve all these purposes ... and will give me a chance to expand beyond Twitter's 140 character limit! Thanks in advance for your patience, good humor, and most importantly, your thoughts.