Catholic School Matters

September 9, 2018

Where is Your Attention?

I took a little extra time this summer before publishing this first issue. I thought the extra time would allow me to better articulate my thoughts & feelings regarding the ugly revelations which have surfaced in and around the American Catholic Church. But I can’t. We are still in the middle of this mess and can’t undue years of dysfunction and coverups in a few months. However, Kent Hickey has presented a great analysis and call for action in Every Catholic, Lay and Clergy, is Called to Confront the Evil of Abuse.

One of the best books I read this summer was Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads (2016) by Tim Wu. He describes that the battle for our attention is playing out every day and consequently explains the fascination many people have with the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. As leaders, we are challenged to make our calendars match our priorities. Are we spending time on what’s important? To that end, let me direct your attention away from the ugliness in order to offer a path toward better leadership.

These are the best articles and links I came across this summer:

· “If Strategy is so important, why don’t we make time for it?” in HBR. It’s a great reflection on the problem we all face. Are we spending time doing what we know we need to do? Pair this article with “Strategic Thinking—Exercises & Tools for Creatie Thinking & Strategy” in brainzooming.com.

· “To overcome your insecurity, recognize where it really comes from” in HBR. Leaders are often unwilling to admit their own insecurities or are unsure what to do with it. This article made me uncomfortably reflective and has echoes of Dr. Brene Brown's work on vulnerability.

· “Training compassion ‘muscle’ may boost brain’s resilience to others’ suffering” from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Haven’t you ever wondered how you teach (in the sense of how you do something like throw a pitch or write an essay) compassion?

· Bishop McElroy describes Pope Francis’ pastoral vision in a kenote address to the Association of US Catholic Priests

· “How the Pursuit of Happiness Made Us Nervous Wrecks” from Wharton/UPenn. The anxiety epidemic doesn’t begin and end with our students!

· “As Catholic Options Dwindle, Middle Class Retreats from Private Schools” is a must read for every Catholic leader, board member, and especially every finance council member. We are losing the middle class in our Catholic schools!

· “School without grade levels?” in Hechinger Report. This is a great study of how multiage classrooms are proving effective (again) and are catching on—and not just because of enrollment reasons.

· “’Go to the Margins’: Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ visits ACE” is a great message that we should all heed.

· “Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning: Making Smarter Arguments, Better Decisions, and Stronger Conclusions” from the Farnam Street Blog (one of the weekly blogs I faithfully read). This is a great example of the quality of articles which help you think about thinking. Another great example was this summer’s “The Feynman Technique: The Best Way to Learn Anything.” I thought about this process for a month or more.

· Archbishop Hunthausen passed away this summer. A Montana native and former bishop in Helena, he was the last living American Bishop to sit for all 4 sessions of Vatican II. Bishop Thomas provided a homily for the Stational Mass in Helena and Fr. Mike Ryan provided a colorful and poignant homily in Seattle. It’s a remarkable collection of reflections for a remarkable prelate.

· “What Happened When the Dean’s Office Stopped Sending Emails After Hours” is a great reflection on productivity and respecting people’s non-work hours. Do you send emails to colleagues after working hours? If so, read this. We need to model good emailing behavior.

· “How do you improve schools? Start by coaching principals, says new study” in chalkbeat.org. We need to move beyond a compliance model and to a formation model.

· Jack Peterson of Managing for Mission provides a toolbox of materials for Board Formation & Governance.

· “Creating Culture” by Andy Dunn in Medium was a concise and clear way to understand the way we build our school cultures. For example, one of our great principals here in Montana has listed giving positive notes to teachers as a goal for this year in order to strengthen his school’s culture.

Overwhelmed? Don’t worry, I’ve decided to publish fewer newsletters and to focus on a theme. Next week, for example, I'll be catching up on Catholic school news. Another change this year is the podcast. I’m calling it the “Catholic School Matters Radio Hour” and running multiple guests and segments this year. This Wednesday, the first episode of Season 3 will drop and will include a conversation with Dr. Kevin Baxter, the outstanding superintendent in the Archdiocese of LA, the dynamic April Garcia from ACE, and two outstanding presenters from this fall’s CLS, Dr. Jennifer Bigelow, the superintendent of Arlington, and Dr. Tara Rolle from the Drexel Schools in San Jose.

Another new feature is that I’m trying to put together scenarios/case studies for Catholic leadership. What are the moral challenges we face as Catholic school leaders? I’ve written a few and will be sharing one each month and asking folks to submit their examples to catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com

I’m also going to try doing a virtual book club. This month, I’m encouraging folks to read Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson. Dr. Ericsson has agreed to come on the podcast so he’ll be a guest in early October and I’ll take questions from you! Get the book and start reading!

Want to keep up with the conversations surrounding Catholic education? Set up your own Google Alert, subscribe to this newsletter by clicking "follow," subscribe to the Catholic Schools Daily, or subscribe to the Catholic School Matters podcast.

Dr. Tim Uhl

Community Engagement

Dr. Anders Ericsson, the co-author of Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise (2016) has agreed to come on the podcast in early October to discuss his book. The book outlines "deliberate practice" and we'll explore its application to Catholic schools. If you've like to participate, pick up the book, read it, and then submit questions for Dr. Ericsoon to catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com
I'm putting together a collection of scenarios of Catholic leadership as a means to teach Catholic leaders how to develop their own moral leadership compass. I'll preview a scenario each month and ask you to submit any ideas of Catholic school leadership moral dilemmas to catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com. The example:

You have a 12th grade basketball player who is being heavily recruited. A four year starter, last year he suffered a panic attack on the court and has been dealing with anxiety issues on and off the court for the past couple of years. A story came out in the newspaper about his mental health issues before the season began. As a heated rivalry game begins against the crosstown Catholic school, you notice that the school's student section has started a cheer mocking your player's mental health issues. You notice that students are yelling "He is Crazy" and "Get a Shrink" in unison. First, identify the issues. Then, reflect on different responses.

Best Articles from the Summer

Every Catholic, lay and clergy, is called to confront evil of abuse

It was about 10 years ago and I was in heated conversation with a priest. Both a good friend and good man, this priest was explaining to me where Christ was calling us to forgiveness in the clergy abu...

ncronline.org

What Happened When the Dean’s Office Stopped Sending Emails After-Hours

Very few issues cannot wait until morning, and that is an important message for any dean’s office to send.

chronicle.com

How do you improve schools? Start by coaching principals, says new study

chalkbeat.org

School without grade levels?

hechingerreport.org

Strategic Thinking - Exercises & Tools for Creative Thinking & Strategy | The Brainzooming Group

strategic thinking and its importance as widely distributed function within organizations. A number of years later, the compilation of those five posts (our

brainzooming.com

Creating Culture – Andy Dunn – Medium

No one gave me a recipe for how to create company culture. I wish I had had one. I have been lucky to piece together the wisdom of many who have gone before me. I save the accumulated genius of what…

medium.com

Study: As Catholic Options Dwindle, Middle Class Retreats From Private Schools

This is the latest article in The 74’s ongoing ‘Big Picture’ series, bringing American education into sharper focus through new research and data. Go Deeper: See our full series. The complexion of America’s private school sector has undergone massive changes over the past half-century, driven mostly by a decline in Catholic school enrollment, according to […]

the74million.org

How the Pursuit of Happiness Has Made Us Nervous Wrecks - Knowledge@Wharton

What’s making Americans so anxious? Author Ruth Whippman says it’s the notion that happiness must be pursued above all else.

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

Deductive vs Inductive Reasoning: Make Smarter Arguments, Better Decisions, and Stronger Conclusions

You can’t prove truth, but using deductive and inductive reasoning, you can get close. Learn the difference between the two types of reasoning and how to use them when evaluating facts and arguments.

fs.blog

The Feynman Technique: The Best Way to Learn Anything

The Feynman Technique is a mental model that helps you learn faster and increases retention. Read this article to supercharge your learning.

fs.blog

Go to the Margins': Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, Visits ACE // Alliance for Catholic Education

ace.nd.edu

Training compassion ‘muscle’ may boost brain’s resilience to others’ suffering

news.wisc.edu

MfM Tutorials on Governance & Administration

Jack Peterson Managing for Mission This month’s post is a compendium of video tutorials on faith-based school management produced by Managing for Mission over the last 4 years, all in one place. With a new school year beginning, it’s a good time to remember as administrators and trustees that, like our students, we also need…

blog.managingformission.com

Bishop McElroy says 'lived reality' at heart of Francis' pastoral theology, profound moment of renewal

The "lived reality of men and women and children and families" and their "sufferings and challenges and joys" are at the center of "a moment of explicit theological renewal th...

ncronline.org

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