Carolyn McKanders: Building Adaptive High Performing Systems
Dr. Bob Maxfield sat down for a conversation with Carolyn McKanders, author of It’s Your Turn: Teachers as Facilitators, who spent three days facilitating work with the cohort of Galileo Academy teacher leaders and district superintendents. As a former teacher, counselor, social worker, staff development specialist and administrator, her primary focus is supporting the well-being of students, teachers and the community. She asks the pivotal question, how do you bring your best self to meetings as adults, because the quality of adult talk directly influences student outcomes. As a meeting facilitator, she shared her thoughts on managing polarities or natural tensions that occur in human systems.
Ms. McKanders noticed that “as teachers and kids are returning to in-person learning we're discovering some really significant changes and pressures that are being experienced.” In her current book, It's Your Turn: Teachers as Facilitators, she makes the powerful statement which aligns with the podcast series theme: “Never let a conflict go to waste, it's an opportunity to do things that you never thought you could do before.”
Dr. Maxfield asked her, “What do you see as some of the challenges that have surfaced during the pandemic, some of those truths that were probably there all along but have certainly become more evident, and how do we then not let that conflict and those tensions go to waste?”
Ms. McKanders responded, “Tensions are not always something bad. They point us in the direction that this part of the system needs attention. These tensions have always been there. The pandemic painted them with a yellow highlighter so that we could no longer ignore the huge differences in educational opportunities between affluent communities and economically poor communities. That was always there and now we're shining the light of awareness on it. We're rethinking how do we support students where there are such economic challenges, personally in their personal lives, and also in their educational lives. One of my favorite advocates is Jonathan Kozel, Savage Inequities, who has been shining a light on this for decades. I'm really hopeful now with the pandemic and with us rethinking and resetting, that conversations will lead to action.”
“We have to look holistically at a child’s life not separately. and recognize that they have been traumatized, as well as the adults. Next steps are to look at what we already know about trauma informed teaching and crafting environments of safety, psychological safety, physical safety, cognitive embracement of different ways of learning, and put that into practice. We don't have to go in and create something; we have a lot of good solid principles that we can begin to put in place for students.”
“I think we need to look at the working conditions of teachers and the relatively low compensation for a very difficult job. What is the environment that needs to be crafted for teachers, so that they can craft an environment of support and safety for students? Teachers need more support; they need to be honored and pulled into leadership; they need a safe environment; they need time to collaborate with each other; they need more even more ways to partner with parents because school and home have totally merged this last year. How can we continue to merge school and home in ways that are productive for both teachers and students and parents and community? We need to start talking to let these challenges flip into opportunities. What gets talked about gets attention and it needs to be talked about in a particular way. We as adults need to truly know how to dialogue about social issues with empathy, skill and openness with other adults.”
Dr. Maxfield concurred that “what needs to be done to better address the emotional well-being of our children, needs to be considered for our teachers as well. The same holds true for our administrators, superintendents and lately school board members.” The conversation turned to the current issue of diversity, "which is a strength that can enhance the self and collective efficacy of the group.” and he asked Carolyn McKanders about examples she has seen where diversity is welcomed, cherished, applauded and integrated into the culture of the building.
Carolyn McKanders “commended Riley Middle School in Livonia, Michigan, where she noticed that students and staff were “happy”. Students and staff are celebrated for who they are, how they are and everyone has a strength.” She recalled her interaction with three middle school students who welcomed her and introduced themselves, accompanied by a different personal point of pride. “That is the utopia that we want, where diversity is announced and not hidden. Nothing needs to be hidden, and there is space for differences. There's a coalescence of all of those differences into one, and it becomes not who you are but who we are. There's synergy because systems that are the most diverse are the most adaptive. I have to make space for you and you make space for me and we create something beautiful together from these parts.”
When reflecting upon her experience with the Galileo Academy teacher leaders, Carolyn McKanders was "inspired by their resilience, love of children, and tenacity to support students not only cognitively, but holistically. Coming together as a community with like-minded and like sharp people is important for your own support, and to support students.She expressed how significant and influential they are in saving lives." She hoped the Galileo Academy teacher leaders “learned the importance of seeking to understand first and second to be understood. The phrase she teaches around the world, “when in doubt paraphrase your butt off”. When in doubt, seek to understand because understanding brings people together. It sustains connection and is what students need to see modeled from adults right now. To disagree gracefully, seek to understand and never use the word “but” or “however.” Use the word “and”- and I see it differently, and from a different perspective. She recommends in a conversation with tensions:pause, paraphrase, use the word "and” and then add their ideas, or a different perspective so that collectively we can come up with better solutions for students and for community.”
Referencing society’s current polarity in schools, politics, religion, race relations, Dr. Maxfield called upon Carolyn McKanders’s expertise in polarity management for advice. She explained “Polarities are two or more ideas and they’re seemingly opposing ideas that need each other in the same space, at the same time for good outcome. Most social issues are complex, multi-answered issues and not problems to be solved. They must be managed with two or more right answers and those are called polarities. The polarity over mask mandates, is really personal autonomy and collective responsibility for community. Both of these need to exist in a society or in a community and we can begin to strategize and dialogue together, recognizing the polarity, to stay in the upside of both, for the good of all is what we are really looking for. People are not quite there, because they don't have the consciousness yet around that it's okay for two seemingly opposing large ideas to live in the same space, at the same time.”
Dr. Maxfield asked, "How to handle pronounced polarization, where it is hard to find common ground?" Carolyn McKanders advised, “What makes people get insane is fear. How can people settle down their fears? It still comes back to understanding. People get really upset when they don't feel heard, so what we do is we keep pushing against each other and what you resist persists and get stronger. Mediated proximity is needed because we can't come together by staying apart and yet when we're together, we need some mediation. We need someone to support us in listening, hearing each other and pulling out the larger issues that caused the fear in us and we need the common ground paraphrased because there is a space of oneness where we can meet.Skillful facilitation and mediation can happen, helping people understand there are really only two emotions: fear and love (Elizabeth Kubler-Ross). Coming out of a space of fear will not get me what I want, and coming out of a space of love will get me what I want while also helping someone else get what they need. We need that space of mediated proximity where someone can support the lessening of that aspect of conflict and more of the cognitive, social, spiritual aspects come to the surface and letting people be heard.”
When asked what she continues to reflect upon Ms. McKanders answered, “I ask myself daily how might I love more fully, because I know love is really going to conquer. What’s my responsibility in healing human suffering? There’s so much human suffering and I don’t turn a blind eye to it. It bothers me and stays with me. And I ask myself, how can we be more like toddlers.I ask myself where does that toddler go, who is full of themselves? Toddlers know that they’re whole. They feel a love for themselves and they see a oneness. When they see their friend, they don't care if their friend is purple, they run towards their friend and they give them a big hug. How can we be more like toddlers?”
Carolyn McKanders’s book, It’s Your Turn: Teachers as Facilitators, published by MiraVia, LLC., 2022.
https://www.miravia.com/products/its-your-turn-teachers-as-facilitators-a-handbook/
To connect with Carolyn McKanders and know more about her work:
teachersasfacilitators@gmail.com
website https://www.thinkingcollaborative.com