The Power of Promises: Transforming Education with Joy and Connection

CT: [: 00:00:00

CT: I'm your host for the day, Chi Tung, or C. T. And it's a great privilege for me today to be interviewing Dr. George Philhauer. He's the superintendent of Eastern Hancock Schools a rural district located just east of Indianapolis, Indiana. And he holds a doctorate in education and has extensive experience in educational leadership.

CT: George, welcome to the show.

George: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

CT: Tell us a little bit more about Eastern Hangkong. What's the district like? What's special about it? What do you like most about it?

you said, it's a small rural [: 00:01:00

George: We joke that you can see us from the interstate, but we're rural enough that you can't really get to us from the interstate. We're 1, 200 students. About 40 percent of those students are at Eastern Hancock by choice which means they don't live within our district boundaries, but they're, either they drive themselves or their parents drive them to come to school at Eastern Hancock.

George: And We think we're a pretty special place and we work hard every day to, to deliver a pretty incredible school experience to our kids.

CT: Wow, 40 percent at Eastern Hangkong by choice. That's an incredible ratio. I'm not familiar with some of the the ratios across the state. Is that high? It's, it sounds really high to me.

nt is pretty high. There are [: 00:02:00

CT: That's amazing. That tells me that there must be something special about what you're doing in the district and there's some magic that's going on. And we spoke a little bit about that before this episode. And I'd love for the listeners to hear from you.

CT: What is that magic? What is it that you're doing that's special? That's You know, possibly driving some of this

possible to figure out what [: 00:03:00

George: In addition to talking about what kinds of things do we want to become we wanted to think about both of those things at the same time. And I think we've boiled that down to four things that we talk about in our strategic plan that, that we're both proud of and that we also want to.

George: Find more of all the time. So for us, those four things are joy, connection, growth and success. And we call those promises in our strategic plan. Our first year we called those priorities, but we decided after that first year that, that they were important enough that promise, that. The word promise needed to be used because promise invokes action.

f those priorities, but if I [: 00:04:00

CT: Yeah I like that nuance because it really does convey a very different expectation. When I read that this is what the district promises rather than this is a priority for the district. And I love, I, those four words, they're so evocative. And they immediately give me that sense of this is a place that I want to be.

CT: How did you, what was the process to get to these four promises? It sounds like it's very enticing proposition.

at kind of things do we want [: 00:05:00

George: And we tried to make it as common sense and obvious as possible and tried to make it things that we couldn't argue with. For us, it starts with joy as our promise. Number one, that. And we feel like these four promises are in order that it's joy, connection, growth, and success in that order, that if you get them out of order, you can't get number two, unless you've maximized number one.

George: So for us, promise number one is joy. And it's just the idea that we want to be very intentional about creating a space that people would look forward to coming to. It's exactly like you, you said that we think when we just sit back and examine the world of education or even broader than that, that It's not really, the gravity of that is not pulling us towards a place of joy.

our best hope is that those [: 00:06:00

George: Because we truly believe that. If we can view joy as an invitation and convince people to take a step closer to the work that's happening, they'll discover those other three promises and there are, there's deeper levels of joy that happened within those three promises. So sometimes that promise of joy is just whimsy and just fun.

George: But we also think that it's really important because we believe that emotion cements learning. And how kids are feeling about something while they're learning is as important as the stuff they're learning. And so we try to give kids an emotional experience to anchor those learning experiences too.

George: So that they remember them, we've got, we know we've got lots of kids that go home at night and they're sitting around the dinner table, hopefully with their families and conversations about school. When parents ask their kids, what did you do at school today? Often those kids say I don't know.

se they just literally don't [: 00:07:00

George: We'll take care of all of the steps between. And if something exciting happens we'll bring you back into the picture. And so just like when you're driving, if a deer jumps out in front of you you're responding and you're right back to that moment. We're trying to make deer jump out in front of kids during their learning experience as much as possible.

George: So they have those. Emotional experiences to anchor their learning to so an example of that might be in fifth grade when they're learning about Paul Revere in a textbook instead of just learning about a textbook, we have somebody on a horse dressed up like Paul Revere right past their classroom screaming.

their life. We try to think [: 00:08:00

George: And she, she boiled the work in her district down to one promise that was very similar to our promise of connection. But we want every person that shows up at Eastern Hancock to feel known by name, strength, interest, need, and future hopes and dreams. And we feel if we can convince people that they're known that well that we've got a pretty special place.

George: We also know that when we know our kids that I can teach you better. The more I know you. And then number three for us is growth. We want our kids learning new things every day that they will remember. And that sounds really simple, but we know that kids are spending about 60% of their school time learning about things that they probably already know.

. So we're trying to [: 00:09:00

George: It's Producing successful, happy, confident grownups who are ready for whatever challenges face them beyond the walls of our school building.

CT: Yeah, as you talk through that, George, I, one of the things that I'm finding really appealing, which I'm sure many listeners do as well, is These four promises they strike a really good balance between the objective driven side of education, which is that growth, success, and everything else, but also the atelic side of education, which is just enjoying the experience for its own sake.

ct that those are put first, [: 00:10:00

CT: And then the growth and success which is, objective driven that comes. It is secondary, but it's still that important promise. Like it's two of the four, it's 50% of what you've got going on. Do you think that like how do you think the kids are responding to this, from just from observations or any data that you have to share beyond the 40% obviously that select to be there.

George: Yeah, I think it's a really good question. As we think about the nature of school and like even myself, my own experience and probably yours as well, that somewhere along the way, I learned to love to learn. And I learned that learning is. Is a joyful process and that I get lots of joy from reading about things that I'm interested in and learning and growing, however, that doesn't square with the idea that most kids don't wake up excited to go to school.

s my answer to that question [: 00:11:00

George: And then trying to balance that with the things that we know from our own lived experiences that, that will help them learn and grow and be successful.

CT: So I'd like to switch gears now and look at your personal leadership journey because you strike me as somebody who leads both with your head and your heart. And tell me a little bit more about what brought you to the superintendent position and got you to say, yes, I'll take on this extremely demanding, personally grueling job.

started. I've wanted to be a [: 00:12:00

George: You It feels like there's one of two stories. There was either, you had a great experience and you wanted to stay in school so that you can make sure other kids have a good experience or the opposite. And mine kind of falls within the latter, especially during my younger years of school, I struggled with reading when I was younger.

o be talking about next week [: 00:13:00

George: And I think since then I've been on this journey to figure out how to make school something that kids would look forward to. As I, When you're 12 and 13, you're not necessarily on that type of journey but as I reflect back from my time as an educator, I think those experiences are what anchors my professional journey.

home, which was full of kids [: 00:14:00

George: And I bounced around a different administrative roles until about six years ago, I found myself as superintendent and I couldn't imagine a better job. I look forward to going to work every day and I love the work that I get to do.

CT: That's incredible. I really like how that intention was seeded in you all the way back in sixth grade. And, for most people thinking about having to redo sixth grade, it almost becomes oh, this was a mistake in my life or a blip or an error.

identity almost as a leader. [: 00:15:00

George: I don't think so. I think

George: All have experiences that we've been able to reflect on but you can see seeds of you think spend a lot of time thinking about now that happened when we were younger. And I think that's just one of those for me that that kind of sprung.

George: It just shifted the way that I think about what school could be like when, I figured out that, the, Bold answers in the book are probably tomorrow's right answers. And, and I struggled with reading even then, like even now if we do an out loud reading thing, like I'm going to have this anxiety that the story I tell myself is it's beyond what most people in the room have.

omething I recommend this as [: 00:16:00

George: And again, it felt like it was a glimpse behind the curtain a little bit. And, yeah, but I don't think I knew it then, and then when I was a 12 year older at that time, and

CT: know, I think for the listeners out there and even for me too, it's a very good reminder. That every experience in our lives, at any stage of our life, really it's not about, making lemons out of lemonade, making lemonade out of lemons. It's really about like just embracing each experience for what it is and having that confidence or faith maybe that, that it's part of a broader plan.

CT: Because it really brought you to where you are today and It's given you a perspective that you otherwise would not have had.

t, leading in a district with: 1200

CT: yeah, you know out here in california sometimes, We see these high school kids and they're so driven there's this impression that Any mistake that they make in high school is going to last for their entire lives, right? And there's this immense pressure sometimes as a student.

CT: And it sounds like from your experience, it's just not true. That, like to a certain extent, like when you're younger and when you're in school, that's the time to make mistakes almost, make all the mistakes you need to make.

George: so that ties really well with how we think about that promise. Number four, which is success. We work really hard to give kids as many real world experiences while they're in school as we possibly can. We've got about 25 percent of our juniors and seniors currently. I'm hopeful that this number grows, but 25 percent of our juniors and seniors are engaged in work based learning experiences.

did work based learning were [: 00:18:00

George: And we have a position that's our work based learning coordinator. And We talk about her like, like she's the training wheels for our kids. That they're getting real world experience with training wheels because she's there to support them and she's also there to support our community partners who maybe have never employed a 16 or 17 year old before.

George: But we think that is we think that's really important that the kids should have opportunities to, to try things while they're in school. And there's, the stakes are pretty low. We think that it's probably true that not every 17 year old knows what they want to do for the rest of their life.

ably used that truth to just [: 00:19:00

George: As early as possible.

CT: Yeah, George, as you were talking it reminded me a little bit about what I read in former President Barack Obama's biography. And when he was 16 year, years old he was lost, like he was just like playing basketball. Like he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life.

lmost like at that junior or [: 00:20:00

CT: Even at that young age. And you've written about this as well, and you published about this. Tell me a little bit more about your philosophies around work based learning, particularly in the high school years and your inspirations for this.

George: Yeah. I was blessed to in Indiana. We've got a pretty progressive initiative that's trying to take a look at the work that's been happening in Switzerland for a long time. So there's a, there's an initiative that's led by the Fairbanks foundation and it's in Indiana called iLab.

t education for a while that [: 00:21:00

George: And I think the pinnacle for that is probably some work based learning opportunities where kids are gaining real experience. Those junior and senior years that the experience that might mimic what they would do after high school or after college. But I think it even trickles down into the younger grades.

George: Our kids are growing up in a world where they've got access to their phones and YouTube and Netflix and anything else imaginable where they literally don't even have to tolerate a television show that they don't think is relevant. Cause they have so many options. So if we think these kids are going to tolerate an educational experience that isn't relevant, then I think we've got to rethink that.

n't know much about anything [: 00:22:00

George: I would literally get in trouble for that. Like when I go home, if my parents knew that I asked my teacher, why do I need to know this, that would feel disrespectful. But our kids are asking that question every day. And some of them are brave enough to say it out loud. And the challenge is if our educators have been in school every day, since they were five, they may not know they may not know how does this stuff I'm teaching you in school apply into the real world.

George: So I think the answer to that is. Working with our community partners and our employers who may know, I, I may not know why a kid needs to know this algebra two stuff. However, somebody in the field of engineering probably does know. So I think the more that we can work with those partners to integrate those real world learning opportunities, even into the stuff that happens during the school day, I think the better off we're going to be in terms of student engagement.

George: [: 00:23:00

George: And traditionally in school, there's one best pathway, an academic honors diploma or whatever it's called in every state. And if you do the very best that's possible, you're going to attain that highest level of diploma. However, if you're do a little worse, then there's the next worst option.

George: They do a little worse. There's the next worst option. And it feels like we should give kids lots of good options that they could aspire to. And I'm excited that in Indiana, we're going to have three different good options through seal type credentials that our kids will be able to earn through those diplomas.

n it, but just the idea that [: 00:24:00

George: I learned there that a kid can aspire towards a career if they don't know it exists. So one of our responsibilities is to help kids know what career options are out there. So that they can, and if they can learn enough about their own strengths, interests and values, and then know what options are out there then maybe that will help provide some purpose behind the educational experience that, that we're asking them to step into every day.

h, whether it's TikTok or or [: 00:25:00

CT: Kids today are equally proficient, if not more than some professionals in industry. And on the other hand, the learning flows both ways and by being exposed to work in this way, it sounds a lot like they're not just getting an education from the content in the curriculum. They're learning meta skills that would help them survive even as the workforce of the future keeps changing.

CT: And, this, yes, as you were talking, it reminded me of this study that was done by the World Economic Forum where they looked at the half life of technical skills today. And this is anywhere from two and a half to five years, which means, half of the skills could be obsolete.

learn, right? And that's, I [: 00:26:00

George: Yeah, absolutely. That's why, joy is that number one, that in the end, we want our kids to not just learn, but to love to learn, like the process of gaining information and growing is something that we enjoy, and I said towards the beginning that sometimes our joy starts with whimsy.

George: And, but really our goal is that joy is an invitation that we are really hopeful that if we can create a fun experience, people will be curious and they'll take a step closer to the work that's happening. And when they get there, they'll find those other three promises. And that's where the real joy lives.

George: That's the connection, the joy that comes from connecting and feeling known and love that the joy that comes from growing and the joy that comes from knowing that. You can be successful.

alking about this growth and [: 00:27:00

CT: And what struck me about it was how much it moves away from judgment towards personal growth for the teacher. Tell us a little bit more about that system.

George: Sure. When we started some conversations about professional development and teacher improvement in our district, we asked the question, does our current evaluation system make anybody better? And I think we were about 0 percent of our teachers that said, yes this makes me better. And when we talked to our administrators and the evaluators, They all hated it, like sitting in a class and scripting a lesson.

bably scrap it and start all [: 00:28:00

George: Impossible for us to grow. And we discovered some truths in it. And a couple of them are that most teacher evaluation systems have a four column, like a rubric and the best things are on that far right side. These are the best possible attributes and actions that you can do in a classroom to get the best results from your kids.

over here that we've decided [: 00:29:00

George: And it's really unreasonable for anybody to be highly effective. And so I'm going to give very few highly effective. And both of those seem counterproductive to the work that really needs to be done in the classroom. So our system starts with a single point rubric where we've taken out all the language besides the best language.

George: So any, like we only use the language within that highly effective column. And we put that in a single point rubric where that's in the middle of a three column rubric and the left and the right are blanks. And on the left and the right, we leave those blanks because we feel like. The process of learning and growing for the educator should start with the educator.

George: So we use those blank spaces for reflection. So on the left hand side, teachers have room to look at that middle column and reflect and say, Okay, these are areas where I feel like I need to get better. And on the right hand column, they can say, These are areas where I feel like I'm already strong. And then teachers set goals.

they need to get better at. [: 00:30:00

George: And then. Another fundamental flaw felt like the results, the scores on evaluations were determined by an administrator sitting in a classroom and judging performance of a teacher. And often it was a performance, like we knew, I knew you were coming. So I planned the special lesson and there's probably 10, 000 ways that I could plan the lesson.

[: 00:31:00

George: And this lady is really good at this. Who am I to give her feedback during the 45 minutes that I'm in there when she's living that every single day. So we shifted the practice of classroom walkthroughs to learning experiences. When I'm in the classroom, I want to learn as much from the phenomenal teacher.

George: About what she's doing to cause the things that look awesome so that I can connect the teacher that seems like they're having trouble based on their reflection with that teacher. So this is year two for us rolling out our, we don't call it a teacher evaluation system. We call it our teacher growth plan.

'm really excited about what [: 00:32:00

George: As we continue to move forward,

CT: I love the way that you've approached the design of this. The impact and so on we'll see with time, but I think you were asking all the right questions. And these are the same questions that many companies in the private sector are not asking about their evaluation systems, which they should.

CT: And. One of the things that, that struck me, and it's a question I have for you Do you find that this method works better for more experienced teachers? And for new teachers who are maybe in their first or second year? And they're still, getting, coming to terms with the job, trying to figure out like how to control the classroom, things like that.

CT: Do you feel like a more directive form of evaluation or support in their growth would be helpful?

that there's a pretty strong [: 00:33:00

George: And I don't know that I don't know that it matters age or experience. I think there are things that you learn over time with experience and you get comfortable being in a classroom and you get comfortable talking to kids. But I think when you approach it from a lens of the purpose of our growth system is to help you get better.

ng they've been there or how [: 00:34:00

George: We want them working hard every day and thinking about how do I get better at doing this incredibly difficult job? Yeah, so I, I don't know that, I would not, it feels cruel almost to have a teacher, subject a teacher to the traditional System where somebody's watching them teach and judging them and giving them scores based on their performance.

George: And then what usually happens, it's very similar to giving a kid a grade. They look at the grade. The teacher looks at the score doesn't necessarily look as much at the feedback. And so we, I don't know, and maybe, maybe I'm wrong, but I really think that when we can focus on improvement and growth and create a space where teachers feel confident enough to admit that they've Which areas they need to get better at, then we have hope to really get better as a system.

CT: Yeah, to [: 00:35:00

CT: The teachers enjoy and they build a connection both with other teachers with administrators and with the kids And that leads to that growth and success that you're building

George: And I think if, that's a, it's a big problem we're dealing with right now that, that's why I'm really passionate about joy. I think, we do a summer conference called joy jam every year. It's a two day conference where we just, we truly focus on fun and joy and intentionality around becoming the place that.

ssion. And, the trend is not [: 00:36:00

George: And I'm biased, but I think it's the best possible field that anybody could consider jumping into.

CT: That's incredible George one last question I have for you And this is your thoughts like for an educator. Who's You know, relatively new in their career, and they're thinking about taking the next step in their leadership journey. But they're holding back, or they're a little bit concerned is this really for me?

CT: Is there any advice that you would give to them in terms of how to think about this?

u're literally impacting the [: 00:37:00

George: But I do think it's I think they're true and maybe there's synonyms of them that, need to be present in every single school. So my advice would be to be as intentional as possible about joy and think every day, what do we do to make this the kind of place that people want to be?

George: And I think I would also encourage people to not be afraid of the things that seem whimsical and silly, because I think that's needed at school. I think second connection is incredibly important that if we're not looking at every single individual in the space and making sure that they feel known in all the ways that we can feel known, then we're missing out.

nd grownups are learning new [: 00:38:00

George: And again, I would just encourage anybody that's thinking about the field of education to imagine the kind of classroom that they would want to be in. And, I think we need as many people as possible who are brave to create amazing spaces for kids to join our profession.

CT: Amazing. So focusing really and tying it all back to joy, connection, growth, and success, for both the educators and the educated within schools. I think it's something that has clearly resonated a lot from your experience. Thank you so much for being with us today, George, and thank all of you for listening to the show.

nspired by the journey that, [: 00:39:00