Calling

 In 1976, I started my post-college life as a teacher/coach…

… I saw teaching as my job. (Truth be told, I probably would’ve done the coaching part for free!)

Approaching my 30s, I began to perceive what I was doing as a career.  That led to a masters degree… attending and presenting at workshops… membership in various educational associations.

Rolling into my 40s, I knew it was my calling. I had come full circle: Teaching is not what I do.  It’s who I am.

Then, before I knew what hit me, it’s 2019 and I’m 65.  All of a sudden, my mailboxes — both “snail” and “e-” — are clogged with AARP newsletters and Medicare announcements.  I’m paying closer attention to my TIAA-Cref statements and beginning to admit (with lagging reluctance) that some of the nice discounts coming my way are actually a good thing.  (Hey, a free lifetime pass to any and all Maine state parks ain’t too shabby!) Retirement, something that only yesterday seemed a million miles away, started to look inevitable and even feel like slipping into a warm bath.  Except… I can’t shake the feeling:

I. Ain’t. Done. Yet!

So, in 2019, I joined forces with a small band of outstanding educators representing public, private, and public charter schools for a Design Sprint, a process that has been likened to a “5-day strategic planning boot camp.” Meeting in Bath, we concluded Day #1 with our mission boldly “Magic Markered” on the easel pad.

We then spent the next two years creating and completing that “tool kit” – a learning management system (LMS) containing 134 lessons…

organized in 25 modules…

The LSM also includes 10+ hours of training consisting of 200 PPT slides, over 60 instructional videos, and separate digital handbooks created specifically for teachers, school leaders, and facilitators.  All of the contents are accessible at the password-protected click of a button. And at the heart of the learning content lies Hyde’s 5 Words & Principles. The end result is a comprehensive approach for any school to raise its culture game.

In tandem with the production of the LMS, I wrote Culture by Design – The Discovery Process as A New Way for Schools (Rowman Littlefield, 2023).

Having now implemented versions of the program in a dozen schools in six different states, we have come to stand behind 5 benefits it consistently delivers:

Q: But, does it work? A: The data collected by various participating schools clearly says, Yes.

And this year we were proud to be honored by Character.org as a “Promising Practices” designee:

This spring will mark 45 years of pursuing my calling at Hyde. It will also mark 5 years since my colleagues and I embarked on our journey to design and share the Discovery Process. Amazing things can happen for kids and schools when their teachers put their respective callings together. Let’s talk about it. Here’s my card:

Thanks & Onward, Malcolm