Senator Hillary Clinton Is Already A Winner

In spite of the fact that Sen. Hillary Clinton is behind her opponent Sen. Barack Obama in number of popular votes, pledged delegates, and super delegates in the 2008 presidential democratic election, one would never know it. She looks, acts, and speaks like a winner.

Whether one supports Sen. Clinton or not there is much to learn from her in the way she has handled herself in this intense presidential campaign. For those of us in an intense battle fighting for our diverse learners what can we learn from Sen. Clinton?

1. Stay focused on the goal, not the obstacles even when those obstacles seem insurmountable.
2. Stay focused on one's message and be extremely articulate in presenting that message and make every speech your best speech.
3. Stay positive and never let on to those you are trying to influence in any way that you are discouraged or doubtful.
4. Fight to the end and give no heed to those who would encourage you to quit.
5. Be willing to invest your own resources to achieve what you believe in.
6. Reiterate over and over that you will fight for those who choose you.
7. Be present. In other words, whether speaking to a group or an individual, speak to the one and make each one feel that he or she is the most important person in your life at that moment.
8. Continually thank those who support you and don't focus on those who choose not to support you or who desert you when the going gets tough.
9. Let your compassion for people drive your toughness.

These qualities of Sen. Hillary Clinton have earned her respect from all sides of the political arena, even from those who are strongly opposed to her stands on a variety of issues. She may not win as the Democratic Presidential nominee, but she has already shown that she is a winner and an example for many others to follow.

Note: Senator Hillary Clinton is not my choice for 2008 presidential candidate.

Spiritual Leader: Men and Women of Integrity

John S. Tanner, BYU Academic Vice PresidentA-387 ASB(801) 422-6201mailto:422-6201john_tanner@byu.edu

Dr. Tanner recently wrote an essay for BYU people entitled, Overheard by God. In this essay he refers to a book called Overheard by God written by A. D. Nuttal. He tells how the message of this book is a reminder that our lives our open books to God, overheard and overseen by Him. We must always remember that we are in fact always, "walking in his presence."

Dr. Tanner goes onto say that we need to be men and women of integrity no matter who sees our actions or who does not. We must not be like Gyges in Plato's The Republic who used the ring he found that allowed him to be invisible to use that power of invisibleness to do evil. A truly virtuous person would act the same whether he were visible or invisible.

My response: The world of multicultural education is hungering for men and women of integrity, of all ethnic backgrounds, to step forward and be leaders in advocating for ways to best serve our diverse learners.

"But That's Just Good Leadership"

In 1995 Gloria Ladson-Billings wrote an article entitled "ButThat's Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy." She explains in the article that what is considered good teaching must be reexamined to understand that teaching that does not serve ALL students cannot be described or understood as good teaching.

I agree with George Theoharis in his article "Social Justice Educational Leaders and Resistance: Towards a Theory of Social Justice Leadership" that the same issue that Ladson-Billings addresses to teaching applies to educational leadership. To be an effective leader with diverse learners goes beyond what the literature defines as good leadership. Leadership that is not focused on what it takes for all children to be successful is not indeed good leadership.

According to Theoharis (and I would concur!), in order to provide "good" leadership (hopefully, excellent leadership) for all students, the content of leadership preparation programs need to provide content in required courses related to the following areas: special education, English Language Learners, curriculum, differentiation and teaming, using data, presentation skills, race, poverty, working with diverse families, taking a global perspective, etc.

When so many of our diverse learners are still not experiencing academic success, we must not only reexamine and redefine good teaching and good leadership, but also do whatever it takes to prepare educators to be excellent teachers and leaders for ALL students.

Effects of Religious Commitment on Academic Achievement

I just read this morning a primary research paper called, The Effects of Religious Commitment on the Academic Achievement of Urban and Other Children, by Willliam H. Jeynes. For those of us interested in better serving our diverse learners, the findings from this research can definitely give us some food for thought.

Reference: Education and Urban Society 2003; 36; 44

Spiritual Leadership: Application of True, Unchanging Principles

Felt it was important to define spiritual leadership as it is being used in this blog. It is not the same thing as religion In fact, a person can be very religious without ever seeking spiritual principles to guide his/her life or circumstances.

There are true, unchanging PRINCIPLES that if unearthed can support research as well as direct it. True, unchanging principles sought after, discovered, and applied have the potential to make a difference for our diverse learners in a way nothing else can.

Therefore, not only does spiritual leadership not mean religion, it also has nothing to do with position or title. Anyone who has the courage, fortitude, and zeal to seek the hidden treasures of knowledge and wisdom (principles) related to multicultural education is employing and providing spiritual leadership.

Leadership: Continuing to Look For Better Answers...AND Questions

In spite of:

• A cry for social justice
• A fury to get teachers ESL endorsed
• An outcry to address the achievement gap
• An attempt to make it a university requirement for educators to take a multicultural education class

not much has changed in the education system and statistics across the nation still look pretty dismal for our diverse learners.

In a talk by Henry B. Eyring, "Teaching Is A Moral Act," delivered at the BYU Annual University Conference on 27th of August 1991, he quoted his father, Henry Eyring, a famous scientist. It was a response his father had given to someone who chided him for changing his mind (flip flopping) about an issue related to science but the same principle applies for those of us concerned about the education of our diverse learners. He said, "I have been on every side of this question, and I will get on every side I can discover until I get a better answer."

If we are to better serve our diverse learners, we must find a
safe place where we can look at every side of the issue without having our
ponderings attacked. Even though much work related to research has
been done (and we haven't even applied that!!!), the quest isn't over....and nor will it ever be. There will always be a better answer for those willing to take the journey and who have the courage to step out of a comfort zone and ask the hard questions.

In Stephen Covey's work he talks about a "Third Space."---where we come to conclusions that are better than either side of an issue can come to by itself. Yet, for this to happen at least one side must be willing to listen with open ears to the perspective of the other side even though he/she may be diametrically opposed to what the other side is saying or advocating.

There is a story about a man who wants to sell a lamp to another gentleman. Rather than telling the gentleman how inferior his present lamp is, he starts by having the gentleman describe all the wonderful things about his lamp. Then he shows him the new lamp. The gentleman himself sees the improvement in quality of the new lamp.

We need moral/spiritual leaders in the multicultural arena who will have the courage to not only speak out but who also have the courage to truly listen:

To enlist people in a vision, leaders must know their constituents and speak their language. People must believe that leaders understand their needs and have their interests at heart. Leadership is a dialogue, not a monologue. To enlist support, leaders must have intimate knowledge of people’s dreams, hopes, aspirations, visions and values… Leaders cannot command commitment, only inspire it. (Source: The Leadership Challenge 3rd Edition: Kouzes and Posner
pg 15)