It's Not Working Dick

Having a toddler around the house typically ensures many hilarious quotes that arise at a moment’s notice. My little guy, Xavier, just turned four and is full of great looks, gestures and quotes. Our dear friends Jan & Dick have played an instrumental role in Xavier’s life to date. Specifically, Dick plays golf, hockey, basketball, soccer, etc. in the backyard as well as teaching Xavier the intricacies of the game of baseball – albeit from the perspective of the Evil Empires (aka: the Yankees)! One of our favorite interactions between Xavier and Dick arose from a moment of frustration when the little plastic golf clubs wouldn’t make the plastic golf ball fly very far one day. Xavier looked at Dick and stated, “It’s not working Dick”. Simple. Concise. Clear. He made his point. Although initially frustrated, Xavier looked to Dick for leadership and trusted in his ability to solve the problem by replacing the plastic club with a larger hockey stick and substituting the plastic ball with an actual golf ball. That certainly made a difference as the ball travelled much further (we apologized to our neighbors in advance) and Xavier and Dick were satisfied with their game.

So how does this relate to Casady’s goal of remaining relevant while the world around us changes? I am struck by a toddler’s ability to determine that something was not working and his willingness to buy into Dick’s proposed solution. Are we as educators and parents equally adept at such analysis and problem solving? Are we more apt to struggle with practices and methodologies that do not produce desired results for fear of change? Change, and change leadership, can be difficult. I believe that schools can hold on to the wonderful traditions that make it strong, redefine what it means to stay true to a mission, remain progressive in its strategic planning/teaching and tackle each day with a desire to become better than we were yesterday…..all at the same time. As Jim Collins has said, “Sometimes we must give up the good to achieve the great.” I am proud of the school that Casady was, is and will be. There is work to be done but we must also recognize that much has been done recently to better the school, embrace the community and prepare students for success today and in the future.

Xavier is not quite ready to be brought in as an educational consultant but his idea is an important one for us to think through and apply on campuses throughout the land. Whether it is the plastic golf balls not flying far enough, lesson plans not engaging students enough or administrative practices not resulting in desired outcomes we all need to think about trying something different if “It’s not working Dick.”