Summary: <br> This week, Jen Schwanke, author and education leader, shares thoughts on why education leaders should consider how ‘place and space’ play a role in learning outcomes. <br> <br> <br> <br> With credit to Dr. Miller, director of the EdD in Educational Administration and an assistant professor – clinical in the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University, Jen probes into several questions his feedback has generated.<br> <br> <br> <br> Listen to the entire episode for more context, but here is a short summary of the conversation with several applications for education leaders:<br> <br> <br> <br> WDP: What is the difference between space and place?<br> <br> <br> <br> Jen: Think about it this way:<br> <br> <br> <br> * Space is something abstract…you can’t touch it* Place is how we internalize space. In a nutshell, place is space with meaning* For example, your house is an actual place, but the aspects of your house that cause you to feel safe, warm, loved, happy, maybe sad, etc. all constitute your home as a space to you. * Place, as a space, is fueled by memory and carries significant meaning (good and bad) for us. Simply stated, we have a relationship with place. We are nostalgic for places we have left, we protect places where we are, and we fully understand how to enact our lives in those places (e.g., where to play football, where to shop, where to fart). * Place, as a space, is socially constructed, which means they have politics, emotions, and meaning<br> <br> <br> <br> What meaning does your school building have as a space for students, teachers, and parents? Consider ‘Social Construction’: What we take to be the truth about the world importantly depends on the social relationships of which we are a part. Sometimes that gets us stuck. Sometimes we need to break out of what we’ve already known to be the best way. <br> <br> <br> <br> WDP: This is one reason our offices should be welcoming places where parents and others feel like guests, not intruders. For instance, our school had a habit of making a fresh pot of coffee and keeping water and sometimes fresh baked cookies on hand. How else should this influence the ways principals consider place?<br> <br> <br> <br> Jen: For principals, it’s usually about a place of belonging.<br> <br> <br> <br> Think about what that means for your school, your place, your space. What are some ideas and changes you can make? Consider the terms: Leadership, management, and reconstruction. Only you, your staff, your community can speak to what might need to be reconstruction. But you’re the leader. What does that mean? <br> <br> <br> <br> a. Is it your job to represent the ideals of your school community?<br> <br> <br> <br> b. Is it your job to adhere to best educational practice? <br> <br> <br> <br> c. Is it your job to do what is best for students…at all cost? <br> <br> <br> <br> Leadership is change/Management is holding down the fort. As a leader, do you have the ability to step outside the your own culture? What roles do you play? <br> <br> <br> <br> * historian – interprets current events against the backdrop of the past * anthropologist – finds meaning in the behavior of organizational participants* visionary – projects aspirations for others* marketer – models and provides ceremonies and routines<br> <br> <br> <br> WDP: What is reconstruction? <br> <br> <br> <br> Jen: For me, it’s evolution. It’s adapting. It’s keeping those students in mind. Changes aren’t hard to defend if they are done for students. <br> <br> <br> <br> Will: So, is there anything principals should consider reconstructing? <br> <br> <br> <br> Jen: Some principals are grappling with students of color, transgender,
