Servicing Customers vs. Customer Service: Hmmm...

As a basketball mom I spend a lot of time hanging out in the bleachers with other parents. This past week I spent more time in the stands than at my own dining room table. Bleacher time can lead to interesting conversations. This week I was talking to another mother who recently returned from a work conference. She was obviously excited about what she had learned and eager to tell those of us sitting with her. This particular woman is in sales, specifically sales for an exclusive line of women's clothing. (I know what you're thinking. What in the world does this have to do with education? Bear with me.) After filling us in on the highlights of the spring collection, (Great new Kelly Green jacket for us Yorktown folks, BTW.) she began talking about the overall message of the conference; servicing customers instead of customer service. This is the idea that if you serve your customers in a proactive manner and meet their personal needs upfront, the need for reactive customer service will decline. In their world this equals a better buying experience, a base of loyal customers, and in turn more sales. 

"Servicing customers instead of customer service".  It got me thinking how this same mantra could apply to the world of educational technology. I pride myself in providing my teachers with opportunities to develop their integration practices. I also feel members of my tech department and I provide quality service to our teachers. When issues arise we swiftly take care of their needs to see that instruction is not interrupted. Could we be better about anticipating the needs of our teachers in terms of additional tools, support, and their varying curriculums? Could I customize my sessions, even individualize them to see that each teacher gets the best "look" for him/her, just as my friend does with the clothing line she sells? Could I be better about explaining to teachers why quality technology use in one room may look different than that in another, just as one woman may need a size small sweater while the next needs a medium for the best fit possible? Could I service my customers in a more effective way? 
Everyone wants to feel and look his or her best. I believe this to be true whether we are talking about appearance or job performance. Perhaps this is why I am constantly reflecting on my "closet" of practices; deciding what practices I can keep, which ones need to be boxed up for donation, and which new ones I need to pick up to be my best. My conclusion; I need to transition to a bit more of personalized PD system, anticipating teacher needs and helping them to customize the learning experience that have with me to ensure the best integration fit. You know what? I think that I'll get that Kelly Green jacket too! 

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Big Apple in Education

This year I was fortunate enough to be able to usher in the New Year with over a million people from around the world in Times Square. My husband surprised me with this trip, as it was on my bucket list to be in the city and experience the biggest New Year's in the nation. As part of my 11-hour wait (yes I said 11hours), I worked on my resolutions and I resolved to be more consistent with my posts. In case you haven't noticed, I've struggled with that in 2015. Fresh starts, right?

I learned a lot through my first ever trip to the Big Apple.  I observed many common practices that if implemented in the world of education, would change the way students, teachers, and administrators feel about the school experience.

The hotel where we stayed was located right off Times Square and shared the block with several Broadway show venues. Each night as we were walking the block, I noticed audience members standing outside of the building after the show waiting for the performers to exit. Rather than moving on to their next Big Apple adventure, these folks waited for quite some time to shower the performers with cheers and applause for their performance when they finally emerged. What if we did this for students who had given it their all at the end of long week, or for teachers as they emerged from their classrooms after facilitating an outstanding learning situation?  What if we did this for administrators after they have spent hours, days, weeks, and even months developing plans to improve district performance or implement a new initiative? Would celebrating these educational "performances" not give those in the trenches the motivation to come back each day and do it all again, just as it does those performing on Broadway?

In addition to my introduction to Broadway traditions I was introduced to another fascinating and complex system...The New York City subway system. Let me tell you, it's not as easy as you'd think. There are maps and guides to help you determine how to get where you are going; however, there are both local trains and express trains and with several options to meet one end result, it's rather difficult to know which train to select until you get used to it. While I am VERY directionally challenged, my husband is typically masterful at navigating us around the cities we visit. Imagine my surprise when we ended up in Brooklyn one night instead of back in Times Square as we intended. (Side note: Brooklyn is one place we had been advised not to go to at night.) Oops! We spent the next 30 minutes hopping on and off trains and transferring until we were able to navigate our way back to our hotel. While it was incredibly frustrating to not know for sure where we would end up, the underground adventure we were on was well worth it due to the experienced gained. After that, we were subway masters. In my position at school, I see many teachers and administrators find themselves in the same situation Scott and I found ourselves. They have expectations set for where they need to go in regard to the implementation of initiatives and tools (including technology), but many seem to get frustrated when they cannot reach there expectation destination via the quickest/shortest route. Some even try to ignore that these changes/expectations are happening. You've gotta get home, people! What if instead of getting bogged down with the stress of ourselves to these educational destinations, we all embraced the adventure of reaching our goals; how much we are learning, the baby steps of change? We will get there eventually (where ever "there" might be). It is up to us how we will feel along the way. Feeling scared or anxious about ending up in the right place sure won't get us "there" any faster.

And then there was the communication factor. Communicating with folks in New York City can be a challenge in and of its self. Did you know there are actually guides online that tell you how to do this properly? Wish I would've paid more attention to those. What I found is that although language can be a barrier in city that is made up of people of so many different nationalities, there is one universal truth. Most people want to talk and are willing (and even excited) to exchange with perfect strangers so long as you are willing to initiate the conversation. During our time in the city we met and spoke with people from around the globe, including England, Syria, Canada, Mexico, Spain, various U.S. states, and yes, even many very friendly New Yorkers. That was by far the best part of the trip. Discussing the customs, experiences, and viewpoints of people from around the world and watching as them as they took what we said in and to heart was incredible. What if we allowed for that kind of communication in schools? Would students and educators, educators and parents, and educators and educators not be better off if we all listened (really listened) with an accepting ear a little bit more? If we listened to those we interact with every day as attentively as we do those we just meet, would that not provide clarity and result in us being more tolerant of our differences in opinion?

Needless to say I loved my NYE trip to NYC. That short trip provided a lifetime of take-aways for me. (I'm not saying I don't need/want to go back, Scott! ;) I hope that after reading this you will see why we need to put a little of the "Big Apple" back into education!

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KyariTheKonverseKidd

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