13 March 2011

An Essay I wrote for Plymouth State

PSU Statement of Purpose Essay

Tom Crumrine

13 March 2011

Early Years in Teaching

My mother always joked with me that I retired first. For four years after college I wandered a bit. I lived in five states and had 17 different odd jobs. I was a logger and a bookseller. I worked at LL Bean and I spliced fiber optic cable for MCI (remember MCI?). For a time I even worked at a plasma bank as a phlebotomist. When I turned 25 my mom sent me a Time magazine with a title something like When We Were 25. It showcased people like Bill Gates telling stories of how awesome they were when they were my age. While a bit heavy handed I got the point. Angry at first, I soon realized that my mom was right. Ever since I decided not to go to medical school in my senior year of college I had been adrift in what I wanted to do. I worked through the summer at my existing dead end job and applied to Bowling Green State University for the teacher certification program. I was going home to live in my parents’ basement and commute to school.

In all honesty I can’t tell you that at age 25 I knew that teaching would become the sole purpose of my life. Even at 28 or 29 it might not have been what I wanted to be remembered for. But as I developed as a teacher and as I met inspiring educators along the way I realized that I wanted teaching to not just be my job but my way of life. Teaching for me is my profession and my hobby and my favorite thing to do. When I’m walking with my daughter in the woods I tell her stories about evolution and ecology. At the doctor’s office the other day I explained to her that the little gold fish in the tank were members of osteichtheys—the bony fish. She’s only 2 and a ½ but I’m pretty sure it is sinking in.

I have been fortunate in my educational journey to be inspired by many great educators. In my first year at Concord High School my mentor Lise Bofinger was an incredible guide. She didn’t teach me how to make handouts or how to turn the book into notes for students. She taught me how to be a better teacher. Lise allowed me to sit in on her classes many times during my first school year. During these visits I learned from her that it is not the teacher’s job to answer all student questions. It is their job to help students discover the answer to questions on their own. Lise showed me how to teach as a coach rather than a lecturer. She also invited me to become a member of a formative assessment study group in 2003, long before the term had become such a buzz word. This group included mainly science teachers and from it I learned that even veteran teachers like Lise needed to continue to learn as they progressed in their careers. I was impressed during our meetings that Lise, a 20 year veteran, would often share mistakes she had made just a week ago. And she would offer them up to the group for criticism and analysis. It was Lise who encouraged me to take on the job as Assessment Coordinator.

Chris Demers, my first colleague as Assessment Coordinator helped me to see how powerful data can be. He showed me how to become an excellent presenter of data and he taught me what to include and what to leave out of a presentation. In our years together we worked to run data retreats that really focused on the data but that were fun too. We also worked diligently to do some of the hard data analysis behind the scenes so that we did not waste teacher time with crunching numbers. We helped them to focus on what to do with the results. Chris also taught me how to be a better listener. When you speak with him he always puts you at ease because you are certain that he is listening to you. He is not thinking about what to say next he is thinking about what you are saying and what he might ask you next. I continue to improve in this area but Chris’s example is what I strive for.

Finally, Christine Rath and Gene Connolly have given me incredible insights into what it takes to be an effective administrator. For the last seven years Mr. Connolly has been the principal where I teach and my frequent collaborator. We worked together on regaining accreditation for the high school (see resume and below) and have met weekly to discuss how to guide the school on its academic journey. Superintendent Chris Rath has taught me how to delegate and how to be the leader of a meeting without dictating what will happen in the meeting. Her skill with working with all stakeholders in a school community is incredible and I have learned much from her.

Future in Education

In the next 25-35 years I want to continue to teach young people and adults. I love teaching students in the K-12 realm but I also am passionate about leading professional development for educators. I am proud of my 10 years as a teacher and now I hope to do more with my own education so that I can work with more students and adults.

I have experienced success working with large groups of teachers to create positive change and I want to continue that work. I know that I need more academic qualifications to become a principal or a superintendent and I am committed to earning those in the near future.

At PSU I hope to research change leadership and effective administrative practices. In my work as Assessment Coordinator my main role has been in leading change. Clearly I want to work with a PSU faculty member and receive their guidance but my initial research thoughts fall into two categories. First would be a meta-analysis of the literature to look for what exemplary school leadership looks like in effective schools. Determining definitions for exemplary leadership and effective schools would be the first steps of my work. The second idea, following along the same lines, would be to conduct field research on what practices occur in effective schools. I would want to conduct interviews and observations but I would also want to make sure that that information can be collected in a way that it can be statistically analyzed and reported in a meaningful way. I would be particularly interested in schools where change leadership has been effective. Of course I realize that an actual research study would require me to narrow these questions considerably. These suggestions are meant to frame the areas where I hope to improve as an educational leader.

How did I get here?

My interest in this kind of research comes from my work as teacher but also from my work as Assessment Coordinator. In my first year as Assessment Coordinator my role was to lead the 150 member high school faculty through a process of designing and implementing a measurable mission. Our school was on probation from our accrediting body and we had exactly one year to come into alignment with their directives. The district leadership agreed with the suggestions of the accrediting body but the high school faculty needed some convincing. My strength in the role was that I had the ability to process the science and the research behind the change but I could also empathize with teachers who were not seeing the connection between what the research said and what was happening in the classroom. As a school we went through a year long process where we had ups and downs and fits and starts. But in the end we had 100% consensus that we had done the right thing. And after our accrediting body reviewed our work they re-instated us as a fully accredited high school.

I am also interested in further graduate studies because of my work with data. As Assessment Coordinator for our district I organize when tests will be given and make sure teachers have support and materials. I also do a great deal of professional development with teachers on what to do with the data. I feel that I am proficient in doing this work but I know that there is more that I need to know. Our district has moved from conducting a data meeting once a year to currently having data meetings as a district 3 or 4 times per year. But I know from examining research on schools that are really closing the achievement gap that the analysis of common assessment data needs to happen on a much more frequent basis.

My purpose is to focus on student learning. I love students. I love teaching. Everything that we do as educators needs to be in the service of student learning. I will bring a lot to PSU while I am there and I promise to do a lot when I leave. I would love the chance to learn more from you.