But You Haven’t Left Yet: Student Voice Inspires Change | Nikeshia Leatherwood | TEDxLake Alfred
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-u9WsYpcjk Video ID: H-u9WsYpcjk ============================================================ [music] In my 24 years as an educator, I've had the privilege of serving thousands of students and their families. I've walked hallways with them, celebrated wins, wiped tears, and watched them grow into young adults. Many of them I remember, especially those I taught in the classroom. Of the countless experiences that I've had with students and their families, this talk highlights one student's voice that changed me. One moment that reshaped how I lead, how I listen, and now even how I learn. His name is Nathaniel. And it was his words, simple, unexpected, and bold that altered the direction of my leadership. We were preparing for a trip to Washington DC, the kind middle schoolers dream about. We were super excited since this was the first postcoavid trip our school had taken. It was the capstone field trip for our eighth graders at Citrus Ridge, a civics academy. I pride myself in being a highly visible principal. What is an office and what is a desk? As Ariel saying in Disney's The Little Mermaid, I want to be where the people are. As a new principal, I'll never forget one of the most helpful strategies I learned in our new principal cohort. We learned of this amazing strategy called management by wandering around. Truthfully, you'd be amazed at what is discovered just by being present and visible. During one of my daily morning wanders about two weeks before we board the plane for DC, one of my students, Nathaniel, found me in the main atrium. With pure excitement in his eyes, he looked at me and said, "Dr. Leatherwood, I've got my money for the DC trip. Who do I pay?" I stood there looking confused. I thought to myself, "What are you talking about, Nathaniel? Where did he pop up from at the last minute?" I told Nathaniel that he had missed the registration deadline. After all, this trip had been advertised since August of 2023. We'd had multiple parent meetings. All the payments were complete. The itinerary was set, the reservations were made, and the room assignments were finalized. I told Nathaniel he wouldn't be able to go. Over the years, and still to this day, everyone knows that I have a heart for the kids. I've often encouraged self- advocacy and I taught my students to speak up until you were heard and be respectfully pushy. Well, Nathaniel had obviously listened to one of my many sermons and he approached me the next day inquiring about the DC trip. Well, this time I blamed it on the travel agency. After all, I had learned from my first experience and the anguish I experienced when the second trip was cancelled just one week before departure due to the COVID pandemic. Let someone else handle the details. Despite telling him no on two separate occasions, he approached me the third time asking about the DC trip. This time I went into details a little bit more and I said, "There simply just isn't enough time to get everything worked out. I'm sorry, but you won't be able to go." But with a look of confusion mixed with hope and anticipation for a different outcome, he looked at me and said, "But you haven't left yet." Those words, they stopped me in my thoughts and in my tracks. And for a moment, time stood still. It was in that moment that I realized how easily leaders, we get buried in our agendas, to-do list, logistics, routine, maintaining compliance and rules. We get so busy creating and running systems that we often forget who we create and run the systems for. You see, truthfully, Nathaniel wasn't being defiant. He wasn't pestering me. He wasn't out of place. He was optimistic. He was hopeful. He was the epitome of a student who believed in his own self- advocacy and his principal's track record for taking care of her kids. When I listened to hear instead of listening to respond, I was able to zoom in and truly heard what Nathaniel was saying. I clearly heard him saying, "What are you going to do with the time you have now to work this situation out for me?" Let's face it, in our tick- tock era, where we can witness a project from start to completion and 60 seconds, the time between then and two weeks to DC must have seemed like an eternity to Nathaniel. This time, I responded with, "Let me go investigate a little bit further. I went to my secretary and I explained to her Nathaniel's dilemma and I said, "Truthfully, I am amazed at how he keeps finding me every day. Is there anything we can do?" She says, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're asking me this. We just had a family call asking about a refund." Well, unbeknownst to me, one of our students had moved from the school and would no longer be able to go with us to Washington, DC. So, I picked up the phone and I called the travel agency and I said, "Hey, if I can orchestrate a payment exchange between these two families, can you work out the name change and the details on your end?" Fast forward to the next morning. This time, I went looking for Nathaniel with a spring in my step. Yes, if you are wondering, Nathaniel got to go to Washington DC. A winwin that almost didn't happen because I didn't pause long enough to see past the rules and the deadlines to listen. Here is the truth though that isn't headline news. Schools and organizations are filled with compassionate and caring leaders. And though we want to stay ahead of our deadlines, we must be intentional not to lose focus on connecting with those we serve. There is immense pressure to triangulate multiple data sources to help inform our decisions and we dare not miss a deadline. However, while managing our organizations, we must also remember our responsibility to lead them. We must remember to ask, "Do my students feel seen?" What opportunities am I providing for my students to feel heard? Am I connecting with those that I serve? In our AI influenced digital world, there are so many tools to keep us organized. However, our lives aren't simply measured by our calendars. They're measured by the moments. The moments we place on those calendars. In the New York Time bestseller, The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath stated the following. Our lives are measured in moments and defining moments are ones that will endure in our memories. Those daily encounters with Nathaniel, they stand out because it changed the way I now listen to what students are saying. I'm now more inclined to investigate further, even if it's not a major problem or a crisis. moments. 10 years from now, Nathaniel won't remember every test he took at Citrus Ridge or the score on his civics EOC exam, but he will remember the moment and the experience of his eighth grade trip to Washington DC. He'll remember standing where history stands. As we viewed the Washington Monument, I remember thinking to myself, "How can you stand in a space that makes you feel so small yet unstoppable at the same time?" He'll remember viewing historical documents and artifacts under soft museum lighting. You see, that's far more memorable than any textbook read. He'll remember the joy that can't be graded, that'll never show up on a report card. Like hanging out late with friends, laughing, playing games, sipping tea in the hotel lobby. I still remember how on our way back to Florida, we had to wait a little extra time for Nathaniel because he had purchased his mother a snow globe, but was made to go back and check it to go under the plane due to its liquid contents. Who knew that snow globes could be so dangerous? It's not that we need more time with our students. However, we need to be more meaningful and intentional about the time that we have with our students. If you have the privilege of leading or co-leading an organization, especially one that serves a vulnerable population such as students, I encourage you to take more time to listen. Before simply saying no to questions and ideas that don't fit your system or agenda, ask, "What story am I missing?" Before denying possibilities, even when the deadlines have passed, ask, "Who might this yes empower?" is there an opportunity that I've not yet explored? And then zoom in to truly hear student voices and then zoom out to see how those voices might be needed to rebuild systems that truly listen. As a veteran principal who's been blessed to lead three separate schools ranging from preK now to 12th grade, I have seen a lot of trends come and go in my two and a half decades as an educator. And here are a few facts. Number one, you will always be pressed for time. Number two, as soon as you meet one deadline, another one will be set. And three, no matter how much you accomplish, your work will never be done. Therefore, I stand with authority to let you know that it is perfectly okay to pause before you decide. Invite student voices to live and to be amplified in your organization and design opportunities and moments for memory, not just compliance. Yes, the rules are needed to help us stay organized, but it's the inspiring moments that will be remembered. I still think of Nathaniel and how his persistence changed his outcome. But you haven't left yet. See, true leadership begins when we pause long enough to listen. Whether it's your school, organization, or personal life, I leave you with this question. Who is the Nathaniel in your life whose outcome might be changed because you take time to hear their story? Have you considered that someone's trajectory is dependent on your availability to hear their words? Will you make time to listen? Because after all, we haven't left yet. Thank you. [cheering] >> [music]