TLP: Mark Ulfers, American School of Paris

TLP: Mark Ulfers, American School of Paris

by | May 6, 2012 | The Leadership Project

In international education, like any industry, it doesn’t take long to build a reputation amongst your colleagues and peers.  This is no different for Mark Ulfers, Head of the American School of Paris, who has been described by others as knowledgeable, dependable and a change-maker.  Mr. Ulfers’ storied career stretches around the globe including headships in Frankfurt, Taiwan, Cyprus as well as leadership positions in Singapore and the USA.  Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with him and what struck me the most in our conversation was his commitment to making others around him better.  This is a valuable skill to have in Western Europe, where he explained the challenge of labor laws has encouraged him to develop talent within and across the school. (If not specifically quoted, Mr. Ulfers’ responses to these questions have been paraphrased) You became a Principal at 27, what made you decide to step into school leadership? “I think it was a sense that you could bring a little more rationality than what you had been witnessing…[although] I’m not sure I’ve been able to do that.”  You’ve worked in schools all over the world, how is working in Europe different from your experiences in Asia? “[Actually] I find more commonalities at our schools than differences.  Clearly culture has a tremendous influence…[but] the needs of young people seem to be so much the same [anywhere in the world]…their desires, needs, aspirations…”  I suppose the biggest difference is that labor laws are refined to a science in Western Europe compared to Asia…”I hear people whine, moan and complain about the labor laws in Europe, but...
Taming the Beast Within Our Schools: Teacher Collaboration

Taming the Beast Within Our Schools: Teacher Collaboration

by | May 4, 2012 | Blog, Teacher's Corner

Over the last few weeks of interviews with school leaders, I’ve heard the common theme that being able to communicate effectively with others is a priceless skill for leaders.  This isn’t shocking news to any of us, yet sometimes it can be very easy to shutdown the lines of communication with our coworkers when things don’t go the way we planned.  Recently a school head in Hong Kong reminded me of this by saying “we can never forget that we’re working with human beings”, and I would add; the good and the bad.  Keeping this simple truth in mind as we operate in our schools may hopefully bring a higher level of civility in the midst of discussion. Simply knowing this is great, however, what’s transformational is setting a framework of expectations with each other when collaborating, negotiating or building consensus.  A friend of mine at the International School of Kuala Lumpur forwarded me their Seven Norms of Collaborative Work, which I believe is powerful tool for building a share vision for our schools. The Seven Norms of Collaborative Work Pausing: Pausing actually slows down the “to and fro” of discussion. There are fewer ‘frames per second’ to deal with. It provides for the precious “wait time” which has been shown in classrooms to dramatically improve student critical thinking. Pausing and the acceptance of moments of silence creates a relaxed and yet purposeful atmosphere. Silence, however initially uncomfortable, can be an excellent indicator of productive collaboration. Pausing also signals to others that their ideas and comments are worth thinking about. It dignifies their contribution and implicitly encourages future participation....