Breaking the Script


Breaking the Script
By Jordan Hoffman

Chip and Dan Heath wrote, "If you're going to create memorable moments for your customers, you've got to break the script."   Part of what makes a snow day special is that it breaks the script of a typical school week.  We don't expect to get a random day off in the middle of the week. And there's an element of surprise when the phone rings with the recognizable school district main line calling, "This is the Natick Public Schools calling with an important message.  Due to the impending storm, school will be cancelled on Thursday, January 5th." While this particular break in the script is dependent on weather, school leaders can intentionally break the script to create a memorable moments for students and staff.
Breaking the script needs to be random, surprising and spontaneous in order to have an impact.  Teachers expect that when I pop into the classroom with an ipad or computer in hand that I will be conducting an observation or walk through.  But what if instead I walked into a classroom pushing a rolling cart with hot chocolate and whipped cream on a sub-zero morning?  Breaking the script.
Or how about a teacher who dresses like a pirate to greet students with a hook handshake when they arrive on the day they will be learning about r-controlled vowels.  "Arrrr you ready for an exciting day of learning?"  Breaking the script.
When is the last time you broke the script or created a surprising, random, memorable moment?  It's easy to get bogged down by the day-to-day demands of our jobs.  Whether we like it or not, we have to comply to state and federal mandates and can easily get caught up in the paperwork.  However, disrupting the norm helps to create an environment where both teachers and students want to be each day.  When people feel connected, valued, and appreciated they are far more likely to be effective or successful.
Here are 4 ways school leaders can break the script and create memorable moments for STUDENTS:
  1. Use a selfie stick:  When greeting students before school, break out the selfie stick.  You can get one for under $10 on Amazon. Take some pictures and tweet them with your school hashtag. There's no better way to get students and their grown ups smiling at the start of the day.
  2. Serve lunch in the cafeteria: Students don't expect to see you behind the line putting burger patties on buns while wearing plastic gloves.  It helps to create an appreciation for other jobs within the school and also gives you and opportunity to be with students.
  3. Walk a student home:  Not only does this allow for some important quality time and enable you to get to know your students better, it also provides you insight into where they live and what their home lives may be like.  Exercise is an added bonus!
  4. Film and share a digital read aloud: The night before the first day of school can be a nervous time for students.  Film yourself reading First Day Jitters by Julie Dannenburg (added bonus for wearing your bathrobe) and share the link to families with a message about it being okay to feel nervous on the first day.  And every new kindergartener who watches the video will know who you are and see a familiar face on the first day of school.
Here are a few ways for school leaders to break the script for STAFF:
  1. Mix up the meeting snacks:  Forget the go-to Hershey's Miniatures meeting snack.  On Opening Day for the Red Sox (or your home team) serve peanuts, popcorn and cracker-jack on Red Sox paper plates with Red Sox napkins.  Give away a few whiffle ball bats and balls as prizes.
  2. Award a Light up Hashtag:  Recognize a staff member for doing something "hashtag worthy."  At the start of each staff meeting, the most recent recipient of the hashtag can recognize a colleague and pass the light-up hashtag to someone new.  Hopefully it will make it around the building with staff members being recognized each month.
  3. Raffle off a Free Recess Duty:  Ask teachers to put their name on a ticket to be entered into a drawing at the start of a meeting.  They will get a much-appreciated 15-20 minutes and you can use this time to get outside and play!
  4. Play music to start a meeting:  In November, I designed a BreakoutEDU experience as a more engaging way for teachers to learn about the 8 essential elements of PBL.  To add to the energy and fun, I played the Swing Out Sister, Break Out video from Youtube.  Staff had to guess the year the song came out for a prize.  Pick either an upbeat song or one that matches the work you will be doing.  
Breaking the script requires a school leader to be vulnerable and put themselves out there. They need to be willing to take a risk and possibly be ridiculed.  It is safe and comfortable to stick with the norm.  But being normal doesn't create memorable moments.  And isn't that what life is all about?
I end this post in an attempt to break the script again.  Off to film a Snow Day Read Aloud in front of my fireplace complete with hat, scarf, and gloves.   Please share other ways in which you break the script for staff or students.  We are better together.  Stay warm!


Inspired by The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

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