Unleashing the Positive Power of Differences: Polarity Thinking in Our Schools: Polarity Thinking in Our Schools

by Jane A.G. Kise

All too often, key education initiatives collapse because leaders fail to anticipate and learn from the concerns of those charged with implementation. This illuminating book shows how education leaders can bring opposing groups to common ground, resulting in a solid plan built on diverse wisdom.

Acclaimed education coach Jane Kise demonstrates how polarity thinking—a powerful tool for bridging differences developed by Barry Johnson of Polarity Partnerships—provides an alternative to endless debates and either/or thinking. Rather than seeing conflicting forces, the tools help us view them as equally important—even interdependent—concepts, approaches, or models. Readers will find:

--Ways to recognize polarities, map the positive and negative aspects, and channel energy wasted on disagreement toward a greater common purpose
--Tools for introducing and working with polarities
--Polarity mapping to help leaders improve processes for leading change and creating buy-in
--Ways to use polarity with students as a framework for higher-level thinking

Genres: Teaching, Education

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2013

About the author

Jane Kise is a writer, education consultant, and corporate trainer. She has written over 25 books, including Educator Bandwidth, Doable Differentiation, Differentiated Coaching, and Intentional Leadership. She is a past president of the Association for Psychological Type International, an organization dedicated to constructive use of differences.

Reviews

[Jay Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polarity thinking is an acknowledgement that certain recurring problems are actually unsolvable. Instead they are dilemmas in a constant tug-of-war between two interdependent values, and by applying a solution mindset to rectify the problem one pole represents (often characterized by "either/or" thinking), the result is a drive toward the other pole. To manage the interdependent tensions well, a different approach is required - one that is characterized by "both/and" - where the goal is to harness the upsides of *both* poles while minimizing the downsides of both.

Education is rife with what appears to be a pendulum - teaching content vs. teaching process; having teacher autonomy vs. teacher collaboration - as well as relatively new paradoxes (evaluate teachers for "accountability vs. growth"). Kise documents the various polarities in education in this text (for example "Academic Success AND Whole Child Success" and teacher evaluation as "Measure of Effectiveness AND Guide for Growth") and has well-researched the various perspectives for the ups and downs of each. She also maps recommended action plans and warning signs to help leverage the action on which to focus for the upsides of both poles.

Part I briefly explains what polarities are and their prevalence in life as well as the education system.

Part II offers four large common of polarities in education that are currently looked at as "problems to solve" instead of polarities to manage or leverage (quoted from text):
- Chapter 3 explores why we provide education, through the polarity of Academic Success AND Whole Child Success
- Chapter 4 looks at who should teach, through the lens of teacher effec- tiveness through Evaluation AND Professional Development
-Chapter 5 examines how we teach with an in-depth look at the “math wars” and the polarity of Mastery of Knowledge AND Mastery of Problem Solving
-Chapter 6 focuses on what we teach and the polarity of Standardization AND Customization

Part III gives five chapter of specific resources (quoted from text):
-Chapter 7 provides a script, slides, and examples for introducing polarity thinking to a team.
-Chapter 8 provides activities to help your team apply the tools to a relevant dilemma, using the example of Homogeneous Grouping AND Heterogeneous Grouping.
-Chapter 9 provides tools for introducing and gaining acceptance for initiatives and strategies that involve polarities, using the example of Teaching Reading Skills and Strategies AND Student Choice in Reading.
-Chapter 10 presents common polarities in education and tools for determining the ones on which your team might focus.
-Chapter 11 provides ideas for introducing polarity thinking to students, from discussing classroom norms to lesson ideas that align with the Common Core State Standards.

and Part IV offers some insight on our hardwiring to explain opposing views (quoted from text):
-Chapter 12 explores how the personality theory of Carl Jung and neuroscience can inform our understanding of how we teach and learn.

This book is an invaluable resource for leaders, teachers, school board members, decision-makers, and policy-makers. The world seems so polarized and unwilling to successfully dialogue about differences; Kise's book is a perfect complement to the conversation of those who hold different viewpoints.

[Ben Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the fact that Dr. Kise puts activities in this book!

[Gary Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the most frustrating experiences for educators result from pendulum swings—those predictable actions and reactions that come from programming launched in response to the weaknesses of a previous program that was itself developed to address the weaknesses of what came before. Another toxic dynamic frequently found in schools occurs when entrenched teachers and administrative bullies cannot (or will not) search for common ground when their philosophies seem to have mutually exclusive priorities.

Professional development expert Jane A. G. Kise shows how to unknot these situations in her newest book, Unleashing the Positive Power of Differences: Polarity Thinking in Our Schools (Corwin, 2014). Using some of the most polarizing education issues of our time as her examples, Kise shows how “both sides are right. A more appropriate phrasing might be that both sides are accurate, but each is also incomplete.” Kise provides a framework for recognizing the positive and negative aspects of each side of a polarity and then arriving at actions that are most likely to provide outcomes agreeable to both sides.

Kise applies her model to grading controversies, teacher evaluation policies, knowledge vs. problem-solving approaches to math learning, choice reading vs. whole-class novels, and other common school-based conflicts. In each case, she shows how school personnel can first agree on a shared goal, and then set about designing programs that combine the best aspects of each perspective while keeping a watchful eye on the downsides of each perspective.

The first part of the book explains how and why mapping these polarities is possible. The second part provides a detailed toolbox for using polarity mapping in professional development and with students. Richly explained with anecdotes and research, Unleashing the Positive Power of Differences can change the trajectory of schools mired in philosophical differences, and show educators how to talk to each other in ways likely to bring about agreement rather than dissent.

Doesn’t that sound good right about now?

Cross-posted in slightly different form on What's Not Wrong?