From the Editor -

WELCOME

In keeping with the mission of the College of Education at The University of Iowa, the Division of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies is pleased to present the Journal of Research for Educational Leaders. The Journal is an electronic professional resource provided at no charge as a service to educational leaders, their boards, and their faculty and staff.

The goal of the Journal of Research for Educational Leaders is the timely dissemination of interdisciplinary research findings and their practical implications as they identify and/or affect best practice in K-12 schools. The Journal is focused on the improvement of America’s schools, student learning, and educational leadership, knowledge and skills. Each issue contains articles on current research and informed opinion in a variety of disciplines and their practical applications important to educational leaders.

About the Journal of Research for Educational Leaders

All articles published in the Journal of Research for Educational Leaders are refereed and peer reviewed under the supervision of our Editorial Board Members. The Editorial Board of the Journal of Research for Educational Leaders is national in scope and is composed of both professors of education and public school practitioners.

School superintendents and principals are encouraged to share Journal articles with their colleagues, staff, board members, community members, and parents. Copyright will be waived for not-for-profit educational purposes.

Journal articles must meet three criteria:

1. The article must contribute to knowledge, theory, and practice
2. The article content must be accurate and scholarly
3. The article must conform to the editorial guidelines of the Journal:
• Manuscripts should be written for a general audience of educators in a usable, easily understood format
• Technical jargon should be avoided
• Manuscripts should be interesting to a significant body of educational leaders
• Manuscripts should focus on the relevance and implications of the research findings for educational leaders
• Manuscripts should avoid detailed descriptions, technical information about methodology, and unnecessary details about data findings
• Articles will include author contact information. Readers desiring technical information and details are encouraged to contact the author(s) directly.

You, the Reader

While the members of the Editorial Board and The University of Iowa are pleased to offer the Journal of Research for Educational Leaders to the education community, we are quite dependent upon you, the reader in the following areas:

1. Manuscripts: In order to provide timely dissemination of interdisciplinary research findings and their practical implications for K-12 schools, the Journal requires at least 35 to 40 quality manuscripts annually. To date, the most difficult step in creating this publication has been the solicitation of appropriate manuscripts. If you have a manuscript describing recent research or views of a scholarly nature that are of value and interest to educational leaders, please consider allowing the Journal to review them for publication.
2. Readership: A publication is of value only when it is read. If you think the Journal has something to offer school leaders and others involved in educating children, please share news of this journal with your peers and colleagues.
3. Input and feedback: Your ideas on topics for future research, comments on articles we have published and suggestions on how we might improve our publication are desired and encouraged. Please contact us, either directly or through our Editorial Board Members.

Sincerely,

Gerald L. Portman, Managing Editor

“I CAN’T” - An anecdote to begin the new school year

Donna's fourth grade classroom looked like many others I had seen in the past. The teacher's desk was in front and faced the  students. The bulletin board featured student work. In most respects it appeared to be a typically traditional elementary classroom. Yet something seemed different that day I entered it for the first time.

My job was to make classroom visitations and encourage implementation of a training program that focused on language arts ideas that would empower students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the volunteer teachers who participated in this project.

I took an empty seat in the back of the room and watched. All the students were working on a task, filling a sheet of notebook paper with thoughts and ideas. The ten-year-old student next to me was filling her page with "I Can'ts". "I can't kick the soccer ball past second base." "I can't do long division with more than three numerals." "I can't get Debbie to like me."  Her page was half full and she showed no signs of letting up. She worked on with determination and persistence. I walked down the row glancing at student's papers. Everyone was writing sentences, describing things they couldn't do.

 By this time the activity engaged my curiosity, so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on but I noticed she too was busy writing. I felt it best not to interrupt. "I can't get John's mother to come for a teacher conference." "I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car." "I can't get Alan to use words instead of fists."

Thwarted in my efforts to determine why students and teacher were dwelling on the negative instead of writing the more positive "I Can" statements, I returned to my seat and continued my observations.

Students wrote for another ten minutes. They were then instructed to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their "I Can't" statements into an empty shoe box. Then Donna added hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door and down the hall.

Students followed the teacher. I followed the students.  Halfway down the hallway Donna entered the custodian's room, rummaged around and came out with a shovel. With the shovel in one hand and the shoe box in the other, Donna marched the students out of the school to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to dig. They were going to bury their "I Can'ts"!

The digging took over ten minutes because most of the fourth graders wanted a turn. The

box of "I Can'ts" was placed in a position at the bottom of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt. Thirty-one 10 and 11 year-olds stood around the freshly dug grave site. At this point Donna announced, "Boys and girls, please join hands and bow your heads." They quickly formed a circle around the grave, creating a bond with their hands.

They lowered their heads and waited. Donna delivered the eulogy. "Friends, we gathered here today to honor the memory of 'I Can't.' While he was with us here on earth, he touched the lives or everyone, some more than others. We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contains his epitaph. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can', 'I Will', and 'I'm Going to Right Away'.  They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps some day, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world. May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."

As I listened I realized that these students would never forget this day. Writing "I Can'ts", burying them and hearing the eulogy. That was a major effort on this part of the teacher. And she wasn't done yet.

She turned the students around, marched them back into the classroom and held a wake. They celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn and fruit juices. As part of the celebration, Donna cut a large tombstone from butcher paper. She wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and put RIP in the middle. The date was added at the bottom. The paper tombstone hung in Donna's classroom for the remainder of the year.

On those rare occasions when a student forgot and said, "I Can't", Donna simply pointed to the RIP sign. The student then remembered that "I Can't" was dead and chose to rephrase the statement. I wasn't one of Donna's students. She was one of mine. Yet that day I learned an enduring lesson from her as years later, I still envision that fourth grade class laying to rest, "I Can't".