"Biased people bias people.
Better people better people!"
- David Martin
"Biased people bias people.
Better people better people!"
- David Martin
David Martin is a passionate leader, education innovator and survivor of workplace bullying. He began his career in education in 1998 as a teacher and has since served in the roles of organizational development specialist, dean, assistant principal, founding principal and consultant. Over half his career has been spent leading schools.
David’s educational expertise includes: problem-based learning, school design, college & career readiness/21st century skills and instructional technology. As a professional musician, he has released music commercially, toured internationally and scored for feature films. He is also a serial entrepreneur, author, licensed real estate salesperson and currently, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania.
David is a proud husband and devoted father of three daughters.
He resides in New York with his family.
Principal Diversity & Race
I have often wondered if there is any correlation between the prevailing ethnicity of a school’s student body and the ethnicity of the school’s principal in large urban public school systems. I am currently engaged in doctoral coursework, studying existing perceptions of stakeholders around principal selection and race in New York City Public Schools. #exclud_ed #bble
Implicit Bias
As difficult as it might be to believe, we all carry biases with us. They affect our relationships and guide our intentions almost as though our minds were on autopilot. Being aware of your blind spot and helping others to recognize and mediate their own biases can help organizations move beyond some potentially harmful interactions and outcomes.
Over-aged/Under-credited
Almost six years of my work as a school administrator was focused on reclaiming students who were considered “the most difficult to serve” by New York City Public Schools. My team and I earned impressive outcomes and learned a great deal about what motivates students and how traditional curricula is a disservice to many learners. I engage with schools systems around this critical and pervasive issue.
Myths: At-risk
Some time ago I read a brilliant book by Annegret Staiger (Learning Difference). I was surprised to learn of the educational origins/adaptation of the term “at-risk” as an insurance industry reference and immediately felt immense shame and regret in referring to learners in this way. How are these students the same or different from others? How can we codify their unique strengths from an asset-based stance as opposed to a deficit-based stance?
Workplace Bullying
According to an Office Team survey, 62% of HR Managers say that work place bullying happens. As a victim of this practice myself, I developed a solution (bullyworkzone.org) as a way to help others avoid a similar experience. #BullyFreeWorkZone #bfwz
Myths: Urban Education
We categorize things as a way to understand them. The continued proliferation of white educators from outside of the communities in which they teach, has generated cognitive dissonance for those educators. As a result of society’s inability to understand these black and brown communities, the “urban education” term provides a way to discretely and acceptably label schools where kids do, say and think in a way their teachers don’t know how to “fix.” Kids are kids, not labels. #TheUrbanEdMyth
Groupthink to Teamthink
Groupthink (Janis, 1972, 1983) is a negative term referring to the loss of individuality and creative thinking when individuals within a group defer to the thinking of the group (or a leader in the group) rather than their own ideas for how to achieve outcomes that are beneficial for the group. Teamthink (Neck & Manz, 1994) is proposed as a way that groups can avoid the pitfalls of groupthink by focusing on the mindset of the team members and seeking to establish norms that proactively plan to thwart groupthink, including viewing obstacles as challenges.
Literacy vs. Content
For some reason, American schools assume school is about learning content. And they assume that kids can consume the content because they have already acquired the English language. Both accounts are silly. Instruction is and should always be about literacy. The purpose of content is to engage and provide the learner a reason to learn to be excited about literacy. Every lesson needs to incorporate opportunities to read, write, speak and listen. These modalities are not just learners of a second language; they are first-language tools also.
…highly intelligent, conscientious, insightful, dedicated…hard working…knowledgeable in the subject matter…able to work with others, and has an affinity for educational supervision. I can give him my highest recommendation without qualification.
…resulted in extremely high achievement and high attendance…created a collaborative environment for students, faculty, and parents that facilitated all stakeholders to realize shared goals.
...by far one of the most accomplished and capable administrators I have had the good fortune to have worked with. His abilities extended across the population of teachers, support staff and students he was responsible for...an adroit and perceptive leader; one who always had the ability to resolve issues before they became problems...truly a great experience to work as a teacher with Mr. Martin as my administrator.
David is a thoughtful and strategic thinker in coordinating a vision and executing it. He is an enthusiastic and skilled instructional and organizational leader.
…learned more with you than I ever had. It was an enlightening experience and it made me want more. You have a positive affect on people, on many different levels…especially when you challenge them.
David’s work exceeded our expectations...demonstrated a poise, intellect and level of professionalism that we don’t often see...I remain in contact because he is one of those rare finds that you come across and you recognize you are working with someone very special. If you are looking for someone with poise, analytical strength, creative with attention to detail, David will address those needs in every way and I strongly recommend him for a myriad of roles that demand that unique set of attributes.
Sometimes, an extra set of eyes, ears and hands goes a long way in creating/implementing innovative solutions.
Let me bring almost twenty years of excellence to bear for your next project.
Contact me for pricing.
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