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Yolanda Harman
34 Plays2 years ago
On this episode on National Board Conversations we talk to Yolanda Harman. She is an NBCT in Maryland and is a big advocate for administrators taking the plunge and going through the National Board process. You can read more about her encouragement of administrators in The Standard.
Twitter: @NBPTS
Instagram: @NBPTS
Facebook: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
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Transcript
Meet Yolanda Harmon
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to National Board Conversations. In this episode, I talk to National Board Certified Principal. Yup, I speak to Yolanda Harmon. She's a National Board Certified Teacher and Assistant Principal at Northern Garrett High School in Garrett County, Maryland. We get into her journey to becoming an NBCT, both the classroom perspective and the administrative perspective. And Yolanda talks about why she believes more administrators should go through the process. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Here's my conversation with Yolanda. Hey, Yolanda, how's it going today?
00:00:29
Speaker
Do you want the truth or do you want music? I mean, you can give us whatever answer you feel like before you walk. It's been a rough Monday. I don't know if it's a full moon or what's going on. Ides of March, whatever. But hey, it's great. It's always great. Well, thank you for finding the time. I'm happy to talk to you. You've written a few pieces for us, and this is the first time we actually get to speak, and so I'm happy about it.
00:00:52
Speaker
I'm happy to close the door where no one can get to me for half an hour. So we're going to jump right into
The Assistant Principal's Role
00:01:00
Speaker
it. Can you tell us what your current role is and give a brief intro of yourself? My current role is an assistant principal in a very small rural high school grades nine through 12, 428 students as of the latest counts. Oh man, I feel like graduating class was that big. I know it's tiny. It's tiny.
00:01:21
Speaker
And that has, of course, pros and cons, but that's another discussion. So like, early on in your career, you were a teacher, you weren't always an assistant principal, so why were you a teacher? And then why did you transition to becoming an assistant principal? Okay, well, I never wanted to be a teacher. But someone, my senior year in college, approached me and said, have you ever thought of teaching you would make a wonderful teacher? So I kind of tucked that away.
00:01:50
Speaker
And I was actually headed to graduate school in some different field. And my father became very ill. My father was a lifetime educator, having worked his way up through the ranks all the way to superintendent in Pennsylvania. And he said to me, because I moved home due to his illness and I was the oldest child, he had a stroke. He said, why don't you go to graduate school here, local,
00:02:19
Speaker
and think about getting certified to teach. And I said, I don't think I really want, but OK, I'll do that.
Returning Home
00:02:28
Speaker
And so I did some other things in between and was approached to teach science at the high school level and ended up doing that for 23 years. And then I had some opportunities at a supervisory capacity and did that for six years.
00:02:49
Speaker
And then the position of assistant principal at the high school where I began opened up. So I thought I would just come full circle and move back home to where I started because I was living in Hagerstown and working in a different system. And it just seemed like an opportunity worth exploring. And I enjoy being closer to the action, if you want to call it that. Not today so much.
00:03:18
Speaker
But generally, I really enjoyed the students and the teachers and I thought that I could really do more good here at this level. I also thought it would be a nice way to round out my career. This is my 32nd year. Oh, man. Congratulations on making it that long. Oh, man. I'm old. I heard that.
00:03:45
Speaker
Oh, yeah, I don't know how because I remember crying to my dad the first the first year telling him this is the most horrible thing and I can't do it. And he's like, give it give it five years at five years, you'll know. And that was November, November of my first year. But at five years, I did know and here I am.
00:04:09
Speaker
Oh man, that's awesome.
The Impact of NBCT
00:04:11
Speaker
So you ended up becoming a national board certified teacher. Why did you end up pursuing? Well, I was the first person in, well, I was in a cohort actually in our county and in the first group, I just was looking for more ways to grow, grow myself professionally. I'm always looking for.
00:04:34
Speaker
just ways to make myself better. And I thought National Board also offered me the opportunity to elevate the profession. I think teachers take a beating, educators in general take a beating. And unless you've done it, you have no idea how difficult it is, how challenging, how rewarding. And I just wanted to be a part of National Board. And I can tell you of all the things I've done in my 32 years, it still ranks as one of the most profound and meaningful
00:05:07
Speaker
experiences to elevate myself, and more importantly, to increase my positive impact on student learning, as well as other teachers. And so as an administrator, you wrote a piece for us encouraging other administrators to go through the process. Something we try to do, we try to get administrators to go through the process. And it's usually more difficult to get administrators to do it, which is a little understandable. But why are you such a champion for administrators to go through the process?
Administrators & NBCT: A Case for Renewal
00:05:37
Speaker
Well, there are several, several levels to that. First, just because the process was so rewarding and I've done many different kinds of professional development. I have advanced degrees. And again, this ranks in the very top of not only making myself better, but helping me to connect with other people who are of like mind and
00:06:05
Speaker
just continuing to grow professionally. The second reason is that the professional opportunities afforded by the National Board through National Board are some of the best that I've ever engaged in. So I really think administrators need to be a part of the process so they can encourage and support teachers in their buildings. And the most important thing of all
00:06:32
Speaker
is that I think it really gives street credibility to an administrator who may be out of the classroom for some time. And I can speak to my experience in particular. I've been out of the classroom since 2013. Now, I've done a couple things here and there. I've covered classes, et cetera. But by forcing myself to go through the renewal process, because I was still under the old umbrella with the old timers,
00:07:01
Speaker
By forcing myself to go through that, particularly during COVID, while I had students in front of me, students at home, students in the chat, I'm running three different monitors and a smart board. And I have a dry erase board. I needed a whole video crew sound and video to assist me. And I think it brings an appreciation to the lift that teachers had to do.
00:07:29
Speaker
It made me more compassionate for students and teachers. And I think if you came into education because you love teaching, I don't think you should ever lose that connection for yourself, for your students, but most importantly, so that you can advocate and support your teachers. Well, man, so it sounds like there was a lot of lessons learned while you were going through the process, through this latest renewal process.
00:07:55
Speaker
There were, and if I hadn't achieved, I wasn't sure that I was going to go all the way back to the square one, the starting gate. No, I can imagine. From everything we hear, it's a daunting process to go through, so. It is, and I really have worked hard. I have three teachers going through it here, and I'm really so proud of them, and I
00:08:23
Speaker
really want to understand the process as best I can from my vantage point so that I can continue to lift them up and guide them. So speaking of lessons learned, I'm sure there was a lot learned during that have been going on through the pandemic. Teachers are entering their third year or wrapping up their third year of being in the pandemic. How have you changed as a leader during these times?
Leading Through a Pandemic
00:08:52
Speaker
I think I've gone through somewhat of a cycle and I've grown differently in my role than I would have otherwise had it been three normal years. At first it was kind of just survival mode and me doing whatever I could do
00:09:14
Speaker
to help my students, my families, and those around me. But it was constantly changing. It was very frustrating. I didn't always know how to best advise teachers and how to best support them. And it wasn't until I myself was getting really run down and worn out that I realized not only did I need to save myself because I was ignoring my own needs, but I needed to really be
00:09:42
Speaker
as uplifting as I could for teachers because they were really truly burnt out. So as a leader I began to focus on not toxic positivity but positive measures that I could put in place through my role to support and guide teachers and also to provide them little thank yous that you know may not mean a whole lot but I can I can feel the tide of frustration
00:10:11
Speaker
and desperation turning. Not that it's all my efforts, it's been a team approach. And I'm not really sure what the original question was now that I went all through that. But I feel like my role has been to be a champion for my teachers and my students and to look for ways to make
00:10:40
Speaker
the pathway brighter for everyone. So I do everything that I can to do that for substitutes, teachers, custodians, guidance counselors, cafeteria workers, students, parents. What has it taught you about the power of building relationships and repairing your relationships?
The Power of Relationships
00:11:05
Speaker
Well, I think you know from my blog, I've always been a person that believed in the importance of relationships, but particularly in my role as an administrator in order to facilitate positive changes or to guide people in a meaningful way or to correct students who are misbehaving. There has to be a foundation
00:11:31
Speaker
of relationship first. And you really have to understand where the other person is coming from so that you can meet them where they are rather than expect them to come to where you are. I mean, I'm an adult. I'm a little older. I'm dealing with high school kids. I'm dealing with new teachers. They don't have
00:11:56
Speaker
the skills, the experiences, or many of the resources. But that's not to say that they don't have things to teach me as well. And that relationship is a two-way street. But when you take the time to get to know students and faculty, then when it comes time to have a difficult conversation or to intervene when there's a crisis, I think you know much better how to enter.
00:12:25
Speaker
that room or that conversation and to guide towards the outcome that's best for the student or the staff member in the most meaningful, in the most meaningful way within the context of that person's life experiences, if that makes sense. Yeah, we get you, we get you. All right, last few questions and then we'll let you get out of here. We're gonna get to know you a little bit outside the classroom.
Personal Insights and Interests
00:12:51
Speaker
So first question is, what is a fear or phobia that you had? Wow, a fear or phobia? Well, currently I have two. I'm deathly afraid of heights and always have been, although I've taken some steps to conquer that fear. I'm not skydiving, not bungee jumping, but I've done some high
00:13:19
Speaker
ropes towards and things like that to try to push myself. But I'm still scared. And the other scare are tick-borne illnesses. Oh man. For whatever reason, our climate of course has changed and this area where I am typically would get cold enough that we really wouldn't have a problem with ticks.
00:13:43
Speaker
in the spring, summer, fall. And now all of a sudden, because the ground is not getting cold enough and leaf litter and dead wood and things like that are staying warmer year round, we're getting all kinds of ticks. And I have friends with Lyme disease. And I'm not so creeped out by the ticks so much as I am worried about getting Lyme disease and not knowing that I have it or any other thing. But Lyme disease is the most common around here.
00:14:11
Speaker
And I just would want to seek treatment right away. So I'm constantly checking myself for ticks. No, that's smart. Ticks are a pretty big thing where I'm from. And so yeah, it's smart to be aware of them. Thanks. What is your favorite item you bought this year? Oh, wow. My favorite item.
00:14:39
Speaker
I don't have any one favorite item. I have lots of favorites, and they are books. Nice. Any recommendations? Oh, hundreds. Contact me. I will tell you professional or just leisure. I love to read a wide array of things. All right, last one, and then we'll get you out of here. What is your favorite dessert? Or give us a list of two or three of your favorite desserts.
00:15:09
Speaker
Wow. Anything with peanut butter and chocolate, ice cream, and pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie. Oh, I like it. I like it. Pumpkin pie is really good. All right, well, thank you, Alonda, for taking the time. This was a lot of fun. I had some good laughs, and I enjoyed talking to you. Well, I really enjoyed it too, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity.
00:15:39
Speaker
What a great conversation with Yolanda. I hope this is a push some administrators need to push themselves through the process. I want to say thank you again to Yolanda for chatting with me and thank you for listening to National Board Conversations. Be sure to follow us on social media for all National Board related updates and we'll see you next time.