By Amelia Brown
NKY Cooperative for Educational Services
“Belief is the ignition for inspiration and the foundation for dreams.”
I read those words this past summer as I was halfway through a new book: The Pepper Effect: Tap into the Magic of Creativity, Collaboration, and Innovation by Sean Gaillard.
Wow. Yes.
The book aims to energize educators to improve upon their school’s culture and collaboration by concentrating on 4 riffs:
1. Believe in Your Vision.
2. Believe in Your Masterpiece.
3. Believe in Your Collaborators.
4. Ignore the Naysayers.
YES! It really does begin with belief! The self-efficacy that as an educator, you can and will make a difference; the collective efficacy that together we can have a lasting impact.
The book is unique. It’s not your typical school culture research-heavy read. Author Sean Gaillard is a Beatles fanatic. He fell in love with the Beatles after being introduced to the band by one of his 5th-grade teachers. Each chapter of the book shares a little piece of Beatles history and how their creativity, collaboration, and innovation created works of art far beyond their time. He then parallels those experiences with our experiences as educators. I was completely sold on the idea that we as educators can consider ourselves artists. Art takes many forms.
I was so engrossed in this book and the experiences of the author that I couldn’t wait to share it with others. As a consultant with the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services, I have a unique opportunity to reach many educators across our region. Through this position, I had the perfect platform to share this book — a book whose contents contained just what teachers in Northern Kentucky needed.
Education has been in the headlines quite a bit, and not always positively. But it is important to know that regardless of the politics happening, how the vote went, or the funds that are or aren’t available — so many Northern Kentucky educators continue to give it their all every single day. And throughout the month of October, over 100 Northern Kentucky educators got on the same page (quite literally) and joined The Pepper Effect regional book study!
The hundred participants from the book study, from 14 different school districts, began reading this book in an effort to band together in positivity. With talk of a new accountability system and the upcoming election, it would have been easy to join the negative or lose hope. But that’s not what happened here.
Each week in October, teachers, instructional assistants, principals, superintendents, counselors and coaches turned the pages of The Pepper Effect and shared their thoughts, takeaways, and reflections.
In week one, we discussed the four main riffs of the book and which one was speaking to us as a call to action.
Carrie Hollloway, Assistant Principal at Summit View Academy in the Kenton County School District, felt strongly about riff #3 stating, “It is that true team spirit and effort that really makes a school a place where kids and teachers/staff want to come to every day. Without the team collaborating and working together, this kind of positive culture can’t be found.”
Amelia Brown
In week two, we discussed the idea of our work as a masterpiece. This was a fun back and forth as educators shared pictures, videos, resources and descriptions of the creative and positive things they had tried that they were proud of. Educators shared such a wide range of masterpieces. From a food pantry for families to a teacher creating a culture of curiosity to a brand new STEM space and everything in between.
All of these masterpieces fit together to create a beautiful picture of what is really happening in Northern Kentucky schools. This particular week’s discussion really brought it home that without every single contributor in a schoolhouse….our vision cannot fully be reached. Naomi Colliver, school counselor at Arnett Elementary in the Erlanger-Elsmere School District, very eloquently shared, “Until The Pepper Effect, I didn’t have the word. It’s a masterpiece though. Each section of our school is practicing and excelling in their ‘instruments.’ It’s an incredible orchestra of intentionality and love: our trauma-informed responses, our focus on each child, our care for the uniqueness of every staff member…”
In the final week, we read in the book the story of how the author’s life was changed by the words of a grade school teacher, Ms. McMonagle. He reminds us that “One teacher’s words can set a life-changing course for a student to take bold giant steps towards building a dynamic future.” In order to be that teacher, educators must model for each other, inspire one another, and support each other. Tabatha Byrd, a teacher from Ballyshannon Middle school in the Boone County School District, reminded us with her personal testimony: “When I think back on my youth, I remember my teachers because they were an encouragement in my life. They were my cheerleaders. I worked hard for them because they let me know that I was going places.”
So in the final week of the study, we shared our ideas for supporting and encouraging one another so that we can be our best selves for students. We all have an inner Ms. McMonagle.
The message of this book now permeates across our entire region:
Amelia Brown is a Literacy Consultant with the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services. She has 18 years of experience teaching in grades K-5. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Literacy and a 2017-19 Hope Street Group Kentucky Teacher Fellow.
