If you haven’t seen the video entitled The Tattooed, Skater Principal Making School Fun Again, it’s worth a watch. It was recently featured on Freethink which shares stories of people thinking differently and making a difference.
This is the summary that accompanies the video:
Hamish Brewer, a tattooed, skateboarding principal in Northern Virginia isn’t your normal principal. Hamish is a born motivator, constantly calling on his students to “Be Relentless.” The New Zealander with an infectious energy served as principal of Occoquan Elementary, a school serving a large low-income and immigrant community.
His unique leadership approach turned Occoquan from a struggling school with sagging test scores into one of the best schools in the state. Now, he’s in his first year at a new school, tasked with spearheading the same transformation he led at Occoquan. Can he replicate his remarkable success at Fred Lynn Middle School?
Hamish Brewer is exciting to watch. His enthusiasm is contagious. His energy is unparalleled and the vision of change he brings to a school building and culture is inspiring. However, the reality is that every leader is NOT Hamish Brewer. Many principals may not possess his larger than life personality and comfort level in front of an audience on a mic. Some administrators may not have his easy way with the kids or huge sense of humour. Many will certainly not be skilled as on a skateboard or with a spray can of paint, as he is :). However, although those pieces have undeniably contributed to Hamish Brewer’s success in transforming the schools he leads, this is not what struck me most. What stood out for me was his relentless pursuit to do the best for kids in a quest for his school to be amazing. It was instead his relentless commitment to changing the game, and being an educational disruptor. And it was his relentless focus on changing the narrative of school, away from “archaic educational processes” towards making learning more authentic and relevant. The word relentless is one he uses regularly with students and it is a prominent fixture all over the walls of the school.
The word relentless resonates.
In his book The Innovator’s Mindset, George Couros talks about “relentless restlessness”, a term suggested by Pixar’s Brad Bird as a phenomenon that serves to spread and sustain excellence in an organization. George suggests that it is this “relentless restlessness that will serve our students well and empower educators as learners”. We must be relentless in our pursuit of innovative teaching and learning that improves the lives of our students.
In a blog post summarizing and reflecting on The Innovator’s Mindset, Gerald Fussell a principal from Vancouver Island, focuses further on the idea of “relentless restlessness” with the following statement:
Hamish Brewer’s relentless restlessness shines through in; his passionate devotion to innovation and the learners in his school, his commitment to the constant evolution of student learning, and ultimately his success as a leader. His innovative, creative approach to meeting the diverse needs of his students is to be commended, however it is his relentless vision and commitment which we must emulate. We look forward to hearing about Part Two of Hamish Brewer’s adventures as he moves on to Fred Lynn Middle School!
The Meaning of Meraki 