Schurtz Shorts: What’s Our Guiding Light?

Schurtz Short: What’s Our Guiding Light?

In this Schurtz Short, Kasey Schurtz and Brian T. Miller wrestle with a deceptively simple question schools often rush past:

What is our guiding light when we make decisions?

As schools begin planning for the next year—staffing, policies, handbooks—this short conversation pushes beyond slogans and into something more concrete. If intellectual engagement is the non-negotiable task of schooling, what does that actually mean in practice? How do we avoid abstract vision statements that sound good but don’t guide real decisions?

This episode explores:

• Why intellectual engagement isn’t optional—and isn’t the same as test scores

• How vague values create confusion instead of clarity

• The difference between identifying who we are and jumping too quickly to systems and processes

• A powerful reflective question for staff: Based on what we see every day, what do we actually value?

Short, honest, and grounded in real leadership tension, this Schurtz Short is for principals, instructional leaders, and teachers who want their decisions to be anchored in something real—not just well-intended language.

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. And clarity keeps people in the thinking.

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