Learner. Human. Joyologist.
It’s amazing how quickly our brains decide that what we’ve seen is all that can be. What we’ve seen online. What we’ve seen or heard for ourselves. What others have told us. And in a world full of distractions, what we truly see or hear can be even further limited
Instruction is so much more complex than baking. But the world outside of the classroom has little truths to offer us too.
Portraits of a Learner are not meant to be posters on a wall. They serve as north stars for students AND staff. We cannot give to others that which we do not have for ourselves. Portraits give us an opportunity to take the chaotic world of school and make it more meaningful and coherent.
Make space for the joy. If we lose this kind of exposure, how will we evolve and grow? How will our kids evolve and grow? But most importantly, what if we don’t know we love something, and we miss an opportunity to find out?
I had the honor and pleasure of writing on George Couros’s weekly “three things” newsletter this week. The heart of what I shared is that we really don’t need perfect people working in our schools. There are no perfect people. But we do need more deeply human people.
Whether you’re creating a new staff orientation day or welcoming a new member to your office team this summer, how might you make the first day special?
That kind of feedback is my favorite. It’s so raw and honest and it’s an indication that some walls were let down…all of which is needed to build trust and a better future together.
If you are high integrity and doing great work for the right reasons and the right way, then chin up and keep going. Stay close to the truth-tellers who are rooting for you and can give you a more balanced view of the work and your role in the work.
Maybe we don’t get one beautiful life but a series of beautiful little lives that together form a sort of mosaic. There are stormy pieces and blue skies too but when you step back and look at all of it together, it’s a full life and a pretty grand one too.
I still have problems waiting for me when I return to work this week, worries, and the weight of responsibility. There is no reprieve per se. But we can create our own reprieves. That will look different for each of us, but we can choose this for ourselves.
MEGHAN LAWSON 