Learner. Human. Joyologist.
In our effort to innovate and lead and make our marks, let's make sure we don't miss the opportunity to learn from those unexpected little happy accidents and instead of hiding them or running from them, embrace them and allow ourselves and others to be transformed by them.
So, I'm simply asking us what it would look like to spend a little less time focused on what we are doing and what other people are doing and more time genuinely interested in being. Being together. Being present with others. Being interested in people and their stories and their childhoods. Being interested in our stories and childhoods too.
If you want to inspire meaningful learning for students, inspire meaningful learning for staff. Sincere classroom learning begins with a sincere and consistent effort to trust and inspire the educators who work hard every day to make a meaningful impact on students. When we take good care of adults and their learning in schools, it allows them to take great care of kids and their learning. - Legacy of Learning
In his book, Better Days, Neil Allen describes what he playfully calls our parasite or superego. You know, that voice that tells you things are not enough, not good enough, and therefore you are not enough and not good enough so why bother trying? He explains how essential it is that we view that voice as separate from ourselves, so we can become critical consumers of the messages we receive. One strategy for doing so is to give your superego a name. I was talking to my friends Kelly Croy and Joe Miller the other day on The Wired Educator podcast, and I asked them what they would name their superegos. Kelly playfully remarked that he didn't know but it would be a bad name, haha. I love that! Anne Lamott calls her parasite, "The Governess."
So, in our efforts to commit to systems, processes, and structures that grow academic achievement, let's not forget to create an environment that is disciplined about noticing and nourishing the good in others. As Elizabeth Gilbert says in her book, Big Magic, “The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them." Let's help people find them. And let's create an environment that helps us find the beauty in others too.
As we bring 2023 to a close, many of us will be focused on our own resolutions and that's wonderful. But I have to wonder if the way to truly create a new reality inside and outside of our schools is to start thinking about how we are going to grow and learn together. Less bounce. More super bounce.
As I say in Legacy of Learning, "Let's set the pressure of perfection, grand goals, and big gestures aside. Let's see the beauty in sunrises, smiles, kind words, and the people who simply show up every day." A legacy of seeing others more deeply. And perhaps in doing so, this life that we say is "flying by" will move just a smidge more slowly for us to relish.
I need to learn that trust that I am enough and doing enough and not everything is worth the same level of effort. And some of this stuff isn't worth much if any effort at all.
So, please give a little extra love this week. Please try to extend a little grace. There are little hearts and minds who are worried about what will happen while they are away from school. Sometimes attention seeking behavior is actually connection seeking behavior. And an escalated adult cannot deescalate a child.
And the only thing you control at the end of the day is you. So, you either change yourself or you change where you grow. These are our only options. But let's be thoughtful about who we build with in 2024.
MEGHAN LAWSON 