Write that tweet. Send that email. Have that conversation. Do whatever you can do share the good word.
The Magic of People
Less Thinking. More Doing.
I wonder if this is what we are missing in some of our "data" meetings in schools. Do we have pictures of kids at the table? To start, they are our WHY. They are why we want to be better. That's a big part of our identity as educators. But also, setting goals for improvements is nice, but it's not the work. The work is the small moves made over time that can make a big difference. Too many data meetings sound like, "We need to get these scores up." Well, yeah. We know. But how? And because we don't know what the best strategy or step to take is, we may not take a step.
The Little Things are Big Things
There is a lot about the world that is really hard right now. Small words can restore hope. Small words and small gestures are big. They are especially big for our students.
Modeling What We Expect
I'm writing this as a reminder to all of us. What would happen if instead of jumping to criticism, we instead paused to ask ourselves: how we are modeling what we expect? What would happen if we were ridiculously in charge of our own learning, personal behavior, and growth?
People before Workers
Rather, if we take the time we need, we will be better rested and more emotionally available for others. This looks different for everyone. There is no one right way to recharge. But knowing ourselves and giving ourselves what we need is the first step to taking care of others as well.
Falling Down the Stairs
What would happen if every time we slipped down the metaphorical staircase in one area or another, instead of rushing to shame and judgement and self-defeating thoughts, we instead allowed others to pick us up. What would happen if we dusted ourselves off and then allowed our experiences to teach us how to be better next time?
Every Educator Deserves Champions
Let's do what we can to change our systems. And while we do that important work, "How might we nourish the hearts and minds of our educators?"
Nourishing Blooms
Yes, let's take care of our daily business. Let's make sure our leaves are healthy. But in doing so, let's not cut off the blooms. The bloomers who shine bright and make school and this profession look fun and worthwhile.
We Learn by Doing
What would happen if we decided to dream a bit smaller? What if our dream was to get really curious about what was happening in our schools? What if our dream was to suspend judgement and to merely notice and wonder about the student experience? To truly talk to kids to find out what school is like for each of them? What if that curiosity and listening drove our next moves?
We Grow Through Rest
Perhaps we aren't utilizing our teams to their fullest capacity. Perhaps we are hyper-focused on perfecting things that are not urgent or important. Perhaps, we are assigning work to students in a way that is making our grading feel impossible. I heard a high school student say, "You know, she complains about all of the papers she has to grade and about how long it's taking her to get through all of them, and I keep thinking, 'Aren't you the one assigning these papers and setting the due dates this way?"'
MEGHAN LAWSON 