Yearning for the Sea in This New Reality
I love listening to the 15Five podcast called Best Self Management. It's geared towards business, but every single leader (teachers are 100% leaders and deserve to be in that category) needs to be listening to it.
The other day, there was a comment that struck me. I tracked it down and found the original version. Here's the quote.
It's an old quote and might sound funny in its application to education, but I think it holds incredible value always, but especially right now. The heart of the quote says this, "If you want people to do something, don't talk about the tasks that need to be done; instead, give them a vision of why it all matters."
In education, I think we generally have a vision problem. As a whole, we don't agree on the vision for education. That's an entire blog post in itself. What I'm writing about today is the reality we all are faced with right now. None of us signed up to be online teachers. So many of us weren't prepared with the skills that we needed to be able to function in this new reality.
Yet, teachers everywhere are being tasked with trying to teach despite everything that's going on. Some teachers are approaching it as if nothing changed, assigning the same things as before. Lots of teachers are incredibly overwhelmed by the mandates being placed on us all to do a set amount of learning and to check boxes to ensure we're providing content to our students.
Is it bad that teachers are expected to learn skills right now? No, it has to happen. Is it bad that teachers are being required to provide content? No, that also has to happen. Is it bad that teachers are being told to do tasks without a vision of what this could really look like in the end? Um, yes, 100%.
Going back to the quote, what is that endless immensity of the sea that people are longing for right now? More importantly, why would I spend hours upon hours of my time doing these tasks? '
There are two things that could motivate teachers right now, and one of them has been incredibly clear this past month: teachers are some of the most amazing people who care deeply about students and are willing to go to incredible lengths to be there for them. That is what has been driving them this entire time.
I'm here to propose that as leaders we need to focus on another thing that makes it worthwhile for teachers to engage in this work: a compelling vision of what this all could look like.
I'm not pretending to be an expert, but here's the vision of the future that keeps me going on the nights where I've worked far too later. Here's the vision that makes the hours upon hours of trainings and support something I actually want to do.
Here's what we could be working towards. I would say "close your eyes and pictures this," but you're reading, so that's dumb. Paint a mental picture.
Imagine this.
1) Students develop independence and a capacity to teach themselves, truly becoming the learners we want them to be. When students are able to use their teacher as a crutch for learning, they will. Right now, the best thing that we can do is to give students explicit strategies to become learners. Imagine if we spent the time now training students how to use the internet to teach themselves anything. Picture what that would mean whenever we get to be back in the classroom with them? We could give them topics to learn, and then instead of making ourselves responsible for content, we could make ourselves available for connection and conversation. If you want to read more about this, check out this post.
2) Students discover and develop their passions and interests, taking more ownership over the direction of their learning and tapping into a deeper motivation in the classroom. Everyone is driven by passion, yet so often in our traditional school model, we don't have the time to encourage students to pursue them. Yet, right now students are provided with a large amount of unstructured time and teachers have been given more freedom and permission to try new things than ever before. (And if you are a leader who isn't giving your teachers permission to innovate right now, you're doing it wrong. Plain and simple.) In Washington, our guidance from OSPI says to focus on student interests and passion. If we've ever had an opportunity to do so, now is the time! If you want to read more about this, check out this post.
3) Students learn to value feedback more than they value grades, resulting in students who value growth over compliance. I truly believe that the dependence on grades is the reason that students either learn to be compliant or drop out. When we so narrowly define success within our schools, we are creating a system that values conformity. The requirement and expectation to focus so heavily on grades has been lifted right now. We have an opportunity to stop giving grades and start giving feedback. More importantly, because the expectation of grades has been taken away (and again, if you are a leader who is trying to hold to grades right now, you're doing it wrong), we have an opportunity to think about how we can make learning a long-term process, not something that ends at a specific time when the summative assessment is due.
4) Students truly feel the compassion and care that their teachers have for them, meaning that they return to school with a connection that really matters. I know that for me personally, this has been a wakeup call that I spent too much time planning my lessons and not enough time creating a space for me and my students to connect. When I realize what's happening right now, it emphasizes that content is not the primary function of school. Content has been outsourced. Content can be delivered anytime, anywhere. So, why are we having a set group of students show up to a specific time and a specific place? Connection. That's why. Right now, I have made some stronger connections with my students in the past month than I did the entire year.
Final Thoughts:
Let's put this all together. Imagine this. On Monday, we are providing learning experiences for students that empower them to pursue things they are passionate about. We've given students structures and processes that they can use to pursue their own learning however they need to. During that process, we are communicating with students about where they are succeeding and where they need to go next. All along that way, we are reinforcing that we are there for our students, that we have their back, and that we want to see them succeed in all areas of life.
This vision is what keeps me going. This vision is what makes the long hours worth it.
This vision is what school could be right now, and I will fight tooth and nail to paint this picture as often as I can, because this is an education that matters, whether that is in a remote learning environment or back in the classroom.
If you are struggling, paint your own picture. Imagine what this really could look like in a way that is deeply and truly powerful so that on the days where our new teaching environment knocks you down, you have a reason to get back up.
You are doing incredible things right now. Give yourself a reason to keep doing them. Paint your picture. Think of your students.
Then slowly but surely, make it happen. Make it matter.
The other day, there was a comment that struck me. I tracked it down and found the original version. Here's the quote.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
It's an old quote and might sound funny in its application to education, but I think it holds incredible value always, but especially right now. The heart of the quote says this, "If you want people to do something, don't talk about the tasks that need to be done; instead, give them a vision of why it all matters."
In education, I think we generally have a vision problem. As a whole, we don't agree on the vision for education. That's an entire blog post in itself. What I'm writing about today is the reality we all are faced with right now. None of us signed up to be online teachers. So many of us weren't prepared with the skills that we needed to be able to function in this new reality.
Yet, teachers everywhere are being tasked with trying to teach despite everything that's going on. Some teachers are approaching it as if nothing changed, assigning the same things as before. Lots of teachers are incredibly overwhelmed by the mandates being placed on us all to do a set amount of learning and to check boxes to ensure we're providing content to our students.
Is it bad that teachers are expected to learn skills right now? No, it has to happen. Is it bad that teachers are being required to provide content? No, that also has to happen. Is it bad that teachers are being told to do tasks without a vision of what this could really look like in the end? Um, yes, 100%.
Going back to the quote, what is that endless immensity of the sea that people are longing for right now? More importantly, why would I spend hours upon hours of my time doing these tasks? '
There are two things that could motivate teachers right now, and one of them has been incredibly clear this past month: teachers are some of the most amazing people who care deeply about students and are willing to go to incredible lengths to be there for them. That is what has been driving them this entire time.
I'm here to propose that as leaders we need to focus on another thing that makes it worthwhile for teachers to engage in this work: a compelling vision of what this all could look like.
I'm not pretending to be an expert, but here's the vision of the future that keeps me going on the nights where I've worked far too later. Here's the vision that makes the hours upon hours of trainings and support something I actually want to do.
Here's what we could be working towards. I would say "close your eyes and pictures this," but you're reading, so that's dumb. Paint a mental picture.
Imagine this.
1) Students develop independence and a capacity to teach themselves, truly becoming the learners we want them to be. When students are able to use their teacher as a crutch for learning, they will. Right now, the best thing that we can do is to give students explicit strategies to become learners. Imagine if we spent the time now training students how to use the internet to teach themselves anything. Picture what that would mean whenever we get to be back in the classroom with them? We could give them topics to learn, and then instead of making ourselves responsible for content, we could make ourselves available for connection and conversation. If you want to read more about this, check out this post.
2) Students discover and develop their passions and interests, taking more ownership over the direction of their learning and tapping into a deeper motivation in the classroom. Everyone is driven by passion, yet so often in our traditional school model, we don't have the time to encourage students to pursue them. Yet, right now students are provided with a large amount of unstructured time and teachers have been given more freedom and permission to try new things than ever before. (And if you are a leader who isn't giving your teachers permission to innovate right now, you're doing it wrong. Plain and simple.) In Washington, our guidance from OSPI says to focus on student interests and passion. If we've ever had an opportunity to do so, now is the time! If you want to read more about this, check out this post.
3) Students learn to value feedback more than they value grades, resulting in students who value growth over compliance. I truly believe that the dependence on grades is the reason that students either learn to be compliant or drop out. When we so narrowly define success within our schools, we are creating a system that values conformity. The requirement and expectation to focus so heavily on grades has been lifted right now. We have an opportunity to stop giving grades and start giving feedback. More importantly, because the expectation of grades has been taken away (and again, if you are a leader who is trying to hold to grades right now, you're doing it wrong), we have an opportunity to think about how we can make learning a long-term process, not something that ends at a specific time when the summative assessment is due.
4) Students truly feel the compassion and care that their teachers have for them, meaning that they return to school with a connection that really matters. I know that for me personally, this has been a wakeup call that I spent too much time planning my lessons and not enough time creating a space for me and my students to connect. When I realize what's happening right now, it emphasizes that content is not the primary function of school. Content has been outsourced. Content can be delivered anytime, anywhere. So, why are we having a set group of students show up to a specific time and a specific place? Connection. That's why. Right now, I have made some stronger connections with my students in the past month than I did the entire year.
Final Thoughts:
Let's put this all together. Imagine this. On Monday, we are providing learning experiences for students that empower them to pursue things they are passionate about. We've given students structures and processes that they can use to pursue their own learning however they need to. During that process, we are communicating with students about where they are succeeding and where they need to go next. All along that way, we are reinforcing that we are there for our students, that we have their back, and that we want to see them succeed in all areas of life.
This vision is what keeps me going. This vision is what makes the long hours worth it.
This vision is what school could be right now, and I will fight tooth and nail to paint this picture as often as I can, because this is an education that matters, whether that is in a remote learning environment or back in the classroom.
If you are struggling, paint your own picture. Imagine what this really could look like in a way that is deeply and truly powerful so that on the days where our new teaching environment knocks you down, you have a reason to get back up.
You are doing incredible things right now. Give yourself a reason to keep doing them. Paint your picture. Think of your students.
Then slowly but surely, make it happen. Make it matter.
