My
family is a family of backpackers. Each
spring we strap on our backpacks and journey into the great outdoors. It’s wonderful now that my kids are grown and
can carry their own full backpacks. I
especially appreciate having my 6’2” construction-worker son, Matt, along. You should see the size of Matt’s
backpack! Oh the things he can heft and
carry! But that, of course, hasn’t
always been the case. We started
backpacking when our kids were young, and our youngest daughter, Erin, could
barely carry herself up the
mountain. But wanting her to feel a part
of the activity, we strapped a little backpack on her back and filled it with
an item essential to the well-being of the group – Styrofoam cups. She was doing her part in a way that fit her
capacity, and boy did she feel proud!
Once she had an assignment on her shoulders (literally), her pace picked
up and her whining stopped (well, nearly!).
Like
backpackers on a journey, teachers need to be equipped with essentials. Coaching is about outfitting teachers for the
learning journey they take with their students each year. We model how to use the map, demonstrate the
key and the legend, and make sure they have the necessities loaded in their
backpacks.* A key here is to be very thoughtful about what a teacher is able to
carry. In previous posts, I’ve talked
about making recommendations – an important coaching move that supports
teachers near the beginning of a coaching cycle. Making recommendations is a way to help
teachers load their packs with just the right tools for the job. For coaches, making recommendations often
comes very easily – sometimes too easily.
Recently
I was working with a novice teacher who was fed up with the rote phonemic
awareness exercises she was doing with students. She had a black blinder full of lists of
words, and she marched her students through one list each day, like her
experienced colleagues who had given her the binder. What she wanted was richer and more authentic
experiences to develop her kindergartner’s phonemic awareness skills. Well, she had asked just the right
person! I love teaching phonemic awareness and shared lots of good ideas for
authentic activities – lots and lots and lots (and lots). Near the end of our conversation, I noticed
the “deer in the headlights” look in the teacher’s eyes. I had done it – I had overloaded her
backpack! And I had learned a lesson for
myself about the gradual increase of responsibility. I quickly tried to unload her backpack and
leave just one idea for her to start with.
These
days, our daughter Erin can carry her own load and often sets off on a
backpacking trip without her family along to lead the way. Like the teachers you work with, she has
developed the capacity to carry all the essentials needed for the journey!
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
Diane Sweeney’s thoughts about the Gradual release in coaching:
The presentation, “Mathematical Modeling: The Core of the Common Core State Standards” at:
A video example of close reading in a 10th grade classroom:
Download
your own personal professional development module on text complexity from:
*adapted
from Keene E.O. & Zimmermann, S. (1997), Mosaic of Thought, Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann
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