I
had an experience this week that reminded me how important it is for coaches
and mentors to be transparent about their imperfections: Even though we
understand what works instructionally, that doesn’t mean we can do it 100% of
the time!
I
was talking with a novice teacher about her mentoring experience, and she
complained, “My mentor tells me something I shouldn’t do, and then she turns
right around and does it herself!” A coach might advise: You should wait until
after posing a question to name who will answer. You should allow for
reflection and closure before moving on to the next task. You should reprimand
privately, not publicly. We know all these statements represent generalizations
of best practice, but there will be exceptions, and there will be times when we
just can’t pull it off!
In
the world of athletics, it’s widely acknowledged that the players will be
better than the coach. Do you think Coach Bill Belichick could have made those
four touchdowns in Super Bowl 2015? I don’t think so! Athletic coaches have a
saying: “It’s a pretty bad coach whose players aren’t better than he is!” Instructional
coaching doesn’t require the physical prowess of athletes that may actually
decrease with experience, but don’t feel like you have to wait until you can
execute perfectly to make a recommendation!
When
modeling and recommending, I always add the preface: I’m not perfect. Nobody
is. So, we’ll learn together from what works and what doesn’t. But that doesn’t
mean I won’t make suggestions based on what I feel should be happening.
When
it comes to making recommendations, go ahead – be a hypocrite!
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
Is it
time for revision work on those final student projects? Here are ideas for
effective writing revision (includes videos and printables):
What’s
happening with the federal reauthorization of No Child Left Behind? Here’s an
update:
and
another view:
End-of-Year
ideas:
More
End-of-Year ideas:
Download
this Spotlight on Professional Development and the Common Core:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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