Friday, February 9, 2018

Flowing Forward: Supporting an Attitude of "Becoming" in Ourselves and Others

In the sixth century BC, Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that nothing in this world is constant except change and becoming.  His treatise, About Nature, includes the aphorism:  Everything flows; nothing stands still.  Becoming assumes a changing into and moving toward.

What are you changing into? Who is the coach you are becoming? Who are the teachers you work with becoming?  Unless we cultivate an attitude of becoming, we (and those we work with) may remain stagnant. Stagnant. Even the word is unattractive.

But becoming, ah, there’s a word for you! Developing, ripening, emerging, enhancing – that is what we are shooting for!

The teachers we work with have not deliberately chosen a path of stagnation, but sometimes, it feels like all we can do is maintain the status quo amid the busy-ness of our lives as teachers.  We can support a becoming attitude with our colleagues through our work as coaches.

When we point out teachers’ strengths, and help them build upon those strengths, we support becoming.  When we ask teachers about perceived weaknesses, and help them plan for improvement, we support becoming.  As we encourage teachers to look at challenges as opportunities for growth, we are also supporting becoming.

Sara, a kindergarten teacher I work with, has an exceptionally challenging class this year.  A five-year-old with an oppositional defiant disorder; another with severe ADHD; one who is non-verbal. And the list doesn’t stop there. Although there have been moments of frustration, Sara has consistently met the challenge with a Zen-like attitude: “How will this help me grow? What can I learn from it?”  Because of her attitude of becoming, Sara is able to support students during melt-downs, redirect inappropriate behavior with firmness and compassion, and build a safe environment of participation in her classroom.

When Sara and I meet, we celebrate small steps forward.  Because I am not in her class every day, I’m able to notice changes that are invisible to Sara.  We visualize together what next steps will be for her and for her students. Creating that image of “what might be” supports the process of becoming.  We are curious, wondering together about possible causes and solutions. Our curiousity gives us an orientation of becoming toward both Sara and her students, and it helps us approach uncertainty more positively.

As we build on strengths and shore up areas of weakness, as we visualize and celebrate successes and approach challenges with curiosity, we are cultivating an attitude of becoming in ourselves and those we work with.  We re-form ourselves, and we help others in the process of transformation.  We coach toward potentiality and build toward the coaches and teachers we will eventually be.


This week, you might want to take a look at:

How to use DonorsChoose to fund your classroom dreams:


Using video for self-reflection:


Have fun, develop language, and sharpen summarizing skills:

Helping learners set goals:


Ted Talk – Every kid needs a champion:


That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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