Do
you trust that each of the teachers you are working with are doing their
best? They will make mistakes, even big
ones (we all do). We simply trust teachers to do their best before, during, and
after the mistakes. Most teachers are bringing their “A Game.”
“Bringing
your A Game” is an expression from athletics that means to arrive with your top
attitude and ability, to deliver a good performance, giving your best effort,
abilities, or achievement. The letter A is associated with being first and
best.
Judge
Not
Although
coaching requires judgment, coaches are not in a position to judge whether a
teacher is doing their best. It’s even hard for the teacher herself to make
that judgment. Because “their best”
changes day-by-day, minute-by-minute. The
teacher’s reservoir may be running low during a particular lesson, and what she
has to offer is not quite the same as it was on another day. While sending the message that the students
deserve and need the best a teacher has to offer every single day, we also have
to recognize that “the best” is a sliding scale, especially during these
turbulent times.
Demonstrating
Trust
Making
sure teachers know we trust them to do their best can be as simple as saying
so, and then making sure our own language and actions demonstrate that
trust. It’s a thread that runs through
our recommendations, our questions, our affirmations, and the praise we
offer. When coaches make recommendations
from this place of trust, the teacher recognizes that we value their autonomy
and decision-making ability and know that they will take up the recommendations
in a way that suits their students. When
we ask question from this place of trust, teachers know that our question is an
honest inquiry, that we don’t have a pre-set answer we are steering them
toward. When we affirm and praise from a
trusting foundation, teachers feel the authenticity of our positive comments,
and it means so much more.
Self-Fulfilling
Prophesy
In
the rare instance when a teacher is not bringing their A Game (they have more
to offer than they are sharing), the trusting, positive assumptions that
coaches demonstrate may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The psychologist who coined the term
“self-fulfilling prophecy” defined it as, “A false definition of the situation
evoking a new behavior which makes the originally false conception come
true.”* When coaches continually extend trust
and describe the hard work they know the teacher is doing, it often makes it
true, even if that wasn’t originally the case. Over time, the teacher’s efforts
may rise to the level of the coaches’ positive assumptions.
Teachers
care about kids and they care about learning. Beginning with these positive
assumptions about a teacher is the foundation for a trusting relationship. A
teacher will usually match the level of trust they give with the level of trust
they feel, so extending trust helps establish the relational trust necessary in
successful coaching relationships.
*
Merton, R. K., & Merton, R. C. (1968). Social theory and social
structure. Simon and Schuster. p. 477.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
A
short podcast about grading during this unusual school year:
5
Tips for promoting effective parent teacher conferences:
“Fab
Four” Comprehension Strategies:
A
reflective guide to examine: Did you
demonstrate empathy during that coaching conversation?
A
quick video about student relationship mapping for SEL:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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