Name Your Strength: Coach Self-Fulfilling Prophesies

I love the “Expert Wall” I saw in a first-grade classroom. Children had named their strengths, and they became resources for others in the class.  Sergio had listed soccer as his strength; classmates wanting information about soccer knew to come to him. Estelle was good at math, and Harvey’s entry said he knew all about dinosaurs. Children became confident in their named strengths as their insights were acknowledged and requested. They were praised and the praise turned inward – these named areas of expertise became self-fulfilling prophesies as the children sought to authentically fill their “expert” roles.
 
Although teachers generously view others through a lens of optimism and strength, their self-analyses may not be so charitable. They may lack the first-graders’ confidence to name their strengths.
 
I read recently about a way to encourage teachers to create self-fulfilling prophesies, and I decided to give this idea a try – by asking them to write aspirational letters of recommendation for themselves.
 
Before introducing the letter idea, I asked the team of teachers I was working with to think of one of their favorite teachers: to picture him or her and take a minute or two and write down words that described that teachers. Then I asked them to think more broadly, taking another minute or two to write words that describe an effective teacher. Next, I had them list qualities they want to be known for as a teacher. Finally, I suggested they consider what they would like the principal to be able to write if they were asked at the end of the school year to write a letter of recommendation for them. I gave an overview of what I thought might be the benefits of such an exercise. Then I gave them some prompts and had them jot notes in response to:

• My biggest strengths are . . .  

• If asked, I want my students to say this about me . . .  

• My goal is to . . .  

• When the principal is visiting, I hope she notices . . .  

• I want to be known for . . .  

• As a teacher, I aspire to be . . .  

• I will contribute to the school community in these ways . . .

I encouraged them to use these ideas to write an aspirational letter of recommendation for themselves, using the third person (she/her/their name).  I asked them to describe the teacher they hoped to be by the end of the school year and to send that letter to me if they were comfortable doing so. I suggested that writing the letter might help them recognize their current strengths and set some new goals, and sharing the letter with me would help me coach them toward these strengths.
 
This week, after they had completed their letters, teachers seemed happy and positive as they talked about the experience. It gave them a boost to think about areas where they were strong and helped them consider how they would get to their aspirational goals. They said they thought things through in ways that they probably wouldn’t have if they hadn’t been asked to write the letter.
 
I loved reading the letters! Having teachers name their strengths, whether current or hopeful, helped me understand what each teacher values. Like the first-graders who grew into their named strengths, I’ll be ready to coach teachers toward the attributes they aspire to. And I’ve already started thinking about the aspirational letter of recommendation I’ll write for myself, hoping to name my own self-fulfilling prophesies!

This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
Strategies for strengthening teacher-coach relationships:
 
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/how-good-coaches-build-alliance-with-teachers
 
 
A stance of confident humility:
 
https://barkleypd.com/blog/confident-humility-and-coaching/
 
 
A reminder for coaches to be active listeners:
 
https://simplycoachingandteaching.com/blog/2021/10/05/better-listener/
 
 
5 ways to help students ask better questions:
 
https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/5-ways-help-students-ask-better-questions/
 
 
Why the 5 paragraph essay is a problem:
 
https://blog.heinemann.com/why-the-five-paragraph-essay-is-a-problem-now-and-later
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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