So, I haven’t blogged in a while and had been meaning to get back into it anyway when I came to a realization yesterday that I just had to write about. What was the realization? Well, it’s more that I came up with a motto that I think should be representative of how I conduct myself mostly professionally, but personally as well. Ready for it?
I am not an expert, I just know a lot
Here is the story of how and why I came up with this motto:
Let me just back up for a second to tell you about two important things. First is the importance of relationships. Of course, both romantic and platonic relationships can exist in a wide variety of situations and settings. There are spousal or partner relationships, familial relationships including pets, friendly relationships, collegial relationships, etc. For the sake of this post, I will be mostly referring to the collegial relationship that exists between me and my coworkers, the teachers who work in my school.
As an instructional coach, I truly recognize how building and maintaining relationships is a tremendously crucial aspect of my role. I know that if I do not do these things well, teachers will be turned off to me and my role very quickly and very easily. See, in this role I have very few of the the same pressures of a classroom teacher. I don’t have the lesson planning, the grading, the classroom management, the parent communication, none of it. What I do have are the abilities to set my own schedule, have better access to school and district administrators, and more time to learn about current educational trends and best practices. With that freedom often comes resentment from others. Plus, there is still much confusion that my colleagues, and even I sometimes have about what instructional coaching is. Therefore, if I don’t try my best to support teachers in ways that meet their individual needs, or try to push my own agenda or one that is perceived to come from the administration, they will tune out quicker than a hummingbird flaps its wings.
Speaking of relationships, interestingly, according to an eHarmony article called Top Ten Ways You May Be Unintentionally Turning Her Off, three ways men are unintentionally turning off women include talking about yourself too much, coming on too strong, and false advertising. These are some of the exact pitfalls I want to avoid when trying to not come across as a know-it-all in the relationships I have with my colleagues.
Next, I want to emphasize how important it is to set goals and strive to achieve them. At this point in my life and career I have a rather long list of personal and professional goals that is refined constantly. Professionally, though, my goals are mainly tied to the goals of the staff in my building, just as classroom teachers’ goals should be tied to the needs of their students. Well, entering year two as the instructional coach at my school, I have developed goals that correspond to supporting and training teachers alongside (with) them. I felt that in the past I trained teachers a little too much by informing them of a new technique or new technology and walking them through it, without actually being with them/in their classrooms to initiate it.
That brings me to yesterday.
At this year’s first meeting of the ACES Regional Coaches Council that I belong to, we were discussing the concept of Restorative Practices. The graphic below represents an aspect of this theory having to do with levels of supports. What dawned on me right away was that the goal that I mentioned, doing more to coach alongside teachers, is shown in this diagram as someone leaves a lower level of control (permissive) to enter a higher level (restorative). As I thought even more about it, I sought reasons that would prevent this transition. One reason stood out to me more than the others.
Thus, I came up with my motto: I am not an expert, I just know a lot.
My hypothesis is that the more I can live out this motto in my actions and my relationships, the more successful I will be. And I don’t necessarily mean just my work relationships either.
I have two masters degrees, I hold certifications in multiple content areas and building-level administration, I have been fortunate to experience a ton of trainings and professional development that sometimes classrooms teachers don’t, and I have even gone back to school, working hard to earn my doctorate degree. And do you know what that means to the teachers I work with or others with whom I have personal or professional relationships? Not much.
It’s not my level knowledge about anything, expert or not, that will make me, my wife, my kids, my colleagues, or anyone else successful. The key is in understanding how that knowledge can be used not just by me, but WITH them.
