Do your best until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
—Maya Angelou
Between Our Best and Better
Somewhere between our best and better is progress.
I coach baseball athletes, and one of the things we are always trying to determine is the work needed to improve outcomes on the field. Recently, we timed our athletes’ speed to first base. Each athlete received a number with their best time. Next, our coaching staff designed some whole-group activities and drills to target an improvement in their speed. Each athlete determined a plan and a target goal to become better.
Effort toward progress is the only thing we can control. Our effort and our intense focus around showing up in the world as the best version of ourselves each day.
It is possible that you have little left to give and only small reserves of energy remaining. It is possible you are languishing. And despite these low energy stores and the unsuccessful attempts at progress, you still show up. You show up for others. And others are showing up for you.
We’ve probably all experienced some dark moments in our lives. Moments when we weren’t at our best. We can’t dwell on those moments. In fact, it is counterproductive to our growth. Yes, acknowledging it helps because it identifies a manner in which we shouldn’t show up for ourselves, for others. A better use of our time is lingering in the moments when we were at our best.
Let’s talk about this space between our best and better. We can all recall a time or a period of time when we were at our best. Beyond that personal best lies better. Acknowledging the space between our best and better is acknowledging that we can find innovations for growing and thriving in our current circumstances.
We all want to show up and contribute fully to our organizations, our schools, and our communities. With that as our guiding intention and the knowledge that we come bearing this value, we can take solace in our progress by spending our time and energy in that space between best and better.
This week we look at learning to work with words—plus more, as always.
Brian Sepe
Featured Contributor
Featured Contributor
Brian Sepe is an instructional literacy coach in Buffalo, New York. He is also a consultant and instructional coach with the Western New York Teaching Residency Program. Brian’s experience is steeped in the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and in K-8 classrooms. He is also trained through the Instructional Coaching Group with Jim Knight. You can find Brian at briansepe.com and through social media @Brian_Sepe_ .
Join the Choice Literacy Book Club! This month we are reading Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham. Sign up now so you are in the know about #ChoiceLiteracyBookClub.
Listen in on the podcast as the Choice Literacy Book Club discusses Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham.
Matt Renwick is offering a free e-book in anticipation of the release of his new book, Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H. You can get the free ebook and subscribe to Matt’s newsletter.
Bitsy Parks shares some of her favorite strategies for quick and meaningful word work groups in her first-grade classroom. (This article was first published in 2020.)
Brian Sepe shares one of his favorite activities for small groups of young learners: making books together. (This article was first published in 2020.)
NOW AVAILABLE! Don’t miss The Limits of Levels: Expanding Boundaries of How We Assess Young Readers with Cathy Mere. This course is free to Literacy Leader members and available to purchase.
Knowing a child’s reading level is an invaluable tool. A level can be a first step in assessing readers and beginning to plan instruction. But a level can also quickly become an anchor that limits thinking about where children are as readers and what might be next. Rely on levels too much, and you might miss gaps in reading skills and strategies necessary for continued growth. Cathy Mere shows how levels can help and hinder teachers, as well as alternatives for assessing needs and grouping students.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Ruth Metcalfe candidly shares the way she tackles the transfer of reading skills with her small group by using cut-apart sentences.
Melanie Meehan shares insights to emphasize the importance of responding to emergent writers and understanding the progression of young writers.
In this encore video, Hayley Whitaker confers with a kindergartner and shows him the connections between talking, drawing, and text.
Kindergarten Writers is a virtual field experience designed to help you see students in action and learn more through selected readings. Spend time with the youngest writers, and you will be mesmerized by their writing processes.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Instructional coach Jen Court strategizes how to craft coaching conversations that will be meaningful and action oriented. She shares questions instructional coaches can use to mold conversations.
In a Coaching Minute, instructional coach Holly Wenning shares ways to invite secondary teachers to work alongside a coach.
Don’t forget our downloads! Cathy Mere shares strategies for coaching teachers with a common complaint—their students don’t know high-frequency words. Download a reference guide for questions and next steps to guide coaching conversations.
Quote It:
Set a goal so big that you can’t achieve it until you grow into a person who can.
—Zig Ziglar
That’s all for this week!
