One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever.
―Linda Lam
Hope Matters
We are living in tumultuous times in education and as a society, and now more than ever, it is critical that we help our students become critical thinkers, empathetic listeners, and confident citizens.
—Becca Burk
Kindergarten Teacher and Choice Literacy Contributor
In the course of a week, I worked with three different groups of coaches, all hailing from different schools. In each setting, I observed a coach having a conversation with a teacher who is in a current coaching cycle.
I value professional learning experiences when we see the work unfold in real time with an unstaged demonstration happening in front of our noses. Professional learning reaches its pinnacle when we get to participate in these observations with others in similar roles and from different schools.
A lens I often use for reflection is to consider what surprises me. The luxury of three observations in one week gave me the opportunity to see patterns. My heart is heavy from the pattern that surprised me.
In all three coaching conversations, the teacher acknowledged they were feeling discouraged. In fact, two of the teachers used the word disheartened.
These teachers were from three different schools. They don’t know each other and their situations are diverse. Yet, they all shared a very deep feeling of discouragement.
The discouragement came because they felt like they delivered exceptional instruction, and then as they looked at their data, they realized students were falling short of the standard. They felt like they had failed and that there was nothing more they could do.
This is disheartening.
It was the moves of each of the coaches that helped me strengthen some of my core beliefs and kept me from wallowing in the discouragement.
First, they paused the conversation about instruction and validated the teachers’ feelings. They acknowledged the difficulty of the data, and they lingered in the disappointment. It didn’t become a vent session. It was an act of empathetic listening.
Then, each coach shifted the conversation to the next steps. I was not surprised by this because it is a classic coaching move. What I was surprised by was the way the teacher seemed to relax and have energy for this part of the conversation.
I was reminded of the importance of hope. We live in tumultuous times, and it is natural to feel discouraged. Rather than give in to despair, let’s remember the importance of offering hope.
That’s what Choice Literacy is designed to do. Each week, we share perspectives from people who spend their days in schools and help us hold on to hope. It’s not canned and it’s not shiny, but it is real and stays focused on the heart of lifting the voice and choice of both students and teachers. This week we focus on reading communities in middle and high schools—plus more, as always.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney share ways to keep your joy, curiosity, and passion alive to sustain your own love for reading and inspire students to be readers.
Christy Rush-Levine introduces her middle school students to the complexity of reading with a shared text experience.
Join over 200 colleagues already signed up for Coach-to-Coach, a supportive and inspiring network just for instructional coaches. Meet virtually once a month to keep your professional goals fresh and stay accountable for your next steps as a coach. This free community is inspired by Choice Literacy articles each month and led by Ruth Ayres. The next meeting is Tuesday, November 12. The topic is building an intentional cultural life.
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.
Inspired by the 17th-century popularity of literary salons, Gretchen Schroeder changed the usual book club routine for her high school students. Literary salons allow people to explore big topics and ideas together without reading the same book. They can create engaging discussions, expose students to new ideas and books, and give them the chance to learn from one another in a relaxed way.
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share ways to set up middle school readers for a successful independent reading life. Download two reading reflections to help students pause and consider where they are and where they want to go as readers.
In this video, Christy Rush-Levine confers with eighth grader Julian about his strengths as an empathetic reader.
Leigh Anne Eck tackles fluency strategies with her middle school readers.
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.
Matt Renwick shares the power of using metaphors and analogies during coaching conversations.
Mary Burns and Zahra Harvey identify four universal principles for valuable and effective professional learning.
Instructional coach Mary Brower reminds us of the importance of maintaining the humanity of the administrators we work alongside. Her mantra—principals are people, too—guides us in building strong relationships.
Quote It:
It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.
―Sarah Addison Allen
That’s all for this week!
