Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.
—Brené Brown
Vulnerability Is Not Weakness
Many years ago I accepted an invitation to join a coaches meeting led by Cathy Mere. It was a standing meeting that she facilitated for the coaches in her district. They came in, opened their laptops, and accessed a spreadsheet. Then they began typing.
“We always begin the same way,” Cathy explained to me before the meeting started, but I was still surprised by the way everyone came in and began writing. As the keys clacked, I could sense the figurative weight lifting from their shoulders.
This is one of the powerful results of writing. Writing allows us to release stress. It allows us to sort complicated emotions and organize large amounts of information so that we are able to process ideas and situations. We often feel lighter after writing.
I couldn’t wait to try this with a group of coaches. This school year I was invited to work with a team of secondary coaches. I wanted to introduce them to the power of written reflection, and soon I remembered Cathy’s spreadsheet.
I set-up a similar spreadsheet and listed a couple of guiding questions.
- What has surprised you in your coaching work this year?
- If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing, what would it be? Why did you choose this?
As we started, the superintendent slipped into the meeting, joining us at the circle table. She clicked on the spreadsheet, added her name, and began her own written reflection. It felt risky to me to begin a meeting with written reflection. I did not know the team well, and I have enough experience to know that many people do not like to write.
Would they find this a waste of time?
I reminded myself of the truth about writing—when we engage, it always gives more than it takes. The timer went off, and I invited everyone to bold a phrase or sentence that they could say more about.
Then I opened the floor for an earnest conversation about the opening days of the school year and their work as coaches.
The superintendent took a turn and shared, “I feel like I’ve dropped the ball a lot as we opened the school year. There were so many last-minute changes, and I haven’t been the kind of leader I want to be.”
I’m not sure I have ever witnessed firsthand fresh vulnerability from someone in such a high leadership position. Her statement was short and had appropriate boundaries, and at the same time was authentic. I could feel the respect for her rise in the room.
Vulnerability is not weakness. Brenè Brown writes, “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we actually are. Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries, and to be vulnerable.”
This week we consider vulnerability as teachers and leaders —plus more, as always.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Do they care? That’s the question Karen Terlecky asks herself as she sets up book clubs in her fifth-grade classroom with a focus on empathy.
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 Wednesday, December 18.
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.
Melissa Quimby offers profound advice for what to do when we notice inattention, excessive questioning, frozen learners, or disruptive behaviors. She recommends letting empathy lead our next steps.
Gretchen Schroeder introduced the hermit crab essay as a creative nonfiction genre to her high school students. What began as an intriguing writing invitation led to realizing that students want to process these events through writing and that the hermit crab essay gives them a way to do so that is less daunting than just a blank page.
Becca Burk noticed a sense of entitlement and discontentment in her students, so she turned to research to discover how to change students’ attitudes. She discovered gratitude can develop empathy, and the Thankful Thursday award was born. This changed attitudes while building literacy skills.
Choice Numeracy | We all know that mistakes are part of learning and that safe environments for risk-taking allow students to grow, but how do you take the sting out of making mistakes? David Pittman offers advice on ways to normalize mistakes in math.
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.
Mary Brower offers a practical and thoughtful way to honor busy teachers—she gives them the gift of time. If you’re an instructional coach, you may want to snag this idea to strengthen your relationship with teachers.
In this Coaching Minute, instructional coach Jenn Ross explains the importance of being vulnerable. By modeling the expectations for phonics minilessons, she risked failure in front of her colleagues and was reminded of a powerful way to build strong relationships.
Janice Omadeke reminds us that leaders who create space for vulnerability build work environments in which people feel welcome to be themselves.
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share soft starts to professional learning meetings designed to build empathy by providing opportunities for teachers to do the work of readers and writers, as well as connect with one another.
Quote It:
Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.
—Margaret Peters
That’s all for this week!
