March Staff Development Newsletter

"It’s a game of failure."

I kept hearing these words from baseball players and coaches while speaking to MLB teams during spring training over the years

After all, even a hall of fame player will fail to get a hit 2 out of 3 times. And most players will fail to get a hit 3 out of 4 times. A pitcher will give up hits and home runs and fielders will make errors.

Yes, baseball is a game where you fail often. But when talking to the teams I offered a different perspective.

I said, "I don't believe baseball is a game of failure. I believe it's a game of opportunity!"

No matter what happened on the last play, pitch, or at bat you get the opportunity to make the next one great.

In the words of Babe Ruth, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."

It's the same way with life. Anyone pursuing anything worthwhile will fail and fail often.

I certainly have failed many times but when I look back I realize I wasn't failing, I was growing.

I wasn't failing, I was becoming.

I've learned that you can dwell on the past or look forward to making the next opportunity great.

You can see life as a game of failure or opportunity.

It's all how you see it.

In our PLC's we will be learning more about purpose and its impact on grit. I came across the article below and I think it does an excellent job synthesizing how purpose impacts our grit as well as how purpose impacts the grit of students.

https://www.nextgenlearning.org/articles/teachers-how-to-reconnect-with-your-purpose-for-teaching

Author: Tim Klein

Step One: Reconnect with Your Why

If you’re a teacher, imagine that you could only teach one lesson to all your classes. Which lesson would you choose? Now, ask yourself, after teaching that lesson, what impact would you want that lesson to have on your students? If you achieved this impact, what would the impact of THAT impact be? For example, I’m writing this article to teach educators about the power of purpose. I hope that by reading this article, teachers can bring the principles of purpose to their classroom. If they do that, they then can help young people find their own purpose. With that, I hope they become empowered to pursue meaningful and fulfilling lives. By continuing to ask ourselves “why” a goal is important, we can begin to unearth the deeper intentions we have that drive our daily actions and behaviors. By reconnecting to the impact we as teachers want to have on students, it can remind us why we got into the profession in the first place.

Step Two: Craft Your How

Once you have reconnected to the impact you want to have as a teacher, it’s time to begin exploring how you could go about making good on that impact in the classroom. Innovative research by Amy Wrzesniewski from Yale University can help. Wrzesniewski’s research found that professionals who had found purpose in their work had done so by “crafting” their role to align with what they cared about. Called “job crafting,” it’s an effective tool that can help teachers reconnect to their purpose. Although teachers face enormous pressures to make sure their students score well on standardized tests and master knowledge in a variety of subjects, how teachers go about reaching those targets is up to each teacher.

To better craft your role in the classroom, it’s helpful to remind yourself of the character strengths that make you your best self. Take the VIA Character Strength Survey or simply review the list of character strengths and choose the three or four you use the most in your classroom. Now consider: How could you use your strengths to make the impact you identified in the activity you did above in Step One. For example, two of my strengths are “zest” and “creativity”—one thing I love to do in the classroom is design interactive and experiential team-building activities that teach students about the research on youth purpose. What could you do to use your strengths in the classroom? How might you design a class project, assignment, or classroom discussion that utilizes your unique skills as a teacher? The more we can craft our roles in the classroom, the more meaningful the work becomes.

Step Three: Communicate Your “Why” to Students

Teachers work incredibly hard with students, pushing them to become their best selves. However, too often we don’t explicitly explain to students how we’re trying to help them grow, or why we feel that growth is important. It can be incredibly powerful not only for students, but for teachers as well, to explicitly state why we’re teaching them. Social psychologist Susan T. Fiske has found that to build meaningful relationships with people, we need to communicate two things: our intention and our competency. That is, when a young person walks into our classroom, they ask themselves, “What is this teacher’s intention for me?” and “Do they have the skills to follow through on that?” When young people know our positive intentions and believe we can make good on them, they’re much more willing to trust us. Every teacher I know got into the profession to build relationships with young people; explicitly sharing the intentions with them that you identified in Step One is the best place to start.

It’s equally as powerful to ask students directly: “How can I help you succeed? How can I be most helpful?” Often times, students’ answers can be surprising. As a school counselor, it often felt like it was my role to dole out sage wisdom to young people. However, most students found it most helpful when I just listened. Ask your students what they want and need; not only does it show that you care about them, but it also validates their needs and desires. And it can make your role in their lives all the more purposeful. Taking them seriously will make them take you—and school—more seriously.

Often when talking about teacher burnout, we point to systemic issues as the culprit. But don’t overlook the small changes that can make a big impact. Each of the three steps could be done in one class. While systemic challenges absolutely need to be addressed, we should spend an equal amount of time thinking of the psychological and mindset changes we can make as well. Doing so can make education more purposeful for everyone.