An Invitation--This I Believe, PART I: Defining Teaching Philosophies

In continuing my thinking about leadership and what drives us as teachers (particularly in today's surly political climate), I realize that feeling "authenticity"--indeed, joy--in my work occurs when I consistently find ways to align practices to beliefs/ teaching philosophies.  

Like most people, I seek to refine my beliefs through reading as well as participating in daily conversations with colleagues, friends, and family.  Of course, beliefs come from practice--from working with children who provide us with constant challenges to deepen our own thinking and learning while building our belief in ourselves to do so.

These are the people who contribute to inspiration through the heart of compassion, focused thoughts and genuine love--building armature upon which I sculpt my beliefs... beliefs that are reshaped like an artist's proof, each worthy, unique, but different depending on changing perspectives.  Each bears the mark or signature of the artist who forms and breathes life into them.  Do you feel like you have "marked" your teaching beliefs as your own?  

What are your intentional actions that bring them to life?  Our beliefs need to drive our actions for, "Action is what separates a belief from an opinion.  Beliefs are imprinted through actions."  (Eboo Patel, p. 180, THIS I BELIEVE)

So--what are your convictions about teaching?  What do you believe you must do in order to approach teaching with a sense of honor?

I invite you to join me in responding in a "This I Believe" essay--teachers' and instructional coaches' edition.

Below are the guidelines from the This I Believe website.  While you don't have to follow the guidelines (unless you decide to share your writing on the This I Believe website), you might find them helpful in bringing clarity to your thinking.

This thinking will provide you with the "WHY" that Simon Sinek describes in his book, START WITH WHY (see previous blog post). This is the WHY that Debbie Miller describes as the reason to "keep up the good fight" in this era of scripted programs and standardized tests.  This is the WHY that influences your intentions, your purpose, your reasons for teaching (or coaching) each and ever day.

Won't you join me in articulating those beliefs?  Here is some help-- you might also find inspiration and models by visiting the website for THIS I BELIEVE.

My next post will be my own response to this "prompt."

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This I Believe Essay-Writing Guidelines 

We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this is—it requires such intimacy that no one else can do it for you. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:

Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.

Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.

Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

For this project, we are also guided by the original This I Believe series and the producers’ invitation to those who wrote essays in the 1950s. Their advice holds up well and we are abiding by it. Please consider it carefully in writing your piece.

In introducing the original series, host Edward R. Murrow said, “Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent.” We would argue that the need is as great now as it was 50 years ago. We are eager for your contribution.

Sinek vs. Cynic

To build your knowledge and a framework for thinking about Simon Sinek's book, you might preview this TED Talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

In reading Simon Sinek's START WITH WHY:  HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE EVERYONE TO TAKE ACTION, I have found myself thinking (again) about this quote (p. 67):

"...when manipulations thrive, uncertainty increases...instability increases...and stress increases for all." 

 This has been the elephant in the room (or in my mind, anyway) when considering how teachers are feeling when they question how best to teach to achieve the short-term payoff of acceptable/better test scores.  

Teachers wonder, "What if I follow my teaching beliefs but test scores go down?"  Or, "What if I do what I know is right, but test scores go down?"  The reality is, we may be creating students who are learning, creating, and thoughtful.  But if they don't measure up on test scores, teachers have everything to lose.  

Sinek relates this type of fear to terrorism.  "Fear, real or perceived, that his job would be on the line if something went wrong was enough to make him ignore the express purpose of his job...  When fear is employed, facts are incidental.  Deeply seated in our biological drive to survive, that emotion cannot be quickly wiped away with facts and figures.  This is how terrorism works... it's the fear that it might happen that cripples a population." (p. 21)

As if that is not enough, politicians and even our lawmakers have pressured us to buy "programs" designed to "fix" education so that without said programs, we might wonder if we are missing out on something or to instill the feeling that everyone knows something that we don't.  We fear we may be wrong... or that the results of our work might not have an immediate payoff on test scores.  Sinek reminds us, "And as good as the short-term highs may feel, they have a deleterious impact on the long-term health of an organization.  Addicted to the short-term results (we have) largely become a series of quick fixes added on one after another after another.  The short-term tactics have become so sophisticated that an entire economy has developed to service the manipulations, equipped with statistics and quasi-science."  (p. 29)

So--

How does a literacy coach respond when knowing this?

Maybe part of the answer lies in the very beliefs that are buried in the day-to-day fallout of test scores.  According to Sinek, we start with WHY.  Why do we do what we do?  If we have clarity of purpose, discipline to stay the course (eat, sleep, and breathe it), then you will be guided by this principle in all you think, say, and do--the WHAT and HOW of your work.

Consider your responses to these questions:

Why do you teach?  What about it makes you want to get up every morning?
Why do we educate people?

Why do we care about pedagogy?

Why do we need educated educators?

What value will the educational experiences that I provide to my students today help them as caring, thoughtful citizens?

We can use our responses to these questions to guide us in considering what we believe is right as we hold ourselves accountable for instructional decisions we make every moment of every day.  These can become the litmus test (or "celery test" as Sinek puts it) for HOW to teach in a way that is authentic to your professional beliefs--when everything you say and do aligns to what you actually believe.  Everything you do in the classroom should prove that you believe in your WHY.

When you are working only to improve or attain a certain test score, does this align to your beliefs?  If so, how?  If not, why?  Are test scores really about your teaching and students' learning?  Perhaps some of the most sound advice comes from Alfie Kohn:

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/ftt.htm


"Trust begins to emerge when we have a sense that another person or organization is driven by things other than their own self-gain."  (p. 84)   "If there were no trust, then no one would take risks.  No risks would mean no exploration, no experimentation, and no advancement."  (p. 104)

While politicians tell us just to,"Make it better," it is up to us as to WHY we are driven to do so, how we choose to go about it, and what the results of those actions might be.  When balanced, trust will emerge and value will be perceived.  Work satisfaction will increase, teachers will not just stay but thrive, and students will win.