Peace: New Birth to a Living Hope

April 16, 2023 

Until I was 20 years old, my family spent summers on Kelly Lake. My Grandparents on my mom’s side had sold their humble getaway to my parents. The “cottage” was a simple mobile home, maybe 12 feet wide and 50 feet long. It wasn’t very mobile as it sat in the same spot since I had first laid eyes on it as a baby in the summer of 1971. It was the “cottage” to all of us. 

Being the baby brother of four older siblings, I was often left in the care of one of my three sisters or my brother. Barb, one of my three older sisters, was the closest to me in age, being just six years my senior. While at the cottage one day when I was 8 years old, Barb took me on a walk down a gravel road to a gift shop to get a Father’s Day gift for my dad. It was a weekday; most folks were somewhere south working so they could afford to steal away to their hideaway on the weekend. It was quiet. 

In the clear blue sky, the sun was hot, a warm breeze made the leaves of the aspens and alders chatter high above my head. I walked at a slight distance ahead of my sister, but not too far from her safety. I kicked big rocks and bent over to pick up little ones to chuck ahead of me on the gravel path. I liked the sound of rocks rolling over rocks. We were quiet.  

Like all my siblings, Barb was patient with me, letting me test my independence while keeping a watchful eye. I gained confidence in their presence. If I stumbled, they told me to keep on. They helped me believe I could overcome…anything.  

The early Christians, namely The Twelve, convinced non-believers to believe. When their contemporaries stumbled, there was no condemnation, just spiritual strengthening. They told stories, they welcomed questions, they helped those who needed help. John emphasizes, “these (stories) are written that you may come to believe” (20:31). Peter carried that torch as well, “even though you do not see him now yet, believe in him” (1 Peter 1:9).  

While the apostles expressed urgency in their actions, they were patient in their teaching, by devoting “themselves…awe came upon everyone…every day they devoted themselves…and every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42-43, 46-47). 

As humans, we yearn for independence and exercise our free will, wrestling with the consequences of our decisions daily. Peter recognizes that during our life on earth we may “now for a little while have to suffer through various trials,” he also reminds us that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us a “new birth to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).  

I choose to believe in this living hope. The hope that I will have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven” for me (1 Peter 1:4). I hope to one day walk down that gravel path again, warm, quiet, peaceful. Like the silent confidence I gleaned while being under the watchful eye of my siblings, because of the Resurrection I know I can overcome anything to attain the goal of my faith which is the salvation of my soul (1 Peter 1:9). 

In today’s gospel passage from John, we encounter the phrase Peace be with you three separate times (20:19, 21, 26). I want peace for each of you. In your heart, in your mind, in your spirit, may you feel the peace of Christ’s presence in the room where you are independent, quiet, and keeping on. 

The Gardener, TWaLC March 29, 2018

This Week as Literacy Coach (TWaLC) March 29, 2018

Being a literacy coach has allowed me to pursue a passion I consider to be THE most important in education. That is, providing students with the experiences and opportunities necessary to become competent, confident, and established readers across many different texts, both simple and complex.

Twenty years of my career as a professional educator was spent in a high school English-Language Arts classroom. I have been in my current position as literacy coach for 606 days. Through triumph and failure, new learning has occurred. In the spirit of vulnerability and collaboration, I will share my learning here.

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A few side notes before this week’s reflection:

1. Throughout my life my mother has led me to believe I am unique. What mother doesn’t, right? Seinfeld validated this truth when I learned every mother believes her child is special. Pinching his cheek, Jerry’s mother gushed, “Who wouldn’t love my son?” I digress. I have two birthday celebrations each year. I was born on April 8, 1971 which also happened to be Holy Thursday. Thus, in most years, I get to celebrate my birth Day twice. Today, Thursday March 29, 2018 – Holy Thursday – is my first birth Day celebration of this year.
2. Baseball is back. ‘Nough said.
3. For Christians around the world this is Holy Week. I am a Catholic Christian and am humbled at knowing what Jesus, the Nazarene, the zealot, did for me…for us. I recognize there are many branches that lead us to the tree top, wherever you are on your journey through the leaves and however you choose to scale the limbs, may you be blessed by a gentle breeze, a soothing bird’s song, and a warm ray of sunshine.

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The Gardener

I had several discussions this week with fascinating colleagues. These are learning opportunities. I learned more about Facebook marketing, Fahrenheit 451, engaging reading strategies, and reading class structure. Most importantly, I have learned that students and teachers need some time off to charge up, reset, and prepare for a strong finish.

Spring break comes at an opportune time in our school calendar.

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Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 (1953), spun an interesting metaphor in his dystopian novel way ahead of its time. Granger, the character who believes in the world, sees the potential good in people, and works to protect literature through the novel’s disturbing portrayal of control and manipulation of banning books provides a deep, sustainable message for other characters and, ultimately, the reader.

“It doesn’t matter what you do…so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching…. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.”

Isn’t this what we all aspire to be…change for the good? Change that will last a lifetime. We aim to leave a legacy. Through our work, our parenting, our living. The ghost of Hamlet hauntingly begs, “Remember me.”

The gardener’s work lasts a lifetime. The gardener nurtures life.  The gardener is remembered through beauty and nourishment. The gardener changes things when his hands are taken away.

As educators, it is our responsibility to cultivate deep, lasting growth. We must find ways to ensure sustenance for our students. When students leave our classrooms, their lives should be changed…for the better.

As we chase a legacy, we must live intriguingly, work with passion, and believe in others. In this way of living we will transform our own lives which, in turn, will help our students bloom into the best versions of themselves.

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Special thanks to my thoughtful, insightful colleague for inspiring this reflection.

Process and Effort, TWaLC March 22, 2018

This Week as Literacy Coach (TWaLC) March 22, 2018

Being a literacy coach has allowed me to pursue a passion I consider to be THE most important in education. That is, providing students with the experiences and opportunities necessary to become competent, confident, and established readers across many different texts, both simple and complex.

Twenty years of my career as a professional educator was spent in a high school English-Language Arts classroom. I have been in my current position as literacy coach for 599 days. Through triumph and failure, new learning has occurred. In the spirit of vulnerability and collaboration, I will share my learning here.

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Process and Effort

     “Dad, I texted mom with your phone and told her to bring home ice cream,” quips one of our dynamic duo eight-year-old twins.

     My right hand reaches to the back pocket of my jeans where I last put my iPhone.  

     Bewitched.

     “Wait, when did you take my phone? How did you get it out of my pocket?”

     Looking up, giggling, she answers, “I just took it.”

     Duh….

     Side angle, downward glare.

     Emboldened, she offers me the phone.

     Bzzzz – Bzzzz The phone vibrates as it passes from her soft and tiny hand to mine, larger and aged.

     Aloud, I read the incoming text from Desiree: Ok. What flavor?

     “MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP!,” she shouts with wide eyes and infinite grin.

     Impressed that this child…my child 😁…was able to locate the texting app, the desired contact, and, finally, clearly communicated what she desperately craved, I crouched down to her eye level, and with genuine wonder I praised, “Wow. You are so smart. You are amazing.”

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I have been reading about growth mindset. In particular, I have been reading the work of Carol S.Dweck, Ph.D. While I have spent my entire professional career believing my work is driven by a growth mindset, I’m not convinced I have always lived it.

Growth mindset, according to Dweck in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, is “the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others” (p. 7). In stark contrast, Dweck identifies its antecedent as the fixed mindset, that is the belief “that your qualities are carved in stone” (p. 6).

To apply, practice, and live the growth mindset I must believe that through practice, failure, and more practice I can improve who I am, what I do, and how I live. While I am working toward a positive outcome or a certain goal, I must focus on my efforts and strategies.

In just over two weeks I will inch yet another leg closer to the half-century mark. I am still learning. Having a growth mindset is not about how smart I am or the skills I possess. See, if I focus solely on my intelligence I will only seek tasks that validate my intelligence, while avoiding tasks that might reveal my lack of knowledge thus making me feel vulnerable and weak.

Instead, as Dweck reveals in her article “The Perils and Promises of Praise” (great alliteration in that title…#justsayin’), when we aren’t concerned about how smart we appear or how skilled we might be, we are more willing and actually explore challenges and stick to them.

In our work as teachers with students, or in our work as instructional/literacy coaches with teachers it is imperative that we apply, practice, and live growth mindset. Dweck emphasizes that we praise effort, strategies, and collaboration rather than intelligence or ability. Further, when we praise the process (engagement, perseverance, improvement, etc.), motivation becomes more robust, it also identifies what people need to do in the future to be successful.

See, intelligence and ability come from a place of a fixed mindset, either you have it or you don’t. Effort, strategies, and collaboration are the result of a growth mindset, processes that we can all engage in to learn broader and deeper.

In my anecdote above where I praised my daughter for how smart she was provided a great example of a fixed mindset. In that moment, she understood that ‘being smart’ was something she had or maybe she didn’t at one time. Instead, perhaps I could have asked her how she learned how to use the iPhone. If I had asked her what steps she took that led to her communication with her mother, it might have provided insight to her and me as to how she learns. Even more, we could revisit that process in the future when she is trying something challenging for the first time.

Let me provide another anecdote, one that occurred just this week, one that contributes to a growth mindset.

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     “Box out. REBOUND!,’ I shout from side court during my son’s recent basketball practice. “Set a screen. Use two speeds…get open. Great look!”

     Something catches my eye at one of the side hoops. It’s one of our dynamic duo eight-year-old-twins. In her greatest efforts she was attempting to put the basketball through the hoop.

     This child was just measured at 45 inches during her most recent doctor’s visit (Monday). She was spinning a men’s basketball in her small hands, launching it toward the ten foot goal.

     I continued coaching my son’s eighth grade traveling basketball team. I did, however, continue to keep an eye on her progress at the side hoop, her effort.

     “SPRINT! Get back on defense. Stop the ball”

     My pacing takes me near the side hoop. I glance at her. Her eyes catch mine. Her facial expression changes from determination to one with a puffed up bottom lip and big — blink…blink……blink — eyes.

     “You can do it,” I encourage.

     “No I can’t.”

     I turn back to the court, the boys continue push the ball down the court in their full-court scrimmage: boys jawing, sneakers squeaking, and ball bouncing.

     Suddenly she appears at my side. I look down. Her face is lit up. Accomplishment, surprise, satisfaction.

     “I did it dad. I did it. I made one.”

     Impressed that this child…my child 😁…was able to lift a men’s basketball, launch it toward the goal, and finally, got that ball high enough that it made it over the rim and down through the net, I crouched down to her eye level, and with genuine shared wonder I praised, “I knew you could do it. You stuck with it even though it was hard. You kept trying until you accomplished your goal.”

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References

Dweck, C. (2007). The perils and promise of praise. Educational Leadership, 34-39.

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine

     Books.

Lonely Line

Being a literacy coach has allowed me to pursue a passion I consider to be THE most important in education. That is, providing students with the experiences and opportunities necessary to become competent, confident, and established readers across many different texts, both simple and complex.

Twenty years of my career as a professional educator was spent in a high school English-Language Arts classroom. I have been in my current position as literacy coach for 592 days. Through triumph and failure, new learning has occurred. In the spirit of vulnerability and collaboration, I will share my learning here.

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Lonely Line

There are two sources I turn to when I am searching for something deeper, looking for a way to clarify my purpose: the Bible and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

Today my thoughts turn to The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.

The ominous warning penned by William Shakespeare, Beware the ides of March, certainly fits my current state of mind.

It is in Act I, scene ii where my heart and mind are gravitating today. A soothsayer warns Caesar to beware the ides of March. Consequently, Caesar blows off the warning as nonsense, and, as he temporarily exits the scene, Cassius stirs Brutus’s jealous heart with rhetoric that challenges Brutus to examine his purpose.

It is within this dialogue I find I am not alone in my emptiness, unworthiness, and fear.

The irony of being a change agent in a school surrounded by people who have the best intentions to advance student learning is that it can be extremely lonely. Lurking in the shadows of my role as literacy coach are those uncomfortable moments where I must lead teachers — and even administrators — to thoughtfully consider their practice and how it directly affects students.

The struggle I have this week is discovering my “hidden worthiness”. See, as Cassius eloquently urges Brutus to truly see his own worthiness, so must I confront my own effectiveness, or lack thereof, to inspire others in becoming the best version of themselves.

Brutus humbly admits, “…the eye sees not itself, but by reflection, by some other things” (Act I, scene ii, l140-141.). Cassius is attempting to be that reflection for Brutus by showering with compliments meant to arouse Brutus’s confidence and worthiness. But unlike Caesar who, revealing his arrogance, smugly brushes off the soothsayer’s warning, Brutus meekly averts Cassius’s praise and affirmation.

As literacy coach, I must see myself through others. This is a frightening proposition. Most of us have spent time attempting to determine what others are thinking about us, how they truly feel about us. My mind must move beyond this selfishness. It is imperative as a change agent and literacy coach that I unlock my mind from the destructive, lonely narrative I choose to tell myself, and thoughtfully consider what I am seeing in myself through the reflection of others.

See, Cassius has a point. Sure, we all know how the play ends and the weighty role Cassius plays in the tragedy, but, in this definitive moment, he assures Brutus, “I, your glass, will modestly discover to yourself that of yourself which you yet know not of” (Act 1, scene ii, l156-158.).

It can be lonely as a literacy coach, walking that fine line — as a colleague playfully reminded me today — between administrator and teacher. By all accounts, namely contractually, I am a teacher. However, there are responsibilities as literacy coach where I take on a perceived function of administrator. That’s a lonely line.

Cassius provides yet another scrap of advice when he points out, “…men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves…” (Act I, scene ii, l230-233).

Maybe it’s the ides of March, or maybe the sun hath not shown its face upon us enough, or maybe I have allowed self-doubt to merge from perception to disillusioned reality. While I have felt lonely, empty, afraid, and unworthy, I know that I can change my fate if, indeed men are masters of their fate at times, by looking in the mirror. It’s important to honestly assess what comes back to me. Whatever the case, I must see my worthiness through the reflection of the colleagues I work alongside and the students I connect with every day.

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Post Script:

Unknowingly, two colleagues took time out of their busy days as professional educators and lead learners TODAY to provide me with some positive vibes. They don’t know this, but my heart was warmed and my soul was fed just enough for me to be reminded that who I am as a professional is important and effective. I’ll take that win today. It provides fuel for the challenges that lie ahead tomorrow.

The Budget, TWaLC March 8, 2018

This Week as Literacy Coach (TWaLC) March 8, 2018

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Being a literacy coach has allowed me to pursue a passion I consider to be THE most important in education. That is, providing students with the experiences and opportunities necessary to become competent, confident, and established readers across many different texts, both simple and complex.

Twenty years of my career as a professional educator was spent in a high school English-Language Arts classroom. I have been in my current position as literacy coach for 585 days. Through triumph and failure, new learning has occurred. In the spirit of vulnerability and collaboration, I will share my learning here.

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The Budget

The Budget. Although a responsibility, a reality, and a necessity, who really likes to think about the budget intentionally? It’s a funny sounding word, isn’t it? According to Dictionary.com, the phonetic spelling looks like this: [buhj-it]. Correspondingly, Cambridge Dictionary (dictionary.Cambridge.org) has provided these lovely voices for all to hear the proper pronunciations (both US and UK) : budget.

Say it out loud to yourself three times. Budget. bUDGet. BUdGEt! Inevitably, someone nearby will hear you and might consider you funny…like, not normal, perhaps, like you might just be losing your grip on reality. Of course you are. It’s friggen tax season. However ridiculous this practice in phonetics has been, you’re convinced it’s a funny sounding word, aren’t you?

If you’re sensing I am a bit fixated on this topic, you’re right. You always knew you had it, that sixth sense. So go ahead, you have permission to pursue that side-hustle sixth sense gig you’ve always wanted..

I am obsessed over The Budget. In recent days, I have been immersed with the budget…family, personal, and LITERACY.

I have received two gentle reminders in the last two weeks regarding the looming budget time clocks. Tic-tic-tic….

The first, written on a copy of the budget I submitted March 2017:

John~ you haven’t spent any money and time is running out.

The second, the next week, written on a copy of the budget I submitted March 2017, circled with a neon pink highlighter, with an address label attached:

John~you have not spent any money in the literacy budget. do you plan on spending any of it?

Address label reads:

BUDGET SPENDING CUT OFF DATE IS MARCH 29. PURCHASE ORDERS MUST BE CLOSED BY MAY 18.

 

Yes, I consider these gentle and kind reminders. No, I didn’t misprint what the label reads – MAY 18 –  but I think we all know exactly what it’s supposed to read.

Please, let there be no misunderstanding, this is all on me and any other teacher who may have received a gentle reminder or two – no one has offered a similar anecdote, so I very well could be the only one.

I also want to be clear that without custodial staff, building office staff, food service staff, and district office staff schools would listlessly operate, adrift in chaos.

For those who aren’t familiar, let me explain as clearly as I can without getting too deep into the details. In schools, if you don’t spend the money you have requested in your budget, it’s gone. Even more, if you don’t spend it, it’s possible you might not be able to count on the same during the next budget cycle.

In my 22 years as a professional educator I have always worked under the belief that the greatest resources in the classroom are time, students, parents, and teachers. Beyond any district’s largest budget line, that is, teacher salaries, all of these resources require minimal financial backing.

Sure, teachers need ‘stuff’ – books, technology, folders, three hole punch, and the like. But it’s not the ‘stuff’ that ignites the flames of inquiry and learning. Inspiration happens between people, not ‘stuff’.

What if all schools invested more resources in social capital. Believe in people. Bet on the teachers, custodial staff, office staff, and administrators.

Mrs. Brellenthin, Hope’s fabulous first grade teacher and Mrs. Ball, Faith’s super second grade teacher.

Empower students by surrounding them with dynamic people, people who care, people who love learning, and people who inspire.

How does this happen? We must value every educator in the building, from the head custodian to the lead administrative assistant to the food service supervisor to the teachers and students in the classrooms. We value those people by supporting them, encouraging them, and pushing them to be the best version of themselves.

For sure, budgets are necessary, and I will certainly exercise my due diligence in completing mine before the alarms go off. Tic-tic-tic-BOOM!  But if the people in the building are empty of support, encouragement, and belief, the ‘stuff’ we pay for will make little difference in educating children.

I’ll Be There For You, TWaLC March 1, 2018

In the mid-70’s there was a radical shift emerging within the family structure. Mothers, who were reared in a generation where their mothers were home cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing, dressing to the nines, and waiting hopelessly for their man to come home (cue Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver in the 1960’s sitcom Leave it to Beaver…where I regrettably reach for foundational knowledge on this matter which, I recognize, is an altogether delusional perspective), were beginning to get out of the house, clearing a path to independence and empowerment.

The days were coming to an end when women were passively responding to the demand to get ‘out of that bed, wash your face and hands…get in that

Big Joe Turner – Shake, Rattle, and Roll

kitchen make some noise with the pots and pans’. No longer were they merely frying the bacon, they were makin’ bacon. Women were no longer seen as the “Devil in nylon hose” doing ‘nothin’ to save’ their ‘doggone soul’. Women were shaking the stereotypes advanced by the men of their father’s generation, rattling the cage that narrowly secured the status quo, and rolling into a revolution like none other.

 

My mother was one of those trailblazers. She wanted more for herself. She wanted to be a strong, confident woman, especially in the eyes of her three daughters.

I began my time as a full-time student in first grade (1977); being her baby of five, my

My mother toting baby John around in a bicycle basket (1971)

mother was ready for a full-time job outside of the home. This was the moment in time when she began her long lasting work as a receptionist at a doctor’s clinic. It was a radical shift in our family structure. I’m certain it challenged my parents, but it brought about a remarkable learning opportunity for a young boy growing up in a quaint fishing village on the western shore of Lake Michigan.  It was during this time when I learned two of the most valuable lessons that guide me today as a professional educator, husband, and father. There are people there for me. Even more, there are people who care about me.

 

The list is long, but the people who stand out the most include: Mom; Dad; Grandpa Birr; my siblings, Julie, Ellen, David, and Barb; Grandma Steltz, my dad’s best friend Joe Menchal, my 6th grade teacher Mrs. Casey; my high school athletic coaches, Coach Ron, Coach Jahnke, and Coach Kersten.

Coach Kersten and John (2016)

 

As literacy coach, I want teachers to know I’m there for them. As a long time classroom teacher, I know how it feels when someone has your back…or doesn’t for that matter. I recognize how important it is to be validated with unwavering belief. I will support and advocate for teachers to best serve students with my heart and soul.

My heart leads me to let teachers know that I care about them too. Sure, my head is driven by data leading to improved instruction and shifts in best practice, but it is my heart that honors the struggles teachers face each day. Some struggles reside within the walls of our schools, but, as human beings we face challenges, physically, spiritually, emotionally, in our world beyond those halls and walls of our schools.

I care about those stories; I want to honor those stories. As teachers, we know students rarely care until they know we care, I find the same to be true in the relationship between literacy coach and teacher. Ultimately, I hope that my love for children and my deep trust and belief in the talents of all teachers will lead to deeper, more meaningful relationships. ‘

In the mid-70s my mother took an unprecedented risk. While that single choice assuredly changed her life, the impact it had on mine has shaped who I am as a literacy coach in 2017; I am there for you, and I care about you. 

Friends, one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1990s gave us this great theme song from The Rembrandt’s, I’ll Be There for You. Take a listen and watch this great video featuring Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer.

TWaLC February 22, 2018: The Stones….

Being a literacy coach has allowed me to pursue a passion I consider to be THE most important in education. That is, providing students with the experiences and opportunities necessary to become competent, confident, and established readers across many different texts, both simple and complex.

Twenty years of my career as a professional educator was spent in a high school English-Language Arts classroom. I have been in my current position as literacy coach for 571 days. New learning has occurred for this old dawg through many triumphs and many failures. In the spirit of vulnerability and collaboration, I will share my learning here.

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Coach Ron, my high school football coach reminded us to surround ourselves with positive people. I get it. When we surround ourselves with positive people, we are held accountable, we have role models showing the way, and our chances of reaching our goals and maximizing our potential increase exponentially.

I see myself as someone who empowers others. As professional educators, we want all people to succeed right? The real question for educators is, do we want others to succeed before we do? Are we willing to sacrifice our own goals to assist others in achieving theirs?

As literacy coach, as leader of adults, I am constantly receiving feedback in many different forms from my clients. Reflecting through this feedback, I sort through the good, bad, and the ugly, trying to get a sense of how effective I am at empowering others.

Some days are diamonds. Some days are stones.

My mother played vinyl Neil Diamond LPs from sun up to sun down on her days off. Diamonds are not only a girl’s best friend, Diamond holds a special place in my evolution of love for all music. I wasn’t introduced to The Rolling Stones until middle school (1982…yes I was late to Angie, Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Women, and You Can’t Always Get What You Want). Start Me Up was the song that really got me (or was that The Kinks?). I digress.

The stones….

This week I did not empower a group of teachers as best as I could have. When others struggle, I have an instinctual desire to take on the discomfort. Remember, I want people to succeed. So, instead I might take on more responsibility to advance the mission, to relieve stress, or to simply be liked. But in the end, this isn’t effective as a coach, teacher, or teacher leader. In fact, I become an enabler. So, rather than fully handing over the reins to a small group of teachers I was working with in providing reading support for a small, focused group of students using the literacy strategies of Forecasting, Questioning the Author, and Most Valuable Point (MVP), I thoughtfully taught and modeled the strategies solo.

I need to be better. I mean, what did these teachers learn? Maybe they followed along with what I was doing with the students. Maybe not. I robbed them of the opportunity.

This chaps my ass. I want people to succeed. At least that is what I tell myself. What am I doing robbing them of an opportunity to learn and practice important literacy strategies for all students? Sure, it’s easier to just do it myself. No complaining, no eye-rolls, no deep sighs, no resistance. What’s worse and, perhaps inconceivable? No learning!

See, the thing that gets me excited to do my job every day is the belief that I can make a difference, the hope I might empower a teacher or, even better, empower a student. This week I needed to do a better job of putting action to my words.

I hope Coach Ron would have chosen me as one of those positive people he surrounded himself with. When people choose to be surrounded by positive people, I want to be one of those people. I will be better tomorrow for what I have learned this week. I will be sure to hold others accountable, I will take responsibility for my actions speaking louder than my words. I will support, advocate, and toil alongside each and every educator empowering them to be the best possible version of themselves.

TWaLC Debut: Trust and Confidentiality

I am starting a weekly post to appear on Thursdays with the not-so-creative title This Week as Literacy Coach (TWaLC). Here is the debut of TWaLC.

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February 15, 2018: This Week as Literacy Coach 

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Being a literacy coach has allowed me to pursue a passion I consider to be THE most important in education. That is, providing students with the experiences and opportunities necessary to become competent, confident, and established readers across many different texts, both simple and complex.

Twenty years of my career as a professional educator was spent in a high school E

nglish-Language Arts classroom. I have been in my current position as literacy coach for 564 days. New learning has occurred for this old dawg through many triumphs and many failures. In the spirit of vulnerability and collaboration, I will share my learning here.

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Trust and Confidentiality

The greatest lesson I have learned as literacy coach is to build trust and maintain confidentiality. See, most literacy coaches and instructional coaches lie in an ambiguous state of being; neither are we administrators, nor are we classroom teachers.

I sense that teachers perceive my role as administrative, possibly evaluative. Whereas administrators seek characteristics of a teacher: utilizing best practice, advancing and sharing cutting-edge strategies, administer formative assessment to guide further leadership and differentiation of adult learners.  In addition to these traits, the requirement for coaches to demonstrate strong leadership of professional educators as adult learners, is paramount to connect the pedagogy visions of the administrators and the teaching staff.

One of the most basic principles I have followed for the majority of my adult life is that I am here to help people succeed. I believe God has called me to serve others through the strengths and talents he has bestowed (I didn’t say burdened) upon me. Each and every day I show up to help others succeed. I want administrators to succeed. I want teachers to succeed. Most importantly, I want all students to succeed.

So….

Build trust. In order for teachers to believe in me, to welcome me into their conversations they need to trust me. Teachers need to know that I will not judge them, that I don’t have all the answers, that I am learning alongside them, that I will support their willingness to try new things. Trust cannot be understated.

Build confidential relationships. Allow vulnerability to happen in a safe space where what happens, even the good, is not shared outside of that space until the classroom teacher is ready. There have been times when I have been really excited to share what I have observed or the awesomeness of co-teaching with a colleague only to learn that my colleague didn’t feel the same way and wanted to protect that vulnerability.

I want students to do more than survive high school. I want students to thrive.

I want teachers to do more than just survive the day, or survive 4th hour English class with ‘that group’ of students. I want teachers to feel supported and honored for who they are, what they do, and why they show up each and every day for school.

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This week with high school students and teachers…

Frayer Model for Word Identification:

Use this tool to develop deeper meaning and understanding around complex texts.

Here is a great tutorial provided by The Teacher Toolkit

K-W-L:

A simple three column chart students can create in their notebook to monitor their own comprehension and understanding of complex texts. The first column (What I Know) draws on specific background knowledge of a topic or text. In the second column (What I Want to Know), students record questions they have about the topic or text, both before they read and as they read. Finally, the third column (What I Learned), encourages students to record the answers to their questions or any newly gained knowledge. To take it all one step further, any questions students don’t get answered can be prompts for further inquiry.

Kate and Maggie Roberts:

DIY Literacy…check out their website kateandmaggie.com for video tutorials on how to develop Demonstration Notebooks. GREAT STUFF!!!

 

Teach Until Students Learn

Teach until students learn.

Sounds simple, right? Duh. But, in fact, this mission can present many challenges. Maybe those challenges are systemic. Maybe those challenges are in practice. Or, maybe those challenges are personal.

Allow me to process this simple goal.

Teach. This is what we do as professional educators every school day. Whether we are working with students or staff, we are teaching. The sun rises and so do we, to take on the challenges of the most important profession in the world. Continue to build your capacity to teach with urgency every day.

Students. The essence of our passion, the focus of our mission, the crux of our matter, the love of our professional lives. Our students are putting the puzzles of their lives together as they learn how new concepts fit into existing knowledge. With each passing day, their purpose becomes clearer than the day before. Solutions lead to new questions, fresh tangents of inquiry, enthusiastic discovery.Teachers help to shape those puzzle pieces and guide students to fill in the vacant spots, whether they are foundation pieces or the ambiguous, puzzling center pieces. The center of our universe.

Learn. Students win because of what teachers do. One result of learning is growth: in mind, body, and spirit. Growth results in progress. See, there is this theory around us that goes something like this: We never stay the same, we are either moving forward or falling behind. If, once we have achieved our goals and are content, and we allow ourselves to stay in that moment as time marches on, we slowly fall behind. It is imperative that we continue to show students how to build their capacity to be learners. Yes, teachers help students learn. But let’s not miss the abundant opportunities where students help teachers learn. We want our students to love learning as the form into life-long learners. Let’s show them what that looks like through our action, our passion, and our vulnerability

Teach every day with a passion that ignites student inquiry and discovery. Put students at the center of your mission from the minute you walk through the doors of your school until you fasten your seat-belt for your commute home at the end of the day. Guide students to see the value in learning through engaging, purposeful lessons that add immediate value to their lives. Learn for them, learn about them, learn with them, and teach until students learn.

The Light

As I sat in church with my family this weekend, I was reminded to reflect on The Light.  John’s gospel elicits the important role of John the Baptist who was to ‘bear witness to the light.’

In a tremendous show of humility, John the Baptist declares he ‘is not fit to undo the strap’ of the sandals of he who was to come after him. Essentially, John the Baptist admitted he was inadequate to even carry the shoes of Jesus.

It was John’s calling to prepare the way for Jesus, the Nazarene.  He prepared the way for the Light; he illuminated the truth through his humility and service to others.

The challenge presented in this weekend’s mass was twofold. First, accept the responsibility of bringing light to others. In a time where are culture seems to be more divided than it is united, it is incumbent upon us to bring light into the lives of those we touch every day. How? Maybe a smile, listening with compassion, generosity in our thoughts and in our actions. We can accomplish this through humility and service to others.

Second, reflect on those who have brought light to our lives. As I look at the holiday lights sparkling throughout our home, I am reminded of all those unique people who have crossed my path at one time or another, at a time when I needed it most, who brought light to my life. As I approach 2018, I reflect on those special people who brought me into the light amid those murky moments when I couldn’t find my way through the dark.

Like the lights on the Christmas tree, those people are numerous, sparkling, and peaceful. Like John the Baptist who bore witness to the light, I will continue to be aware of how my thoughts, words, and actions are light for others.