Like many leaders, I consider myself a work in progress. Sure, there are a few skills I have that are well developed but there are others I have that are not. I have MANY needed areas of improvement. I am a highly reflective person (some would say too much so) and often think about interactions from the day and role play how I could have handled something better than I did.
It has to do with setting limits. Limits due to poverty, perceived skill level, or even motivation. When we use generalizations about students as our main reasons for why a student is having difficulty, it is unfair. Still, overcoming limits can't just happen because we say it will. I am not naive enough to believe some limits don't exist.
I think, as adults, when we stop and think about our experiences as children, we faced some similar barriers and thankfully can speak to times we overcome them. Each of us, as educators, has a story we use in our work moving forward. Someone, somewhere, helped each of us move past something.
A new friend of mine advised, "We either stop at the limit or we plow right through it, Lisa. Pick your path." He makes a good point. It takes intervention, support, coordination, determination, hope and a dose of forgiveness (for when we mess up, because we will) to help all of our struggling students -- and each other.
I recently met with a team and was inspired by the way they briefly acknowledged a barrier in front of a student but then dug deep, really deep, into what the team was going to do to lift the student up. It was inspiring to say the least. By the end of that meeting, that student had five new cheerleaders ready to lift him up and to make sure he was successful.
That's the kind of stuff I can listen to all day with an open mind and heart.
But I have this one bias that can sometimes keeps me from listening with an open mind. When I hear people talk about this topic and use it as an excuse not to expect more from a student, I briefly stop listening. I get frustrated. It's my own bias and something I am working on.
It has to do with setting limits. Limits due to poverty, perceived skill level, or even motivation. When we use generalizations about students as our main reasons for why a student is having difficulty, it is unfair. Still, overcoming limits can't just happen because we say it will. I am not naive enough to believe some limits don't exist.
I think, as adults, when we stop and think about our experiences as children, we faced some similar barriers and thankfully can speak to times we overcome them. Each of us, as educators, has a story we use in our work moving forward. Someone, somewhere, helped each of us move past something.
A new friend of mine advised, "We either stop at the limit or we plow right through it, Lisa. Pick your path." He makes a good point. It takes intervention, support, coordination, determination, hope and a dose of forgiveness (for when we mess up, because we will) to help all of our struggling students -- and each other.
I recently met with a team and was inspired by the way they briefly acknowledged a barrier in front of a student but then dug deep, really deep, into what the team was going to do to lift the student up. It was inspiring to say the least. By the end of that meeting, that student had five new cheerleaders ready to lift him up and to make sure he was successful.
That's the kind of stuff I can listen to all day with an open mind and heart.
You Raise Me Up, Josh Groban
"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be..."
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be..."
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