Brad Stevens used to be a “box-checker,” simply studying to pass the test, get his diploma and move on. His time at Butler changed that. “One of the things I did at Butler was that I started to learn the value of learning, to learn the value of growing,” Stevens said. “It really had a huge impact on me when I started becoming a learner instead of a box-checker.” (nesn.com link)
For as far back as I can remember, to high school, college, and even my early years in education as a teacher and coach, I was always a "checklist" or "box-checker" kind of person. I was only looking forward to the next item to check off my outline for life:
Josh's Plan:
- Graduate high school.
- Enjoy the ride.
- Earn some scholarship $!
- Get into college.
- Have some fun!
- Get my degree.
- Which class is next?
- Get a job.
- Teach
- Get to Holiday Break
- When is the last day of school again?
- Coach
- What are we doing for practice today?
- Get through the season.
- Become an Administrator
- Join the "Darkside"
- Start a family.
- Get a house.
- Get a wife.
- Have some kids.
- Live happily ever after!
There was something significantly missing from my plan, something that my personal and professional future depend on...something that took my nearly 30 years to really get a hold of...something that I have come to view as vital for the success of both students and adults that I work with on a daily basis.
Having a growth mindset.
Follow any number of Twitter ed chats, educators blogs, or read from a long list of educational leadership materials, and you are bound to find dialogue about establishing a growth mind set in our schools. Below happens to be one of my personal favorites (from Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University):
It scares me to think how "fixed" I was early in my life and career. Now, as a lead learner in my district, I am constantly trying to push our teachers to continue to grow and improve their craft, as well as asking them to foster that in our students. How am I modeling this as a lead learner? Quite simply, I am pushing myself to improve through principles similar to what you see in the black and green columns above. The progress made in our district this year has been due in large part to a renewed focus on student learning and embracing challenges and criticism. Accepting that failure IS an option has also opened some eyes to the importance of our own learning and growth.
Like many educators, my desire comes from the work we do with students everyday. The desire to see them get involved, succeed, get into college, get a job, or whatever it may be is and should be what drives us in education. I have often told people, if I knew then what I know now about teaching and learning, I would 100% be a better teacher than I was years ago in the classroom. The thought makes me cringe. It took me 4 years in the classroom to figure out that it should be more about what students are learning and not what I am teaching. I have a new found desire to help others become the teacher that I never quite became, and I believe others are channeling their desire differently as well.
Just as frustrating as my slow growth as a teacher, it took over 2 years as an administrator to figure out that by accepting criticism and overcoming challenges together, we would in fact gain opportunities to build for the future. Challenges like changing our schedule, creating a new system for struggling learners, or taking on our unit design work in PD have made us stronger. We still work out the kinks on a daily basis, but the groundwork has been laid. We overcame these challenges with a clear vision centered on student learning, a core set of instructional values, and a commitment to providing teachers with the time and resources needed to succeed. It also helps that we have a group of educators hungry for change!
Just as frustrating as my slow growth as a teacher, it took over 2 years as an administrator to figure out that by accepting criticism and overcoming challenges together, we would in fact gain opportunities to build for the future. Challenges like changing our schedule, creating a new system for struggling learners, or taking on our unit design work in PD have made us stronger. We still work out the kinks on a daily basis, but the groundwork has been laid. We overcame these challenges with a clear vision centered on student learning, a core set of instructional values, and a commitment to providing teachers with the time and resources needed to succeed. It also helps that we have a group of educators hungry for change!
We are criticized at times in education for decisions we make or policies we uphold which is the nature of the beast. However, accepting feedback/criticism and using it to improve ourselves, is much more difficult than getting feedback/criticism. The bottom line is, not everything we do in education (or life) is going to work exactly the way we want it to. Newsflash: You will fail!! In John Hattie's, Visible Learning for Teachers, he says that, "..feedback thrives on error...acknowledging errors allows for opportunities." He provides an entire chapter covering the nature and importance of feedback in education. Intertwined throughout the chapter are constant references to the importance of accepting failure in order to improve. "A school needs to have a culture of no blame, a willingness to investigate what is not working." If we want growth and we want learning to be visible and intentional, then we are going to have to try new things. If they don't work we are going to have to accept failure and try something else! I know we have failed at some of our attempts this past year, but because we continue to push forward, our successes overshadow our failures.
As I look back, my plan has worked out pretty well, I have been able to check off each of the major points on my outline for life. However, I can also say that I nearly missed out on a lifetime of improving myself. A lifetime of growing and learning and making myself a better teacher, or coach, or administrator...and now a better husband, father, and servant leader. It is never too late to change your mindset, and it is up to us to make sure students recognize that as well.
