Education Write Now, Volume III

Solutions to Common Challenges in Your School or Classroom

Jeffrey Zoul, Sanée Bell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780367225766
• eBook ISBN: 9781000747379
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

In this innovative series Education Write Now, ten of education's most inspiring thought-leaders meet for a three-day retreat to think and write collaboratively, and then bring you the top takeaways you need right now to improve your school or classroom.

This third volume, edited by Jeffrey Zoul and Sanée Bell, focuses on overcoming common problems in your classroom or school. There are many challenges we face as educators, no matter what kind of district or building we work in. The authors provide practical, insightful solutions and inspiring stories to motivate you on your journey, so you can get past the roadblocks and focus on what matters most—bringing all students to success.

Topics include:

• Sustaining Joy (Lynell Powell)
• Breaking Free from Isolation (Rachelle Dene Poth)
• Broadening Our Definition of Literacy (Jennifer Casa-Todd)
• Making Libraries Relevant (Josh Stumpenhorst)
• Developing Perseverance in Kids (David Geurin)
• Promoting Positive Student Behavior (Jeffrey Zoul)
• Connecting with Students of Color (Sanée Bell)
• Elevating Instructional Supervision (Ross Cooper)
• Shifting Professional Learning (Katie Martin)
• Maintaining Staff Morale (Danny Steele)

The royalties generated from this book will support the Will to Live Foundation, a nonprofit foundation working to prevent teen suicide.

I
Personal Challenges as a Teacher

1
The Challenge

Sustaining Joy

Lynell Powell

When I received my first position as a school administrator, I experienced feelings of both pride and joy. I knew the role was a tremendous responsibility, but I was up for the challenge and determined to serve the school I was assigned to the best of my capacity. Our leadership team worked throughout the summer, and I was eager for the students to arrive. I will never forget that first official day of school. It was steaming hot, busses were late, the main office was extremely busy all day, and I was constantly being summoned on my walkie. Everything just seemed chaotic and not at all what I had imagined for a first day. I was both physically and mentally exhausted. Driving home in my car that evening, a fellow colleague called me to say, “We made it.” That phone call not only put a smile on my face but gave me an opportunity to reflect on all I had truly accomplished in that day. It gave me joy.

I learned something very valuable that day about finding joy in my new role. First, joy is not the absence of challenges. In any role, there will be complicated times, problems to solve, and conflicts to address. Also, joy is not always evident in situations. We have to be intentional about finding it and supporting conditions that allow for it to spread and flourish. The tricky part here is that we have to be willing to do this regardless of the circumstances that surround us. We may find that some of our situations are not ideal in our minds. We often enter work with expectations and assumptions of how things should be and when they are not, our disappointment impacts our joy. We have to learn to make that shift from expectations to empathy, that is, letting go of the assumptions so that we can embrace the reality of what is in front of us.

As educators, it’s easier for us to shift our thinking when it comes to academics. Most of the time what we do in our classrooms is guided by our standards and frameworks. We collaborate in our professional learning communities and create school-wide plans for improvement. We develop, engage in, or facilitate professional learning that aligns to the needs of our schools and students. We have a job description that defines our role, but we are very understanding when we have to step outside of that role to do another task. But joy work is different; there is not a plan or a curriculum for how we define, find, or embrace joy in our roles as educators.

When it comes to feeling joyful in our roles, we must to do the heavy lifting. Finding the joy in our work is a process that builds momentum through intentional and consistent focus on attributes such as gratitude. Harvard Health published an article entitled “Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier” in which they discuss how gratitude can help us feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, and deal with adversity. During a ten-week study, they found that people who wrote things that they were grateful for felt better about their lives than those who wrote about those things that displeased them or events that generally affected them (Publishing, 2019).

During my time as a professional learning specialist, I worked in an office where teamwork was essential for innovation. We provided professional learning for the entire school division, so it was critical that we all tapped into each other’s diverse levels of expertise. Every Monday morning, we engaged in an activity called “The Huddle.” The entire team gathered into one office and congregated in a circle. The huddle consisted of three rounds, and each round was focused on a single question. Most of the time everyone contributed, but you had the option to pass on the first two questions. However, everyone responded to the last question, which was, “What are you grateful for?” I remember how that question brought in so many emotions for me, from tears to laughter to forgiveness. Whether I was grateful for something that seemed so insignificant or something life changing, it was something about that last question of gratefulness that also put things in perspective. Even during the busiest seasons for professional learning, we would still huddle if only to respond to that one question about gratefulness. I’ll admit sometimes on the way to the huddle I rolled my eyes because I felt like I had so much to do, but once it was over, I always left with a positive outlook for the day. That’s intention.

Some have found it useful to keep a gratitude journal in order to take time to reflect. Putting that pen to paper to solely focus on gratitude, whether for a minute or thirty minutes, is something both tangible and intentional. Taking time to remember those whom you are grateful for through simple ideas such a thank-you note is another way to cultivate gratitude. I have personally found that when I became more grateful, I became more joyful. How can you cultivate gratitude in your current role?

Positivity is another attribute that can certainly support joy. Learning to switch negative thoughts to positive options and possibilities helps us to view situations through a more joyful lens. It’s easy for us to make up negative stories in our heads about situations that can cause feelings of self-doubt, anger, worry, or resentment. This is not at all to say that we don’t admit when there are problems or that we lose sight of reality in the name of positivity. It does mean that we have to intentionally work on our thoughts and not always assume the most negative option. There are often times when I have to choose words that reflect positivity even if my mind has not caught up yet because I realize that the words I say not only impact my joy but the joy of others.

Having an understanding that we are responsible for the words is important. I self-assess my words using the following:

Worthwhile

Before we speak consider, is it worth it? Are our words of value and importance to ourselves and those we impact?

Optimistic

This is not to suggest that every day is cheery but that there is an overall aura of confidence in our words because we avoid taking a cynical approach to situations that may be out of our control.

Responsive

One of the best pieces of feedback I ever received was focused on being more reflective and responsive and less reactive in situations. I learned that I often reacted from a state of mind of taking something personally. Taking time to pause and reflect before speaking out can without a doubt change an outcome in a situation.

Discreet

Consider the appropriateness of what we say, including establishing and maintaining boundaries for ourselves. When in doubt, I have learned to take time to consider the impact of my words.

Sensitive

When we are sensitive with our words, we genuinely strive to have awareness of our feelings and the feelings of others.

Although this chapter is primarily focused on finding joy in our current roles, I cannot neglect to mention the impact that our words and overall positivity have on the students we serve. Our students are affected in powerful ways when we demonstrate positivity. I can personally remember those teachers from elementary school through even my postgraduate work who were encouragers. High positivity can be directly related to creativity, hope, perseverance, and cognitive flexibility. Meanwhile, low positivity can be connected to anger, hopelessness, and poor behaviors (Jensen, 2017). In order to be able to serve as true champions for our students, we have to engage in some internal joy work. Three important aspects to focus on in this work is identifying what brings us joy, finding the joy in challenges, and sustaining our joy through renewal.

Identifying What Brings Us Joy

In addition to building joy through gratitude and positive language, we can also find it by identifying what gives us satisfaction. A few years ago, I attended a workshop where the facilitators asked the participants to frame their joy. We were given paper cut-out frames and asked to sketch items that we connected with joy. Not much of an artist, I resorted to stick figures of my family and other symbols that represented things such as books, traveling, music, etc. We had an opportunity to share our thoughts. As I reflect on that activity, the majority of the participants focused on aspects of their personal life. How often do you reflect on how your current role brings us a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in our lives? How would you frame joy in connection to your current role?

I asked several educators this question, and here are some of the responses I received:

I find joy by celebrating the small stuff. Growth and success often looks very different in a special education class and so I focus on celebrating every accomplishment my kiddos make, no matter how small it is.

–Dominique Armstead, special education teacher

One of the ways that I find joy in my current role is through building relationships with the people with whom I coordinate professional learning for in our school district. I get to know our administrators by finding out what is important to them, how they like to have fun, what feeds their passions, and so on. I send positive, uplifting messages on random days just to share a spark of sunshine. While the work is important and critical to student success, our leaders need a boost sometimes to keep the train rolling! I believe in thanking people sincerely for helping, leading, and just BEING. My goal is to embody the Golden Rule. I am grateful everyday that I get to serve the people who serve our teachers who serve our students. That gives me exponential joy!

–Dr. Paulette France, professional learning coordinator

In my current role as a professor and researcher, I get to visit many different schools. I find joy in watching the ways teachers show kindness to their students every day. From tying a shoe to asking about a sick grandparent to loaning the next book in a series the student loves, teachers consistently demonstrate that students are worthy of their time and attention. It is a powerful message. Students who feel worthy make better decisions, show compassion to themselves and others and take the risks necessary for learning. I have realized that I need to be fully present so I do not miss these moments. It brings me joy to know the terrible things I see on the news are counterbalanced by a million acts of love happening in classrooms every day.

–Dr. Julie Schmidt Hasson, founder, Chalk and Chances

I am new to my position and it gives me such joy to connect with and build new relationships. I support 17 elementary principals and learning communities. Getting to know them gives me great joy. Visiting school sites and connecting with staff and students is especially joyful … it grounds me and reminds me of WHY our work is so important.

–Dr. Rosa Isaiah, director of elementary

Whenever I’m feeling drained and need some joy at work, I get out of my office or leave my meetings and go spend more time with kids. Whether it is seeing them doing something they love outside of class or talking with and helping them in class, it reinvigorates me and brings me back to my passion. Two of my most joyous experiences last year were watching our middle school kids show off their moves at our dances and sitting and helping some of our 8th graders with math. Seeing our kids do what they love and persevere through challenges takes away all of the stress and exhaustion from the day.

–Michael Miller, assistant principal

Finding the Joy in Challenges

It has been my experience that we can also find joy through challenges. A challenge such as beginning a new role begin can give us sense of excitement. I would attribute this to the fact that we see the possibilities not only for ourselves but for those whom we serve. It is a genuinely wonderful feeling to experience the fruits of our labor, to see progress, and to accomplish goals that are challenging that may have even seemed out of reach. How do we tap into these same feelings of joy in the midst of transitions, interruptions, and disappointments? There will always be part of our work that we don’t particularly like, which fills us with that nervous tension feeling or even distress. How we choose to respond to these tasks, situations, or even people can truly impact progress and make a dramatic difference in how we perceive our overall role?

Dwelling on difficulties can be a roadblock to improvement and give us an unbalanced perspective. While challenges bring a level of stress and certainly more responsibility and accountability, they build character, and how we respond says a great deal. When we primarily focus on what we don’t like or try to find ways to avoid discomfort, it becomes difficult to navigate a landscape where challenges and uncertainty are inevitable. Therefore, lessening our negative responses is key.

Consider asking thoughtful questions instead. I have often found that some of the most stressful moments come from a lack of clarity. We may feel apprehensive about asking questions because we don’t want to appear as though we have struggles or have a lack of knowledge in a certain area. The fact of the matter is the weight of a challenge can be shifted with a piece of valuable information or a different perspective. I am not suggesting in any way that the challenge will disappear, but finding alternative ways to approach it can be extremely helpful.

Once of the steepest learning curves I experienced as an educator was being tasked with facilitating the special education program in my school. Having no solid background in special education and having attended minimal meetings throughout my entire educational career, I was relatively, well … lost. The school in which I was placed had a high special education population, and there was an extremely negative perception from other administrators and central office staff as to the level of expertise and investment of the special education teachers on the team. In fact, all I heard my first year was how I didn’t know special education and how awful the teachers whom I would be leading were. Additionally, I felt pretty overwhelmed by the high-level overview professional learning sessions geared toward administrators who were charged with overseeing the process in their schools.

I took time to connect with another administrator whom I felt not only had a solid background and skill set but could support me as a positive thought partner as I was seeking to grow in this area. During the summer before school began, I met with every special education teacher individually just to get to know them personally. It was a great eye-opening experience. As the year progressed, I had my struggles, but I also realized that I was surrounded by teachers who were thoughtful and genuinely wanted to do what was best for kids; they were also supportive of a new AP, who in the beginning stumbled through meetings. We learned from each other, and I didn’t feel that I had to handle the many challenges associated with special education alone. The joy came in through our positive impact on our students and our personal and professional growth. One of my favorite quotes by Helen Keller is “You will find a joy in overcoming challenges.” I can attest to this, and I am certain you have experiences as well that prove this to be true.

Hitting Survival Mode: Joy Through Renewal

Every role will undoubtedly come with daily challenges. There will be days or times throughout the year when survival is the end game. I always felt in survival mode during testing season because facilitating the process along with maintaining my other responsibilities was simply overwhelming. We can all admit to being overwhelmed by certain aspects of our role. There are also significant triggers, such as major shifts in our personal lives, that can certainly impact how we function at work. Where the problem lies is when we function in an overwhelmed state on a daily basis or when survival mode becomes our norm.

What are some of the telltale signs that you have hit survival mode? This is something that you may not have taken time to reflect upon. When I hit survival mode, my days seem to run together, and various moments, interactions, and even decisions I’ve made become somewhat of a blur. I look forward to making it to the end of the workd...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Meet the Authors
• Preface
• Part I: Personal Challenges as a Teacher
• Part II: Challenges in Your Classroom
• Part III: Challenges in Your School