This year I was a coach to others, and I was a coach to myself. I gave space, listened, and offered questions to lead to deeper understanding and a number of potential strategies towards goals. The most useful tools were the paraphrase and the use of metaphor. This post will focus on metaphor.

Elena Aguilar writes about using an animal metaphor to reflect on how one currently perceives themself. If I see myself as a kitten with my colleagues or students, my body language, gestures, word choice, volume, and confidence will be interpreted very differently than if I see myself as a lioness. I’ve used this strategy a number of times with colleagues with extremely positive results. One teacher decided she would start to choreograph her moves, much as she did in marching band. Another gave some deep thought and came up with woodchuck which had some humor, a good story, and a deep meaning for her going forward.

“Exploring the symbols and representations that clients bring up in coaching is a powerful way to help someone gain deeper understanding. Metaphors, images, and allegories can be used to describe feelings or experiences.”

-Elena Aguilar

This spring in facing what I knew would be one of the most challenging conversations of my career, I knew I needed a metaphor. Honestly, it didn’t take long for me to find the perfect one… a rooted oak tree. Trees symbolize strength; they weather all seasons with what seems to be open arms to all who come near. Trees are rooted in culture and experience from which one can draw strength and strategy. A tree drops seeds that can grow into new trees, which calls to mind the importance of ripples in a system. Every change has an effect. 

It can’t be an accident that I chose a tree. As an equity focused educator who holds culturally sustaining pedagogy at my center, I am very familiar with the tree that Zaretta Hammond uses to describe the levels of culture. In drawing on my own deep culture, this week, I was able to express who I am and why I do what I do. I tapped into my core beliefs, and responded in a way that matched these beliefs. This was empowering and reminded me of how critical it is that we give space for our students to do the same.

It can’t be an accident that I chose an oak tree. Psenchik writes about the story of the trusty oak tree in “The Character of a Coach.” A tree in Council Oaks Texas was a place for signing treaties, according to Native American legend. In 1989 the tree was vandalized, poisoned with enough herbicide to kill 100 trees. Yet the tree survived, produced acorns, and continues to thrive. This has been a symbol to me as a coach. Being an educator, being a coach, is emotional and artful work. It requires a great deal of empathy, love, and reflection. At times, decisions and situations around us can “poison” the culture, yet we persevere, just like the trusty oak. And we come out stronger. 

It can’t be an accident that the tree  isn’t perfectly straight. It has twists and turns because it’s had to flexibly grow away from obstacles, toward the light. 

My metaphor for next week? The sun. I am going to envision myself sending warmth and energy to colleagues around me, and to myself. And I am going to explore the idea of story to plan for, reflect on, and act on my actions as an educator and a coach of others.

Or maybe I’ll be a rock tossed into a pond, sending ripples out to the rest of the pond, while also sending ripples down, for deeper understanding.

Sources
The Art of Coaching, Elena Aguilar
Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain, Zaretta Hammond
The Character of a Coach, Kay Psencik