In April I wrote about the importance of play and my intention to read Stuart Brown’s Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. This post is a synthesis of what I learned from reading the book, about what play is and why it is so important.
Relationships
Belonging and Dignity
Always, especially now, people need to examine and learn more about their identity in order to understand the identities of other people. This nurtures an understanding of other people, an understanding of their story, and helps surface the ways in which we are alike and difference. It is critical that we do this work in order to nurture a sense of belonging and dignity and humanity for all people. When engaging in identity exploration, people may start feeling uncomfortable with some of their thoughts and feelings. This is okay… it is part of our process that people go through as they grow in our identity. Meaningful learning often puts people outside their comfort zone. In this post, I want to explore some strategies to develop a sense of belonging.
The Power of Questions and Prompts
In last week’s post I wrote about a thought-provoking activity, Banned Words. This week I want to discuss a powerful follow up to addressing Banned Words/deficit language. Elena Aguilar’s Coaching Sentence Stems is one of the most useful tools in my coaching toolkit. When used within a trusting partnership or team situation, the stems can lead to shifts in language and in the focus of a conversation.
Kid Equity Group
Over the past few weeks, two of my professional dreams came true. One is that I was able to formally introduce myself as a coach to my colleagues. The other is that we are developing a Kid Equity group at my school. Today I am excited to write about the Kid Equity group and some of our first lessons with the students in the group!
Resilience and Humor
This week I found myself returning to my breath numerous times throughout each day, to reset myself and strengthen my resilience. It was a week full of many opportunities and learnings, and a very full week which often left me feeling rushed and stressed. It was a week that reminded me of the importance of resilience, especially now.
“Emotional resilience is the ability to bounce back after a setback
and to thrive, not just survive, in the midst of challenges.”
-Elena Aguilar
As we prepare for the week ahead, my colleagues and I are intentionally trying to support resilience. There are hundreds of strategies for building resilience. The Onward Workbook and website are rich sources. Yesterday, we opened The Onward Workbook and the strategy of using humor immediately resonated with us. In this post, I will write about humor, drawing on the work of Peter Jonas.
Humor helps you be here now.
It yanks you out of the drama of an experience,
away from ruminating over the past or worrying about the future,
and plunks you in the present.”
– Elena Aguilar
The Importance of Trust and Purpose
As a coach, I know the importance of building trust. No one will grow alongside me if they don’t feel valued, if they don’t feel I see their strengths and capacity for growth. Being consistent and reliable, genuine and authentic, and giving space while asking intentional questions all build trust. Last week I made a mistake that diminished the trust I had started to build with one of my colleagues. This week I made it my goal to rebuild trust with his teacher. Today’s post is a reflection on this process.
What Are Some Ways to Support Resilience?
This fall, I am committed to building my own resilience in order to support colleagues and students. I know this will need to be a focus of my coaching and leadership always, and especially given the times we are living in. Some resources I will use include Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators, mantra with visualization, and mindfulness. I want to share a few ideas in this post.
Continue reading “What Are Some Ways to Support Resilience?”
When a Book Comes Along at the Perfect Time
As I transitioned from being a classroom teacher into a coaching role, I sought out trainings and books to support my learning. I discovered The Art of Coaching, by Elena Aguilar. This book, and the other books written by Aguilar, have influenced me as a leader, a coach, and as a mom and wife. I’d like to write this week about when and how each of Aguilar’s books supported my learning and leading.
Continue reading “When a Book Comes Along at the Perfect Time”
The Art of Facilitation
Have you ever attended a meeting where you felt like the facilitator was artful with their facilitation moves, so you were engaged and gained a great deal? Have you ever attended a meeting where you felt a pit in your stomach because of how participants weren’t heard or brought into the conversation? I had both experiences this week, in back to back Zoom meetings, and want to write about some of the moves that made the effective facilitation lead to a richer dialogue and sense of community. Both of the meetings took place with participants from across the United States. Participants were educators in Pre-K through college and beyond. We came from a diverse set of roles and cultural backgrounds.