“This hasn’t been easy, you know.”
That’s the principal of a middle school where the way kids learn in classrooms is fundamentally changing. More questions. More projects that actually tackle stuff that’s happening in the real world and that are driven by kids’ interests. More making stuff. More presentations. More kids who are taking on their own “home work” because they want to, not because someone assigns it.
In other words, some real shift.
It’s taken a good chunk of time. She’s been at the school for six years. The first three? “Spinning wheels. Baby steps.” The last couple? “I didn’t know if I’d see it happen, but there’s definitely less pain now.”
I ask her about that last part, the pain part.
“I don’t think you can do this without feeling a lot of pain,” she says. “A lot.” Pain as in confusion and pushback and anger and failure. “I know if we’re not feeling it, we’re not changing. But it’s hard to see it through sometimes.”
No one likes it, she says. No one likes to be uncomfortable. But it’s a necessary part of the process.
“You just don’t get anywhere, really, unless you embrace the discomfort and commit to working through it.”
I wonder how many people in school leadership are embracing the pain. I wonder how many of them, are instead trying to mitigate the pain, to not confront it. To appease those causing it instead of leading them through it.
And I wonder how many of them really believe in what they’re doing enough to see it through.
Image credit: Cogdogblog
Change is growth…hence, the growing pains. This post made me think of the daunting task of making my school better, by class better, my teaching better. I get overwhelmed with the amount of problems that exist and I think that it can stop some people from getting involved in change. It’s not that they don’t want it, but some people aren’t born wish enough vision to want it or see it. I think there are people who dive into the discomfort and then I think there are those you must drag through the process. Some will come around, some will rise to the occasion and some will sit in a pile of excuses and eventually become powerless. Change hurts and some of us have a higher threshold for pain.
LCS I completely agree with your thoughts on change. At the school I am at there are grade level teams that are having trouble with change and are struggling to keep up. However, I am one of those people you describe as “diving into the discomfort”. It is hard once I am there but I am always ready to grow as an educator so I am willing to go through the process.
I find the best way to deal with the “pain” of change is to do it together. The team I work with is very supportive and we count on each other to get through the new changes or problems that we encounter.
A thought provoking article!
After sitting in a Friday afternoon meeting with my grade level team, your article provided the clarity I needed around why we struggled to come to an agreement on a change in our mathematics instruction. On our team, there are members who are in all states of this new instructional requirement. Some are embracing. Some are mitigating. Unfortunately our administrator did not attend and they are the one causing this change. They stopped by and said, ” Something came up.” I will recognize this does happen some days, however, when some teachers are willing to embrace it and others are resisting,, an administrator’s presence and decision-making responsibilities and capabilities are needed. Please come. Our team and our students need you there.
After sitting in a Friday afternoon meeting with my grade level team, your article provided the clarity I needed around why we struggled to come to an agreement on a change in our mathematics instruction. On our team, there are members who are in all states of this new instructional requirement. Some are embracing. Some are mitigating. Unfortunately our administrator did not attend and they are the one causing this change. They stopped by and said, ” Something came up.” I will recognize this does happen some days, however, when some teachers are willing to embrace it and others are resisting,, an administrator’s presence and decision-making responsibilities and capabilities are needed. Please come when we ask. Our team and our students need you there. How can we as educators, increase our administrator’s willingness to “embrace the discomfort and commit to working through it” with us?
This blog post really hit home. For the past two years our school has been pushing the idea of performance based assessment instead of midterms. I have been really against the idea and putting up fences and any chance I get I complain about it. This post makes me stop and think that this could be a good think. I just need to stop rejecting it and try to go with the change.
Megan, you fit right in with our school’s climate. Change seems to be the theme at our district. Colleagues will band together to vent and resist change until the change becomes “required”. What I have seen with colleagues that resist change is that they become that much more behind. Then ultimately teachers are causing a disservice to their students. The important fact is that you recognize the importance of change. As for me, my mindset is to go with the change. It is hard to digest everything at first, but in the long run, my students and I benefit from the change. After all, we are life-long learners living in the 21st century. I wish you the best of luck. Any remember, venting is healthy : )
Sunmi, you really have a great attitude and perspective! How do you stay calm and embrace all of the changes? I can’t help but feel overwhelmed when so many new things are being thrown at me at once. I completely agree with you- those who don’t embrace the change ultimately end up falling behind. I never do that and would never want that. However, how can I see the positives in change, like you do, instead of feeling stressed by it?
Casey, change is never easy. In our district, teachers were not being promoted to probationary status for a long time (until 3 years ago) and always had to stay on top of things. Every year formal observations were made. Temporary teachers always want to show the best teaching practice in order to secure their spot. As a permanent teacher, I am still wanting to deliver best practice. Plus, when I see teachers who resist the change, they are that much further behind. Now that I am getting my MSED, being a life-long learner truly resonates within me and makes changes more welcoming. But trust me, I do get my share of nervousness. Luckily, my teammates and I work through the changes together. I hope you have a strong team (that is not negative) to go through changes, too. Think of it this way, we go through changes in life all the time like: getting married, having a child, sending your child off to college, etc… We embrace the change and make it the best we can. ; D
This is a very thought provoking point that you bring up. As teachers we are often introduced to new techniques – better techniques than those that we are currently using in our classrooms. Despite this knowledge and our attempts at continual learning, we often fail to go the extra mile to implement these strategies in our classrooms. In many cases we try once or twice and then give up. The truth is, it takes an extreme amount of effort and dedication to see our ideas and thoughts put into action. This is often a long, arduous and painful process. When you add this to the long “to do” list of a teacher, it is not surprising that it doesn’t get done. The question is how much pain should we put ourselves through? Our students should always be our priority, but we also need to take care of ourselves!
As a person who doesn’t like change, even in her personal life, I always feel uncomfortable when I am faced with change in the workplace. This year my school faced a big change because we have a new principal. His dynamic and style is very different than his predecessor. However, we have all had to learn to adjust and “roll with the punches.”
I think Simone brings up a good point that teachers are life-long learners. We are constantly seeking ways to meet the ever-changing needs of our students. However, it can be very difficult to continue to try to adapt when we don’t always get to see results.
I agree change does suck, but not matter how much it does, the change still happens whether we like it or not. This article is my district to the max. They are always trying something new and then changing it without really giving it a try to see if it works. It does suck when the district decides there is a change and the change is not a welcome or inviting process, and sometimes it is even in the middle of the year. Yikes!! Who wants to change something in the middle of the teaching year? No one, but instead of using the energy to complain about it, I use that energy to embrace it and look for the good in the change. I can tell you that a lot of my peers do not feel the same way as me and still are complaining. I need to look at what is best for our students, is that not why I am teaching? Embrace the change even though it may suck!
Hi Will,
I am new to this blogging world. I found your blogsite and I would like to begin interacting with like-minded bloggers around the world.
I am a qualified teacher and I am deaf. I live in Australia. Although I have taught in primary (elementary) and high schools I now teach adult classes in Auslan (Australian Sign Language).
I have written and published an Early Childhood storybook and DVD, titled “My Friend is Deaf”. This education resource explains to mainstream school children why there is a deaf student in their class and what to expect.
You may like to visit my website, http://www.deaffriendly.com.au if anyone is interested in learning more about who I am and what work I do.
Kind regards,
James Kerwin