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Today’s guest author, Casey Landry, is an Instructional Coach for The Woodlands College Park High School in Conroe Independent School District and has over 19 years experience in education, including teaching all levels of English grades 6-12, World History and US History, and college-level writing courses for the Lone Star College System. She has professionally edited doctoral dissertations in the fields of Education and Philosophy, and her credentials also include the creation and development of unit plans, writing curricula, and professional development seminars. |
If it is true that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs comes before Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives when discussing students and their growth in a classroom, isn’t the same true for coaching teachers? We talk about growing teachers professionally, but have we taken the time to get to know them personally? Can we help them grow without first building trust? And are we truly building trust with adults when we don’t know whether or not they feel safe? Do they feel supported? Do they feel protected? Did they eat this morning?
Coaching is like being a teacher in a classroom full of students who come from all different living situations. Just because a teacher is an adult that doesn’t mean they are safe, secure, and loved. So, how do we, as coaches, meet the diverse needs of our teachers?
“I need to recognize those struggles; I need to empathize with each concern; I need to listen.”
Much like a teacher’s relationship with each student impacts learning, an instructional coach’s relationship with each teacher impacts growth. I do realize, however, that I am not a “teacher” in a classroom, nor are the teachers I work with my “students.” The teachers I am fortunate enough to work with are adults and professionals, and they impact children every day. They are my colleagues, and my one and only job is to support their instructional practices and their goals. Many come to work each day facing emotional strains, financial worries, personal sacrifice, and health issues. I need to recognize those struggles; I need to empathize with each concern; I need to listen. Until I meet the basic needs of the professionals around me, no amount of presentations or professional development will go deeper than surface level frustration.
I thought about this as I developed my most recent presentation. How can I be sure to meet Maslow’s Hierarchy in order to achieve upper-level Bloom’s Taxonomy? It was like creating a slope-intercept in the middle of a scatter plot! Each teacher in any presentation is at differing levels of actualization and differing levels of learning. I have a group of Journeyman Educators; a group of Midshipman; and a group of New Recruits! They are my scatter plots on the x and y axis. How do I then draw a line through all of the points indicating growth?
“…I know each teacher; I know where they are in life; I know what moves each of them.”
I took the time over the past weeks and months to get to know each and every one of them…and there are a lot of them in a department for a 6-A high school in Texas. I then took one lesson; one idea; one activity and scaffolded it to meet the needs – both emotionally and academically – of the professionals in front of me. Do I reference The Canterbury Tales or do I reference Beloved? Do I reference The Big Bang Theory or do I reference Friends? Nirvana or Jay-Z? The answer is that I know each teacher; I know where each is in life; I know what moves each of them; I know what to reference emotionally in order to help him or her reach his or her professional goals, and I am humbled that each one would grant me access to his or her life.
So, what do I do with the teacher who protects herself from an emotional connection with me? What do I do with the teacher who does not wish to open up and share their personal experiences? That’s when I have to realize that it is not about me. That is when I need to take the time to tap into my Super Ego, as you will. Some teachers may have enough support in life that another, personal connection is not needed. That teacher may just need me to provide support in the form of professional ideas, pedagogical advice, or intellectual conversation. Got it! I am on it!
Then, there are times when I just have to realize that the adult in front of me may have been burned too many times professionally or may have too much going on in life in order to connect or to give of herself to one more human being. That is when I feel it is most important to take care of the person in front of me, regardless of how I feel about not being allowed in. It doesn’t mean that I stop trying; it just means that I may search for a quiet time to be near and to listen. It is the time when I stop “coaching” and start providing. I may provide time by covering a class, or I may provide a helping hand in the copy room. I may provide support by stopping by in the middle of a class – not to do an observation but to become a teacher’s aide or classroom support. As a coach, I need to be that type of person. I need to see my colleagues as they are and recognize their needs. I need to support each as an individual before I can support each as a professional.
The question of how we meet the needs of our teachers is more complex than a teacher in front of a classroom of kids. Adults are complex. Adults bring connotations. Adults bring baggage. I find that when I truly get to know each of the teachers I am honored to work with and learn to meet them where they are, that is when we engage in meaningful learning and create a culture of growth together.
I resonated with your blog on so many levels! I have been one of two instructional coaches in our district for the last 6 years. We each carry 85 teachers on our caseload which makes it difficult to be in their classrooms on a regular basis, sadly. I was just saying to my coaching partner that after 6 years of doing this job, I can finally say I feel like I am starting to build trust with staff. It has taken a long time for them to know that I am there to support them, not evaluate, judge, or criticize.
By the way, Conroe is where I started my teaching career way back in 1987! I worked at ar Reaves Intermediate School in Conroe.
Thank you for your thoughts! I appreciate the validation!
Thanks ! Great reflection bringing together many insightful thoughts. I think this is certainly the starting gate for working with adult educators.
This is my 4th year as a coach in the same building and I am still building trust with my teachers. I’ve been discouraged in thinking this process has been slow. My expectations of where I want to be as a coach and where I actually am with my teachers remind me of the same struggles I had as a teacher. This was a wonderfully written article to capture what our teachers may bring and how to approach each individual teacher and invest in getting to know and support them.
Thank you! “stop coaching, start providing” resonated with me! So, so important to recognize and meet the need!
As a first-year coach, I am constantly comparing what I do now to what I did in the classroom. Just like I wanted each of my students to feel loved and valued, I want the teachers who I work with to feel loved and valued. I cannot expect them to try the things I suggest without them first knowing that I appreciate all of the things they already do. Thanks for this!
Your article is quite interesting. Personally, I believe that more focus needs to be made to meet student’s needs- both educational, psychological, sensory, and those needed for good engagement (affective, cognitive, and behavioral).
My hope is to encourage teachers to better meet these needs. I think that meeting student’s needs (especially for students who are “at-risk”) will reduce teacher stress. I’ve developed a website for teachers to use whole class or individually — to assist in meeting some of these needs. Its at http://myplearn.org/ .
And yes, we need to consider the needs of teachers just as much as the needs of students to in order to create wholesome and positive learning environments!
I am so thankful for this article. I had a principal scream and belittle me last year telling me he would stand outside my door and knew I wasn’t doing the bare minimum. Well, I was working two full time jobs – on Mondays I would not sleep even one hour after working 6pm to 6am. My house was being foreclosed on and I had taken the job when my dream job fell through. Students were from high trauma and I was so tired of being called a c*nt every day and having students in my face telling me they were going to beat my *ss. In a building where restorative justice was touted, but not supported, students were required to stay in class unless they were physically attacking another (then they would be removed for a few minutes). I now recognize that I am an instructional expert with a doctorate and 20 years of experience who was not able to move out of the bottom rung of Maslow’s triangle. To expect me to respond to insults with a sudden shift in pedagogy was preposterous. I have given myself grace and promise to never be so cruel to another teacher.