Watching the Grass Grow

I was sitting on the porch of my cottage the other morning, drinking coffee, and looking at my lawn, or rather, lack thereof.  More specifically, I was focused on the how the grass was coming in, having been hydroseeded a few weeks ago.  I then thought about those time-lapse science shows, where you can see a flower bloom in a few seconds, and wishing I could get my grass to grow that quickly, or at least see today’s progress. 

Now, intellectually I know the grass is actually growing, regardless of my inability to see the microscopic changes.  But my desire to see it, to make it real, persists.  Why do I need to witness immediate growth?  If I come back in a week, it will be taller, and I will see it.  Why is that not good enough for me? 

As teachers, we care and nurture our students, much as I water and fertilize my grass seeds.  We have this innate desire to know and see that what we do with our kids is making a positive difference.  By nature, we are perfectionists, and we are also our own worst critics, becoming easily frustrated.  I think that may be our disconnect between the intellectual “knowing” and the emotional need to “see” the fruits of our labor.  But we can turn this into a growing experience for ourselves.

Watching my grass grow demands patience.  Watching our students grow demands the same.  Just as certain patches of my lawn come up quicker than others, even though I initially gave equal attention to all parts, we will “see” certain kids making progress more quickly than others.  I will see stark differences across my lawn, but instead of lamenting that the whole yard doesn’t look right, I can focus on which patches need extra attention.  In that way, within a few months, I will have a nice looking lawn.  The same can be true in our classroom.  Focusing our efforts on those who need extra attention will ultimately result in growth for all students.

And in case you’re wondering how this metaphor plays out for kids who grow exponentially, I don’t advocate mowing them down, so that the grass all stays one uniform level.  Quite the opposite – continue to watch the grass grow, and nurture each individual blade.  Mowing is overrated.

The Meaning of Leadership and Influence

In our coaching office this morning, three of us had a lengthy dialogue around the meaning of “leadership,” “power,” and “authority.”  Multiple events triggered the conversation, but the central themes were school improvement and collective responsibility.  In a nutshell, many teachers have asked themselves (and others) what it means to be a school/instructional leader.

Is it about titles?  Is it about a job description?  Is it about responsibility?  Is it about vision? Is it about values and beliefs?  Is it about policy?  Is it about accountability?  Is it about fidelity?  Is it about collaboration?  I could go on and on, but the answer is both yes and no.

I found the following words on the Education Portal website:

“Remember that power is the ability to do something the specific way you want to do it by any means necessary. Leadership is painting a vision for others to follow. Authority is when a person has the right to give you an order or direction. And finally, influence is having an impact on someone's character, their development or even the way they think.”

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/differences-between-power-leadership-authority-influence.html#lesson

I like this piece, because within it, every teacher is a leader.  Certainly, within our own classrooms, we do paint the vision for our students.  But within our school, or our district, how might we paint a positive vision for others to follow?

Our School Improvement Framework tells us that school leaders can be formal or informal.  One teacher might be a member of the School Success Team, while another is not.  However, both can be leaders.  The title is not what makes the leader.  It’s about action and conviction.  For example, each time we stand up for what’s best for kids, we are painting a positive vision for others to follow.  We are leading, whether we mean to or not. 

What about leading our colleagues in other ways?  How might we paint a positive vision for others to follow?  Some ideas I have are as follows: instead of participating in negative conversations or piling on when something goes wrong, working together to construct a different way to try to achieve a goal; instead of ignoring a colleague who is struggling, offering to mentor or assist them; and instead of writing off the kids who are failing, create a one-on-one, long-term, life coaching relationship and tell your colleagues about it.

Maybe it all goes back to why we became teachers in the first place.  Certainly not for the fame, glory, or money, but because we share the fundamental belief in the inherent value of our influence – the “impact on someone’s character, their development or even the way they think.”  If we believe this about our students, why not believe this about our colleagues?