The new normal is upon us and we have to think differently- we must adapt and innovate in order to meet the needs of students and guard the mental health of our educators and parent populations.
It starts with a mindset. All the discussion on Fixed vs. Growth Mindset comes into play here. We have expected our students to adopt a Growth Mindset, well now our system needs to embrace it.
So, how do we do that?
Get Excited. Counterintuitive maybe, but get excited because we can create something that can build students who are no longer passengers but pilots! This is ultimately my hope in any school- that students learn to chart their courses, navigate turbulence in life and get their dreams off the ground. We can only get this to happen if we can create a system that is customized to individuals- or in other words... personalized.
Learn from the Gym. When you walk into any gym, what do you see? What systems are in place? There are usually experts around to provide guidance. There is a variety of equipment and people are doing all kinds of things. One guy maybe busting out some miles on the treadmill, another may be pumping some curls and a third is chilling in the sauna. Some people have formed small groups and are moving to the music of a Zumba class! All are here to grow. All have established their goals and most have a plan or routine that they helped develop. Perhaps there is a way we can steal some inspiration from our local gyms on how we can adapt or grow as a school system.
Embed Hope Theory. Professor Snyder (1991) created this method for inspiration called Hope Theory. When people set goals, have an understanding of the pathways to reach these goals, AND possess the agency to make the efforts to take these pathways... they have Hope. So, create systems that give students voice and choice. To show them who they are as learners... to give them partnership with the learning goals... and watch them take off. Watch them with a smile from ear to ear... they are capable of surpassing our expectations when we can give them ownership of their learning.
ReThink the Roles of Teachers. Teachers become system engineers and Momentum Coaches. Similar to Personal Trainers... they co-create programs and care plans for students as individuals. They provide encouragement for the agency students need and energy that students are burning through as they follow their personalized approach. This is crucial- we must invest in teacher training and teacher support for this shift to be successful.
To reduce burnout and provide inspiration- our teachers must know they are cared for, supported, and trained well. We can come out of this pandemic with a stronger system of education if we only will embrace personalization as the answer to our questions.
www.michaelsroth.org
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