We Got This….?

After weeks of listening, I’m not sure we do.

It is my first year as an instructional coach and I have been in the unique position to set everything aside and to to see, feel, hear, listen to teachers…

And teachers are tired.

Classes are jam-packed. Ongoing interruptions have exacerbated challenges (mental health, achievement gaps *debts* and created a post-remote learning environment where we are scrambling to meet the needs of learners who demonstrate a wide range of abilities). On top of this, there is a constant onslaught of directives (board, ministry, school), and email boxes are filling up faster than teachers can open them. While it is our ethical responsibility to destream grade 9 courses, to make curricular changes that promote equity, to create equitable A&E plans, to challenge barriers, to check biases, it is difficult to find the time to implement anti-oppressive pedagogy: the instructional model which supports cohorting leaves teachers with no prep time. (Many) teachers overwhelmed.

And yet, the “teacher as superhero” narrative continues. You know, the one that “does not allow heroes to be imperfect or to be nuanced…to grow tired, to fail, to learn publicly, or to grieve” (Minor, p.4). The one cited in We Got This. Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be by Cornelius Minor (2019).

In his introductory chapter, Minor cautions that this narrative is exclusive and toxic: “[I]t mutes or denies imperfection” and therefore “silences and refuses our essential humanity” (p. 5).

As an instructional coach (and fellow human), how can I create spaces where teachers feel comfortable being human, taking risks, making mistakes, checking biases, being vulnerable in a context where there is little room for fault and where each decision feels as though it is being evaluated (not assessed)?

We often talk about meeting students where they are. Does this also apply to teachers? When I am supporting teachers to embrace equitable assessment and evaluation by allowing students multiple opportunities to master a skill (“spiralling”), I wonder about whether we afford teachers the same. How/can we build a culture of safe “risk-taking” for teachers where they can *grow* their practice? To spiral a skill. To be assessed before being evaluated.

Just like students, teachers need time. Time to collaborate. Time to reflect. Time to check biases. Time to implement culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy. And structural changes to support the pedagogy (release time for collaboration. A change to reporting achievement — currently, levels across multiple expectations are converted into single percentages reflecting an average to represent a student’s understanding of multiple course expectations. A more recent approach to A&E embedded in an archaic system of reporting). During a recent book club discussion on Joel Feldman’s Grading for Equity, one teacher commented that there is dissonance between the pedagogy and systems, making it difficult to champion change. I think about this. About the dissonance(s).

In his book, Minor encourages us to focus on our sphere of influence: “Many of us look at these systems. We see their magnitude, and we question our ability to create any kind of real change. From where I teach, there are so many systems that I cannot influence yet…[but] what are the systems that I can influence right now?” (p. 31). In my current role, my focus has to be on my sphere of influence and so I begin with Minor’s advice: to practice authentic listening — listening without judgement, without anticipation of how I might support. To listen. Just listen.

The more I listen, the more I am reminded of the poetry in teachers. And, that starting where they are based on what they see, feel, hear, is one step towards dismantling the narrative of “teacher as superhero” and fostering a culture of growth.