Wrong is the New Right: The Benefits of Effective Mistake Making
I had a great conversation with an incredible teacher today. She told me that the instructional vision she had wasn’t unfolding in the ways that she intended. She told me that she was frustrated because she’s had to adapt her instructional model multiple times based on what she’d been learning about the evolving needs of her students. She went on to say that her needs had been changing over the course of the year as well. She clarified that as she builds ever-deeper relationships with the kids in her class, she’s had to redefine the teacher-lens through which she’s working. She’s modified her lesson plans. She’s altered her conceptual framework. She’s torn it all down and built it all back up.
She described situations in which students seemed disengaged and distracted. She sited multiple examples of behaviors that have had to be address. She articulated ways in which she’s spent time and devoted energy to addressing those behaviors. She’s partnered with students, colleagues, and parents in efforts to collaborate on strategies and garner further insights into the ongoing work of developing her classroom culture. She’s examined possibilities for modeling and coaching enhanced communication skills and strategies in each of her students. She’s implemented instruction as connected to those possibilities, examined that instruction, and adapted it to suit. She’s been working!
The interesting thing about this particular teacher and her classroom is that when I visit, things seem to be running like clockwork. Kids seem to be generally energized and engaged. When things go south this teacher presents with patience and positivity. She redirects students with what seems to be a consistent eye on learning and growth. She guides. She facilitates a process by which learning is clearly the primary objective. She takes the time to think carefully about her words and her actions, and in doing so she gives the distinct impression that they are truly purposeful.
When I visit I can see the reflective nature of her process unfolding in the form of connected adaptations. She’s guided by her developing understanding of the nature of the individuals in her group and how they fit together as a whole. It’s pretty cool to watch. I would suggest that it’s one very right way to go about managing a curriculum and a classroom full of students. If I’m not mistaken (which I sometimes am), she was wondering why her initial ideas seemed to have been wrong. If I’m not even more mistaken (which I sometimes am too), the reason may have be so that she could dig into reflective development and hone those ideas for maximum learning value with the group of students that she’s working with.
Ideas are great. Visions are awesome. People are the thing, though. I would suggest that we’re not doing it right if we’re not constantly collecting observational data, redefining our efforts, and adapting. I would suggest that this incredible teacher’s wonderful students are not only better off because they’re cared about enough to be worth all of this trouble, but that they’re better off for the model of effective mistake making they have in front of them each day. We all make mistakes! We get some things right and we get some things wrong. It’s what we do next that defines us, and our impact.
Maybe we have to get things wrong a bit before we get them right. Who knows? Regardless, I applaud this teacher along with all of the other amazing teachers I work with, know, and know are out there, for toiling day in and day out in their quests for rightness out of wrongness in the service of kids. Keep it up…and keep your head up because you’re if your putting your unavoidable “wrongs” to good use by learning, shifting, and celebrating progress, I say you’re doing exactly the right thing!
Live. Learn. Lead.
Work Hard. Dream Big. Be Well.