I recently saw a really surprising comment from a teacher on a social media discussion board. The teacher said she felt like teachers were the only profession where we have to be “coached.” As if those education reformers think we can’t handle the job on our own.
I certainly recognize that coaching doesn’t always “feel” right for teachers. It’s because coaching in education started as a means for fixing broken instructional practices. When you look deeper, however, you’ll find that people from all professions use coaching as a means of getting a little better every day. Olympic athletes – the top in their sport – use coaching to get better. Executive coaching, life coaching, business design, and even the self-help or self-development industry are ways that people in all industries reach out to learn and grow.
The most important thing a coach does is give feedback. Also, I think we give guidance and motivation and some other things. The coach really is a partner in your activity, and I think it’s so much better when you have one.
-Coach Bob Bowman on his relationship with Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps.
I view coaching and design services as vital to new and veteran teachers alike. It can benefit the struggling teacher and the master teacher. As coaches, we work as lead learners to find some of the best practices around the world. Then, we bring them to you and help you make meaningful adjustments to your work.
When I’m coaching and designing experiences, I approach my work with a human-centered influence. That means all of the work is grounded in empathy. Empathy for both the teachers they work with and the individual students in each classroom.
Image by @photoholgic
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