What Might Be Possible if We Gained Comfort in Discomfort?
I almost didn’t go on our nightly walk, but I’m so glad that I did. Here in NY, our weather has been inconsistent. I’m not complaining though, because most days have been nicer than not. Although I was born and raised in upstate New York, I have never been a fan of cold weather. It just chills me to the bone, particularly in the winter. I’m just not as tough as my Canadian friends!
Each night, I walk our dogs. I’m frequently joined by at least one, if not more, of my family members. In my mind, ‘each night,’ refers to the days that are relatively warm or pleasant out–– those in which feel comfortable. So, since at least May, I’ve been going on nightly walks unless it’s seemingly unpleasant. I relish in the balmy July evenings and 9 pm sunsets that display their glory on the horizon. However, recently, our temperatures have been dipping into the 40’s and 50’s. That’s not all that uncommon for this time of year. It’s just not desirable to me. Last night, after dinner, my husband turned and asked, “walking tonight?” I shrugged in response and shook my head. As I gazed out the kitchen window at the seemingly gloomy skies I shook my head and responded with, “not today.”
Considering that the day had remained steadily in the high fifties and rained on and off, there seemed to be a chill in the air. It appeared dreary out and to be honest, I just didn’t feel motivated because I anticipated discomfort in connection with our current weather. But, my husband turned to me and said, “It looks like the rain has cleared, just bundle up.” Making the assumption that it was going to be unenjoyable almost caused me to miss a great opportunity.
Once we got outside, we began conversing about our days. During our mile and a half walk, we laughed, stopped to have conversations with neighbors who happen to be close friends of ours, and talked with a family who recently moved into the neighborhood. The air was still and overall, it felt pleasant out. The sun had almost completely set–– creating a beautiful canvas mixing shades of pinks, reds, and yellows. It was truly stunning. The evening was absolutely gorgeous and I got to share it with excellent company. As an added bonus, I closed my move goal on my Apple iWatch and our dogs got exercise, too. If you know me well, you know how important my move goals are to me! My husband and I walked side-by-side as we delighted in the almost missed opportunity. As we returned home, it struck me that I almost completely missed out on a beautiful evening filled with connection and gratitude.
Prior to our walk, I had made the assumption that it was going to be too cold, too rainy, and therefore, unenjoyable–– making me feel uncomfortable. It struck me that all too often, we may hold back because of perceived discomfort.
Gaining Comfort with Discomfort
Often, in education, we face similar scenarios. For example, teachers may pull back from project based learning based on the assumption that their kids can’t handle the freedom. Or, teachers avoid integrating instructional technology because it feels overwhelming for them to learn and manage ‘one more thing.’ However, sometimes it’s about taking that first step. If we design learning with the end in mind, know our learners, and collaborate with a team, we set ourselves up for greater success. Working with teachers, I remind them that not everything has to be accomplished at once. It’s okay to go at your own pace, but important that we continue to take steps forward to grow beyond traditional and self-imposed boundaries. Taking those first steps can be incredibly rewarding as you reap the benefits.
When creating shifts, you can always reflect and retool along the way. Nothing is set in stone, so whatever it is that you’re working towards that feels uncomfortable, it’s okay to start out as planned and then adjust along the way. We need to embrace some discomfort; in other words, gain comfort with discomfort (real or perceived). In fact, as educators, aren’t we making adjustments minute-to-minute based on the needs of our learners anyhow? We need to give ourselves permission to play with new ideas and identify what works best for our learners and us. And, what learning looks like in the room next door may look slightly different in your room–– we can’t create cookie cutter models. What we can do is begin with one idea and grow from there. We just need to ensure that we’re not pulling back due to assumptions that something is going to be too difficult or uncomfortable.
Journey Toward Empowered Learning
Each year, as a classroom teacher, I would help students unlearn compliance based structures and then rewire thinking to empower learning. When I first embarked on this journey, I could envision what learning should look like, ie. learners working collaboratively, moving around the room to make use of resources and their environment, leveraging technology as a tool, and making appropriate adjustments throughout the day. Of course, I knew that small groups, working one-on-one, and direct instruction, would all still be part of the equation. We absolutely have to use the best strategies for the learning target or needs of individuals.
If I could have made the shift to the empowered classroom I envisioned come to fruition on day one, I would have. But, at ten years of age, my learners had a lot of ingrained beliefs on how to function within a traditional classroom. Even a month into the school year I had students quietly seeking permission to move seats, even though they developed the classroom mission with me and had a flexible seating chart that they had autonomy over to make adjustments throughout the day.
I kept with it though, and instead of saying yes or no (bringing complete decision making back to me), I used reflective questioning and kindly asked a simple question in response: what do you think? That simple question put the individual back in the driver’s seat! Now, that’s not to say that learners had complete control, but they had a lot of autonomy. I wanted them to learn to be reflective and consider what the best choices were, and they did. My students knew that I could trump certain decisions, but I always let them know that if I did, it was due to safety, what’s best for each individual, or what’s ideal for learning.
The Framework is Essential
Although I knew what I wanted learning to look, sound, and feel like, my first step was always focused on the culture and routines. I want to be clear that student empowerment doesn’t mean that there are no structures in place. In fact, it’s routines and learning protocols that allowed us to be highly successful in our endeavors. Learners grew to understand what to expect and we only introduced new protocols for learning once the current ones ran efficiently. It was critical that structures for conversation and communication skills were utilized, and I ensured that learners had everything to support them in their journey. From anchor charts, prompts that stood in picture frames at their tables, to bookmarks with resources, or resources within Google Classroom, they had what they needed at their fingertips.
The more we can create the culture and routines for learning, the more we lay the foundation for student empowerment. Fast forward to June, my learners had a high level of autonomy. Throughout the school year they had learned to be leaders of classroom routines, presenters of learning, connected with experts to develop their depth of knowledge, learned to provide feedback to peers and reflect on their work, set goals, attain them, and more. They came up with their own ideas for random acts of kindness, created classroom celebrations, and even developed tutorials for their peers and their parents to review at home if needed.
In terms of leadership, I gradually transferred a lot of responsibility to them. Learners took care of the lunch count, became facilitators of learning if a common routine was utilized, initiated call and responses if they had something pertinent to share with peers, and if something didn’t work in our room, they created the adjustments with guidance when needed. If I knew a student may struggle or that they had a responsibility that required more time to acclimate to, I ensured they had a partner to collaborate with. Everyone understood that this was our learning environment and anything done should add to the success, not detract or cause disruption. Yes, sometimes we had to address something or work discreetly with an individual to provide a different level of support, but I can openly say that we all grew. The more I amplified learner voice and choice, the less issues seemed to arise.
Challenges Along the Journey May Lead to Beautiful Destinations
Reflecting on September and October, they were definitely the tougher months in my opinion. Because it took time to cultivate learner empowerment (particularly because their brains were often wired for compliance) I could have chosen not to go down that path. Similar to staying home when I perceive the weather to be poor, I could have just maintained the status quo. It would have been easy, I suppose. Learners would have come to me and I could have continued what they knew to do: raise their hands, request permission for getting a drink/moving seats/to work with a partner, and I could have led everything. Some may argue that it would have been… easy.
Having been down the road I’ve journeyed along, despite some bumps and need to revise from time-to-time, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Instead of enforcing compliance or dangling rewards and threatening consequences, I worked alongside learners to help them realize what they’re capable of. I got to see their transformation throughout the year and boy, did they blossom!
What Are Our Hopes and Dreams For Learners?
To be completely honest, I worried about what others would think of my shifts. My shifts required me to spend greater time on engaging in team building activities with intentional debriefing because they greatly impacted our culture. And, culture is everything when it comes to empowering learning. Every so often I thought to myself: What if this flops? However, it didn’t. When it took a bit longer to establish routines, I could have chosen to dangle a reward or threatened a consequence. Instead, I persevered and continued fostering the mindset of learner empowerment through relationships, deep engagement, a culture of trust, and amplifying learner voice and choice. There are some days I had to return to my why.
My hopes and dreams for learners are that they have individuals who help create the conditions to empower learning and support them to identify their interests, develop their strengths, and cultivate future success skills. More than anything I want them to connect with learning that feels deeply meaningful. I envision learning in all classrooms being so much more authentic, empowering, and personal. Together, we need to inspire learners to realize that they too, can make an impact at any age. They do not have to wait until graduation to take initiative or make a difference. I know that shifts can be uncomfortable, but if we take just one step and better yet, link arms with a trusted colleague, the possibilities become endless. Overtime, we begin to develop our abilities, developing greater confidence. After all, don’t we want to support learners to be contributors, creators, innovators and world changers? I know I sure do.
Whatever shift you’re considering, remember that in the end, it’s about developing people. It can’t just be what feels comfortable to us in the moment. What may feel uncomfortable, may just be what sets your soul on fire the more you grow with it. Allow yourself time and take pressure off of yourself knowing that what you do doesn’t have to look perfect. What’s most important are the steps and how those steps are empowering our youth and uplifting them to reveal the potential that lies within.
