It Gets Better

When I looked at my calendar yesterday morning, I smiled. Purple everywhere. I made it so I had classroom visits at least twice a day this week, mostly coaching lessons in kindergarten, first, third, and fifth grade. What a ride!

I knew this new role would bring a lot of sparkles while also taking the one thing that sits at the core: being with students. I went from mornings of three conversations happening at once before Morning Meeting to silent arrivals at an office. If there’s one thing I promised myself never to let go of, it is the connection to real life at school, and I’ll only get that by going into classrooms as much as possible.

The last times I taught kindergarten and first grade were in 2018 and 2011. One could easily let those years blur memories of what it feels like to step into those classrooms during the month of September, and yes, I hadn’t thought about what it’s like, but I didn’t truly forget. The one thing I have now, though, is perspective—a perspective I can share with new teachers in those grades.

There is September and its chaos, then comes November when things fall into place, followed by a week in December when things flow [mostly] effortlessly just in time for a long break to set us all back to square 1 in January. But only after going through those ten months of school (especially having done it more than five times) can one take a moment to relax and not stress too much about how crazy things are today because we know things do get better.

Across grades, students at our school are learning about ways to examine their writing and notice evidence of growth. Putting aside how amazing it is to see how something like that applies to 1st and 5th grade, it made me think of those teachers I’m working with. I want them to learn about “connecting the dots backward” and know that with the right approach, they will see improvement when they compare the present to the past.

And yes, things get better, but not by a random magic act. One must be intentional and strategic to experience that routine improvement in the long term. It’s like going to the gym often and lifting weights, knowing that, eventually, you’ll notice that shift in muscle strength. You have to, however, stick to a routine. Missing a few training days will noticeably impact the results (I say this as if I have never quit workouts…)

So here are the suggestions I learned from my mentors on how to arrive at that stage of “wow, it did get better!”

• Time your minilessons or ask someone to do it for you. It is quite challenging to manage time while also trying to manage 20 youngsters (and remembering every lesson’s detail!).
• Use seating arrangements and assigned partnerships to ease transitions between minilessons and independent work. You’ll gain writing time every minute you take away from that-was-my-seat kind of conflicts.
• Have a lesson plan you understand but be ready to change things on the spot or cut down parts of the minilesson and rush to a Flash Link if necessary.
• Watch and annotate student behavior during transitions instead of turning to redirecting and reminding—send an “I trust you” message by sitting and watching.
• When watching for what they do once you send them off, push yourself to notice the positive or turn around those behaviors that “seem” to go against what you’ve taught them. For example, a student who gets to their spot and does not write immediately but stares at their page and thinks instead.
• Hold the expectations for independent work time high and don’t bring them down. I mean, avoid rescuing, fixing, or redirecting. They can solve problems; turn to questions (Where can you find more paper?) instead of solutions (Check the writing center.) They can make decisions; they don’t need you to make those for them.
• Write with them and let them see that this thing you’re asking them to do every day is something you’re also working on.
• Watch yourself and who you confer with first. Are we visiting the one who needs a reminder of “what they’re supposed to be doing”? Or are we taking a few minutes and then visiting the one who doesn’t really need us? When we go to the one who [knows] they’re not doing what’s expected, we default to redirecting instead of supporting.

Things do get better. Our students become more independent and grow in ways that may surprise us. Routines sink in and make room for priceless minutes of conferring and reaching more students. And we get better, too. We get more comfortable playing around with a lesson, writing alongside our students, and analyzing ways we can also improve.

All we need is perspective, and when that’s hard to get, I hope to be the one who shares it.