Filling the Affirmation Well

The last week of school is upon us, and even though it’s still raining here in Oregon, summer has arrived. If it doesn’t mean sunshine quite yet, it does mean the end to another school year and a well-deserved break.  It’s been a challenging year, trying to juggle multiple roles and not feeling like a very effective coach. It would be easy to focus on the places I came up short and dwell on the negative, but I’ve already mastered that approach and it doesn’t always serve me well. What I need to focus on are the small victories, the things which I often too easily dismiss, but that I need to hold onto because the rewards in this profession are often intangible and fleeting.

First, I need to remember that I did have an impact on my students. They learned the value of feedback and revision. They discovered how to strengthen their writing with imagery, figurative language and symbolism. A few of them got turned on to slam poetry, and one even started his own Ning. My second semester group, who as a whole were very reluctant to share their work at the outset, created a class book for the final project and all but three of them read a piece during our publication celebration. They gave each other genuine, meaningful praise and they were excited to see their names in print.  Several students who had a very loud inner critic have learned to turn down the volume on that voice, and they are more confident as a result of taking my class. Yes, I did make a difference this year.

I also made a difference with my colleagues. Lori came by yesterday to tell me that her English 9 class, the one with all of the ELL students, got a 74% average on the Romeo and Juliet test. We had worked together to create a differentiated unit, and with a big smile, she told me, “That unit works!” Elaine sent me an email with a PowerPoint slide attached that shows the growth that Latino students made on the state science test, from 20% meeting the benchmark last year to 47% this year. She wrote, “You have been enormously helpful with preparing our curricula…and have helped us raise the science scores of our Latino population.  Thank you.” I moved that message to my “Saved” file. Heidi, the Culinary Arts teacher, is excited about trying proficiency based grading next year after participating in the study group that I facilitated, and when Veronica found out that she was getting new Marketing textbooks and that I would be back to coaching full time next year, she came right down to my office to reserve a block of time during the August inservice so we can work together.

Even though the year is coming to an end, like Veronica, I am already excited about next year and eager to get back to work.  As I wrap things up over the next couple of days, I will continue to be conscious of shifting my focus from the negative to the positive. I already know that I can learn from what I didn’t do well; reflecting on it helps me to improve. But I also need to fill my well with affirmation and drink from it regularly.  I already feel empowered after writing this post. Stuart Smalley would be proud.

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