I recently finished reading the autobiography of Eddie Jones, current England Rugby Head Coach. If you follow union, you're aware of his standing in the game. You'd also be aware of his maturation as a coach, and the dedication, passion, and insights that he brings to the games at the highest levels.
If you don't follow union, know that he is an individual who has constantly evolved as a coach, mentor, and communicator. He recognises the changing nature of communication, leadership, and high performance environments, and seeks to continually up-skill himself to stay relevant in one of the most competitive sporting environments in the world.
The following discussion originates from his book, and I consider how this applies to my life and teaching experience.
If you don't follow union, know that he is an individual who has constantly evolved as a coach, mentor, and communicator. He recognises the changing nature of communication, leadership, and high performance environments, and seeks to continually up-skill himself to stay relevant in one of the most competitive sporting environments in the world.
The following discussion originates from his book, and I consider how this applies to my life and teaching experience.
In some obvious ways there are connections between teaching and coaching. As a teacher you are seeking to develop the innate characteristics and skills within individuals or groups in order for them to succeed. While our measure of success can vary depending on person and context, one of the core competencies that I as a teacher hope to develop is the capacity for personal reflection and growth.
Many of the positive and life-changing decisions that a person can make depend on their ability to personally reflect.
For this reason I found the discussion of four fears, based off the work of UK Athletics coach Frank Dick, pertinent to myself and teaching.
Fear #1: Fear of getting it wrong or making a mistake
Book: The problem is that you'll never challenge yourself to go beyond your limits. You need to understand that you WILL make mistakes, but must learn from those mistakes and avoid making them in the future.
"When you become really brave, you don't wait for somebody else to see the mistake. You put your hand up straight away."
Personal Reflection: This is probably the biggest fear that I want students to overcome. I would love for my classroom environment to be known as a risk-taking environment, where students challenge their understanding and thinking processes about the topics and concepts that we study. I want them to think outside the box, learn new skills, view the world in fresh ways. The simple question is, "How do I achieve this?". The simple answer is, step away from the controls. I need to ensure that students have the opportunity and space to ask questions and investigate, the flexibility to learn and demonstrate their learning in multiple ways. Essentially, shift from the simple teacher-centric modes of teaching that I so easily fall back into.
Fear #2: Fear of losing
Book: You must recognise that you can only control your own preparation and performance. That has to be enough. Sometimes a team will simply be better on the day than you, or circumstances outside of your control will impact your performance.
Personal Reflection: Sometimes students have a bad day. I've spent hours preparing what I think to be fun and engaging lessons, only to have 1-2 students be 'off', and ruin the dynamic of the entire period. While I can always ask myself questions about whether or not I could have managed the disruption better, there's only so much you can question yourself and your preparation before you simply need to 'be kind to you'.
Fear #3: Fear of rejection
Book: If you fear rejection you'll stop putting yourself forward or ask questions by which you can develop. However, by learning to cope with rejection you can grow by asking the right questions in the first place.
Personal Reflection: Strangely enough this doesn't impact me personally. I'm usually the annoying one asking questions in meetings, seeking clarification so I can understand the what and why of a thing. I try to encourage students to take the same approach, and avoid shutting them down when incorrect but try to guide them to demonstrating some basic understanding, so they are experiencing some form of a 'win'.
Fear #4: Fear of criticism
Book: Simply replace the word criticism with feedback.
"Once you start looking for feedback you will be much stronger and more resilient."
Personal Reflection: This is the one I struggle with the most. I personally thrive off positive affirmation, it offsets my negative and brooding tendencies. Learning how to discern between valuable feedback and unfair criticism is a skill I need to develop. Along with this, I have to try to avoid taking things personally, or being thick-skinned enough to move past the times when criticism is personal.
Many of the positive and life-changing decisions that a person can make depend on their ability to personally reflect.
For this reason I found the discussion of four fears, based off the work of UK Athletics coach Frank Dick, pertinent to myself and teaching.
Fear #1: Fear of getting it wrong or making a mistake
Book: The problem is that you'll never challenge yourself to go beyond your limits. You need to understand that you WILL make mistakes, but must learn from those mistakes and avoid making them in the future.
"When you become really brave, you don't wait for somebody else to see the mistake. You put your hand up straight away."
Personal Reflection: This is probably the biggest fear that I want students to overcome. I would love for my classroom environment to be known as a risk-taking environment, where students challenge their understanding and thinking processes about the topics and concepts that we study. I want them to think outside the box, learn new skills, view the world in fresh ways. The simple question is, "How do I achieve this?". The simple answer is, step away from the controls. I need to ensure that students have the opportunity and space to ask questions and investigate, the flexibility to learn and demonstrate their learning in multiple ways. Essentially, shift from the simple teacher-centric modes of teaching that I so easily fall back into.
Fear #2: Fear of losing
Book: You must recognise that you can only control your own preparation and performance. That has to be enough. Sometimes a team will simply be better on the day than you, or circumstances outside of your control will impact your performance.
Personal Reflection: Sometimes students have a bad day. I've spent hours preparing what I think to be fun and engaging lessons, only to have 1-2 students be 'off', and ruin the dynamic of the entire period. While I can always ask myself questions about whether or not I could have managed the disruption better, there's only so much you can question yourself and your preparation before you simply need to 'be kind to you'.
Fear #3: Fear of rejection
Book: If you fear rejection you'll stop putting yourself forward or ask questions by which you can develop. However, by learning to cope with rejection you can grow by asking the right questions in the first place.
Personal Reflection: Strangely enough this doesn't impact me personally. I'm usually the annoying one asking questions in meetings, seeking clarification so I can understand the what and why of a thing. I try to encourage students to take the same approach, and avoid shutting them down when incorrect but try to guide them to demonstrating some basic understanding, so they are experiencing some form of a 'win'.
Fear #4: Fear of criticism
Book: Simply replace the word criticism with feedback.
"Once you start looking for feedback you will be much stronger and more resilient."
Personal Reflection: This is the one I struggle with the most. I personally thrive off positive affirmation, it offsets my negative and brooding tendencies. Learning how to discern between valuable feedback and unfair criticism is a skill I need to develop. Along with this, I have to try to avoid taking things personally, or being thick-skinned enough to move past the times when criticism is personal.