I heard this poem the other day and it has really resonated with me. It made me think about a past blog post I wrote about Growing Your Own Practice.
I love the first line, it sets the tone for the whole poem.
The people I love the best jump into work headfirst without dallying in the shallows……
The only element I would add is the need to think and reflect before jumping in. An enormous part of our job is to think and reflect because we are the decision makers in our schools, and classrooms.
I think the writer describes our natural instincts that we develop with experience as educators and leaders with the line:
They seem to become natives of that element,
I think this is what leaders do! We jump in, but not without thought or purpose. We plan with the end goal in mind, planning backwards! Teaching becomes very instinctual! Leaders can voice why are how those instincts have come about.
These are the people I love the best in my profession:
People who:
experience empathy,
feel a desire to pause, ponder and dwell with a mindset to solve problems,
generate new ideas,
imagine new possibilities,
advocate and evaluate,
are engaged,
want to act based on what they have read or learned and experienced,
show a willingness to struggle,
can describe their own progress,
can define and describe how their thinking has changed,
pursue compelling questions,
experience moments of insight or clarity.
It really made me think about the people I want to surround myself with. Thinking from an administrators perspective who would I want on my staff, from a parents perspective who do I want in my child’s classroom, or from a teammate perspective. As an educator within my school, my district and profession as a whole; who do I want others to see me as, and who do I want to be!
We could dissect it line by line, but think about growing your own practice and leadership in education as you read it. Let me know your thoughts.
To be of use
Reflect 