Ten Phrases- Five Words that will Change your Classroom Leadership (285)

There is a sense of isolation sometimes, for educators. We feel alone in our wilderness- often trying to pull back the foliage and climb the vines towards the light, all the while leading a group of explorers behind us. Each with a machete in hand, carving out their own path. There is no way we can get our students to follow us into the jungle if we do not excite them and engage them with stories of adventure and discovery.

We have to create such a sense of curiosity, that even the darkest and densely overgrown of forests, will seem traversable. Even better, attainable with a hint of obstruction. A clear field is not exciting, but a primeval forest, a hinterland of unknowns- that is the ticket. That is the queue they will stand in for hours. That is the imaginable becoming the manageable. That is learning.

As educators, we want to be the voice of reason. The voice of knowledge. The voice of consistency and hope. Yet, we as leaders often want to appear strong and invincible. But it is the vulnerability, the “I’ve made a mistake and I apologize. I corrected it and now it is all good,” that allows our explorers to trust us. Every travel party takes a wrong turn now and again. That is part of the journey.

I have been a teacher for a long time, I have also upon reflection, noticed many mistakes I have made in regard to, the ten phrases educators need to become comfortable saying. One of which is above. Apologizing for simple mistakes, even a misspelled word on a document means a lot. It shows you accept yourself as a learner too.

These phrases I have listed below. I am sure most of us have wanted to say them, but maybe thought about to long and the moment passed. They may be something we feel comfortable revealing about ourselves on occasion, or they are a common turn of phrase. However, they are phrases, that overtime have become more comfortable members of my vernacular and for it- they have created deeper relationships with my students.

• I am sorry, I made a mistake and have corrected it.
• I am sorry, I did not ask you if you needed help.
• I am sorry, I let my frustration rear its ugly head.
• I understand, you need time to process, I will stop talking for a minute.
• I trust you, you got this.
• I do not know the answer. I will find out for you.
• I do not know how to do that can you help me?
• Thank you for allowing me to teach you today.
• Thank you for being you, you add a smile to my face every day.
• You are rock stars, I simply the roadie.

These statements are spoken every week now. The words I have made integral to my speech have also become my catch words- like my catch phrases above.

The five words seem obvious. Words we should use every day in our lives, inside and outside the classroom. Yet, we get busy, distracted, and lost so much in our dilemma- we can forget. But, when I pause, listen, and respond- actually address the issue- I find, everything becomes easier. Morale becomes positive, frustration wanes and trust heightens exponentially. It really does. I do not like to admit when I am wrong. I do not like to be questioned when I feel I am right. None of us do- but it should be a job requirement for educators.

We are not in this profession to create followers and acceptors. We are in this profession to help students think for themselves. To question things that do not make sense to them. To not blindly listen to leaders, but to investigate and discover the facts. Then choose what they believe is the right path to traverse- the right jungle to enter with their machete of knowledge, analyzation, and reason.

It stings, it really does when students question our technique, our word choice, our flow. But we have to. We have to lower our guard and truly listen. Because our classroom is not a stage where the audience sits in quiet reverie. It is a wilderness of branches that scratch, bugs that bite and sting. Yet, within its density and bramble are beautiful flowers, plumage of birds and succession of life. Stages of growth, all powerful and transformative.

We need to say aloud our fears, realize them, and use them as signposts, markers in our exploration. Like trackers we can use them to find our way through troubling and overwhelming times. We are living within a storm of uncertainty and as such- we are being bombarded with branches obscuring our path, underbrush wrapping around our feet- passing seems difficult at best.

But we have our own machete: honesty, acceptance, appreciation, faith, hope and grace. 

It is this, our belief in this amazing outback. This gorgeous back country- often unexplored, that will be our salvation. We are looking for the end, yet it is off in the distance. What we need to be doing, is taking it all in. Running our fingers against the bark, feeling out its rough edges, but also recognizing its simplicity and symmetry. The wilderness has a lot to offer. Especially when we slow our pace, listen for the sounds of nature, and welcome the interaction between self and woodland, individual and thicket, timber, and tree.

For the wilderness is beholden to the energy of what surrounds it, builds it, feeds it, nurtures it. As leaders we are the wind, the rain, the soil and for this we have a responsibility- to not hinder- but allow accessible, the parts of ourselves others seek as the foundation of their own shelter and grove. Let’s be a force of nature both transforming and gracious- this is our grace, this is our gift, this is our germination.