Vision Check

If you don’t know where you are going, how are you going to get there? 

I have conversations with new teachers who are frustrated with student behaviors and feel helpless to make any changes.

The bad news is that we really cannot control other people.

The good news is that we can control our vision.

We often spend too much time talking about kids (what they do and don’t do), data, parents, resources, and even the calendar. What we don’t talk about is our vision and how we are explicitly teaching students what we want.  

The issue at hand was excessive talking. Students were coming into class and socializing and delaying the start of class with all the chatter. Sound familiar?

The teacher was tired and had tried everything she knew to try. So, we talked about what her vision was. 

What did she want the overall culture of her classroom to look and sound like? She shared her ideas of it being a friendly environment, but one that was academically focused. One that promoted thinking and work, but also values individuals.

Great. We can work with that.

If her vision included friendly and focused, how was she teaching her students this?

This is often the missing piece.

We have to explicitly teach the students what we want. And before we can teach that, we have to know what we want.

In this case, she decided to greet students at the door, assign seats (instead of having them sit with friends), and have a clear independent task ready for them when they arrived. She took time out of content instruction to teach her vision. She answered questions, and she was brave enough to talk through how she would handle violations moving forward.

It took a few days, but students ultimately settled into the new routine because she stuck with the vision and consistently reinforced the behaviors she wanted. 

The secret you already know is that you are driving the culture in your classroom. Good, bad, or ugly.

So if your culture needs a refresh, try thinking about these questions:

• What is your vision (of classroom management, instruction, etc.)?
• Did you teach the students your vision?
• How did you establish consistency with your vision?
• How did you talk to your colleagues about your vision?

If the vision-culture relationship is ignored by the adults, it tends to take on a life of its own from students. Classic unintended consequence.

So the next time you are facing issues in your classroom that are unwanted, ask yourself how this is misaligned with the vision you have. Then, reteach your students to do it the way you want it done.

This probably won’t solve all the problems on your plate, but having a clear vision can be that much needed lighthouse in the storm!