How Is The Weather?
How’s the Weather?
Imagine every teacher in your school as a semi truck driver.
In this metaphor, a teacher’s skilled instruction, with all of the best teaching strategies and techniques, is a powerful semi truck. The teacher climbs into the driver’s seat.
Loaded on the back of that big rig is all the content and learning they are trying to deliver. It is an important payload that must get to the intended destination.
The driver is ready to guide that 18-wheeler down the highway, feeling prepared with the right equipment and cargo that matters. As the truck roars into action and takes to the open road, the driver realizes that there are several other factors at play. Factors that may hinder their ability to make timely delivery.
The Weather
The weather that surrounds them - that's the culture. Even the greatest driver with the shiniest truck and the most riveting content on board will struggle to get the payload to its destination if the weather is stormy, foggy, or unsafe.
What’s worrisome for the professional at large is that dangerous weather will cause even the most skilled driver to slide into a ditch. And some of those drivers will become tired of trying to get back on the highway. Some of those drivers will just crawl down from the cab of their truck and walk away from the scene altogether.
So what's the weather these days?
Culture is our way of being. The rules and expectations are what we say we believe and expect, but the culture is what we DO. And when there is a discrepancy between what we say and what we do, we create confusion and dissonance.
Culture is the written and unwritten rules about how we exist and interact. It includes what is acceptable, and what is not, who gets to lead and who gets to decide, whose voice matters, and whose does not.
The great news is that, unlike the weather, we can actually control and create our own classroom and organizational culture.
A positive classroom culture is one where learners feel safe and welcome to take a chance, make a mistake, and do the work of learning.
The best strategies can not outrun a culture that is unhealthy, whether in an individual classroom, a building, or even an entire district. So if we find ourselves implementing all the "right" strategies, all the latest teaching tricks, and still not getting that delivery made, it may be time to check the weather.
Curious for more? Check out our other content on leadership and education on our blog homepage.
Cheers
