Riding the Roller Coaster

Change is hard- but it can be especially hard for teachers. In the past twenty years, we have learned so much about what Marzano calls "the art and science of teaching and learning" that our career can feel like a roller coaster: just when you think you've got something figured out, you're thrown for another loop! I have found that when it comes to approaching the highs, lows and hairpin turns of teaching, there are two predominant types of roller coaster riders and the group that you land in may be linked to what it means to you to be a teacher.

Rider A: Teacher as Expert
For this rider, to be a teacher means to have established a certain degree of mastery over a curricular area or the stages of childhood development. The opportunity that teaching presents to share this knowledge and passion with students and to open new doors to them is enticing and honourable. There may be a number of reasons as to why one identifies being a teacher in this way, from their own educational experience and models, to their teaching training and, perhaps, even to their own reasons for becoming a teacher. This group of riders can include experienced teachers who have certainly achieved a degree of mastery in their career, and brand new teachers who are entering the profession in a highly competitive market where it may be necessary to present oneself as an expert in order to get a job. Rider A may enjoy the comfort that comes from attaining some degree of 'expertness' and achieving excellence in their career for a time; but, this can feel short-lived as the rules seem to keep changing the profession. New professional learning may be taken as an indictment of present practice and even as a threat to their identification as Expert. The twists and turns of the roller coaster, then, may be experienced as scary, anxiety-provoking or even threatening.

Rider B: Teacher as Helper
For Rider B, where the identification of what it means to be a teacher is not about mastery of content or developmental stages but rather about helping children, the ride can be equally uncomfortable. In the absence of a feeling of mastery or expertness, the committed willingness to help may be the driver. This, too, is noble but the many and varied needs of children can quickly become overwhelming leaving the rider to feel that nothing they ever do is good enough. New professional learning may experienced as a reminder of all of the things that the teacher is not doing to help children, thus threatening their identification as Helper. For these riders, in the absence of the confidence that comes from having established some sense of mastery, the lows of the roller coaster can be quite low.

Complicating matters further for both riders is that teaching is an emotionally-charged profession. Experts and Helpers both entered the profession to make a difference in the lives of children, and the fruits of their labour sits in front of them each day- a constant reminder of how well they are meeting that goal. The students' parents can also serve as a reminder, as can writing report cards, looking at standardized test scores, and hearing about the student's achievements from the next year's teacher. It can be hard to feel good about what we are doing as teachers in such a complex and high-stakes profession. So, how can Experts and Helpers best manage the ever-present and necessary changes that come with such a career?

Making Peace with the Roller Coaster
To make peace with the roller coaster means to accept that change is inevitable. I'm reminded of an Employee Assistance Program poster that read: Things don't change. Attitudes do. Any presented change doesn't need to be received as a threat or indictment when it is viewed from the vantage point of a learner.

A New Rider: Teacher as Learner
The teachers that I work with who seem to manage change the most easily are the ones who view themselves as learners. They are confident that they are coming to the table with good ideas already, but are open to new ones that may enhance their practice further. For them, being a learner does not mean that they have a void in knowledge or practice that needs to be filled, but that they are continually seeking next steps on their own path. This requires setting individual learning goals, seeking supportive resources, evaluating new information in light of existing schema, reflecting on progress toward goals, celebrating successes and setting new goals. In this iterative process, their practice is continuously growing without presenting any threat to their own identity as a teacher. Instead, the learning process reinforces their identity as a learning teacher and allows them to celebrate their learning as a measure of their success as a teacher. These Teachers as Learners know that the roller coaster has ups and downs- times when we feel like we are on top of our game invariably followed by times when we learn something new and are grappling with how to implement it- and this understanding has allowed them to enjoy the ride and even feel invigorated by it.