The school year gives us many chances to reset. Of course, we can reset at any time but, just like making a new year’s resolution, there is something satisfying about starting the new term fresh and with clear intentions.
Research by Amy Cuddy from Harvard Business School suggests that we have 7 seconds to make a first impression when we meet someone new. Now, clearly, my classes have spent far longer than 7 seconds already with me. However, after what I’m hoping has been a positive and relaxing two weeks away from school for them, I want to restart in a meaningful way and I think those “first impressions” will count. I have a very limited opening to set the tone, to continue to immediately shape our team identity when they re-enter the room. Let’s make the most of this!
I have a sneaking suspicion that many will be less than thrilled to be back – dragged from their beds early morning, prised away from their video games and mobile phones, and expected to conform to school rules. Every teenager’s dream, I’m sure. But, I’ve said it before and I will say it again, school does not have to be something that we dread. Kahneman and the All Blacks, the science of affirmation, the psychology of positivity all remind us that we can shape and change our identity – the story that we tell about our life becomes our life. (On a side note, Phillip Reeve depicts this brilliantly in his fictional novel, “Here Lies Arthur” and it is a great way to show the power of language and narrative to pupils).
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, (another on the tbr list!) talks about the daily internal battles that we can face.
“Life is a constant balance between giving into the ease of distraction or overcoming the pain of discipline. It is not an exaggeration to say that our lives and our identities are defined in this delicate balance. What is life, if not the sum of a hundred thousand daily battles and tiny decisions to either gut it out or give it up?”
https://jamesclear.com/giving-up
I want to “gut it out”. Like Reeve’s Myrdin, I need to become a storyteller. I need to find all the ways I can to make my story desirable, believable and then, ultimately, we can make it true. We can be the greatest team. We can be successful. What legacy will we choose to leave?
It’s also time for more “extreme” but meaningful positivity to try and break through the fog of the negativity bias.
I’m starting with the environment. Before the Christmas holidays, I was lucky enough to recruit the help of some brilliant pupils. We stripped the cluttered walls and displays of my room. The All Blacks discuss the need to “clear out the furniture.” Begin with a blank canvas and only keep what fits this identity that you are creating – the vision that you want the team and the world to see. What does our team need to see? Positivity, unity and a greater purpose.
Our room now has:
- Three big displays, (bearing quotations carefully chosen, and “painted” by the pupils)
- Our team banners, individual desk stickers and priorities for success
- The rope (okay, string!) bearing a reminder of our targets (previously blogged about in “Passing the Reins”)
Our wonderful reprographics tech has also designed Team Radford stickers for the pupils’ exercise books and these have been “awarded”. I am proud to put my name on their books, and I want them to take pride in what they are achieving in them.
My book display has been whittled down to three recommended reads that I intend to change approximately monthly, to keep interest – I want these to be noticed/discussed, not just gathering dust.
I also want to use the environment to cue my behaviour. Nothing revolutionary – just small little reminders. Routine is important for us to function together and productively. When teaching lots of classes, this can be hard to sustain. Where were my sticking points last term?
- The display boards will help me to remember to keep using our mantras.
- I have asked a few pupils to use their creative skills to write up the questions that I want to remember to ask at the end of lessons:
- Have you listened intentionally?
- Have you practised deliberately?
- Have you made yourself proud?
It is so easy to get distracted at the end of the lesson and neglect to ask. These questions, (once the pupils finish designing the posters), will be pinned to the wall directly opposite my desk, behind their heads – I’m hoping this will help! (And the pupils are loving creating them – teamwork!)
- Finally, I have made a list of my pen/book monitors for each class and pinned it next to the door – a reminder I can use as we all line up ready to enter calmly. (Hopefully, avoiding me scrambling to remember and helping to encourage calm).
Handy makes a great case for what he terms “twin citizenship” in “The Empty Raincoat”, claiming that we need a mixture of both centralised and localised power in business. We have to be loyal to smaller and larger teams at the same time, for the greatest good. I want Team Radford to help us forge trust and a sense of greater purpose in our studies in English, (ensuring each pupil feels noticed and valued). This will only then help the greater good of our school community – excitingly, we are currently working on our vision for the whole school! We need to keep showing up and learning to gut it out together. We can all learn to enjoy the becoming in life; the process is never done.
Together, we are unbeatable!