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| By Martineric from Lille, France (Marathon de New York : Verrazano Bridge) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
Really any coaching position within education can follow this
metaphor. As most instructional coaches, I've found there are several
great new strategies, techniques, and initiatives that I want to
sprint forward with and then I quickly realize perhaps the course is a bit
longer than I anticipated. Not to mention some road blocks along the way.
Yes, I have run a few marathons
and YES it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever signed up for.
Instructional Coaching has several strong similarities with running a
marathon. It takes time, planning ahead is necessary, relying on others
is essential, and you will meet unforgettable people along the way.
Time is crucial to planning, implementing, and refining what goes
on in the classroom. Achieving
instructional goals or running goals does not happen overnight. It happens with time. Making time and time management assists the
runner and the coach to achieve their goals.
Time is something that the instructional coaches I work with are hungry
for on a constant basis. I’ve yet to hear a coach mention that they get bored
at school and need to take on another “duty” within their school just to fill
in their planning time. The same as I
have yet to hear a fellow runner state that they have an excess amount of time
that day, so why not add on another 5 miles today just because.
Having a plan for the run/school year assists the coach and runner
to develop the best strategies as to how and when they will meet checkpoints or
water stops along the way. Additionally,
quality planning helps the coach overcome and anticipate the peaks and valleys
along the course.
Sometimes a long run can be a very isolating experience if you do
not invite others along for the run. Having
someone to train with and provide new course options pushes the runner to
increase mileage, improve form, and build morale. Being the only instructional coach on campus or
for the district can be very lonely.
Coaches need a network of other coaches to help push one another along
the course. This network of coaches can help
one another plan, gather resources, or deal with the peaks and valleys along
the way.
The people I ran alongside on mile 2 pushed me to speed up or
encouraged me to keep going just as much as those I encountered on mile 25. Runners on along the course came in different
sizes, shapes, ethnicity, and backgrounds.
All had the desire to finish in their own different ways. An instructional coach differentiates
constantly as they encounter a variety of educators, students, and
administrators along the way. Each
individual bring new successes and challenges with a constant thread to improve
student learning.
Now, that I may have taken it a bit too far with this metaphor or
perhaps you could replace the word coach with teacher, administrator, parent,
student, etc. The fact that I’m both a
runner and work as an instructional coach I like to push myself. So, the idea behind starting this blog was to
bring instructional coaches together in a collaborative space as we refine our
craft.
I’ll be starting a book study/club on Jim Knight’s book, Instructional
Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction April 28th. Join in the conversation on this blog or via
twitter #ccoach
