Last night, my husband and I were talking about all of the problems in public education. He is a science teacher approaching retirement – he only has 2.5 years left – and he has a lot of opinions. Right now, our biggest concern at this time is the teacher shortage. Due to increased requirements, fear of COVID, and rambunctious student behavior, people are leaving education in droves. And who can blame them? If I have one true career goal or vision, it would be to solve these problems.
Visionary New Schools
Over the course of the next 12 years, I want to be an integral part of a structural overhaul of the education system to one of individualized student learning through a blended model. Innovative, personalized, blended learning could:
- Improve behavior by motivating students with a personalized, self-controlled learning environment.
- Increase the respect, planning time, and pay of teachers by hiring fewer teachers and changing their roles.
- Incorporate paraprofessionals to monitor students during flexible work time as needed.
- Restore the joy and art of teaching by allowing teachers to focus on designing curriculum and assessing student needs in one-to-one or small group settings.
What are we waiting for? What’s the hold-up?
I know what my personal holdup is: FEAR.
Imagine a wheelbarrow carrying rocks or dirt or whatever back and forth between two places. If that wheelbarrow followed the exact same path for a long period of time, over time a rut would build. As time passed, the rut would get deeper and deeper. Eventually, it would be hard for the wheelbarrow to veer off of the rut. The wheelbarrow would be stuck – it would require hard work to move it out of the rut.
Throughout childhood, our mindsets are developed much the same way. We learn patterns that are hard to unlearn. If those patterns are centered around growth mindset thinking – the belief that you can cultivate intelligence over time – that’s probably okay. Unfortunately, many people developed a “rut” in at least one area of their life that represents fixed mindset thinking – a belief “that your qualities are carved in stone” (Dweck, 2007, pp. 6).
I generally have a growth mindset. For example, When I was in the classroom I loved experimenting with lessons and tactics to motivate students. When they didn’t work, I went back to the drawing board. I also looked at feedback as a chance to grow. However, now that I’m in a leadership position, I feel like I’m back at square one and my mindset sounds very fixed. As I think about implementing my Paperless Office, Paperless District innovation plan, my mind is a flurry of negativity. “What if I can’t do it? No one will listen to me. Why do you think anyone should listen to you? Ridiculous!” So far, I’m keeping the voices at bay. However, I really want to work to change my mindset!
The Fear Zone
The moment I first read about growth and fixed mindset, I thought of a graphic that represented learning as an arrow moving through the comfort zone, fear zone, learning zone, and growth zone. The first time I came across this image was in 2013. At the time, I was in a new teaching position at a school. Because of this, I struggled a lot with student behavior and motivation. However, this image helped me understand that I was in the Fear Zone. I realized that this is why I felt so stuck, like I didn’t know what to do.
It’s very common to feel stuck when we are faced with new situations. “As new challenges arise, our ability to learn and grow is put to the test. We begin to dwell on our fears and seek to get some kind of control” (Maxwell, 2020). The author continues, describing fear as “a wall that blocks us” (Maxwell, 2020). That is exactly how I felt in 2013 at that new school. It’s also how I feel now in my new role AND in grad school. How can I move through this fear to get the results I want in life?
The only way out is through.
I read so many articles and they all have similar suggestions. They state that the only way past the fear is to work through it. For example, Scott Jeffrey (n.d.) suggests, “Become aware of the fear driving your behavior – welcome it and realize it has no basis in your present reality.” To do this, Jeffrey (n.d.) suggests applying “The 4 Steps:”
- 1) Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.”
- 2) Recognize that you have a choice.
- 3) Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.
- 4) Take the growth mindset action.
Through small repeated actions and consistent practice with The Four Steps, we can change our mindset and spend more time in growth and learning (Jeffrey, n.d.).
As I said in my post Plan of Action: Applying Growth Mindset in GCISD (2022), “I use CBT on a regular basis in my life. I already noticed a fixed mindset thinking around my leadership capabilities and started “talking back” to that voice. It helps that I have supportive teammates who will gladly call me on my thinking. My hope is that applying the concepts from Dr. Dweck’s research to my own life will help me move from the Comfort Zone to the Growth Zone in my thinking, learning, application, and synthesis throughout the Applied Digital Learning Program.”
I can’t wait to see what my future holds.
References
Dweck, C. S. (2007). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books.
Jeffrey, S. (n.d.). Change Your Fixed Mindset into a Growth Mindset [Complete Guide]. Scott Jeffrey. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://scottjeffrey.com/change-your-fixed-mindset/
Maxwell, T. (2020, April 20). Moving from the Fear Zone to the Growth Zone. Succeed On Purpose. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.succeedonpurpose.com/post/moving-from-the-fear-zone-to-the-growth-zone
Stateler, K. (2022, January 24). Plan of Action: Applying Growth Mindset in GCISD. Cookies ‘N Cache. https://karinstateler.com/?p=510