Tonight I had pretty much come to terms with the fact that I would be ending my 18+ month Slicing Streak. I was feeling pretty fine with this milestone…I knew it would come someday. Then, as I waited to flip the spaghetti squash fritters I was making for dinner, I decided to check my email and found this:
This is a message from Leigh-Ann, a first grade teacher at our school. Last week after a grade level meeting, she asked if I had any time to come in and help with a writing checklist lesson. The truth was, I don’t have any time. I’ve scheduled myself so thin that I have options A and B for most blocks of time. If plan A falls through for any reason, plan B is ready and waiting. But when a teacher like Leigh-Ann asks, you reschedule, knowing the time will be well spent.
I have always loved spending time in Leigh-Ann’s class. Despite what is going on, it always feels calm and everything is done with purpose. So when she reached out for help with checklists, saying something like, “It just never goes right…”, I immediately began sputtering ideas about some recent checklist work I had been testing out in some other classes.
So today, as I began to think through the lesson, scheduled for tomorrow morning, I began to rethink my original plan. I quickly wrote to Leigh-Ann, laying out my revised thinking , stating, “I’ve never done this with first graders…it just might bomb!”
To which, Leigh-Ann replied, “I love it. And if it bombs…we bomb together!”
This is the coaching work I live for, the days where I get to go into classrooms with teachers (and kids!) willing to get messy, with no expectation for perfection. It is in these moments that we all learn together. These are the moments that keep me going.
So if tomorrow bombs, we still win.
Where There's Joy 
Love this! And love how you are always there to help ANY teacher.
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Exactly.
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Ya never know where and when inspiration will strike! But when it does, a writer grabs hold tight and writes! That you did! Messy teaching is where we learn as you and Leigh-Ann know! So glad you are putting yourselves out there together…for the kids!
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This is the work at its best! It’s about learning, not about performance. It’s about growing, not about perfection. I do hope the lesson leads you both to a new place of understanding. I can’t wait to hear about it!
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Love it… cannot wait to hear what happens
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Love it – can’t learn if we don’t get messy. I think the best demo lessons are often the ones that don’t go well – then we have more to learn together from the experience. Thanks for starting my day with a smile and glad you did not break your writing streak!
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“So if tomorrow bombs, we still win.”
What a great closing line! I can tell you have a wonderful group of colleagues to work with, who are willing to take risks and “bomb together”.
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Yay for the bombs…we learn so much, they teach us so much. xo
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I love your story. I like how you added the image of the text, too! Makes it feel very 21st century!
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Hope it went well today. If not, I hope it was an amusing bomb. Either way, you may have next week’s slice, too.
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