In recent years, there has been much conversation about the importance of individuals within your organization understanding their purpose, also often referenced as “knowing your why”. While this is certainly an important concept, what is often missing in our quest for improving our organizations, are the methods others might utilize to improve their practices. We can become so intimately involved in focusing on the why of our work, that we neglect the HOW of our work. We spend a great deal of time telling others why we are doing what we are doing and what we would like them to do, and absolutely provide minimal knowledge and information on how to make the much needed changes. If we aren’t careful, we’ll find that we’ve sent folks on a mission with a purpose, but little to no tools to improve it.
What we need right now to improve our organizations, schools, and our lives perhaps, is a fierce focus on the how. In our schools, we have an opportunity to anchor teaching and learning with a defined set of evidence-based pedagogical practices that should be present in every classroom. We can provide high quality professional development opportunities to help teachers work on the how of instruction. We can give teachers the quality of feedback they need and deserve to become proficient at the pedagogical practices that we know result in high outcomes for all learners.
Let’s not allow our focus on the “WHY” make us abandon the much needed focus on the HOW.
Until next time-be you, be true, be a hope builder.
Latoya
