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In a recent post (The B.E.S.T. Formula ~ What is it?), I introduced the origins of The B.E.S.T. Formula. It was not something I deliberately conjured up on a white board or while sipping a venti frappuccino. It suddenly appeared as a mental “download” ~ a collection of thoughts that flooded my conscious mind one afternoon, while taking a stroll in my neighborhood. At the time, I simply needed some fresh air to ruminate over the disastrous day I’d experienced at school. I was seriously contemplating how many forms I’d have to fill out if I chose to quit my job mid-year, and if it would be worth the hassle.
One never knows why or when inspiration strikes. But what happened to me was instantaneous and impossible to explain. It was a doozy of a moment, and I decided I had better pay attention to it.
B.E.S.T. stands for Brave, Effective, Self-Caring, and Transformative. Those key ingredients turned into a formula that has saved me every day as a high school teacher. I am in the process of creating a handbook and a self-guided course (with coaching, if desired), so I can share the formula with educators at any level of their craft. I’ve been teaching for almost 40 years, and sure wish I’d known about this formula a lot sooner. I continue to be surprised by its simplicity and profoundness.
This week, I examine being Brave.
Brave: Let’s face it, dealing with change and learning something completely new can be scary. It takes bravery to stand in the face of not-knowing, and courage to take a step (or a leap, if you’re hang gliding).
This canbe tough territory, especially for adults. We’ve put in some years on the planet and figure we have ourselves and our circumstances mostly figured out. But, at some point, we get mentally, emotionally, or physically squashed by an event outside of our control, or we make a really bad decision that negatively impacts our lives and the lives of those around us. Those kinds of experiences can cause us to lose faith in ourselves or in others; they put a dent in our courage. making it hard to recover.
There are two complimentary approaches for navigating this territory:
1. PREPARE YOURSELF for the unknown. Teaching lends itself to plenty of opportunities for experiencing icky, depressing, maddening (or whatever) moments. Things can go crazy in a split second! You need to prepare an “earthquake kit” for those times.
2. TAKE CONTROL by visually lifting yourself higher; gain altitude for a larger perspective. Doing this removes you from being sucked into the drama of an unworkable situation and helps you identify what’s in your sphere of influence to change, and what you may have to simply accept in order to move on. Take a good look at what happened, and get curious: “Well, THAT happened, but now what might be possible?”
Here’s an example from the teaching life.
– Let’s say you got everything together for what you anticipated would be a terrific lesson — one that is smartly sequenced and will engage every student.
– But then one student arrives to class in such a negative mood that the entire class is pulled down. Kids start to argue or withdraw. No one wants to work in a group or talk about anything.
– Your plans come to a screeching halt.
Step 1: Prepare yourself by anticipating that this kind of thing is going to happen, and have some short activities at the ready. This is your earthquake kit. You anticipate things that could go wrong and assemble supplies to take care of yourself and your loved ones for a few hours or even a few days.
Your earthquake kit will “buy a little time” for you to properly observe what’s going on in your classroom, while maintaining a sense of safety and boundaries for students. Give them some surprise silent reading time, game time, drawing time, etc., or create a list of prompts and have students do a five-minute write on an index card. You could set out a box for students to drop their comments in, and use them for a class discussion or inspiration for a future assignment — prompts like, “Describe a time when you felt frustrated. What happened? What helped you work through your frustration?” Or, “If you had a chance to help one person this week with something that’s hard for them to do, who would you help, and what would you do?”
Step 2: Take control of what’s in your sphere of influence; shift your perspective. While students are engaged in whatever 5- or 10-minute activity you’ve chosen, visually imagine yourself rising about 20 feet above your classroom space to observe what happened and how it made (or is making) you feel. How did what happened impact YOU? Were you triggered in some way? Take a minute to write down your own thoughts.
Then, ask yourself, “Well, THAT happened, but now what might be possible?”
Doing this places you in a position of exercising integrity, of taking responsibility for what you can control and what you can’t control.
This is just one simple example of what it means to be brave. You recognize a tough situation, gain a larger perspective, and pick up again in a new place — one you likely could not have predicted. You are in uncharted territory, but it’s fine, because you are choosing to be there.
Of course, there is much more to this approach. There are many ways to be brave in teaching. But the essential formula is the same: prepare yourself for the unexpected, and take control of what’s in your own sphere of influence. Get curious about what’s happening — not so much “out there,” but inside of YOU.
Next week, I explore the second ingredient in The B.E.S.T. Formula: Being Effective.
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Thank you!
AND REMEMBER: If you want to make a difference, you have to make it YOU.