We’re in that in-between stage of winter- snow, puddles, mud, and ice- so figuring out where to put your feet can be tricky. What looks like a puddle could be ice (or ice under a puddle) and one wrong step can leave
you with soggy socks or- even worse- a soggy, sore behind. Veterans o New England March know to look for bare patches, concrete or frozen mud, and to pay attention to where other people have walked. Taken together, they can give us a sense of where the ground is reliable, where we can safely move forward.
Other kinds of solid ground might also feel in short supply these days. You may be seeing more “stress-reactive” behaviors (fight, flight, flock, freeze) in your classroom (or from your colleagues), and you may feel like you have less capacity to manage them because you’re feeling it yourself. You can understand why, of course, but figuring out what to do? Well, that’s the educational equivalent of picking your way through my snowy, muddy, icy backyard.
In a Critical Skills Classroom, we talk about Standard Operating Procedures–predictable structures that support the day-to-day, both the simple work and the hard stuff. They’re the familiar experiences, tools, and language we lean on when we’re moving into uncharted territory.
When we use the well-trod paths of our structures and system and lean into the people and structures we know well, we can find that solid ground in the midst of complicated times. In finding our own footing, we can also help our students find their feet.
This month I’m sharing some resources about structure, as well as a link to our free guide to Standard Operating Procedures. Whether you rely on protocols, standard operating procedures, classes, favorite TV shows, workshops, familiar songs, conferences, or faces that you know as well as your own…I hope that you take some time this month to reconnect with your solid ground.
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