Who Knows What the Tide Could Bring

Setbacks are a part of all professions. In education, they can manifest in a variety of ways. Whether it is losing a teacher mid-year or learning that your students did not perform as well as anticipated on end of year testing, educators deal with adversity. It is essential to move forward with a positive outlook because sometimes wonderful opportunities arise out of the most dire of circumstances.

In Cast Away, when Chuck (Tom Hanks) is initially stranded on an island, his thoughts revolve around survival and rescue. However, as time goes by, those thoughts transition to hopelessness and despair.

After four years marooned on the island, Chuck returns home. In this scene, Chuck shares how he overcame the negative emotions by focusing on the possibility that one day he would be reunited with Kelly (Helen Hunt), the love of his life. “Then one day that [pessimistic] logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in and gave me a sail.”

While maintaining hope in the most bleak of circumstance, Chuck was gifted the one thing that could potentially reunite him with Kelly.

Implications for Education

From a Principal’s Perspective

Every year, you lose a teacher mid-year. They relocate, decide to stay home with their family, change professions, or go back to school.

No principal is prepared for it. What will you tell the parents? Who will prepare the lesson plans? How will the students behave? Who grades student work?

You can drown in negative self-talk. You can succumb to the pressure and stress being placed upon you by the parents. Or, you can move forward, because from challenge comes opportunity.

A few years back, I was faced with this exact situation. A teacher left, parents were upset, students were misbehaving, and there was a looming end of year exam.

But administration maintained a positive attitude. We worked with the professional learning community (PLC) to ensure a plan for lessons and grading was in place while we searched for a long-term substitute.

We found that substitute – a gentleman transitioning to education as a second career. He discovered later in life that he had a passion for working with kids, making a difference, and giving back.

Fast forward a few years and that teacher is an institution at the school. His positive impact on students and the school culture is immeasurable. If not for a mid-year crisis, he would not be a member of our school family.

From a Teacher’s Perspective

There are a couple of ways in which teachers measure their effectiveness. One way is through teacher observations and feedback. This can be a great tool, but is subjective. A second, and more objective, means is student achievement. I understand there a lot of factors that go into student test results and there is not a direct correlation between teacher effectiveness and student growth, but it is the most objective measure we have.

Depending on your school or district, when you receive assessment results varies. However, no matter when you receive student scores, the feeling you get if those scores are not what you hoped for, remains the same, awful.

Just like a principal who has a teacher leave mid-year, a teacher with less than stellar results will face additional stress. What did I do wrong? What does the principal think? Am I in the right profession?

But, if that teachers moves forward with a positive attitude and a focus on growth, there is much to be gained. A reflective teacher is an ever improving teacher.

Once the teacher has accepted the results and is determined to get stronger as an educator, they can get to work.

Strategies from Reflective Teachers After Receiving Test Results

• Observing other teachers (focusing on those with strong scores)
• Being observed by other teachers (again, focusing on those with strong scores)
• Surveying students about engagement, rigor, feedback, and relationships
• Delving deep into your data [what specifically needs addressing (it might be more manageable than you originally thought)]
• Spending more time with PLCs to discuss results from common formative assessments (this way you are prepared for future formative test results)

It is not if you will face adversity as a principal or teacher, but when. And when that time comes, how you react, and ultimately respond, will make all the difference. Who knows what the tide could bring?