How can educators who aren't in the classroom best support teachers?

 As someone who just transitioned from school administrator to independent consultant, I’ve had an existential crisis of sorts this week.  I really began to question my new role after some other aspiring teacher influencers/consultants got dragged on social media.  They were even called grifters by some teachers. I was taken aback by the strength and tone of teachers’ reactions.  I didn’t necessarily agree with these guys either, but weren’t they just trying to help teachers? It made me question everything I’m trying to do.  Was I just a grifter?  Was I just trying to make money off the teachers while languishing at home, safe from all of the chaos of school today?

A few things are true: yes, I burned out and resigned as a new administrator last year.  Yes, I am an aspiring influencer looking to make a living doing consulting. Earlier this week I was in the process of negotiating some professional development for a small local charter school.  The director was enthusiastic about my proposal,but was proceeding cautiously because the teachers were wary of their time and energy during yet another stressful year. I so appreciated this administrator’s genuine concern for the teachers’ wellbeing and sense  of autonomy.  However, it only increased my self-doubt and the importance of being earnest, so to speak.  

The old me probably would have unconsciously self-sabotaged and created the very scenario I feared:  alienating and angering already stressed-out, exhausted teachers.  Now, I have my PQ practice.  Positive Intelligence teaches us that when we’re experiencing negative emotions, we need to stop and do some PQ reps - simple little mindfulness exercises that help us move back into the positive, productive regions of the brain.  Once I regained Sage mode, I utilized the Sage powers to shift the focus from myself to my intended audience - teachers.  I used the Sage power of Empathize to remember what it was like to be a teacher during these challenging times.  It wasn’t hard because the trauma is still fresh; even though I was a new administrator last year, unfilled positions meant that I still spent a lot of time in the classroom.   

Then I used the Explore power, which asks that we adopt the objective, non-attached stance of the fascinated anthropologist to better understand others.  Once I shifted my focus from myself back to the teachers, I realized that there was no reason to fear their anger if I was truly advocating for them and supporting them, rather than just another voice in the chorus chanting at them everything they should be doing.

Suddenly I remembered my own teacher anger, and it goes back decades.  I have been a proponent of authentic assessment over testing since before NCLB.  The high stakes testing years were very conflicted for me.  To make matters worse, I was frustrated at the seeming lack of outrage on the part of my colleagues.  This continued for years as teachers’ responsibilities and challenges increased, while pay and respect failed miserably to keep pace.  And that was before Covid! The pandemic years have made an already unsustainable job even more challenging, and many teachers have left. Those who are persevering have even larger classes, less preparation time and myraid side effects of a system that seems to be undergoing a destruction of sorts, hopefully to make way for some much-needed innovation. Now, finally, the most patient and caring people on the planet have had enough.  I should be rejoicing in their anger!

But the other thing that Positive Intelligence has taught me is that negative emotions only help us in the short term, at great cost to us in terms of energy, creativity, and general mental wellness.  Now I realize my task is to help teachers shift that anger into self agency and real solutions.  Burnout may have sidelined me from working directly in a school for now, but I will continue to advocate for teachers and strive to be the change in a way that is sustainable for me.  Has Positive Intelligence made me all-knowing, wise and enlightened?  No, I’m not the Dalai Lama, or even Yoda.  I’m still a flawed human being like everyone else.  What’s profoundly different is that I’ve learned a way to overcome burnout and manage the stress and challenges of being an educator today, and I just can’t keep it to myself.  I’m doing everything I can to empower teachers to be the change they seek. Rather than fearing or dismissing their anger and frustration, I can use it as a North Star to guide me in my new role as an active listener, advocate and someone who can hold space for teachers to claim their power and enjoy teaching again.