Coaching teachers

How to recognize a dancer

In his book ‘The Element’ and TED-talk ‘Do schools kill creativity?’, Sir Ken Robinson tells the story about 8-year-old Gillian who wasn’t doing well in school.

She had difficulty concentrating on what was going on in class and she was always fidgeting or staring out of the window distracted. 

When the school wrote to her parents suggesting that Gillian might have a learning disorder, her mother promptly took her to a psychologist to have her evaluated.

Gillian sat on her hands for twenty minutes, listening to the two adults discuss her issue before the psychologist came and sat next to her and said: “Gillian, you’ve been very patient, and I thank you for that but I’m afraid you’ll have to be patient for a little longer. I need to speak to your mother privately now. We’re going to go out of the room for a few minutes. Don’t worry; we won’t be very long.”

On their way out of the office he turned on the radio on his desk. When they were outside, he said to the mother: “Just stand here for a moment and watch what she does”.

As soon as they were out of the room, she was on her feet, dancing to the music.

As they watched her the psychologist turned to the mother and said: “Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn’t sick, she’s a dancer. Take her to a dance school”.

And Mrs. Lynne did exactly that. It was the first time Gillian was with a group of people that were like her, people who couldn’t sit still and had to move to think.

Because of this Gillian Lynne went on to have an impressive career in dance and choreography where, as Robinson points out: “Somebody else might have put her on medication and told her to calm down.”

There’s no mold

Gillian’s fidgeting wasn’t the problem, putting her in a classroom where she had to sit still and act a certain way was.

Considering that we are all so incredibly different, trying to fit every child into the same mold seems pretty weird. And it took a psychological evaluation, a particularly wonderful one in this case, to recognize that.

During my own school days, I remember it wasn’t the norm for teachers (or the school) to nurture individuality in students outside of what was offered, or even look for it. We all were expected to do the same or similar things.

Teachers had no room for encouraging my specific talents or interests and how could they, we were all taught the same subjects in big groups at the same time. The odd teacher that had the perceptiveness and mindspace to pick up on my specific curiosities was an exception.

This meant that throughout my most formative years, I spent most of my time in rooms with people who were teaching me something they thought I should know.

When I left school, it had turned me into a disenchanted autodidact that, as soon as I could, started seeking out my own (virtual) teachers.

I saw many of my friends and classmates take irreparable hits though. Starting to believe that they were ‘bad at learning’ or ‘not talented’ or all the other self-diminishing stories young people can make up about themselves because the world around them isn’t asking them the right (or any) questions.

I feel I’ve been able to rebound quite well from my school period but it took quite some time to recover and re-discover my own way. 

Seeing what is there

Of course there were exceptions.

The reason Gillian’s psychologist is such a source of inspiration for me is because he reminds me of a handful of my teachers and mentors over the years that went out of their way, often against what the educational system prescribed, to prod and pull out of me what I had going on in my mind.

There are some teachers, mentors, and other people in helping professions that are capable of really seeing people. Instead of pointing out how students conform or don’t conform to the standard, they recognize what is there, help bring it out, and encourage it.

People with an eye for individuality, a truly supportive attitude, and a knack for ‘getting out of the way’ instead of pushing their views on their students.

My wish is that all people who support others, especially teachers, would develop this quality of recognition and aim to respect the self-determination of their students. Looking for what is there, instead of looking to put something in.

Good teachers are good coaches

The most personal growth promoting attitude is supportive, student-centered, and empowering. 

And, it might not surprise regular readers, these are all straight-up coaching values.

There’s a reason why coaching works when it does, these underlying values help people to be better in a way they align with, because they’re in charge of their own direction.

The same values are essential for education.

This comes down to two things:

1. Recognizing the uniqueness of the individual, the self-led journey, their autonomy and power to determine their own agenda and direction (what they learn and when).

2. The belief that they can solve their own issues better than anyone else (they are experts in their own lives) simply because the teacher is not them.

Gillian Lynne’s story illustrates our uniqueness and how our education should mirror that uniqueness. To get there, coaching values (and the teaching attitude they will foster) are essential.

All learners (be it children or adults) should be listened to and taken seriously. Their innate talents, curiosities, and character should lead the way in terms of their education.

The readiness to diagnose a learning disorder should give way to a readiness to follow the child’s inner roadmap.

Learning to listen for this should be on the top of every teacher’s list.