It's your red wagon, Mr. Poor. You have to pull it! Accountability and Teaching

"Mr. Poor, It's your red wagon! You have to pull it!"  Mr. Hank Ramsey (My Osceola High School Math Teacher) 

You never know when a moment may happen that could radically change the way you view life. These "Revelations of Life" rarely pronounce their arrival, nor are these moments forewarned. Instead, these moments are presented to you in the most unexpected ways and can easily go unnoticed due to the turmoil of daily life. It is up to you to recognize the power of the message, which might be difficult and uncomfortable to acknowledge. Mr. Ramsey (my high school math teacher) tried to instill this message into into all of his students. It wasn't until later in life that I fully understood the power of his message.

Concern versus Influence

As a teacher, there are many factors that are often outside of our control and fall into our "Circle of Concern", such as: facilities, classroom supplies, colleagues, students' preparedness, parents, weather, calendar, school district policies, instructional interruptions etc...Because of the intensity of the human interaction that occurs on a daily basis in a classroom and schools, there are countless events outside of our control. There are, however, an equal number of factors--and I might add more powerful--in our "Circle of Influence", such as: our attitude, compassion, empathy, persistence, expectations, passion, daily instruction, effort, energy etc...According to Stephen Covey , focusing on our "Circle of Concern" creates anxiety, stress, depression, frustration and can lead to burn-out and is reactive in nature. Focusing on our "Circle of Influence" is empowering, energizing and is proactive. A reaction is something you allow to happen TO you. Being proactive is the opposite. Here is a simple model on Proactive versus Reactive. 

Concerns are other people, objects, and environmental issues.
Influences are your attitudes and performance.

Not all schools are equal...

Yes, in theory all schools are funded equitably and students are given equal access. There are, however, schools where the "Circle of Concern" has a much higher percentage of issues having a daily impact on the lives of the students, teachers and administrators. I have been blessed to have taught in some of these situations. These schools are often criticized in the media, struggle for simple resources, must go above and beyond to provide a safe environment and often work twice as hard to achieve half the results. I consider myself blessed, because of the impact I was able to make on the lives of those students and the greater appreciation it has given me for my current school. There were moments in these situations where I focused too intensely on my Circle of Concern, and came close to burning-out as a teacher. These situations taught me to focus on my Circle of Influence. Some of the most amazing teachers I have ever worked with taught at these schools and embodied a proactive approach to their Circle of Influence. The effectiveness of these teachers cannot be measured by a standardized test, because their students did not run the same race. The focus and priorities of these teachers in these schools were much greater than some simple measurement could ever begin to measure.

One of those moments...

When I was student teaching, my supervising teacher was out sick for two weeks. It was extremely challenging for me, but, as a result, I ended up much more prepared for my first year as a teacher. I learned a valuable lesson during those first two weeks. My supervising teacher would call me at the end of the day to check on me and the progress of the classes. There was one particularly bad day, and when she called  I went on a rant about how terrible the students had been that day. She cut me off mid-sentence and asked me something that I did not want to hear--but had to accept--"So, what did YOU do wrong?" My answer, "Nothing!" She asked it again. Same response from me. She said, "I am going to keep asking you this question until you answer it correctly."  She said to me, "Good or bad, everything that occurs in your class is a result of something you did or did not do. You will not be a great teacher until you learn this lesson." This was a deeply difficult and profound lesson on my Circle of Influence. This reminds me of a quote attributed to Albert Einstein,

“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” 

What can we truly control? 

• Can we control every aspect of every child in our classroom? Of course not! 
• Can we control how every event that may unfold in our classroom or school building? Nope! 
• Will emergencies arise from our Circle of Concern that we must stop to address? Yes! 

• Can we control how we prepare our classroom? YES! 
• Are we in control of the conditions that allow children to feel safe, empowered and excited to learn? YES! 
• Are we in control of our attitude toward our students, colleagues, subject matter and our daily classroom? Absolutely! 

My supervising teacher was trying to get me to recognize that I was the "Agent of Change" and I created the conditions that caused the events to unfold that day and my attitude dictated the reaction from my students. A painful, but powerful, lesson I needed to learn. I am grateful I was able to experience this lesson with the guidance of a master teacher; some young teachers are not so lucky.

Closing

It is easy to be positive when our Circle of Concern is small, and we can often be completely unaware of our Circle of Influence in those situations. Moreover, it is equally easy to rationalize our failures when this Circle of Concern begins to grow; it is much easier to blame others and your circumstances than to look inward. When things are going poorly, this can be an extremely bitter pill to have to swallow. Regardless, I am a better teacher for having weathered those storms by reflecting on those challenges and working to improve as an educator. My many failures are mine, and mine alone, and often resulted from misplaced priorities and improper planning and preparation. My successes are shared-- because it truly takes a village to raise a child--and those successes have evolved from a more focused proactive approach to what I can influence. 

Remember, as Mr. Ramsey always said, "It's your red wagon, you have to pull it."