The opening story of Chapter 9: Be a Learner of Onward is about Elena Aguilar’s experience with a coach that saved her as a teacher.
She shares the three ways that Liz Simons, her coach supported her:
- She demonstrated unabashed, unwavering curiosity – about me, about what I was doing in the classroom, and about my students.
- She also demonstrated unabashed, unwavering belief in me.
- She introduced me to action research, or what some people term classroom inquiry. I found energy, empowerment, and a deep understanding of my students; I uncovered solutions to perplexing problems. Everything – my kids, my future, even my condemned portable classroom – looked different after I discovered the inquiry process.
This look into the inquiry process reminds us just what is possible when we become a learner again. Here is a series of Edutopia blogs that talks about the power of inquiry in the classroom. As you begin embracing this, notice how your resilience is boosted. Notice how the way you view your world starts to change as you start to find the answers to the questions that keep you up at night.