Doing “Your Best” isn’t
always your “Best”!
...But I did my best!
I love talking with teachers….and I mean not just hallway
conversations but really sitting down and talking with them about students,
education, and life. To help facilitate
these real conversations, every year I meet with all of my teachers three times
individually. These meetings are roughly
centered around their “Annual Goals”. In
the fall we meet to set them, upon returning from Christmas vacation we review
them, and then at the end of the year we see if those goals have been
accomplished and plan for ways to achieve goals for next year.
While the premises of these meetings are the goals, many
times the conversations grow and move into other areas of education and life. In one very recent conversation, one of my
most reflective teachers said that he always strives to “do better” and not be
happy with his merely his “best”.
This idea of doing “better” has intrigued me and I have come
up with a list of why doing “better” trumps doing “your best” always.
Doing your BEST:
·
Is easy
·
Limits you
·
Sounds like a cop-out
·
Is the best you can ever do.
·
Does not leave room for reflective growth
Doing BETTER:
·
You own your work
·
Allows you to look at what you did well
·
Is ongoing and never ending
·
Makes you look at what exactly you could do
better
·
Makes you seek out the “best” and become better
than them!
How many times have you heard a student say that was their “best”
and how many times have you really agreed?
Rarely do you hear someone say “I did my best” and really be satisfied
with the task they have just completed.
Challenge yourself and your students to grow, be humble, be courageous,
but most of all….be better!
Is there anything else that I could add to either list, let
me know via your feedback!
Thoughtful entry. It is funny how doing your best can be easier than simply doing better.
ReplyDeleteI like your lists.
I think the hardest part of combating "the best" is that it is a cultural/societal thing that people have come to rely upon and encourage.
I agree that many times as educators we go back and forth from not wanting to be understanding for students when we know it is amazing they simply made it to school that day. However, we really are doing them a disservice if we don't set high expectations for ALL students and expect them ALL to reach them with support (which you do incredibly well!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply Robert!