If you haven't been following my blog journey, I'll break down what has been happening for the past few weeks. 

After visiting math classrooms around the district (we ended up seeing over 90 lessons over 8 days, scattered around other duties, spread over 4 weeks), Paula and I decided that we needed to switch things up. We had seen some good instruction, gained some new ideas, and wanted to find ways to spread the wealth that we had gained. While we had sent out emails to let people know we were available, there just wasn't the demand to have us come in. I get it (I think): having a coach come in takes a lot of time, means you're going to do a lot of planning, and it's really more work than it's worth. So, instead of sending out an invitation for us to work together, Paula and I requested to give teachers the "day off" from teaching.

​This is the email template we sent out:

As you can see, my role is to support the Integrated Math 1 teachers and Integrated Math 2 teachers, while Paula's is everything else. This helps, because we can focus our attention on specific areas and gives the teachers someone more direct to work with.

Once we sent the email out to department chairs, we waited. And waited. And then it came, slowly but surely, a few teachers replying back with the desire to take us up on the offer. After all, they're getting the day off! No planning, no delivery, no stress; just showing up to work and watching.

Well, you see, that's where things get fun. Call it evil or call it tricky, but either way, the real goal was not to "give the teacher a day off" but to give the teacher an alternative perspective on a lesson they were planning to teach. For each teacher who said yes to us coming in, we worked with them on the following points:

• What standards do you hope to address?
• What learning do you want to take place during the lesson?
• What do you want to see modeled during the lesson?
• What do you not want to see modeled during the lesson?
• How would you have taught this lesson if I wasn't showing up?

Sidebar:

One thing I have learned since taking on this role as a math instructional coach is that many, many math teachers don't write lesson plans. Sometimes, and no judgment here, they just... wing it. I know. Crazy. But so true. And then I saw this tweet from Jen Poole.

Why is that? Have we become so complacent that we don't care about the preparation for a lesson? Have we given up on our students, our craft, our profession? And who is writing 2+ page lesson plans on a daily basis?!

No, I don't think so. I think it's because we fall into patterns and comfort zones, and lesson planning is something that can perceivably be trimmed from the to-do list because "I've taught this before" or "I already know what I'm doing." 

One thing I find helpful in the lesson design process is the methodical intent behind each facet of a lesson. Wondering about how we can best pivot from the warm-up to the objective of the day to the lesson and keeping students' attention and curiosity at the same time is a challenge, and not one that can effectively be executed by winging it on a regular basis. Another is someone to bounce ideas off of. While Paula bullies me into doing things and taking on new tasks (thanks, btw), she is also a fantastic sounding board for how a lesson might flow, what a better prompt may be, and how to get just a little more out of students. 

​After we received the feedback from the teachers, it was to the planning board, where we found a new and risky way to teach whatever was paced out to be taught. I broke away and began planning my IM1 or 2 lessons and Paula planned hers. The first place I would always look was the MTBoS search engine, which I strongly recommend you check out. Every single lesson I was about to teach had been taught (imagine that) by someone in the search engine, and there was a handout, a template, a presentation ready to go. No, I didn't use something from the engine each time, but knowing it was there gave me a different way of approaching it. It broke me out of my bubble, which is even more important the longer you've been in the profession.

After the lesson had been designed, I sent it off to the teacher to see what he/she thought of the design. Is that what you're looking for? How would you make it better? Is there anything you would recommend I change? 

As promised, we would come in and do everything, which included making copies and all instruction. However, the sneaky part was that we knew it would be hard to watch someone else teach your students in your classroom all day, so we offered to cede the floor. After all, those are my kids! If the teacher wanted, we would co-teach a period, or even give them back their class and let them try the lesson. This wasn't always used, but it was always offered, and the results were well worth the effort. What has happened more often than not has been the teacher jumping in and helping the students with the activity, the problem, and even the lesson itself. 

Overall, the experience has been:

humbling. You, the regular classroom teacher, gave up a day in your pacing to let someone else teach. That says a lot about who you are and how comfortable you must be to try something new. Thank you.

humbling. Kids are still kids, and sometimes they couldn't care less that you're some district office coach, that you have some things to share, or that you're trying something new. The baggage they come with outweighs whatever you bring in. I needed that, so thank you.

uplifting. We have a district full of teachers who are ready to take risks and try new things. No matter which teacher we collaborated with, the mood was always respectable and positive, leaning in and learning with each other rather than "hearing from the DO."

invigorating. I'm not sure you realize how hard it is to not be in the classroom. I enjoy kids, I love the energy they bring, and I feed off their desire to learn. So when people are jealous of me being a coach while they're in the classroom, they need to know that the students are where it's at. 

If you are a TOSA, no matter the grade level or the content specialty, I strongly encourage you to offer your teachers the day off. Yes, it is a lot of work, and you end up going home exhausted, out of breath, and hungry, but it is so worth the effort. If nothing else, there is value in reminding yourself what it is like to be a classroom teacher, to stay relevant, and to feel the energy of a classroom full of students.

In case you miss them, here are my reflections from most of the days I have gotten to teach in this round, which include all resources I used for each lesson:

Parallel Lines and Transversals
Triangle Congruence
Triangle Sum Theorem
Pythagorean Theorem
Angle Addition Postulate
Stats 3D Printed Dice
Geometric Transformations
Barbie Zipline

Happy "Day Off" Fishing

For the first time in 9 years, I am not filling my bucket with new tools, ideas, and connections in Palm Springs. I'm not figuring out how to get to Sherman's Deli for breakfast, where the California Ed Chat meet-up should be, or what my slide deck looks like as I prepare for an upcoming presentation. I'm not reaching my step goal by 9 am, not reaching for another hug from an edtech friend, and I'm not reminiscing with longtime colleagues.

Instead, I'm coaching. I'm working. I'm dad-ing. I'm husband-ing.

And I'm really, really enjoying it.

For the past few years, it has been hectic. Even the internet noticed, and I don't wear this as a badge of honor. It had gotten out of hand.

Even before this tweet, which stung more than it should have, I had scaled back. In prior years, I was justifying speaking and consulting and conferencing in a number of ways. It was good for ____, it was benefitting me because ____, it was bringing value back to_____. All of those were true, but none of the blanks were filled with "family" as the direct reason. It was either me or my work, and it wasn't fair to the ones who love me most. What made it even harder is that my wife has been SOOOO supportive the whole time, encouraging me to say yes, do the thing, and be the person. It would have been much easier if she sat me down and said "no, John, I don't want you attending that."

​Then, in mid-2017, I read a book called Essentialism, as recommended by Robert Kaplinsky. The book is a game-changer and I highly recommend everyone to read it, as it changed my perspective on life. In some ways, I was doing all those events because it fueled me. In other ways, I am now realizing that speaking/consulting/presenting began to consume me. It was never enough, as I was always thinking less of myself than others would think of me.

Therefore, I started saying yes to less, no to more, and finding a peaceful balance. Sure, I'll still speak/consult/present, but I'm being far more picky. To be honest, you're up against some pretty tough competition for my time.

At the closing ceremonies of Little League last spring, my son was distraught. His coach didn't make baseball fun and he wanted to quit. From his car seat, calling up to me, he asked if I would coach his team next year. Without batting an eye, I said yes. My old baseball coaching roots came out, and are currently on full display, as we are starting our season strong. 

When I had the opportunity to do a Classroom Chef workshop in Albany this January, the family went with me, touring upstate New York (yes, it's cold up there in January) and being together. It wasn't weird to have Daddy go off to work because they could now see what happens and I could deposit more coins in the family bank than ever before. We toured the Baseball Hall of Fame, ate great food, and used a work event to be closer as a family. 

Coming back to present day, the annual CUE Conference is happening right now and there is a sense of FOMO that naturally sweeps all who did not get to attend, including me. There will be other events like CUE that I won't get to attend, but the trade-off is well worth it, as I get to be there for my kids in ways that many other fathers cannot. 

So yes, please keep sharing the learning that happens at the next big--or small--conference, the next PD, and continue to make me better from afar. In the meantime, I'll find a few ways to learn in person from you all, but you can mostly find me here, behind my two boys with a smile on my face and pride in my heart. I get to be their dad, and that's a balance I am proud to have.

Happy "Balance" Fishing