S6 E24 - 98 and ¾ Percent Guaranteed: Our Collective Commitment to Every Student

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Hello there and welcome to the final episode of season six of the Structured Literacy Podcast. I'm Jocelyn and I'm recording today, as always, on the lands of the Palawa people of Tasmania. As we wrap up another incredible year of learning, growing, and pushing the boundaries of literacy instruction, I want to have a conversation about something that's been percolating in my mind. A conversation about the difference between being interested in something and being truly committed. And there's a difference between these two things.

What's the Difference?

Being interested means that we have a look, we're curious, we're considering something, it's one of our options, but we haven't yet committed. Once we're committed to something, we are choosing one thing and excluding all other possibilities. Choosing to commit to every student learning literally means there is no other acceptable possibility but that every student in our school is learning to their capability. Outcomes for only some students is simply not on the table.

Four Groups

When we consider our approaches, there are four levels of commitment and four categories of behaviour that we can fall into. And I've heard it expressed in this way, and I've thought about it in terms of what this means for us in schools. So Group 1 people or Group 1 behaviours are actively positive. People who exhibit Group 1 behaviours will not rest until they have worked out how to achieve their goal. When these people encounter a problem, they go into solutions mode. These people are most likely to be the early adopters of practices who will go down all of the rabbit holes in their quest to get answers.

Now, in structured literacy, Group 1 people were the majority of people who attended my Reading Success in the Early Primary Years course in 2021. They were so keen. They had a thousand questions and they would go away and try things immediately and come back with answers. The energy was palpable.

Group 2 behaviours are passively positive. So when people exhibit Group 2 behaviours, they're interested in the goal. They say, sure, we'll do what they've done, but they're probably more likely to be satisfied with good results than Group 1 is. Group 1 people aren't satisfied until they have outstanding results. Group 2, they're often interested in results and very happy when they come, but they'll kind of only do what's needed up until a point. They're just not driven to go all of the extra miles.

Then there's Group 3 behaviours. Group 3 behaviours are passively negative. They say, ok, we'll try it, sure. Group 3 is not part of the early adopter club. Action probably won't be taken until specific policies are introduced and leaders put accountability measures in place. Group 3, yeah, they're going with the flow. If it works, great. If it doesn't, oh well, there'll be another thing.

And then we have Group 4 behaviours. Group 4 behaviours could be said to be actively negative. People exhibiting Group 4 behaviours say, well, this isn't going to work, I don't really care what you say. This group isn't even interested in exploring the possibilities of the changes. They like how things are, or how things aren't, and won't lift too much of a finger to help results. They might not actively get in the way, but they're not exactly rowing with the team. We could say that surface compliance is the name of the game here. This group will do what's absolutely necessary and likely no more.

But there's actually one more group. It's not just four. There's a fifth group. This fifth group of behaviours comes about when people are completely convinced that their circumstances, school or students, are so special and so different that what anyone is saying about instruction simply doesn't apply to them. This group says, oh, yes, well, that sounds nice for those people over there. But if you met my students, oh, they need something completely different. And if you're thinking, “Geez, Jocelyn, this is all a little bit judgy,” just stick with me. Because if you've spent any time with me in person or here on the podcast, you'll know that judgy is not my normal default.

In sharing these five categories of behaviour with you, I'm actually not leaning into judgement, I'm describing what we all see around us every day. I'm sharing this with you because the category of behaviour a person or a school sits in right now isn't the limit of their possibilities. I've never actually met a teacher who doesn't deep down want the best for students. I've never met a teacher who wakes up and says, “I don't care, I'm getting paid. I have all of the knowledge, skills, and experience to do what's needed for those great outcomes, but I just don't care enough to do it.” I've never met anyone like that. If you have, they should probably go and get another job. But it's a good idea to understand that once we do know what to do to get outcomes, and I mean really know, we actually can't do anything else.

What Does it Mean?

So if we accept this premise that every teacher and leader wants the best for students, and that if people could exhibit Group 1 behaviours, they would, what does that mean for us as we wrap up a school year and head into the next one? As I've said, this episode isn't about judgement. It's about how we create the conditions for every member of our team to be a Group 1 performer so that every one of our students is learning appropriately. As system leaders, as school leadership, as teachers, as colleagues, as friends, every one of us has a responsibility to our profession to set others up for success. That means that we lean into the hard stuff.

When we know that other people have our backs, we don't have to be selfish. We don't have to just look out for number one. There's so many reasons that our team members or ourselves might be exhibiting category 2, 3, 4, or 5 behaviours. If people aren't performing in a category 1 way, if they're holding back, well, there's a reason. And don't misunderstand me, I'm not making excuses for poor performance. Not engaging in your own development, fighting every improvement agenda, bringing toxic behaviour into the workplace and negatively impacting the team around you. Well, all of that has zero place in our profession.

It Might Not Be "Won't"

Each of us has a responsibility to our colleagues and students to move the conversation forward and to invest in our own development with our time, cognitive energy, and attention. But something I've observed in my 20 years in education and almost 25 years in leadership overall is that very often “won't” isn't actually “won't”. It's “can't” in disguise. So when we're deciding when to redirect someone or whether to reprimand them, this is the distinction we need to make. Is it that this person has the capability and they just don't want to? Or is it that they don't have the capability right now and they're feeling very vulnerable? And I think more people sit in that second category than the first.

When people can't do something, when they are judging themselves, when people are scared and vulnerable, that's when we get those below the line behaviours. That's when we get bad attitudes, that's when we get foot stomping, sometimes literally, that's when we get the drama triangle, where we find ourselves descending into one of three roles: the victim, the rescuer, or the persecutor. And I'll link in the transcript of the podcast to Jenny Cole's site for an explanation of these. Or you can just Google Jenny Cole Drama Triangle.

So if we want to be a Group 1 school with a Group 1 team with Group 1 behaviours, what does that take? What do we have to do to get there?

Firstly, we need to never lose sight of the fact that the goal of our improvement effort isn't optics. The goal isn't that we are seen to be doing explicit or structured teaching. The goal is that we're getting results and that we have unshakeable, reliable, valid data to show that every student is learning to their full potential.

Secondly, we need to understand where our team is. We have to know them, connect with them, and make sure that change isn't done to them, it's done with them. And this includes having a culture where saying, “Well, that didn't work, can you help me problem solve it?” is the norm and where no one feels they have to be perfect all the time. Our people aren't an obstacle to be bulldozed. They are the key to great outcomes.

Third, we need this culture to position the grown-ups as learners as much as our students are. Sure, we all say we're learners, but our behaviour and our decisions might be telling a different story.

Fourth, we need systems, and I don't mean our departmental systems, although that's always helpful, but we need systems within our schools that support our efforts, operationalise our values, and keep us all accountable to each other in this journey to build a shared vision. This includes clear, concise data and assessment plans, the knowledge to understand the data, and the commitment to ongoing professional capability building in how to respond to what we see.

Programs are good and give us structure, but the program alone won't get us to Group 1 behaviour. If fidelity to a program is the goal, well, my friends, that is Group 2 thinking. Group 1 teams accept that every program has its strengths and that we need programs that reflect how we learn. But when the learning doesn't happen, they don't blame the program. They evaluate the strengths and opportunities, recognise when their knowledge is incomplete, and then they keep going until they have solved their challenge.

Now, all of this that I'm sharing here recaps topics that I've shared over the life of this podcast, which is now three years old. During that time, I've worked with wonderful schools, I've connected with teachers, admired terrific data, and done more than one happy dance. I know that the outcomes we're aiming for in our literacy improvement journey aren't just possible, they are right there, waiting for us to reach out and grab them.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

I'd like to finish this podcast year off with the immortal words of Dr. Seuss.

Congratulations!

Today is your day. (And keep listening, don't switch off because you think you know the story.)

You're off to Great Places.

You're off and away.

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go.

Oh! The places you'll go!

You'll be on your way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind because you'll have the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.

Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so, but, sadly, it's true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

I'm afraid that some times you'll play lonely games too.

Games you can't win ‘cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not,

Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul.

On you will go though your enemies prowl.

On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl.

Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike.

And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.

You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact and remember that teaching's a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

Everyone, you'll move mountains!

So… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So… get on your way!

And that wraps up season six of the Structured Literacy Podcast, the place where we unpack all things literacy and go beyond the program to talk about what it's really like to get amazing outcomes for every student. I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and I'll see you next year with a brand new season of the podcast. Over the break, we'll be bringing you some of our most popular episodes from the last three years to tide you over until the new school year.

Before I sign off, I'd like to give a huge shout out to Vicky and say an enormous thank you for editing this podcast every week. There is simply nobody else who would give every single episode the care and attention that you do, Vick. I couldn't do it without you. Until I see you all again next time, happy teaching. Bye.

Show Notes:

Jenny Cole: Drama Triangle

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