H is for Honor Voice and Choice

H is for Honor Voice and Choice

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” -Bryant H. McGill

When you have an effective collaborative conversation or even a captain-directed one, many good ideas have come out of it. Honoring voice and choice means that you now turn the decision making over to the teacher.

We always recommend closing out these conversations with a question like, “Which of these ideas do you find most intriguing?” or “So, what do you think you’d like to try next?” Once you’ve asked the question, let the teacher tell you! Too often classroom observations result in those “telling” conversations. We share what we saw, what we liked and what we didn’t like, and we make a recommendation for something the teacher should do next or do differently.

We want people who work for us to be excited to come to work each day. We want them to be excited about trying something new and passionate about their own learning and growth. We want them to stretch themselves and do things that they once didn’t even think they were capable of doing. Part of making that happen is giving them voice and choice. Allow them to decide how to bring those incredible learning experiences into their classrooms.

Honoring voice and choice in your crew takes the handcuffs off and has the potential to unleash creativity and talent you didn’t even know existed within your staff.

So in every conversation you have with people about teaching and learning, listen for the opportunities to say, “Go for it!” Support their choices. Let them tell you what they want to try next and follow it up with a “Wow! I’d love to see that! I’m guessing it will make a huge impact on your students. Let me know when you’re going to try it because I would love to stop by and see how it goes! Maybe we can even snap a few pictures and Tweet them with our hashtag so everyone can see the impact!”

Honor Voice and Choice Challenge

Reflect: How might your “rulebook” be handicapping your crew?

Look for ways to allow for teacher voice and choice:

• Identify a teacher who has shown an interest in trying something new in his or her classroom from your collaborative conversation last week.
• Honor the teacher’s voice and choice by being supportive of the idea.

-Shelley

ANCHOR Conversations Live Event

Have Questions for us during the #LeadLAP ANCHOR series? Want to dive deeper into ANCHOR at our LIVE event on April 30 9:30 am CST? Drop your questions and sign up HERE.