Releasing Responsibility

Slice of Life, October 24, 2017

Lately I’ve been working on talking less. This would come as a surprise to those who know me well. I’m a proud introvert who believes very strongly that actions speak louder than words. I take pride in my listening skills. I’m a vault; full of many personal confidences. I’m adept at turning the conversations away from myself. I shy away from the spotlight. I rarely offer suggestions or advice unless asked. The evidence would seem to show that maybe I should actually try talking more! While that is probably true in lots of cases, one time I know I need to talk less is in my guided reading groups. I’ve read lots of research and professional texts about promoting agency, nurturing independence, and being aware that the one doing the talking is the one doing the learning. Yet I actually catch myself repeating questions, rephrasing questions, and even answering my own questions sometimes. I confess I do have one group who trained themselves to wait me out knowing I’ll swoop in to help. As we all know, reaching goals is more likely when we develop strategies, so here’s my plan. Stop. Wait. Count if I must. Wait some more. Watch and listen. Notice. Resist repeating and rushing to rescue! I’ll set a random target date of Tuesday before Thanksgiving to give myself some professional progress monitoring! Hold me to it!