Yes Teachers Can! Rigor Built on Relationships
Teachers are capable of greatness in the classroom, and as coaches it’s our job to both expect greatness and support them in getting there. Just like teachers should for children, coaches should hold rigorous expectations for teachers. (To be clear, I do not mean extra long work days and doing multiple peoples’ jobs at once.)
When coaches have strong relationships with teachers, they have built the foundation to both hold them accountable and push them where they need to be challenged.
This may sound obvious, but it’s a much more common challenge in coaching than we like to admit. I encountered this just last week in a partnership where I was coaching a school leader on her coaching of a teacher. In a coaching meeting that I observed, the coach met with a teacher whose subject area fell outside of her own expertise. The coach facilitated a very focused coaching meeting around helping the teacher plan for student engagement throughout the lesson. When they started planning an upcoming lesson together, the teacher named an objective and corresponding activity for her next lesson that was not age-appropriate and far too easy for her students. I could see the coach knew this (through her body language and questions), but because it wasn’t her expertise area, she was unsure and they continued planning for engagement around the stated objective. After 20 minutes, the coach finally had to say it - that the objective was not age-appropriate and would cause disengagement because it was too easy. While the co-planning session was far from useless (the teacher still got to see the process of modeling how to consider student engagement at every moment of a lesson), the time spent couldn’t be used for the next lesson and the teacher had to start her planning all over that evening.
In my coaching meeting with this coach, I asked her why she waited 20 minutes to call the teacher out on having an objective that was far too easy. She reflected that with certain teachers who are struggling, she wants to make sure that she’s encouraging and not too harsh. She admitted that with certain teachers she pushes them hard to very high expectations, and with others she worried that they are struggling too much or that challenging them will hurt their coaching relationship.
First, I just want to name that I appreciated this coach’s reflectiveness and honesty. This is tough stuff to admit to, but it only makes her stronger as a leader.
Second, this coach is so wonderfully strong on encouragement and kindness. She’s built the relationships and rapport with all of her teachers, and not one is going to walk away from a coaching meeting feeling attacked. Instead, she’s now built the foundation of a strong relationship in order to be able to push the level of rigor for all of her teachers.
When coaches have strong relationships with teachers, they have built the foundation to both hold them accountable and push them where they need to be challenged. Even if you lack expertise in a certain content area, you do know students and what good teaching looks like. Don’t doubt yourself, and don’t undersell your teacher.
Reflection Questions
Pause and reflect:
Are there teachers you are coaching that you find yourself afraid to push to rigorous expectations? Why?
For any teachers that you find yourself afraid to push to rigorous expectations:
Have you built a positive relationship with this teacher, including celebrating their strengths, connecting with them on a personal level, and framing coaching as a growing process? If not, how will you work on this relationship?
If your relationship with the teacher is strong, what rigorous expectations do you need to communicate to this teacher? How can you do this in a kind, but direct way?
What might get in the way of your work to push this teacher to higher standards?
Practical Steps
Making a change in our practice, especially in the way we think about certain teachers or our coaching relationships, can be challenging to sustain over time. Consider these practical ways to shift from tiptoeing around struggling teachers to holding high expectations of everyone you coach:
Trust yourself. When you notice that a teacher needs to be pushed, commit to responding. We want teachers to grow so that kids have the best possible learning environment. It’s not about our comfort, or the teacher’s, it’s about our students.
Create a mantra for yourself about holding teachers to high expectations in coaching. For example, “rigor built on relationships” could be what you repeat in your mind before coaching that you tend to tiptoe around. (The coach I coached in this scenario calls this her “rolodex in her brain” - all her daily mantras!)
Give yourself a minute. When you come to a moment in a coaching meeting when you know you need to address a challenge or push a teacher to a high expectation, give the teacher a reflection question or quick task and ask them to write down their answer for one minute. This gives you a chance to get your thoughts together, take a deep breath, and approach the hard conversation more intentionally.
Then, be direct. Name clearly for teachers your expectations.
Fill in the “content gap.” If part of your concern in addressing a struggling teacher or a low expectation is your lack of expertise in a certain area, just pull in additional resources to help bridge this gap. You may pull up examples on the internet right in a coaching meeting, or refer to a book or article.
As a school leader or coach, you are modeling what great learning looks like in your coaching partnership. If you’ve put in the time to connect with and build a meaningful relationship with your teacher, lean on that foundation to push them to rigorous expectations. After being challenged by their coach, I’ve often seen teachers look back and comment, “I can’t believe just a few weeks ago I was still doing X.” Rooted in strong coaching relationships, even your teachers who are struggling the most can grow with your direct feedback and support.