Inquiry Basics: How do I do it all?
Working my way through a handful of emails that trickled in before the holiday break and scanned one that came from a teacher whom I coach and plan with on a weekly basis. She was following up on one of the questions I asked her to consider pondering in between now and the time next I saw her in the New Year. The question was open ended to give enough space for reflection yet specific to give direction to where we might take our weekly meetings in the next semester.
Upon opening the email, I could tell that the answer given was one she’d been wrestling with all semester. It’s one that I’ve heard her casually mention while looking at weekly lesson plans working and reworking the sequence of learning experiences. It’s a question I’ve wrestled with personally when new to teaching with an inquiry framework and mindset. And, it’s a question I continue to field in weekly planning sessions with teachers and ongoing coaching and professional learning with leaders and teams at schools.
How do we do it all?
It’s a beautiful cycle, an ebb and flow and a constant choosing. It comes in listening to our learners, balancing timelines, noticing skills our learners need to stretch themselves towards. It comes in giving ourselves enough of a pause to push through the noise of trying to pack in more, in reframing our mindset that every question, personal interest or student passion needs to be addressed in order to “do inquiry” and in an unfolding towards knowing that all doesn’t mean better.
I’ve been guilty of it too…
Checking the clock and still wanting to squeeze in the last few slides so the room fills with a rushed explanation and apologies for lack of time to settle into deeper conversations & lingering questions.
Trying to answer and connect all student questions to our current unit of inquiry.
Carrying out every single one of the lessons that have dutifully planned and prepped to ensure that all boxes are checked off of planner, photocopies have been used and time spent preparing hasn’t been a waste of time.
The thing is, we can never do it all. Doing it all means no room for more. Doing it all leaves little breathing room that natural curiosity and wonder requires. Doing it all means we’ve left out the very thing that is impacted by inquiry the most; the students.
“All things” aren’t always needed or have the allotted time we’d hoped for. It’s in the letting go that we thoughtfully invite a grounded knowing and intentional action. So when I recently read Ryan Holiday’s blog post it got me thinking more about the ways we balance and intentionally choose how we say yes.
Mindful “yes” AND thoughtful “no” are both actions rooted in an inquiry mindset and a wonderful answer to the question posed by my colleague above. And while these words are quite simple in nature, it’s the intention behind them that gives them a greater depth than their closed nature might suggest.
As the New Year is upon us and many of us are using it as a fresh start, an opportunity to reflect on the previous year and recharged energy towards goals or intentions, I encourage you to take a look at Ryan’s post and notice what resonates. I’m hopeful that you find your voice for more “no” to welcome a different kind of “yes” in your practice. And after you take a read, head on over to my resource page and download the intention setting guide I have there for you. I’m curious how say “yes” to these two resources impact your thinking, how you spend your time throughout your day and your overall wellbeing as an educator and human being.
So, how do it do it all?
Put simply, we do it with intention ☺️
