One of the qualities I admire in other people is their ability to show up, consistently, in every situation. They show up with the same mood, same affect, same mode of responding. They remain steady, calm, and predictable.
I always aspire to be that consistent, steady, and reassuring presence, but often fall short. I’m feeling especially short 😉 today as I reflect on the past week. I felt discombobulated at times, which in turn came off as a bad mood. I can’t pinpoint where the discombobulated feeling originated, I just know it was there.
There were contributing factors, for sure: wrapping my head around a slightly different coaching assignment for the 25-26 school year, wrapping up a tough school year, saying goodbye to a treasured retiring co-working, disruption in routines, and preparing for a professional development session to be delivered tomorrow. Hmmm… perhaps I have pinpointed the source(s) of discombobulation!
No matter the excuses, I know that I can do better. I can present myself to others in a steady fashion, without under or over reacting to unfolding situations. I can maintain a steady “mood,” rather than letting outside influences push my mood to fluctuate. No tolerance for a rollercoaster of moods here!
Showing Up in the Classroom
One of the best things we can do for our students is show up in the manner described above: with consistency, predictability, and with a calm and reassuring presence. Their brains are constantly looking for connection and predictability. Among our many, many other responsibilities, showing up in this manner is perhaps the single most important responsibility.
With the arrival of summer, perhaps we will take advantage of the opportunity to reflect on the past school year, recognizing those times that we were able to Show Up for our students, and those times that we were not. Perhaps we will be rejuvenated, reenergized, and reinspired to Show Up each and every day in the upcoming 2025-2026 school year.
Showing Up to Deliver Thought-Provoking Material
I am forever grateful for the folks that show up consistently with thought-provoking material dedicated to education. As the weather – unpredictable as it can be! – has taken a turn toward summer moods, I find myself in my yard with my Shokz earbuds in (LOVE these!), listening to a host of podcasts. I’m pretty sure I have fewer weeds because of the fervor with which I pull them as I excitedly listen to the latest episodes from my favorite podcasts.
Just yesterday, I listened to the latest Literacy Talks episode, dedicated to a recap of The Reading League’s Summit in April. The episode was packed with take-aways and was so well-organized that those of us who were unable to attend the Summit were mollified with a succinct recap of all that occurred in the one-and-a-half day meeting of the minds.
AND to listen to the recap as told by some of my favorite literacy GREATS???!!! Priceless. Thank you Stacy Hurst, Donell Pons, Lindsay Kemeny, Kari Kurto, and Andrea Setmeyer. You Showed Up, once again, and delivered incredible content.
