I went for a run yesterday and was frustrated, yet again, at my decreasing stamina when it comes to running. Several factors are contributing: a second bout with a respiratory illness, tiredness because of the illness, being out of shape due to lack of running, and sore hamstrings that have been a factor since late spring. My body seems to be less flexible than ever before.
I googled possible causes of sore hamstrings and found several possibilities. The “cure” is where flexibility comes in: I need to slowly & carefully stretch/flex those muscles. I need to build stamina in stretching over time. I need to be patient with the process.
I’m trying to be flexible with my workout routine. For 15+ years, I have started my day with an early morning 3 – 4 mile run. That routine has been frustratingly interrupted with what I’ve described above. In an effort to not completely abandon exercise, I am now walking on the treadmill in place of the early-morning outdoor run. I don’t yet love this shift, and I still plan to get back to running, but my current “condition” necessitated the need to be flexible. And it’s better than the complete abandon of exercise.
The need for flexibility is screaming at me from all sides. This past week, as part of the work our instructional coaching staff is doing with special education teachers and students, I was modeling instruction for teachers and running diagnostic reading assessments on several students. In two cases, the students refused to do the work… for me. But they were willing to do the work with their teacher and/or para-professional – those adults whom they have a relationship with.
Relationships are everything. I know this, and I was reminded of it very quickly this past week. I was also reminded of the need to be flexible in this work. Flexibility is essential when meeting the needs of our diverse learners. In order to exercise that flexibility, one must know your students and make careful decisions about the best approach for ensuring learning.
The need for flexibility was further driven home by a recent Melissa & Lori Love Literacy podcast with Catlin Goodrow. In the podcast, Catlin describes the work she does with third through fifth grade students. I was hanging on every word, as much of what Catlin shared is applicable in the 7th – 12th grade span, as well.
She emphasized the point of knowing your students and designing instruction based on their skill needs. She advised listeners to avoid getting stuck on one path of instruction if that path becomes inappropriate. In other words, if students initially need some work with basic decoding, start there, but don’t get stuck there just because you are moving through a specific scope and sequence.
If one remains inflexible, he/she may find where a student needs to begin in a scope and sequence, and make the mistake of maintaining a rigid fidelity to the program: moving through each lesson exactly as described by the curriculum.
This inflexibility would result in a slow and inappropriate progression for the student, preventing them from quick acceleration. With older students who have significant gaps, “We want to get them where they need to be as fast as we can.” We want flexible delivery of instruction based on student need and progress.
I’m quite certain that I have been guilty of coaching teachers to stick to the fidelity of a program. There was a time – not so long ago – that I believed whole-heartedly in rigidly sticking to and “trusting the curriculum.” Although there is merit in maintaining fidelity to a program, it comes second to a combination of knowing your students, recognizing what they need, and making needed adjustments.
