Quality vs. Quantity

Drive-by staff development – I do a lot of it around this time of year. Run in–Present–Run out–Repeat the sequence with a new group. Mind you, I’m not complaining. I love my work. And I totally understand administrators need to fit in a great deal of requirements into a narrow window of time. I just need to do a better job of remembering what’s really important when frustration sets in.

Sandwiched in between other speaking engagements this week, I had the opportunity to present an opening keynote address for the staff at the elementary schools in McKinney, TX. Since the session was ninety-minutes long, I obsessed over the content and flow because I really wanted to make a strong impact.

Though I felt the session went well, afterwards I kept thinking to myself how I wished I had more time and could have added in more content. It wasn’t until afterwards, when scrolling through social media and reading all the comments and lessons learned, that I discovered the impact of the work. “I don’t remember covering that,” I thought when reading several quotes from the session.

Teachers, a new school year is starting, which means you are about to jump into another very short time frame in which to fit in way too much required content. So, keep in mind the lesson I was reminded of this week: It’s not the amount of time we spend, as much as it is the quality of the interactions within that time that matters the most. Or put another way: When our students are having positive learning experiences in the context of healthy relationships, the content will be taken in.

Have a great school year. I feel certain that if it is based in positive emotions, interactions and experiences, the result will be impactful teaching and learning. As educators, we couldn’t ask for more.