Coaches Help Us Become Better Selves and Better Educators
April 11, 2022
Read Jennifer's article for Learning Forward -- why coaching is invaluable for educators.
Excerpt:
When I work with school leaders and their teams, I always share this belief: Growing into who we can become is a lifelong journey that never ends. Usually, there is pushback. Some will ask, “Shouldn’t education leaders be there already? That’s why we got the Schools should be places where everyone — not just students — learns, matures, and develops. Jennifer Abrams (jennifer@ jenniferabrams. com) is an independent communications consultant and leadership coach. Vol. 43 No. 2 job, right?” Others will say, “I have so much on my plate as it is. How could I find time to grow?” While I agree there is a fundamental level of competence and professionalism that should be expected of all school leaders, I also believe that our development as professionals is never complete. We should always aspire to be better selves and better educators. We should model for those we teach and lead what it means to be a work in progress and stretch at our edges. Schools should be places where everyone — not just students — learns, matures, and develops. We should not solely be in the child development business. We should be in the human development business (Abrams, 2021). In this ongoing process of growth, coaching is invaluable.
About Jennifer Abrams
Jennifer has been recognized as one of "21 Women All K-12 Educators Need to Know" by Education Week's 'Finding Common Ground' blog. She considers herself a "voice coach," helping others learn how to best use their voices – be it collaborating on a team, facilitating a group, coaching a colleague, supervising an employee and being an all around better human being in all types of interactions.
Work with Jennifer
Praise for Jennifer
“Jennifer has so squarely hit the mark with our teacher-leaders that she is one of the few presenters that they are always requesting when professional development is the question. Here at the University of Chicago, this acclaim and recognition does not come easily! Jennifer has a way of presenting information that gets quickly to the heart of the matter. Her ability to read the true needs of the group, regardless of the original focus, has made her a favorite among the faculty here at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.”
