2nd Coachee Call

We touched on a lot of key issues. Rachel was great at taking my experience and focusing back on the four-player model to make me think even further into course material.
We discussed some key issues in the field of education. One being why dialogue is so difficult in career situations where a predetermined end result is needed. Our kids are our first priority, which requires us to set an end result in meetings the students needs. It was nice talking with Rachel b/c she too is in the field of education, as is my coachee, which is pretty cool.
We talked about my experience stepping out of a role I am usually in. She further questioned what roles I am comfortable in and why. We were able to separate roles I usually fall into between the roles at my work and in my personal life. At first it seemed very contradictory, but we were able to touch on some key insights that brought it all into perspective. We questioned why the opposer and mover role were so dominant in my career, as well as in most management style, while the follower and bystander role were so dominant in my social life. We figured out that in fact I am not an opposer/mover in my career, but instead it is what I feel I should be. And b/c I don’t fill these roles at the appropriate time b/c I am not comfortable with them, I end up filling them at time when I should be listening and suspending more. I choose to fill the follower and bystander role during a classroom meeting I held, in which I usually fill the mover role. (I found that it depends on the specific situation I am in that determines what role I am in). The meeting went great and my staff shared the same sentiment, through their feedback and demeanor the next day.
We also focused on management styles in general, which was fun and interesting. We dug into why we felt management styles were geared toward the opposer/mover roles and how our field, especially, needs to bystanders and followers, due to the “emotional hotbed”, as Rachel accurately puts it, we are in. Emotions are high b/c we, in one way or another, care for the kids and want the best for them. Yet, like in any organization, there usually is only one way that is set out forth for the kids learning. We all hold in our frustrations and thoughts, being that they are unconventional and/or we fear no one will even listen. This creates bitterness and a feeling of not being appreciated.
I was able to express how difficult and draining it was to, not only have to do what’s best for the student, but do what’s best for the staff as well. It is a juggling act, which I hope to get better at with time. This course will sure to a framework that I will strive to gear my management style towards.
I think for our next talk i will try and open up more. I feel as these chats continue we all will be able to become more comfortable opening up to a complete stranger. Rachel did a great job making a comfortable, safe and insightful environment for me.

1st Coachee call

I have to say that I got a lot out of my coaching call. My coach was very inquisitive and asked many good questions that required me to dig deeper. As I am a very analytical person, I find turning my eye inward to be somewhat easy, although it was somewhat different talking with someone whom you never meet before. Our conversation flowed well though. I actually ended up taking some tips on how to be a better coach.
I found I was able to really look at my thoughts on my formal versus informal learning experiences and how each played a role in my life. The call made me think about why I have always enjoyed informal versus formal learning experiences, as well as how I use this with the children I teach. My coach asked this question, which I thought was cool. I will be thinking about this into next week when I work with my students. Since have trouble with learning through formal means, as well as informal, I will try and attempt ways to incorporate both into the day. I have always don’t this, but will be more aware of it now.
I am looking forward to our next talk. As I said, I took my good tips on how to be a coach. My coach, Rachel, was very organized, and structured the talk well. She also developed questions that required me to further my thoughts on what I was saying. I came off the phone like I just had a light therapy session, it was cool and I didn’t have to pay some shrink. ;]

1st Coaching call

I thoroughly enjoyed my first coaching call with Jo Ann. I was a little nervous before hand, in being the coach and all, but found the conversation to flow easily. I wanted to first call to be a nice meet and greet, where we would get to know each other. I found that without even trying, we ended up discussing the questions that were laid out for us. It was kind of cool. I found that when I tried to touch on specific questions, it was more difficult for her to answer. We talked about this and I agreed that I would also have less to say b/c I am not good on the spot and better in a natural flowing conversation where the information just pours out within a bigger discussion.
Before the call I read over what was expected and what questions I needed to touch on. I found that b/c I has this in the back of my mind, I didn’t need to read the questions as much, verbatim, off the assignment. I was able to gear the conversation, if needed, toward the questions. But as I mentioned this actually happened quite naturally. So I think I will read over the assignments a couple time before the talk, so that I can have it in the back of my mind, where to gear the conversation, if it goes off track. I think after we get through the getting to know each other stage, which we for sake of dialogue, did this call, It will be easier to focus on the exact assignment better.