I can find inspiration in some unlikely places. This quote from Just Listen is a prime example. While Sarah Dessen is a lovely writer, I prefer dystopia to suburbia when reading YA, but this line from a decade-old novel for teenage girls has really hits home when I think about how we function in a team.

I hear from teachers about their fear of speaking up in planning meetings, PLCs, or the teacher work room. This is especially true of beginning teachers, who are still learning the norms of their buildings. Teachers--new and veteran-- often keep ideas to themselves, protected from the judgement of colleagues who aren't always good at hiding disapproval.

New ideas often mean change, which is scary. It's even scarier to think that maybe change is necessary. While new and better are not synonymous, teachers often scrunch their noses with suspicion of anything touted as the latest and greatest.

Ever uttered the phrase, "What we've always done is..."? Yeah, me too.  It's a creativity crusher.

Colleagues learn to keep ideas to themselves bypassing judgment. But what they are also bypassing is the opportunity to grow as  professionals, being part of a community, and building relationships.

So how can we support beginning teachers--or any teachers-- who want to try new things?  I think these questions might be part of the secret sauce. 

If you're a teacher who has an idea to share, spend some time thinking about the answers to the following questions. It will help you determine if your idea has legs and give you some selling points when you talk to colleagues.

If you're working with a beginning teacher, consider asking these questions to the newbie to help develop the idea. It will help the new teacher grow as a reflective educator. These questions are not about judgement; they're about understanding each other's perspectives.

Just working through these questions will support you as a growing professional, who wants to be part of a community and build relationships. 

Knowing the root of an idea can be the key piece of information to help everyone understand. 

2. Who are other folks who have tried this? 

Whether it is a pillar of educational research or the teacher down the hall, knowing that a strategy or lesson has been successful elsewhere can often sway the seemingly unswayable. 

3. What do I have to know about myself for this to be successful? 

New strategies can rarely be effective if the teacher is not mentally prepared for the task.

Motivation

Often, just answering the first question can open up a dialogue between teachers. Figure out what itch you're trying to scratch.  There is rarely an easy answer for challenges we face, though we may operate under that belief. The new idea should be one of several that the team of teachers should explore as a solution to the problem. Seize the opportunity for community building as teachers share their own experiences tackling similar problems.  Read more about how we can get in the way of our own creativity.  If the idea still seems viable, move on to the second question.

Research

Know Thyself

“Sometimes it seems safer to hold it all in, where the only person who can judge is yourself.” 

Putting yourself out there can be a scary place. One of my heroes, Brené Brown wrote a whole book on it. But that doesn't mean it's not worth it.

Reflect on times in your career where you've pushed yourself to try something new. How did that work for you? Are you holding back something right now because it feels safer?  How's that working for you? Share your stories in the comments. 

I told this group of veterans that what I saw was actually quite an inspiration to me. In fact, one of the things I love most about my job is working with new teachers to the profession. In most cases, beginning teachers come into the profession ready to take on the world, be amazing at everything, and rock the classroom. Folks tend to either resent this unbridled enthusiasm with rolled eyes and "you'll learn" comments or they feed off it by recharging their own batteries.  Knowing that I love working with new teachers, it's not hard to guess where I fit. 

One of my favorite children's books, Verdi by Janell Cannon, tells the story of that reminds me of what beginning teachers go through during the early years in their careers. The green grumblers, the old snakes in the book, tell young and vibrant Verdi that he may be wild and crazy now, but it won't stay like that. Someday, they say,  he'll learn his lesson and be as curmudgeonly as them.  Verdi desperately tries to avoid becoming a green grumbler until he ultimately finds himself broken and as grumpy as he once feared. That is, until he meets the next generation of young, rambunctious snakes, that help him find his joy once again. 

©New Teacher Center

There are grumblers in every building that can infect new teachers with negative attitudes. Jennifer Gonzalez at Cult of Pedagogy calls them walnut trees.  In looking at data regarding new teachers' attitudes, it's easy to see how the disillusionment phase makes a beginning teacher susceptible to grumblers.  New teachers tell me they thought about quitting over Christmas or starting job searching to do something--anything-- else.

But things typically turn around after winter break. Maybe it's the combination of extra sleep, a change of scenery and festivities that gets them back, but they return a little more optimistic then they left. 

As Spring Break approaches, I can see the change in the weather and the climb back up toward anticipation.

"I can do this," one induction teacher told me recently, which I know is a sign of good things to come. 

As teacher leaders, it's important for us to be the marigolds that support beginning teachers as they navigate the challenges of the first few years--the hardest most teachers face in their careers. If we aren't careful, the grumblers -- the walnut trees-- will prevail and an eager new teacher will find himself stuck in the valley of disillusionment. 

Our profession, and more importantly, our students deserve better than that.