A New Lens

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for hosting the Slice of Life March challenge.  Please visit their site to read other slices and leave some comment love.  

I have found myself looking through different lenses today.

I drove my daughter's car to work because she and my son drove my car for their spring break trip with the puppies.  Getting into Annie's car early in the morning, while it was still dark outside, gave me pause.  I've only driven it one other time.  I realized quickly, that I didn't know how to turn on the headlights.  I figured that one out pretty quickly.  She listens to a different radio station than I do.  I'm an NPR or country station girl.  She listens to adult alternative.  I decided since I was driving her car, I would experience my drive listening to her music too.  It was kind of interesting to listen to something different.

At my coaching meeting today, we discussed how important questioning is in the coaching relationship.  I've discovered how easily I take others' resistance personally.  It's especially difficult when it comes from my colleagues who are also my friends.  So, today, I decided to step back and take on the lens of a scientist.  Instead of getting upset over a conversation, I said to myself, "Isn't that interesting.  I wonder why she responds that way."  I'm going to start to look for patterns and see what I discover.

Ironically, I have spent the evening getting ready for my evaluation which will be early tomorrow morning.  I will be doing a close reading lesson based on the work of Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts.  My third graders are working on understanding theme.  I'll be showing them how to look through the lens of what the narrator is saying to  help them create new understandings.  As I worked on my lesson, I realized how difficult it is sometimes to make all the thinking that goes into a lesson visible.  I put on the lens of my principal as I wrote and asked myself what I needed to add so that she would see all the thought that goes into what seems like very simple decisions.  

I never would have guessed this morning when I got into Annie's car and thought about looking at my drive to school through her eyes, that so many other opportunities of looking through a different lens would become available to me today.