Asking the Question is the Easy Part

“If you ask the question, you need to be prepared for the answer”.  How often have you heard that phrase?  We live in a society where we seek confirmation on one hand and then actively hide from confrontation on the other.

We bask in the glory of positives and yet take to the shadows of doubt and blame when information is perceived as negative.

Today, was one of those days that I needed a reminder about how best to process feedback and not head for the shadows of doubt and blame.

I was reminded to grant grace to those providing their reflections of our transition to Emergency Remote Teaching, as I have no frame of reference for their current day to day challenges. I’m not trying to both parent and teach school aged children simultaneously and my hat goes off to all of those who are gracefully navigating those two roles.

Upon my initial reading, it was easy to jump to the defense of our educators who are working so hard to find the sweet spot and balance how best to support their students.  From my own perspective I know that I’m reaching out to our school community three times each week with check-ins and Read Alouds ~ so to see that a small number of parents selected that there had been no communication from the Principal/Vice Principal took me by surprise. But in taking more time to read the comments and appreciate how our families must be feeling, or how they interpreted the information, it was easier to develop a plan of action.

We tell our students all the time that they should be open to feedback ~ as adults we need to embrace that open stance as well.

How do you handle feedback?

Come write with me….