Adjust the Lesson

Good teachers don't teach a lesson exactly the same way forever.

Sometimes the class gets it.

Sometimes they don't.

Sometimes the activity that looked great on paper completely falls apart in the room. 😂

So the teacher adjusts.

Another example.

A different explanation.

More practice.

Smaller groups.

A little more time.

Maybe even a completely different approach.

The objective can remain the same while the lesson changes.

I think we need to give ourselves permission to do that too.

Yesterday, we reviewed our grades.

We looked at the evidence instead of simply grading ourselves on intention.

What worked?

What didn't?

Where did we grow?

Where are there still gaps?

But collecting information isn't enough.

We have to use it.

Sometimes we become so attached to the original plan that changing it feels like failure.

We said we would do it this way.

We put it on the calendar.

We told somebody.

We bought the supplies.

We created the spreadsheet.

We made the announcement.

Now we're committed.

But are we committed to the plan or committed to the goal?

Those aren't always the same thing.

A plan is supposed to help us reach an objective.

When new information tells us that something needs to change, adjusting isn't necessarily inconsistency.

Sometimes it's wisdom.

Maybe the goal was right, but the timeline wasn't.

Maybe the idea works, but the schedule doesn't.

Maybe we need more support.

Maybe we need less support and more practice doing it ourselves.

Maybe the opportunity sounded right but competed with the main thing.

Maybe we built a plan for a version of ourselves that doesn't exist anymore.

Maybe we've simply learned something since we started.

That's allowed.

Actually, that's the point of learning.

We aren't supposed to gather information and then insist on behaving as though we never received it.

September has been a month of review.

We've revisited consistency.

Accountability.

Capacity.

Resources.

Rest.

Focus.

Roles.

Progress.

Practice.

Some lessons confirmed what we already knew.

Others showed us where our behavior still hadn't caught up with what we knew.

And some gave us information that changes what we should do next.

That's not starting over.

That's adjusting the lesson.

Starting over would mean pretending we learned nothing.

Adjustment says:

I know more now.

I've experienced more now.

I have evidence now.

So I'm going to build the next plan with what I know today.

Maybe that's one of the biggest differences between planning and growth.

Planning asks:

What do I think will work?

Growth eventually asks:

What did I learn from trying it?

Then we adjust.

We don't have to throw away the entire syllabus because one lesson needs to change.

We don't have to abandon the destination because the route needs adjustment.

And we don't have to punish ourselves because the version of the plan we created before having today's information wasn't perfect.

The assignment is to learn.

And learning should change something.

Tomorrow we'll finish this quarter.

Before we do, take what the report card taught you.

Keep what worked.

Change what didn't.

Carry forward what you've learned.

Then build the next lesson accordingly.

Adjust the lesson.