A friend of mine had a problem. She was a principal at a small school ready to hire a new teacher. The hiring committee sent two names to her, each candidate fully qualified for the position. The committee asked her to choose, since the candidates had different strengths that were equally valuable and needed on staff.

Unable to choose, my friend went to the district superintendent. "I'm not asking you to choose," she told him. "I want you to listen first and then ask me good questions, until I can figure out what the right choice is." And ask good questions he did:

What is appealing about candidate X?

What is the best work experience candidate Y would bring to the job?

And on and on - as he listened to my friend's response to a question, the next question would emerge naturally.

Finally, after about 30 minutes of questions and listening, he asked one that provided the breakthrough insight: "At some point you and the teacher you hire will disagree about her teaching practice. When you imagine discussing a disagreement about curriculum, which teacher will be more receptive to talking through your differences?" One of the candidates most definitely seemed more open to criticism, and at that moment, the principal knew who she would be hiring.

Literacy leaders are expected to have all the answers. I find I often lack the discipline not to blurt out solutions to the problems brought to me by friends as soon as they pop into my head. This may be the biggest paradox of the job - if we want colleagues to trust us with their struggles, it may be best to do more listening, and less problem-solving when they bring those troubles to us.

I remember years ago I was on a hiring committee, and we were interviewing a top candidate for a faculty position. Her weakness was her youth - if she was offered the job, she would be the least experienced on a team of administrators, often dealing with people who were much more seasoned. One of the members of the hiring committee asked her, "What will you do when someone brings you a problem, and you have absolutely no real-world experience in dealing with it? How can you help them?"

Her response, "I've found when people bring a problem to you, they don't usually want an immediate solution. What they want is a sense that you are willing to listen deeply - to acknowledge what they are struggling with, and then take the time to understand the issue from all angles. From that starting point, you'll have trust, and then you can work through solutions together." With that answer, she got the job.

In Kitchen Table Wisdom, Rachel Remen writes:

I suspect that the most basic and powerful way to connect with another human being is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give to each other is our attention. And especially if it's given from the heart. When people are talking, there's no need to do anything but receive them. Just take them in. Listen to what they are saying. Care about it. Most times caring about it is even more important than understanding it. p. 143, Kitchen Table Wisdom

Learning to listen, and asking questions that show empathy and concern, probably are more important skills for a literacy leader than mastering any research base. You're presented with unique concerns from teacher after teacher, day after day in schools. The more you listen, the more likely teachers will be willing to share their professional failures and frailties with you over time. And if you're not getting the help you need with your professional struggles, don't be shy about asking your trusted colleagues to listen up, question, and keep the solutions to themselves for awhile.

This week, we've got resources for shared reading (for preschoolers through high schoolers), plus more as always. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

Free for All

Shari Frost notices a neglected tub of big books, and goes on the hunt for shared reading practices among teachers and literacy coaches in Whatever Happened to Mrs. Wishy Washy?:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/495.cfm

Shared reading isn't just for young children. In this brief article from Education World, Janet Allen shows the power of shared reading with middle and high school students, including tips for success and recommended texts:

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev083.shtml

It takes special skill to listen to a child who speaks another language. From the Choice Literacy Archives, Ruth Shagoury and Andie Cunningham gives tips on "The Art of Listening with English Language Learners":

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/95.cfm

For Members Only

The "Rule of 3" is an axiom most writers know - narrative flow and appeal often comes in threes. Aimee Buckner presents the Rule of 3 to her 4th graders using the mentor text Slow Loris. This is the first in a three-part video series on a teaching progression (whole class lesson with mentor text, differentiated instruction with a small group, and one-on-one conferring with students). We'll be posting these videos throughout December to spotlight the reading/writing connection in workshops:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/494.cfm

Sure, you're juggling the plates of teaching, demonstrating lessons, and leading study groups as a coach. But can the professional development model be sustained if you leave the job? Jennifer Allen mulls over the issue of sustainability, and works with teachers to create a program for inservice days that features different teachers sharing their best practices for colleagues in short, focused rotations. She explains the model and gives sample schedules and topics in "Creating Structures to Sustain Our Work":

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/496.cfm

Cindy Hatt and Corinna Wojciechowski have adapted the "Collecting Stories" icebreaker for staff meetings and inservice days to suit their district goal of more discussion of literacy struggles and innovations. If you want a terrific activity to nudge colleagues to share more of their successes and failures, you can download their question templates and explanation of the activity at this link. It's also a fun strategy for building listening skills and community among teachers and coaches:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/497.cfm

That's all for this week!