Pushing Trains, Sailing Boats

As a Director of eLearning, I am in the business of partnering with school leadership teams to launch and move initiatives involving curriculum, assessment, and instruction. Before beginning work with any district, I always share that, “I’m not here to drive the train. I’m just here to help push and make sure we stay on the right track.” In recent months I have come to question the whole “train” analogy or concept of “staying on the right track.” Don’t get me wrong - the idea of a clear track to move forward upon is a wonderful idea, and I understand why we are drawn to the concept. However, within this analogy, the team’s responsibility is to build up steam, get enough people pushing, and keep feeding the engine until everyone reaches their destination. As is often the case, the reality of a “track” is far different when it comes to actual practice. We can certainly get the train moving, but the path is never as clear and straight as we originally hoped it would be.

For this reason, I was quite taken with a quote I saw from the Reverend Barbara Brown Taylor a few months ago:

"We want life to be a train, but it is a sailboat.  Every day you check the winds, currents, and resources you have and keep moving."

For me, this analogy represents the multitude of variables educators deal with within schools. We can make extensive plans, but we never know when the next current, wave, or storm may arrive. There are those precious and rare days when the wind blows us in the perfect direction, and many other days when we are dead in the water. In other words, as educators, we are often at the mercy of external forces outside of our control.

Given this reality, how are educators expected to proceed?  When the only certainty is that there will be uncertainty (and lots of it), why even bother to make a plan? The answer is clear: a well-drawn map with clear methods of measuring progress will get you closer to your destination than simply “going with the flow.” Many schools are content to just keep the “boat afloat,” and, as a former administrator, I will admit that I spent many days doing nothing but “bailing water.” However, creating a good plan with clear methods of measuring progress towards your destination before you leave the dock can allow leaders to make those small rudder shifts necessary to keep the bow pointing in the right direction - even on the busiest of days.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying that a great plan makes course adjustments a less important part of the process. (After all, the only thing better than a ship with watertight compartments, is not hitting the iceberg in the first place.) What I am saying is that, like guiding a sailboat, school initiatives can be an overall enjoyable experience for all - just have a plan and the tools ready to find your way in case your “three-hour-tour” turns into a whole lot more.