A key part of being an educator in contemporary Scotland is about always asking questions to improve. How Good Is our School? 4 (Education Scotland, 2015) is a book of questions. Any self-evaluation is predicated on questions. As an enquiring HT I also love asking questions. It’s what I’m good at.
However, sometimes my questions are unhelpful and need reigning in… one particular classic is….
What if it’s rubbish?
This is the question which plagues me as a teacher, leader, mum and writer. I am the master of prevarication and the chief of criticality. This question alone can steal hours of my time. This can make decision making drawn out and resolving conflict confusing and cacophonous. Too… much…noise.
What if this doesn’t work?
What if it’s not good enough?
What if no one likes it?
What if it causes something unintentional?
What if someone gets hurt?
What if… What if…
This term has seen me coming terms with unhelpful questions. Yes the worst case scenarios exist, but they don’t always happen.
Some may describe me as always seeing the best in people and situations… and some may characterise that as naive… but I’ve come to realise this might just arm me with a healthy tool to deal with (usually my) unhelpful questions.
Reframing is also starting to help.
What if this is fantastic?
What if this works?
What if the child is learning and happy?
What if the team are settled, motivated and passionate?
What if we’ve actually got this?
I wonder if in education we need to start asking these supportive questions more often.
Challenge and criticality are necessary, but support and sensitivity even more so. This seems crucial in our present elongated time of recovery, flux and global anxiety.
What if that actually works?
What if… indeed!
The Enquiring Head Teacher 