We have a Coaching program at our school where all teachers nominate another staff member as a coach. The staff Coaches have had some training in how to be a Coach and are from the School Leadership team and Expert Teacher Class of teachers. The purpose of the Coaching Program is to help teachers achieve personally chosen professional development goals.

Michele Martin writes about Mental Clutter in her blog the Bamboo Project and I can see that one of the outcomes of our Coaching program is to help teachers reduce mental clutter. I know at least that it helps me define what my big goals and priorities should be. Losing sight of goals is one of the main offenders of mental clutter that Michele has identified.

“Related to the whole goal/priority thing, I realized that I’m not really clear in my head about what my big goals and priorities should be. I’d become so reactive and responsive to work and issues coming into me, I lost track of what I really want to have happen. This created its own form of mental clutter that created a vicious cycle, blocking me from really knowing what I want to do work-wise.”

The Coaching program has the potential to keep teachers on track. It is very easy to become reactive and responsive to situations at school. Issues have to dealt with as they occur and often hijack our day but it is important to keep an eye on the big goals. Having a Coach around is a physical reminder of what we promised ourselves we would achieve.

Flickr photo via speartoons