Grow Someone!

I am not talking about some future Matrix-style person farm, though sometimes we believe controlling others to that degree is the answer. Trust me, it is not.

Education can be boiled down to the simple idea of growing someone, growing everyone you come into contact with. If an educator is not helping people grow, constantly, it might be time to move on to something more in a gifting area for that person.

It goes without saying that everyday educators should be helping students grow as learners and grow as people. I am not just talking about test scores, though that is part of it. Educators need to help students grow in curiosity, grow in confidence, grow in ability–every day.

Educators need to help all the students in their school grow. It doesn’t matter if they are not in their room, because there really is no my students/your students, they are all our students.

Educators need to help parents grow. Educators can support parents in being their students’ first teacher. Educators can help them with how to navigate student issues that spill from school to home. Educators can help parents grow in supporting the school and the community. Educators can help parents keep everything in balance and not sweat the small stuff.

Educators need to help other educators grow. When an educator is good at something, they should share it! Do not be ashamed of being an “expert”. If teachers help teachers grow, everyone wins.

I guess what I am really saying is, be a farmer of people.

Guidelines to grow someone effectively:

Spend time with them… a lot of time
In order to grow a person, you need to spend a high-quantity of time with the person, as well as, spending high-quality time with the person. The time needs to purposeful and intentional. In a professional setting, this would be considered a mentor/mentee relationship, which in order to grow we should have relationships on both sides.

Listen
In order to grow a person, you need to know in what areas he/she wants (or needs) to grow and which path of growth is best. The only way to find that out is to listen to the person with focus and reason.

Speak from your experiences
In order to grow a person, you have to speak from authentic experiences, it is all you have. Realize your experiences are unique, and no one else can have your experience, but a person can learn from them first-hand if you allow it.

Ask as many questions as possible
In order to grow a person, you need to grow. I know this seems simplistic, but we grow from learning. Do not ask questions just to understand more about the other person to help him/her, ask questions so you can also learn and grow.

Do not try to fix
In order to grow a person, your intention cannot be to fix the person. Fixing and growing are two very different things, and intention does matter. It is the why behind your actions.

Grow Someone so you both can be better people and leave a lasting mark.

Joseph Clark is husband, a father (of two awesome girls), a past radio DJ (Clark after Dark), and came into education as a CTE teacher. Currently, he is a Vice Principal in the Sacramento area. Over the years Clark has worked at an affluent charter school, a locked youth prison facility, a comprehensive high school, in a core model middle school setting, and served on the Board of Directors for Westlake Charter School in Sacramento. Now he teaches at Concordia University Irvine in their MAED Program.

Clark’s Core Values guiding his daily practice are:

• Value people [over programs] – Treat everyone with respect-everyday-all the time.
• Be a faucet [not a drain] – Each moment matters so make each one positive. Be a filter – my positive [or negative] attitude will become that of those around me.
• Behavior then Beliefs – Can’t make anyone change his beliefs, but can set expected behavior.