I’m a big Buckeyes fan, so I’m not sure if it was fresh wounds from Ohio State’s controversial exit from this year’s College Football Playoffs (CFP) or the fact that TODAY is the 39th anniversary of “Red Right 88,” as they both had me gnashing my teeth and ripping my clothes for what could have been, but I have recently been thinking about relevant reflection versus reflection that is grounded in regret.
I do feel reflection should play an important role in anything we are part of as without taking time for reflection there isn’t a chance to look back and learn from past events. However, I think it is easy to get lost in being part of something bigger than yourself (i.e. Buckeyes or Browns fan) that when something happens that is completely out of your control you take on some sort of personal responsibility that is bathed in “what ifs” or “if only” scenarios. As a 10 year old in 1981, I had as much of a role in Red Right 88 as I did as a 50 year old watching Ohio State in this year’s CFP, which was absolutely zero, yet somehow I still felt the same lingering regret when reflecting on what happened. So many times similar situations happen in our schools. When something happens that we have no control over we are often so assimilated to the school as a whole that we start to apply that “what if” and “if only” mentality to something that we can’t control. I think that promotes a mentality of reflection grounded in regret that is not productive as compared to relevant reflection which, by definition, is more productive.
Relevant reflection is reflection on what role we played in an event and what we can do to learn from our successes or our mistakes. By focusing on relevant reflection we steer clear of the BCD (blame-complain-defend) that often follows reflection grounded in regret The former is a powerful use of our limited time while the latter is a time consumer. People who live in glass houses (or Greenhouses :) shouldn’t throw stones, so I am not criticizing anyone who has fallen into the regretful reflection trap. Instead, I am encouraging all of us to reflect on what WE can control and the role that EACH OF US can play to positively move OUR schools down a path that nurtures the roots of young people who are entrusted to our care. If our reflections reveal that we should or could have done something differently we should embrace that new knowledge and not stand firm to the status quo. Maya Angelo has been quoted to say, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” We have a responsibility to do better if we know better, but shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we find the need to change. We also have the responsibility to expect others around us to do the same. This is especially true with colleagues who we work with the closest (i.e. in our PLCs). Many times teachers feel or even say they don’t have the authority to confront a colleague who is not being reflective and that it is not their job. I disagree as our profession needs all of us to be reflective and every young person deserves teachers and administrators who are reflective. This is all of our responsibility and has nothing to do with accountability. Constructive feedback and deep conversations with a colleague can be, and usually are, a more powerful agent for change than those with an evaluator. “It doesn’t matter what your position is: you can influence change. If education is going to move forward, you can't wait for someone else to do it” (Couros & Martin, 2019, p.229).
Heraclitus astutely pointed out that the only constant in life is change, so it is important that we embrace the change we can’t control and positively contribute to the change we can impact. Practicing relevant reflection for ourselves as well as within our PLCs will empower us to make positive changes which will help us to avoid stewing in the “what ifs” and “if only” feelings that reflection grounded in regret begets.
References
Couros, George & Martin, Katie. (2019). Innovate Inside the Box: Empowering Learners Through UDL and the Innovator’s Mindset. Monee, IL: IMPress.
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