A Willingness to Pivot

So, I've been thinking about the word pivot a lot lately.  Remote learning has taken us on quite a journey and along the way, many of us have experienced frustration, exhaustion, and anxiety.  We are frustrated by a lack of engagement from our learners, tired from the late nights that we lie awake worried about our learners, and anxious about what will come next and how we will sustain if we have to do this much longer.  

I was chatting with my thought partner and friend, Kari Espin, this evening about the word pivot and the role it plays in this situation.  After looking at the definition, I couldn't help but realize that this word may be more meaningful than any other in our current situation.

You see, to pivot means to turn on a central point.  I think that right now, our central point is authentic learning.  While on this journey, it is going to be necessary to turn around that pivot in an effort to change our perspective, achieve different results, and frankly, find solutions that work.  It makes no sense to continue to do something that isn't working.  The truth is that there were no "best practices" in place for remote learning during a pandemic.  We are having to create our road map as we go.  There will come a time when we will be able to look back and see all of the essential checkpoints that were important as well as all of the obstacles were overcome.  We aren't there yet. 

As Kari and I chatted, we discussed the pivot point of a seesaw.  When you are on a seesaw, the person with their feet on the ground is in control of the situation.  They decide when to give up some of the control and push up to change positions.  Up until this point, we have had our feet on the ground as educators.  Now, our learners are the ones with their feet on the ground.  They control when they do the work, how they do the work, and IF they do the work.  As educators, we feel as if our feet are not on the ground and we have lost so much of the control that we had while in the classroom. 

A seesaw is only fun if it's a back and forth exchange of the control...a give and take if you will.  I can't help but wonder if instead of feeling like we need to control or have all of the answers right now, we should instead focus on that give and take.  The reality is that our students are very aware of the situation.  They know that we are the ones in the air right now and many are afraid that if they give us back that control, we will not be willing to engage in the give and take that it will take for learning to be meaningful.  Let's embrace the fact that our learners have been given the opportunity to drive their learning and begin to have conversations with them regarding what is and is not working.  It's the conversation and willingness to both share ideas and listen to theirs that will create the up and down experience that makes a seesaw so much fun.

We cannot be afraid to pivot right now.  If we continue to do things that are not working, we will look back on this experience and realize that we missed opportunities for our learners to make authentic connections and understand what real learning looks like.  It's okay to make real-time decisions and change direction if it will result in a more meaningful experience.  Communicate decisions well and listen to different perspectives (parents, students, administration).  Doing so will result in a remote learning experience that makes sense for you and your students. 

Remember the episode of Friends when Ross was yelling at Rachel and Chandler to PIVOT? I was talking to someone last week about this episode and watched it again this evening.  Rachel and Chandler quickly became frustrated and upset because they didn't know why they needed to pivot.  They couldn't see the situation from his perspective and didn't realize that they were stuck and wouldn't be able to continue to move if they didn't pivot soon.  This is the perfect example of  why clear communication and a give and take is so important.

There are no right answers and none of us have been here before.  This is hard, this is different, and this is not school.  Take a deep breath and see pivots as opportunities for growth.  Changing direction doesn't mean that you were wrong, it means that you are willing...willing to do what's best, willing to do what works, and willing to make authentic learning the priority during this difficult time.