The Gift of Problem Solving

Let’s face it. School can be full of drama sometimes. As a literacy coach, I am in classrooms all the time, working side by side with teachers as they work through struggles or challenges. It can be very easy to get caught up in frustration.

One day a teacher was feeling overwhelmed by the number of students in her class who just weren’t prepared for the grade-level skills that were being taught. I felt all of that teacher’s frustration and headed straight to my administrator to lay all the problems in her lap. She needs to fix this, I thought. Her response was “Well, what do you all think we can do?” Wait, what? She was asking me to give her the solution to the problem. Wasn’t that her job? Annoying, but challenge accepted. We sat, we talked, and she asked questions about what we could try to help these students. She eventually led me to remember what I already knew and to use the protocols we had in place for students who need extra help. She stopped the drama in its tracks and led us to answers. At first, I was annoyed (it is always easier to make my problems someone else’s to fix), but I left feeling empowered that I do have the tools to solve problems. What an unexpected life gift she gave me that day.

Again and again over the past five years, whether at work or in my personal life, when I get caught up in the drama and try to dump problems in someone else’s lap, I hear her voice in my head saying, “Bring me solutions, not problems.” This makes me stop, breathe, and remember that I have the tools to fix most issues that come up if I stop and think it through. This is a reminder that you do too!