The Power of Compounding

 

Little Things, Time, and the Inevitable Influence of Habits

Just the other day I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts - "Everything Everywhere" - and the topic was Compound Interest. What makes this podcast so great - in my opinion - is the level of detail and background given on the day's particular topic. Of course, we all see how Compound Interest can have positive and negative impacts in life with money and finances. And even though this is thankfully NOT a financial blog, it struck me as fascinating how little variables over time can have such power.

photo: Apple Podcasts

Specifically, a couple of different ideas came to mind:

*How often I would talk about this concept with my students over the year, in terms of building habits.

*Some of the different ways I have leveraged 'compound daily habits' in my life, and ways I am still striving to be more consistent.

I was a classroom teacher for 22 years. Over the course of that time, many things changed and evolved. I've used blackboards, whiteboards, smart boards, projectors; used overhead transparencies and taught mobile without a classroom for years at a time; proctored standardized tests with paper-pencil bubble fill-ins to digital versions of tests with built-in calculators and text editors. At the start of my career students still passed around folded notes, and now they just Snap each other during passing time and from bathrooms. There have been multiple presidents, world-wide conflicts and wars, financial crises, a global pandemic, the rise of social media, and the shift from a pre- to post-9/11 way of living. That's a lot of change and evolution! There's a reason the saying "the only constant is change" exists. And yes, the kids are always changing as well. There's always new challenges and obstacles. Kids growing up now face different things I did, and my parents did, etc.

That said, some things remain a little more unchanged...or timeless. I think one of those things is the power of compounding. And one of the ways I always tried to teach and explain this to my students over the years is through the habit-building around academics: daily reading, a consistent time and place to do one's homework, using their planner every day, writing down due dates for upcoming tests and projects, showing up for class on time and with all of their necessary items.

To some, this may seem a bit dated or even 'corny,' but I have to say that many years of anecdotal evidence would suggest otherwise. Here's what I mean by that...I never had students who did those daily 'little' things on a consistent basis and didn't do well. Never. I don't mean always straight-As, 100% in everything type of stuff. What I mean is they were consistently on top of things, felt confident and competent, and - maybe most importantly - when things did get tough (cause they always do in life for all of us), they had a system and support structure they knew they could rely on to get them through! The same holds true for a musician, athlete, etc...confidence really comes from preparation and consistency. Quite often i would have students over the years who knew this from their sports or from their musical participation (or both) but hadn't yet made that connection to their school work. (As a 6th-grade teacher, this isn't uncommon...they're just getting up to that age where these mental connections are starting to occur)

Within my own life and work I am constantly working on maintaining, re-establishing, or creating new, compounding habits to bring about key change. Everything from working out to daily reading-writing-mindfulness to movement to telling the important people in my life how much I love them. That's all probably another entry for another time :)

For now, it's about leaning into that mindset to drive change through daily, compounding small actions. It can be hard to forecast or stay the course because as the podcast said, the secret ingredient is time. Patience and steadfast dedication sometimes don't feel like 21st-century attributes, but can be invaluable in the process! Modeling any of these things for our young learners can be profoundly impactful.

**Note: I think this is part of the reason why James Clear's Atomic Habits is so powerful...it's speaks to some real universal truths. If you haven't read it yet, I mean c'mon!

photo: James Clear

Lessons

Or: How Coaching Always Seems to Lead to Meaningful Learning

Every single day, I find myself in new situations presenting opportunities for learning, discovering a new approach, or even seeing a new perspective. That is probably one of - if not the best - aspect of my job as a Peer Coach. Because I am able to work with almost 100 different colleagues, there is never a shortage of thoughts, insights, backgrounds, skills, reflections, wonders, ideas, struggles, and achievements to enrich my overall experience.

It's often said experience is one of the best teachers...and I can only agree, based on what a typical week looks like in this role. On a near-daily basis, there are chances to engage in thoughtful planning and goal-setting with colleagues; have deep, rich, and thoroughly reflective conversations on pedagogy, student learning, and professional development; and look for ways to connect district initiatives with school culture, teacher evaluation, and student learning.

Some of the work, collaboration, planning and reflection happening so far this year has centered on:

*Working Genius --> understanding and utilizing for individual growth and development, as well as maximizing the power of team and building a positive climate and culture.

*Culturally Proficient School Systems --> identifying and removing barriers to help bring about positive change, making success a reality for all students through our collective efforts.

*Robert DILTS logical levels of learning and change --> working to always 'coach to the level up,' helping colleagues align identity and beliefs with capabilities, behaviors and their environment. And also, making connections between this and Cognitive Coaching "Frames of Mind" and the Bridges Transitions Model...always driving people and groups toward their goal.

On top of all this would maybe be the most meaningful - and often best - learning that happens all the time in this role: seeing the amazing teaching done by colleagues each and every day! It's humbling and inspiring at the same time.

Olympics, Co-curriculars, and Developing the Whole

Something the Olympics captures so well every four years is the passion, joy, and purpose that comes with participating and competing in all of the various sports. People from all over the world, from all different walks of life, competing at the highest level. Watching the raw emotions and reactions for the athletes as they chase their dreams is always a very cool experience - one that always gets our family invested. 

All of this got me thinking over the weekend...there are immeasurable benefits to being involved with sports and activities. Specifically, I thought about students in school, and how much co-curricular involvement benefits and enriches students' lives and experiences in school. 

Joy - there's been so much joy and fulfillment for these Olympic athletes. More often than not, people at the absolute peak of their powers are smiling before, during, and after their game/match/event. Some have even talked about using joy as their focus and fuel for these games. If they're competing solo, they're always smiling and showing their pride in performance; knowing that four-plus years of hard work and dedication have led to that particular moment. When they're competing as part of a team, the joy is always infections when good things happen, and are always quick to pick each other up and offer support when things go wrong. 

Passion - the energy is simply unmatched! To borrow a phrase from the SEC: it just means more. A lifetime of work, sacrifice, and investment have been put into pursuing a dream and in general becoming better and better as an athlete and person. There's always a sense of urgency - contrary to a regular season game from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, there's no "next game" or "next week" or even "next year." For many of these people, the option of "four years from now" isn't a viable reality. 

Purpose - it gets a little bit overused, but the notion of competing for your country and your collective Team (Team USA, Team Canada, etc.) is really a galvanizing element. So many athletes talk about that being such a driving force to propel them to greatness. The number one ranked golfer in the world - Scottie Scheffler - was visibly emotional after winning the gold medal. For someone who is typically quite stoic it gave a pretty good indication of how much it meant to compete and win for his country. 

For students in schools, being involved in different co-curricular activities can bring all of these things to their experience. I'm intentionally not just saying 'sports,' knowing for some students that might not be their interest or passion...but there are a lot of ways for kids to be involved beyond the world of sports. The arts, music, theater, academic clubs, engineering/robotics teams, debate, and many more. When students are able to explore their passions, develop skills, build confidence, and work towards a goal, they end up experiencing some of what these athletes in Paris are experiencing: Joy, Passion, and Purpose...plus another thing far too many kids lack: a sense of belonging! Thus, my push and plea for any school and/or district out there - Create spaces and opportunities for students. Officially, unofficially, within the school day, etc. Learning how to win, lose, set goals, make friends, resolve conflict, and persevere will enrich the student experience and create learners who feel a strong sense of belonging and community.

Summer and Learning

Like most summers, this one has been as fast and furious, filled with activities, adventures, and new experiences. Throw in some different weather variables (looking at you, torrential rains) and the uniqueness of two graduating high school seniors, and it's easy to see why I look at the calendar today and notice it's already the end of July!

This got me thinking quite a bit about the upcoming school year. Well, that and the Back-to-School Sale advertising that started promptly after July 4th. Over the last 20-plus years in education, many parents and students have asked about what to do over the summer to either "keep up" or "make strides" before the next school year. 

For all these years, my answer has remained basically the same... live a full summer, experience as many things as you can, go have fun with your friends and find new adventures, be active, be curious, and read as often as you can, in as many different ways as you can. 

The last part I always tried to emphasize to kids and parents alike. I feel like a trap to fall into is thinking that 'reading over the summer' means constant novels and literary works. This can be intimidating for many kids who squirm at the thought of having to try and "get through" and big, thick book with lots of small print. There's certainly much to be said for these types of books, and sure enough many students devour them all summer long. That said, there's a lot of value in reading articles, game summaries, movie reviews, national park brochures, song lyrics, and so many other types of written work that can spark thinking and reflection. Whenever parents asked about improving their student's writing, I would often recommend encouraging them to write as OFTEN as possible, even if it wasn't long or complex writing every time. Writing their own movie/show review, or their own summary from the baseball game they went to the night before, or a personal narrative essay about their week at camp all give students a chance to exercise those muscles. 

Because kids can be exposed to so many experiences and events during a typical summer, I never fully believed in learning loss. We're designed to always be learning from our experiences, with our minds making connections. Instead, I would always think of it (and communicate when asked) as more of a 'how much learning' could be had over the summer...how much growth could be experienced. THIS is where consistent reading, writing, and reflection can really come into play in impacting many students' journeys.

 So, as we head into the final weeks of summer. Do not worry if you feel like you (or your student) hasn't been 'learning' enough so far. Use these weeks to make great memories, have fun adventures, get as much family time as possible, and positively encourage them (or yourself) to read, reflect, think, and maybe even write (old school or digitally) as often as they can heading into the new school year.