Posthole Your Learning

We educators work in diverse communities. We work with awesome professionals. We know that BUT what we often don’t know is what they are really passionate about. Or what skills  they are good at? For example, I know my other teachers who are very proficient at iMovie or GarageBand. I know others that are very good at incorporating Inquiry throughout their lessons. However I wonder…do other community members know this? Yes its about relationships but those take a while to develop. Of course using PLCs are the conduit of this sharing but what about across the grade levels? Across the school? Are we leveraging our strengths?

Im thinking Technology here but other areas can apply I think. Let’s say I want to  know more about how to get my learners to communicate effectively and there is a need to find something out from another classroom across the world. Do we know who to ask? Do we know WHO has this skill and capability to help us? Maybe it’s a teacher. OR maybe it’s learner. Or maybe it’s another community member. The point is we need to know and often we don’t.

I got this idea from a mentor of mine for years ago. I learned a lot from my mate Murph. He called these Post Holes. My definition and understanding is:

A post hole is essentially something that you feel competent at sharing with others. The deeper the posthole, the more competent you feel. You may even teach others.

The most important thing about Post Holes is that you share your post holes so everyone can see. So you might have 3 educators knowledgeable with iMovie, they have their postholes deeply embedded in those areas and from this we can call on them to help us.

So, why this is a great idea? It’s not the just the tech coaches job to embed tech. We are all responsible. But more than that, WE are a community of learners who help each other out. It’s all of our jobs to work together and learn together. Think of it this way, how can we ask for help if we:  

1. Don’t know the questions to ask.
2. Don’t know who to ask in our community?
3. Are too afraid to ask the question.

Impeding a growth mindset I hear you say? Yes.

So the point of the Post Holes is to let others know your ‘expertise’ or passion so they can act as a mentor. It’s all about bringing RESOURCEFULNESS to your community. It’s about sharing. Its about leveraging strengths, compassion and empathy from your community members to make us all better learners.
Everyone wins.