What are “invisible scripts?” These are beliefs that are so ingrained in us, that we don’t even know they impact our thoughts and actions. They can come from many places: society, our parents, and even the teachers we learned from as kids. And unless we become aware of these scripts and reflect on them, they can control us in countless ways.
In this episode, Caitlin and Jessica discuss these scripts and the effects they have on teachers. Listen to three common invisible teacher scripts and gain some helpful insights on how to rewrite them in a way that works for you! You may not be able to change the whole teaching system in which your school operates, but you can insulate yourself from it, so you can do the very best for yourself and your students.
Use this episode as a catalyst to say, “I’m going to take control.” Once you know which invisible scripts are affecting your teaching mindset and procedures, you can put yourself in the driver’s seat and create a plan to make teaching more effective, enjoyable, and sustainable.
Tune in now to hear:
- [01:00] Caitlin explains what “invisible scripts” are and where they come from.
- [01:40] Do any of these sound familiar?: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” “$2.25 for the extra guacamole at Chipotle? No way – not worth it!” “After college, you’re going to buy a house, get married, and have kids.” “You’re going to retire from work at 65.”
- [03:30] Scripts like these guide your thoughts, your feelings, and actions. And most likely, you’re not even aware of them!
- [04:40] Jessica talks about how invisible scripts keep people from living their best lives. She asks listeners, “Can you think of a belief about teaching that has been ingrained in you?
- [05:00] A few examples of invisible teacher scripts: “I teach for the outcome, not the income.” “Teaching [insert a grade level] is scary.” “Teaching writing is hard.” “ELA is the hardest subject to teach because there’s so much to grade.” (Note: These examples are negative, but invisible scripts can also be positive, like “Teaching is rewarding.”)
- [06:10] Jessica explains the powerful feeling of becoming aware of invisible scripts and knowing we can change them. Those negative scripts can really hold teachers back!
- [07:40] Cailtin talks about how invisible parenting scripts negatively affected her parenting until she became aware of them
- [08:20] invisible script #1 that you may have: “You don’t have a solid plan for teaching kids writing, so you can’t do it.” If your school or district doesn’t provide you with solid methods, go find them!
- [09:00] Our EB writing experience is one great place to pick up powerful writing methods! Click here to choose a date and time.
- [10:50] Invisible script #2: “My class periods are only [insert # of minutes] long, so I can’t fit writing into my schedule.” When something is important to us, we make time for it! A few ideas: spiral-review bell ringers to reinforce concepts, alternating reading and writing days throughout the week, rinse and repeat writing activities so the process doesn’t take as long, using the writing framework from the EB writing experience we mentioned earlier,
- [12:50] Invisible script #3: “I need to figure out how to teach writing before I try to teach it to my students.” There is no magic resource you’ll find on Pinterest to change everything, so don’t go down that rabbit hole! Often, these internet searches only lead to decision fatigue, and teachers end up paralyzed in their decision-making. When teachers join our EB writing program, they are given bite-sized informational videos to watch on the EB framework. You can teach each strategy after each video (with the simple lessons/handouts provided), without having to first become an expert on the whole framework.
- [16:40]: So, think about it: What’s going to happen if I don’t reflect on my invisible scripts and start taking action? How will things end up? You have the choice to take action!
- [18:00]: Cailtin’s suggestions: Sit down and make a list of the negative invisible scripts that affect your thoughts and actions (they may be the ones mentioned in this episode, or they may be others!). Then decide: Am I going to keep letting these scripts dictate how I operate or am I going to write new scripts for myself?
- [19:40]: A final reminder that you can join our writing experience workshop for four game-changing strategies to make your writing teacher simpler and more effective.
Click here to watch on Youtube!
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today. We don’t want you to miss a single episode. We add a brand-new episode every week, and if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Now if you’re feeling extra awesome today, we would be super grateful if you left us a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find our podcast, and they’re also so much fun for us to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
