Long Terming the Short Term - Reflecting on 'Unending'

In Ari Wallach's "Three Ways to Plan for the (Very) Long Term," he differentiates between short-termism and the idea of the longpath, pointing out that we need to stop, at times, to really reflect on how far out we're thinking.

When we pause to think about how we are not only preparing our students, but also our fellow educators for the future, do we ask our selves how far into the future we're planning? Have we asked ourselves to what end are we planning it?

These are some of the questions that Wallach's TedTalk brought to mind.

As a teacher, sometimes I'm guilty of what Wallach calls 'sand-bagging' - coming up with a short term solution to a problem which works, but doesn't necessarily keep the long-term values in mind. In my classroom, this is often what happens when I am scrubbing up substitute plans at the last minute due to an unexpected cold or flu, or this is what happens when we simply run out of time to reflect and plan - just continue with the unit, get to the assessment. We're all guilty of these in our classrooms. How often do we think about the long-term affect of our concern with haste or how our exhaustion impacts those around us? What culture are we creating by not stopping to really think about the long-term - that the hasty subplan shows that nothing can happen without me in the classroom to lead or that sometimes it is important to rush through things just so you can get them done. I'm guilty. Mea culpa, mea culpa.

It also occurs in the development of teachers, however, when professional development and opportunities are conducted the same way they have always been done because... it works, without a larger, long-term goal in mind. Or maybe there's only one day for PD this month, so make everything happen. Maybe the goal was clear once, but we haven't checked in on that goal in awhile.

And sometimes those long-term goals exist. Most districts have Vision and Mission Statements posted to their websites, curated by committees, and approved by leagues of individuals, but how often do they go back to these statements for their long-term goals? How well does every faculty and staff member know those statements and goals? How well does every faculty and staff member embrace those statements and goals? Do those statements and goals extend beyond simply this generation? How about the next generation? How far forward are we thinking?

Wallach asks us to stop and reflect on "to what end" we are working on these goals. If everyone is aware and most embrace them, what is our end-game in our goal-setting? If we're trying to help students become future-ready - what do we think that looks like? Is it possible we've overlooked something we cannot yet see?

In the words of my favorite fictional philosopher, "Difficult

to see. Always in motion is the future." In order to effectively plan for the classroom, for professional development within a district, for anything, we have to let go a bit and realize that the future will change, and that the future that we plan for is not next week, next marking period, or next year. The future we are planning for in our classrooms and in our professional opportunities is a future that each generation we educate is going to build. We cannot influence that future better than if we give our current generation the tools to solve problems with critical thinking and creativity. We best prepare our students and professionals for the future by nurturing their curiosity, their analysis, and by teaching them to think flexibly.

We begin to plan with the 'unending' in mind. If we do not know where a teacher's influence stops (thanks, Henry Adams), then we must imagine that it doesn't, and that's why it is imperative that we maintain a culture in our buildings and districts that what we do, feel, hear, and say influences this. Our short-term goals must be influenced by this, our day-to-day decisions must be informed by this. Our un-end game is to inspire the world in any lens.

If we start there, every short-term goal, assignment, meeting, opportunity for discovery is just a brick in the path we build to our long-term goals. We have to make sure this path is headed in the intended direction, and we must regularly look up from the path of short-term bricks to make sure they're still headed in the correct direction - the unknown future we want to guide the next generations toward.

Our job is to prepare each other and our students for the unknown future. How terrifyingly exciting is that?