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Teaching

Beware the Iceberg

Teachers and students – beware of the iceberg. You just said “yes” to another request for your time and expertise. Do you know what you really agreed to?

The image of an iceberg has been beaten to death as a metaphor for everything from “Motivation” to “Socio-Emotional Wellness”. Bear with me as I add to the list of metaphors.

When I see the image of an iceberg, what I see is a model for something that has vexed me throughout my life. Someone for whom I have respect comes to me and asks me to contribute my time and abilities to an important task. I ask for a description of the time and responsibilities involved. Invariably, what is described to me is “the tip of the iceberg” – the part that is above water and easily seen. As you may be aware, more than 90% of an iceberg is below water, not easily seen. Likewise, you will often only find out the true magnitude of a task after you have made your (uninformed) commitment.

  • “Give me all of the details, upfront.”
  • “Be straight with me, what am I saying ‘Yes’ to?”
  • “Please, no surprises. I hate surprises.”

Regardless of how many ways I try to get all of the facts before saying “yes”, there always seem to be surprises. There are some of us who initially accept this deception because we loathe walking away from a promise. I cannot count the times that I’ve ended up resenting participating in a worthwhile endeavor because I feel deceived. When I agree to participate, I am keenly aware of my other pre-existing commitments, and I will not knowingly make a new commitment that causes me to turn my back on an old one.

It took me decades to develop the strength of character to walk away when the the underwater part of the iceberg is exposed to view. There is a well-defined subgroup of students and teachers who over-commit and are chronically too busy and too stressed. If you are reading this, you may be part of the 10% who do 90% of the volunteering (another iceberg metaphor!) Your time and your sanity have value. Do yourself a favor – don’t take decades to learn these simple phrases:

“No – I am already committed to other things at this time.”

“I’m sorry, but this is not what I agreed to when I said ‘Yes’.”

By Andy Allan

I am the owner-developer of Sciencegeek.net and a science teacher at El Diamante High School in Visalia, CA.

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