Coaching for Balance How to Meet the Challenges of Literacy Coaching

Although literacy coaches now have many more resources to turn to than they did just a few years ago, ""Coaching for Balance: How to Meet the Challenges of Literacy Coaching"" moves beyond simply addressing literacy instruction to addressing the pedagogy of coaching. This practical resource highlights the competing demands that administrators, teachers, and school communities place on literacy coaches, and how coaches might discover balance in their roles. Author Jan Miller Burkins, a practicing literacy coach, defines literacy coaching, describes her coaching responsibilities, and explores how a coach can develop and work within a philosophy of coaching. Using personal experiences, clarifying analogies, and research, Burkins explores the personal and professional responsibilities of literacy coaches, while also encouraging strategies of self-preservation. To help you navigate the responsibilities of literacy coaching, chapters are grouped in the following sections: Section 1 - The Job: Keeping Your Head Above Water; Section 2 - The People: Coaching Personalities; Section 3 - The Work: Stretching Ourselves; and Section 4 - The Reasons: Coaching Matters. ""Coaching for Balance"" focuses on the relational aspects of literacy coaching such as communication, developing community, and assuming leadership without authority. It also explores the responsibilities of coaches in working with administrators, assuming the best of teachers, encouraging teacher reflection, and furthering their own professional growth. Use this resource to develop thoughtful literacy coaching practices because, as Burkins suggests, the route to making an impact on student achievement is through - rather than around - teachers.