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1MT: One More Thing
Many times, when learning about a new initiative, or idea, a
teacher’s first reaction can be, “Not ONE MORE THING!” This phrase, “one more thing” can be heard in
conference rooms, teacher’s lounges, and school parking lots across our great
land. And let’s be honest, teacher’s
plates are not just full; they are OVERFLOWING!
It is the nature of the profession.
But, there is always a couple of teachers who see these as
opportunities, even from the minute they are presented. Wheels start turning about how we can be
better tomorrow that we are today.
Which makes me think about a Paralympian that I had the honor
of hearing speak last month at the annual Hasbrook Awards in Indianapolis. Josh Sundquist, a Paralympian skier and US
Amputee Soccer team player, has a life motto.
His actual life motto, the one he says to himself multiple times per day
is: 1MT. Yup, it stands for “One More
Thing”. When he was struggling the most with the loss of his leg, and the hope
of being an Olympic level downhill skier, his coach helped him to realize that
if he really, really wanted to be better tomorrow than he was today, he would have
to do…you guessed it…One More Thing. One
more practice, one more run, one more hill, one more second shaved off his
time. He explained to us that there is
always, always 1MT we can do to improve.
We know this is true, right?
Cognitively, we understand that to keep growing and improving, we can’t
just keep doing what we have always done.
So what about our full plates? I wonder if adopting Josh’s mindset that 1MT
is not a BAD thing, but the very thing we need to KEEP GOING, might change that
feeling that teachers get when introduced to 1MT.
In my travels around Indiana, every time I have the
privilege of sharing professional development with instructional coaches and
teachers, I know that I represent 1MT. I
am bringing new ideas and frameworks and facilitating discussions about how
things could be better wherever I go. It
is my fervent hope that those I work with see our time together as worthwhile
and helpful in moving them forward in their journey, even though it may be “one
more thing”.
Actually, isn’t it the “one more thing” that helps us as we
agonize over a student who isn’t engaged or learning? How many times do we
stand on our head trying to be sure that we reach every learner every day? It is in our nature to try 1MT. A teacher’s work is never done. Even when we turn off the lights in the
classroom for the day, the wheels are still turning. And they are still turning when we turn the
lights on the next day.
The hardest thing about 1MT is when it isn’t our idea, when
we don’t see its relevance to our class, our students, our subject. But consider the 1MT that WE can add to our
department, our school, our school district.
If the 1MT being presented isn’t something we find valuable, then what
can we contribute? All of us have a 1MT that improves our instruction, student
engagement and achievement. So we must
share!
Thank you, Josh Sundquist, for helping me to think about One
More Thing in a new way: 1MT. Never
again will I use those words in vain.
When they cross my mind, which they surely will, I will think of you,
flying down that mountain or wearing that long awaited soccer uniform, and I
will translate those words into code: 1MT.
It is a mindset, an openness to change for the better, and the
willingness to try and fail and try again.
To grow, to learn, to improve, we can always do 1MT.
