It was one of those steady-rain afternoons on south campus. You could feel the pent-up energy of the third graders as they powerwalked from the lunchroom back to their classrooms. But I had no time to join them; it was almost noon . . . time for a gathering of a Foundations PLC. I rushed to see if I could help Tabitha unload wings from the back of her car, umbrella in hand, and she looked up at me smiling: “It’s the PK2 team’s turn to lead. This is going to be great.”
This year we’ve moved beyond a one-size-fits-the-whole-school PLC model. Middle and upper school faculty have maintained a fairly similar structure as past years, with a series of faculty-offered topically-centered groups. But most of the South campus decided to veer away from topical groups and spend the time together engaging in grade-level curricular goals. With their recent adoption of both a new literacy and math curriculum, there was just too much to do and too little time. Foundations, who serves our infants through two year olds has slightly different needs and schedules, decided to use those PLC meetings as opportunities for their own “grade level” teams (infants, 1s, and 2s) to take turns sharing out with the other faculty on something of interest: crafts that have been successful, routines that help calm down stressed out toddlers, and, in this particular PLC I got to attend: Enneagram in the workplace. (Check out the whole slideshow; it’s worth your time.)
Enneagram is likely not brand new to any of us, but the thesis that Abby, Catoria, and Morgan presented was entirely fresh to me: they posited that knowing your colleague’s enneagrams, particularly their number when they are in stress mode, can be a super-power. Why? They explained:
Who knew taking a moment to take a quiz to learn about yourself and your friends could have such dramatic benefits?
For those of you that are Enneagram aficionados, apologies in advance for my very simplistic understanding, but here’s what I know. You get assigned, not one, but two of the numbers below. One indicates your “stress number” which indicates what you tend to move to when feeling overwhelmed or pressured, and you often display the more negative aspects of that particular type. It is also called “disintegration” so that feels apt. The other (“integration”) indicates your “growth number,” which represents who you are in times of progress toward personal development, growth, and the emphasis here is usually more on the positive traits of that type.
Can we pause here and say how much I love this? I love that this test so normalizes the ups and downs of life that it literally takes a step to say “you are both things” rather than asserting “you should only be the good thing”
In Foundations, the most impactful collegial relationship is teachers and instructional assistants. So the rest of the PLC slideshow proceeded to unveil co-teachers side by side, with both their stress and growth numbers.
Ya’ll it was revelatory. I want to hurry up and do the same thing with everyone I work with. We did something similar with the “compass points” activity from the National School Reform Faculty that Buck showed us in senior leadership. It is SO helpful to see these familiar patterns of both “yay I love working with you!” and “That’s why _____ frustrates me!” are rooted in ways of being that are different. Thank GOD for the diversity of our community. If I was working with a buncha #3s like me I would lose my ever-loving mind.
Speaking of me, ready for a fun game? Who wants to guess my enneagram numbers?
Wait for it . . . wait for it . . . The survey says . . .
Looks like I’m just barely a 3: The Achiever, although my #2: Helper self is a close competitor. If I’m a 3, that means that Julie Rust at her worst is a 9 (Peacemaker), which sounds good, but the negative aspects of that include becoming withdrawn, apathetic, anxious, and disengaged. Wow that sounds familiar, particularly the anxious part.
I don’t know everything about working in schools with children, but I can promise this: there will be stress. Big thanks to Catoria, Abby, and Morgan for reminding us that being overwhelmed (dare I say burned out) isn’t something to “get rid of” or “improve”; it’s just another ever-present facet of who we are all. And maybe, just maybe, being more aware of our closest colleagues’ stress responses can make us better supports when they need us most.
For More, Check Out:
Enneagram type descriptions for teachers
https://www.teamdynamics.io/resources/enneagram-team-building-workshop
Take the Test:
https://www.truity.com/test-results/enneagram/18713/60493880
*The Enneagram Institute is also a great resource*