Strong supports?

As I write about in my book “Thinking About Teaching” from Edumatch publishing (Amazon link:?https://bit.ly/Caseyteaching) There are three levels of support:

“Our levels of support can mirror the three levels of drinks:

tea level support would include a basic level of support that

has healthy qualities. Tea is easy to make: drop a bag into

boiling water and let it steep. Tea level support is when people

can say very quickly, “How are you, how is it going?” Every

educator should offer our students, parents, teachers, and

friends a “tea” level of support at a minimum every day. It is

easy, and it is quick.

The coffee level of support takes more effort. Coffee

requires using beans to make coffee and has caffeine. Therefore,

it is essential for many people. Coffee level support is

going beyond the basic “tea level” to offer a person a healthy

and supportive outlet for what ails them

Cocoa support is the most involved level of support. A

mug of cocoa is offered when one wants comfort. There is hot

water, chocolate, sugar, whipped cream, and marshmallows. It

can include a sprinkle of cocoa on top and is extremely

complicated to make. Cocoa level of support is given only in

the most complicated cases, such as offering support to our

anxious friends, students, colleagues, and parents. But to many

teachers, the cocoa level of support is a daily event. Students,

especially those living in poverty, often need multiple cups of

cocoa every day from their teachers. (Jakubowski, 2020, pp. 3-4)

I would like to ask people- how strong is your support for others?

I wonder if, as a profession, as a group, we have not necessarily grasped how strong support our students, our friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, and others actually need.

Did we go for the lite roast, when in reality their needs were more along the lines of an espresso? You know- the concentrated, intense, wired, flavorful drink??Did we add too much sweetener in our support, too light, airy, an additive to cover the taste of the event, when in reality all we did was cause future harm? Like sugar to a diabetic- help is necessary, and given at the right time can help raise the blood glucose level back to normal so eating a regular meal can help stabilize the person. Taken incorrectly, sugar to a diabetic can cause more harm than good. Let us think about our strength, our commitment, and our intentions when we support people!

Casey T. Jakubowski, holds a PhD in education policy and leadership. An international author, presenter, and expert in areas of rural, civic and education, Casey serves as a consultant with GreenstoneXP, and teaches leadership at the?college and university level. He is an internationally, nationally, regionally, and locally recognized leadership volunteer, and serves as an adviser to a number of groups and organizations looking to improve their team dynamics, communication skills, and conflict management.