What I learned from coffee about my own limiting beliefs
I am as susceptible as anyone to bias and simple stories
Last year, I suffered a small stroke.
Part of my recovery (which I have made pretty much in full) has been to limit certain foods and beverages. One of those limits is caffeine.
It’s been easy to avoid soda and energy drinks. I’ve never really found them appealing enough to become a habit.
But coffee? That’s another story. Coffee has been a staple in my daily routine for years.
I would have a cup when I journaled in the morning.
I enjoyed another cup while engaged in whatever work I was doing at the time.
When grocery shopping, it was fun to find a new flavor.
When I asked my doctor a week after my stroke what I should stay away from, and he said “caffeine”, I knew I was in for an uphill battle. It also didn’t help that I was no longer able to take my stimulant medication for ADHD.
What to do? Any time I smelled it, it triggered a desire for a cup.
Eventually, I ran across an article (I am not sure where) that stated coffee can be healthy for stroke victims provided it is consumed in moderation.
So I decide to try out coffee again. I monitor my blood pressure daily. If I keep my intake at a moderate level, I should be fine according to that article, I told myself…
The Power of Beliefs
When we want something to be true, it’s amazing how our minds will work to make it so.
This isn’t always a bad thing. Imagine a student who doesn’t see themselves as a reader or a writer. If you looked at their assessment results, you might silently agree.
What excellent teachers do to counter this lack of confidence is to set these kids up for success.
They will use the student’s own writing as part of a shared reading to prove to them they are a reader.
They will find high interest, low complexity texts to keep them engaged and successful.
They will position these students as “mentor authors” for their peers, highlighting part of a piece of their writing others could emulate.
Excellent teachers believe in their students before they believe in themselves.
However, the power of beliefs becomes a hindrance when we can’t see what is right in front of us that contradicts that belief.
I’m thinking about the individuals who continue to struggle with the simple story that foundational reading skills is the only key to unlocking all students’ reading challenges.
The evidence for other ways students become readers beyond skills and strategies is enormous. Peter Afflerbach makes this case in his book Teaching Readers (Not Reading).
Self-efficacy fosters students’ belief in their own reading abilities; it can significantly influence their reading achievement and persistence.
Epistemic knowledge, including distinguishing between types of texts and their purposes, enhances students' comprehension and analytical skills.
Growth mindset encourages resilience and a more proactive approach to challenges in reading tasks.
Executive functions, such as working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control, are crucial for enabling students to manage and integrate complex reading processes effectively.
Motivation and engagement are critical drivers for sustained reading improvement, with intrinsic motivation linked to higher reading comprehension and overall academic success.
All this information is readily available. What would it take for someone to access it?
Four Questions to Critique Your Position
At a writing retreat, I was presented with the following thinking protocol (credit: Sheree Greer) as a tool of research. The questions can also be useful for anyone seeking to know more about a topic of interest in which they hold a certain position.
1. What are the obvious arguments/basis of position or perspective?
With my topic of coffee, I noted that it contained caffeine, that caffeine was a stimulant, and that stimulants have helped me focus.
2. What do you know about your topic or perspective?
I said I knew that my doctor encouraged me to refrain from caffeine. I also noted that the smell of coffee is a trigger for me to want to drink it.
3. What do you think you know about your topic or perspective?
For me, this was the key question. It’s different than #2; there’s an invitation for doubt. What I thought I knew was that people who suffered from a stroke could benefit from drinking coffee.
4. What do you need to find out about your topic or perspective?
After a brief episode of denial, I admitted that I could benefit from learning more on this topic. It didn’t take me long to discover that there were both risks and benefits for someone like me to drink coffee. I verified the credibility of the sources. I also learned in the process that green tea is a better alternative.
Without a nudge to reconsider my position, I may have stayed with outdated thinking.
Try it: What’s a position that you current hold about literacy instruction and/or leadership that would benefit from this line of questioning?
Let us know what you learn!