Teach Secondary 13.5

Can‘good enough’be good enough? It’s hard to change who we are. Personalities go deep. But we can be kinder to ourselves if we recognise perfectionist tendencies in our approach to our jobs. Psychologists talk about ‘maximisers’ versus ‘satisficers’. At one extreme, the maximiser will agonise over a decision, considering the pros and cons of every possibility and seeking to maximise the long-term benefits. At the other extreme, the satisficer makes amuch faster, more intuitive decision. They don’t aim for the absolute ‘best’ choice; they’re fine with something that’s good enough. Youmight assume that the maximisers’ choices would always be superior, but it isn’t so straightforward. Maximisers might indeed surpass the satisficers, but still be less satisfied with the outcomes. Their high self- expectations and unwillingness to ‘settle’ can lead to feelings of failure when they fall short of their unachievable goals – even if other people would be delighted with what they’ve achieved. Maximisers tend to be less happy andmore vulnerable to depression. When an absolutely critical decision needs to be taken, then it makes sense by all means to take the time to performa thorough analysis. When it’s worth it, going slow and carefully can pay dividends. But we can’t treat everymicro-decision as though it were amatter of life and death. Very often in schools – as in life more generally – ‘good enough’ has to be good enough. In his book Black Box Thinking , Matthew Syed quotes a psychologist who states, “ If I want to be a great musician, I must first play a lot of badmusic. ” An alien attitude This can feel like an alien attitude to adopt when working in a school. After all, students are consistently told that they should always try their best – but is that actually realistic? Can they always be expected to use their neatest handwriting? What if this means that they only write half as much? Should they really always do everything to 110%? I once knew a teacher who would always carry a fountain pen in his pocket. Everything he wrote in students’ books, or anywhere at all for that matter, was written in an extremely neat calligraphic style. People admired him for this – but was it a case of him taking pride in his work, or was he a victimof a one-size-fits-all mentality, manifesting as a failure to adapt appropriately to different situations? It was very nice to see this fancy writing on certificates, but at other times it seemed tome to be just a waste of his time and effort. This isn’t what it means to have high standards. Scouring the internet for hours seeking that perfect online resource. Signing up for every CPD opportunity and conference you can possibly attend. Determinedly reading every relevant edu-book that gets published (or maybe writing one?). Striving to stay on top of all of those podcasts. Completing amasters or a PhD. The perfectionist wants to do the best for their students, but can end up sacrificing any sense of work-life balance in an endless contest to be the best they can be, while feeling constant guilt over all the things not done. Inmany cases, what we really need to learn is how to be comfortable doing a good enough job. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Colin Foster (@colinfoster77) is a Reader in Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics Education at Loughborough University, and has written many books and articles for teachers; find out more at foster77.co.uk teachwire.net/secondary 23 P E D A G O G Y