As former language arts teachers, we (Beth and Katie) had long understood the power of story and the implications of the narratives we construct about ourselves. And yet, we hadn’t applied this same understanding to consider that the type of narratives we construct about our students may actually perpetuate the precise problems we are trying to solve. In our roles as instructional coaches, we’ve identified with a more discerning eye that many rubrics categorize students as “inadequate,” many default gradebook comments are framed in the negative, and conversations about students primarily reflect their shortcomings, oftentimes without an equal emphasis on their strengths. These practices are embedded in our educational system, a system that advocates that we rank and sort students at every turn, whether it be through a standardized testing continuum, a grading profile, a behavior chart, or a placement in a leveled course.

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