Leading for Learning

Chapter 2

The Developmental Coaching Model

There is nothing more practical than a good theory.

– Kurt Lewin

I began my professional career as a linguist. Languages open a new world of people, ideas, and ways of thinking and living, and, I love the idea of building relationships with other people that I otherwise couldn’t. I lived abroad 7 times before I turned 30, but it all started in my eighth-grade French class.

If you’ve taken language classes many years ago, you may recall memorizing “dialogues.” I still remember the first time we were assigned to recite one in its entirety, one-by-one in the back of the room, facing our French teacher:

(Maman)	« Michel, Anne, vous travaillez? »
(Les enfants)	« Ah, non, nous regardons la télévision, ...