One of my favourite shows is Ted Lasso, a story about an American football coach from America who goes to England to coach soccer having no prior knowledge of the sport. As you might infer from the premise, it is a comedy show. One of my favourite scenes involves the title character, Ted, playing a game of darts against one of the villain characters. In it, he mentions that he read a quote by Walt Whitman (though critics say that the quote is not actually attributed to Mr. Whitman), that says ‘be curious, not judgmental.’ He goes on to say that being judgmental says more about the person doing the judging, than the person being judged, and that if someone was curious, they might learn a lot more about them.


In the show this is worked into a spectacular scene of triumph that makes for excellent television. In reality, and education in particular, I think this is absolutely solid advice. Being judgmental is easy as it does not require vulnerability. Being curious means putting yourself out there as a non-expert and seeking to learn more. It means meeting people on the level of a co-learner rather than as a judge of their efforts or worth.


Assessment is a required component of judgment; of someone’s ability, work ethic, character, etc. Body language, para-linguistic cues (the parts of speech outside the words, like volume, tone, etc), and other signals that can be interpreted as judgmental rather than curious will likely erode vulnerability and trust. This is even more important when there is a difference in hierarchy or power structure between people. We can be trying to be curious but signal that we are being judgmental all too easily! 


To be clear, there will always be a component of evaluation and assessment in education. Judgment, however, often carries a moral implication in that we are forming an opinion on someone based on their actions and what we perceive that should be doing. Assessment by contrast is an appraisal of someone's abilities or performance without forming an opinion (which is often negative) of that person or their character. It's a subtle but important difference. 


For educators, evaluation is part of the job. We assess and evaluate student understanding all the time. We also find ourselves in a position of working with student behaviour that may or may not always be appropriate for the school setting (or any setting depending on what it is!). As such, we do wear the evaluator hat very frequently and it is so easy to forget that we are wearing it. This can be really problematic when we forget to take it off when interacting with colleagues and students.


While this is by no means and exhaustive list, some things to help this are:



This is a key component. We are more open to being vulnerable to a critique of our work, then we are of our character and self worth. For example, a teacher who may struggle with establishing a learning culture in their classroom, is not a ‘bad teacher.’ They likely have many other qualities that are excellent and/or that can grow. Being able to specify that you are focusing on a developing skill rather than a character failing will automatically reduce some barriers that would normally be put up to protect our sense of self worth.


Most of what we communicate isn’t the words that we use. Arms folded for example does not convey that you are open to accepting new ideas (even if you are, or think you are). Crossed arms often convey that you are not open to ideas or already have your mind made up. Open posture, feet pointing at the speaker, eye contact all show that you are listening. Entire books have been written on body language so if you need more examples I would encourage you to seek those out.


To be curious means to listen to what the other person is saying. Be sure to use clarifying questions or ask for understanding. Using phrases like ‘I notice’ and ‘I wonder’ are a lighter approach than ‘I think’ or ‘You should’. The latter of these phrases incident that you already have your mind made up on what they should do and that they just weren’t able to solve it themselves. Working through a solution together helps them to save face, helps to build trust and empathy between you, as well as helps you be empathic rather than sympathetic. 


Whenever there is a difference in power (whether positional, relational, etc) it is important to remember that there may be preconceptions by the audience that you are being evaluative or judgmental (especially if teacher evaluation is part of your role!) so it is critically important to be aware of that dynamic when interacting with colleagues. I fully realize that it may be seen as unfair that leaders have to be hyper-conscious here, but it is something inherent to the role that needs to be taken into consideration. It also may not be fair that when we do slip up and come across as judgmental rather than curious that it is remembered by people far more than all the times you weren’t.  


Being judgmental, especially as a leader, is a fast way to kill a culture of trust and vulnerability. These are foundational items of being able to work together, to professionally disagree, and to grow into better educators.  As a leader, we set the tone on that. There is very little gained from creating a culture of fear and judgment. You may have people on their toes, but that also means that you have added another layer of stress to an already stressful job. Besides, at some point it will likely be you who has made a mistake, and that culture will come back to bite you!