Tag: Simon Sinek

Empowerment

All three of the ideas I have spoken about in my last three blog posts, passion, inquiry, and understanding, have brought me to this final idea of empowerment. Wouldn’t now be the right time to empower teachers and students to remake education into what it could and should be?

You might say: Now? The right time? With all the uncertainty? Well there never is a right time. We always wait until the right time, but it never comes. We push things off because it’s not the right time, and then guess what nothing ever happens. But isn’t now as good a time as any?

Uncertainty is the rule, not the exception. It’s how we respond to the uncertainty that matters. That is a major tenet of Stoicism. We need to make teachers and students feel safe in taking risks in adjusting their teaching and learning in response to this uncertainty.

Whether we are in schools or in remote learning, the only people who really know what is going on in any classroom are the teacher and the students. Shouldn’t we empower them to make the decisions that are best for them?

We must allow them to use their passions to make classrooms and learning relevant. Empower them to look at curriculum through their lens and make adjustments that personalize the learning to them.

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.” – Simon Sinek via The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros

We also must encourage our teachers and students to question everything. Powerful questions are what drives innovation in any industry. Teachers and students should be asking questions that further their own teaching and learning. They are at the ground level of what can be done to make our classrooms, either virtual or in person, better.

“You don’t have to hold a position of authority to ask a powerful question.” – Polly Le Barre via A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger

If teachers and students are encouraged to us their passions and ask their own questions, they will develop a deeper understanding of whatever they are studying. They can use that understanding to push education forward toward what we envision: equity in opportunities for all children. They will also be happier in the process. What will you do this year to empower teachers and students to make education better?

“I encourage you to commit to empowering the people you serve to be part of the process of finding and solving problems.” – George Couros, The Innovator’s Mindset

Why?

After I read Simon Sinek’s Start With Why I believe that before you do anything in life you need to know your why. Why did I start this blog? Well here it is.

I never saw myself as a writer. As a matter of fact I was your prototypical math/science kid. I didn’t enjoy reading or writing for pleasure. I saw it as something that I had to do to get good grades, and even then it was like pulling teeth. As I got older and was able to choose what I read, reading became a passion. Several years ago I was going through a rough time and turned to journaling to cope with my own emotions. I have written in my journal almost every day for the last 8 years and have found it very therapeutic. I have also found it very helpful in organizing my thoughts about what I believe in life and education. Just recently as the Executive Director of Human Resources, I have started an internal “blog” to our entire staff to try to help them stay positive in these uncertain times. I try to incorporate what I am reading and my own writing style. These emails got me thinking that maybe I could spread some of this positivity to a wider audience and share my ideas about education in this time of huge change.

I am not sure where this blog will go. I’m writing this blog because I’m passionate about education, and I have some ideas that I think will help make students become inquirers and empower them to take control of their own learning. I don’t know if I will say anything profound or if my ideas are worthwhile. I would love to know what you think.