When we approach learning through the portal OF the standards, the vision is narrow and the experience is limited.

I’m so glad I watched that. You should be very proud. Your students should be proud. And your administration SHOULD be proud. I know that I want to share what you do with lots of people.

Three cheers.

When I spend a lot of time online I get wrapped up in the revolution that I think is all around me until I realize it’s only in one corner right now. But as you and others keep pushing, Will, I think it’s going to expand. People might not have the imagination to know what is needed, but I think they will know it when they see it.

That said, as Brian Crosby mentioned above, I think it can be tricky as an individual teacher. For example let’s say I get the parents from my class on board with a more 21st century focus of collaborating and connecting through blogs and wikis, allowing for independent projects, and moving away from just essay writing to show comprehension. Then they start asking about what happens next year, what kind of blogging will there be, how much backchannel chatting happens, etc. Then, let’s say the next grade teachers aren’t doing these things. . . Now, I’m neither planning on going back to “the way it used to be” and nor am I trying to cause undue problems for my colleagues. Tricky.

I figure I can encourage parents to shift the conversation and begin asking the questions, looking for different answers. And, at some point it’s up to that nimble administrator to balance the gulf between two ends of the spectrum. An administrator can’t sell (in the case of independent school) what we’re not doing. We (school teachers and administrators) have to decide we’re “going there” all the way, get our talking points straight, do some serious “internal marketing” of the message, and then go with it. (Oh, and do everything else we normally do too.)

I love the format here. Way to kick it back to just spinning a simple story. The second story here had me reliving childhood Saturdays of rolling into any number of Iowa or Missouri towns at the crack of dawn trying to find the school so we wouldn’t be late for weigh-ins at the wrestling tournament.

I do agree that schools should be mirrors of the community’s values and expectations. And yet, that exchange must be a two-way street. I believe that in many respects, the wider community cannot hope to know what it is they want for their children without seeing the options available. If something new has perceived value, it should first be modeled on a small scale, placed in a fishbowl, and studied for what it can add to the lives of all involved.

Recently I’ve been in the market for a major renovation with my roof. I’m using this opportunity to do some stylistically-different things to the appearance. I certainly have opinions about what I want. It’s my house for heaven’s sake. No one else has to live in it besides my family and I.

The roofers, however, are the experts in this area. They have the tricks and tips earned by countless hours and years of practice. They also quickly demonstrated things they could do to my place that should have been done in 1928 when the house was built. It’s my house. I’m paying for the work. You had better believe I have an opinion. And yet, beyond those facts, I need input. I need to see options.

I thought it was all about picking a shingle color/design. I had no idea there were fundamentally different things they could do as well to make my home better. Experts peddle their wares or they become obsolete.

People generally “know” what we do in education. Our communities need also know about what we CAN do for our children.

We’re watching Australia more carefully because of the infusion of tech there. We’re hoping you’ll show us in some real ways what has to change when you put technology into every student’s hands.

Here’s to more “good days.” ;0)

Thanks for the comments, but I have to say, this saddens me, and I think, makes the point. The idea that you can’t be proud of your TED talk with the administration at your school just speaks volumes. You are an amazing teacher, and if what you are doing is “off program” then the program needs revision.

I think you’re right that leadership is about executing the vision, but the problem is that “do both” vision doesn’t exist to any great degree right now. And it’s tough to step up to that when no one is calling for it.

I know you take the time at SLA to make sure your kids “pass the test” and that you need to make AYP. If by every SLA measure your kids were successful but they failed to pass the test, I’m wondering what the reaction of the parents would be. My point is not to challenge the vision of SLA, but to push the question as to what parents are demanding. Thoughts?

More and more I hear it, “At least you’re trying to improve education,” or recently, “I don’t know what you’re doing but My kid can’t wait to get to school.”

At a community development meeting I about fell off a chair when someone that could have blended into the Sydney coffee shop (he’s in his 80s) talked about all the collaborative work that was being done online and how we needed to start meeting like that weekly, rather than just our monthly face-to-face.

No one’s really asking, but no one’s objecting. In Anita Iowa we call that “silent affirmation”.

“…if you’re doing your job, you’re thinking about doing things that no one out there is asking you to do. Which is, after all, what leadership is all about, isn’t it? I love Seth Godin’s quote from Tribes: “Leadership is a choice; it’s the choice not to do nothing.”Especially if basically standing pat will get you by. Given the current expectations for “student achievement” and adequate yearly progress, most school leaders can continue to get away with tinkering on the edges and not do anything to really upset the chalk tray. You want to make it into Newsweek’s top high schools list? Just keep pumping those AP courses and prepping those test scores. Constructing “modern knowledge” and sharing it with other global learners online? Not finding the check box for that.”

…to be so true.

Wondering about the toll that takes on some school people – to be caught in that vise. But for those who see this – there is no choice. It’s about the attempt and the effort to do the right thing.