More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
December 8 - December 22, 2015
Change is an opportunity to do something amazing.
We complain about switching from Microsoft Word to Google Docs, not because it would be worse, but because it is change.
Kids walk into schools full of wonder and questions, yet we often ask them to hold their questions for later, so we can “get through” the curriculum.
When students graduate, many of them are good at one thing: school.
Compliance does not foster innovation.
if we want “innovative students,” we will need “innovative educators.”
if they want to be innovative, they are going to have to find time to do it.
I believe we can each make an impact—globally and locally—when we stop worrying about who is best and concern ourselves with helping everyone succeed.
The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.—William Pollard[13]
innovation as a way of thinking that creates something new and better.
Innovation can come from either “invention” (something totally new) or “iteration” (a change of something that already exists), but if it does not meet the idea of “new and better,” it is not innovative.
It is becoming increasingly clear that we don’t necessarily need to transform the role of teachers, rather create a culture that inspires and empowers teachers to innovate in the pursuit of providing optimal learning experiences for their students.[16]
Josh Stumpenhorst, “Innovative teaching is constant evolution to make things better for student learning.”
Questioning what we do and why we do it is essential for innovation.
John Maxwell’s famous quotes is, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves.—Stephen Downes (2010)
The innovator’s mindset can be defined as the belief that the abilities, intelligence, and talents are developed so that they lead to the creation of new and better ideas.
The world only cares about—and pays off on—what you can do with what you know (and it doesn’t care how you learned it).[26]
Innovating in our schools requires a different type of thinking, one that doesn’t focus on ideas that are “outside of the box” but those that allow us to be innovative despite budgetary constraints. In other words, we need to learn to innovate inside the box.
Having the freedom to fail is important to innovation. But even more important to the process are the traits of resiliency and grit. Resiliency is the ability to come back after a defeat or unsuccessful attempt. Grit is resolve or strength of character.
accepting failure as a final outcome, especially when it comes to our kids, is not something we should ever embrace.
Would I want to be a learner in my own classroom?
What is best for this student?
What is this student’s passion?
How did this work for our students?
Friedman wrote, about “what you can do with what you know.”
If we are going to help our students thrive, we have to move past “the way we have always done it,” and create better learning experiences for our students than we had ourselves. This does not mean replacing everything we do, but we must being willing to look with fresh eyes at what we do and ask, “Is there a better way?”
When we approach leadership with an innovator’s mindset, we lead with empathy—meeting people where they are—to help them find or create solutions that work for them.
Educational thought leader Ewan McIntosh notes that finding the problem is an essential part of learning—one that students miss out on when we pose the problem to them first.
better problem-solvers, we’re not thinking how we could create a generation of problem finders.[31]
An educator with an innovative mindset will find the balance between drawing on experience while maintaining a willingness to try something new.
Tom Kaneshige says, “Every idea is fundamentally a network of ideas... When you create an environment that allows the kinds of serendipitous connections to form, [innovative ideas] are more likely to happen.”[32]
Being in spaces where people actively share ideas makes us smarter.
Innovation (and enjoyment) flourishes when teachers collaborate to learn and practice new strategies.
Isolation is often the enemy of innovation.
Sometimes, the most valuable thing you get from the network isn’t an idea but the inspiration or courage to try something new.
Chinese proverb that says, “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”
For those with an innovator’s mindset, the reality is that their work will constantly be questioned simply because it is something new.
Looking back is crucial to moving forward.
“Drop Everything and Reflect.” How might we all be impacted if we took time out of each day to the think about what we have learned and how it impacts our next steps?
When I see these amazing creations, I always wonder whether these students are creating and developing these innovative ideas because of or in spite of schools
Leaders, whatever their role, will more easily affect change if they allow others to see them taking risks, failing, recovering, and risking all over again.
If you are not trusted to make a common-sense decision, why would you go above and beyond to become innovative?
As leaders in education, our job is not to control those whom we serve but to unleash their talent.
If what’s best for learners is our primary concern, equity of opportunities will be created at the highest of levels, not the lowest.
if we’ve established a culture in which educators feel their only option is to ask forgiveness for trying new things, this is not an educator issue, it’s a leadership issue.
competitive collaboration, where educators at all levels push and help one another to become better.
school teachers consider every student in the school as their own, no matter if that child is in their grade or subject at the time.
School teachers are also willing to share their ideas. If I am doing something innovative in my classroom, sharing it with my colleagues benefits their students as well.
Sometimes, empowering just one person is all it takes to push an entire group.
