Staying Calm in a Sea of Change

"...the fact that many kids simply aren't being prepared for their lives in the current system...Full on transformation can only be fueled by a deep understanding of how significantly out of step the school experience has become with the real world."     Will Richardson

We are in a very dynamic and exciting time in education as we strive to evolve and adapt to best prepare students for an ever changing world. Yet at the same time, I cannot recall a period when there seemed to be such a sense of urgency. Perhaps this is a product of the ubiquity of our digitally connected world and the increasing number of experts consulting, presenting, blogging and tweeting about transforming teaching and schooling for the 21st century. These commentators often lament the archaic structures in our schools and implore us to stop 'tinkering around the edges' and totally change our practices. New buzz abounds about personalized learning, inquiry-based learning, social-emotional learning, distributed learning, career education, technological and digital literacies and coding, big ideas, core and curricular competencies, aboriginal perspectives and having students embrace their personal and cultural identities. To be clear, schools must continue to evolve and all of these are progressive and thoughtful ideas, yet transformation needs careful planning and ongoing support, energy and communication - including reaching consensus on what our vision is for  'future ready' schools. 

To present some balance, the level of professionalism in public education in British Columbia is high and our schools are not broken. Indeed, using current provincial, national and international measures of effectiveness, we are doing very well. Perhaps we need to change how we conceptualize and measure the effectiveness of our schools, including post-secondary learning; nonetheless, it is important that we view all change through an appreciative lens and continue to build upon the thoughtful practices we have in place. 

Creating safe and inclusive communities and ensuring that our relationships are caring and respectful with every student in every situation on every day will remain the foundation of best practice in our schools.  Students will still need structured opportunities to read, research, think and to ask and answer questions; to write, edit, calculate, compose, create, practice, perform and to reflect on thoughtful feedback and be allowed time to revise - using all mediums. We need to deepen our assessment skills as well as our understanding and implementation of the decades old principles of learning, including 'people learn in different ways and at individual rates', 'learning is both an individual and a collaborative process' and 'learning requires the active participation of the learner'. These clearly connect to the notion that we engage and learn best when we have opportunities to pursue what interests us. 

We cannot continue to 'do what we have always done' and expect to remain effective with students. Indeed, as professional educators, we must expect from ourselves the same as society expects from other professionals and continue to learn, to remain current and to collaborate with one another to improve our practices and our schools. At the same time, it is important to recognize that teaching and working effectively with diverse learners is remarkably complex, challenging and important work. To be sustainable, it should also be energizing, rewarding and valued.  As we engage with colleagues and our students about implementing new ideas and strategies, it is important that we take a deep breath and remain calm - we are striving to move from very good to better. In the end, the most important influencers of change in education will always be the dedicated and professional teachers, support staff, vice principals and principals who work with our students and in our busy schools every day.  When we work together on goals we have identified and always keep our focus on what is best for every kid, change becomes desirable, manageable and rejuvenating.

Thank you to all dedicated and caring educators and have a great year!

p.s.  Those who have not worked in actual classrooms, or in schools or districts for many years, if at all, are unlikely to create transformation. It is very complex work that cannot be done from afar. A couple of other thoughts on '21st century learning' and the 'real world' - every significant technological, scientific, artistic, business and medical innovation in the world today was created by people born and educated in the 20th century (or earlier). I am confident that students of the 21st century will refine and expand on the work of previous generations at an unprecedented pace.  Perhaps our job is not to define nor tell students what the 'real world' is all about, rather allow students opportunities to discover and redefine it for themselves?  Indeed, our greatest responsibility is to help students develop the learning, thinking, communicating and problem-solving skills needed to unravel the significant global problems we have created in the real world.