TL;DR: Every big change needs to start somewhere, and it's entirely possible for a teacher to initiate some very significant changes without having to take on a formal leadership position. Find some like-minded allies with whom to form a positive, forward moving sub-culture. Be evangelists, encourage connections, meet to create, and advocate for yourselves.
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Earlier in the week I, along with my colleagues from my own high school and our sister school across town, had the very good fortune of watching a screening of the documentary Beyond Measure, directed by Vicky Abeles. The film, made by the same group who produced Race to Nowhere, beautifully framed some of the 21st century transformations that are taking place in the United States, as both K-12 and post-secondary schools grapple with the reality that traditional models of education are not serving students.
Among the many things I appreciated about the movie was seeing the struggles that some of the schools experienced as they tried to make their shifts from traditional to progressive practices. One school was challenged with getting their kids to move beyond minimal, completionist efforts, while another navigated the pushback from students who felt there was insufficient direction and focus in the progressive methods rolled out to them.
There were many messages in the movie that were profound, but to me this one was particularly important: no transformational journey is completed in one step, and in fact no transformation is ever really complete. As I discussed in my last post, evolution, adaptation, and growth are continuous processes that never truly see an end date. They are part of life's journey, and education is but a small subset of that essential truth.
In each of the cases in the movie, the parties reached a critical point in their paths where the barriers seemed significant and the paths forward appeared to diverge. Or more accurately, a point was reached in the journey where a decision had to be made whether to continue forward or turn around and go back the way they had come.
I have stood at this decision point countless times in both my career and personal life, so I can certainly identify with the emotion and uncertainty experienced in these moments. In the film, we were able to see these schools soldier forward and stay true to the principles and decisions that had brought them to accepting a need for change in the first place. I suspect that the presence of a few film crews roaming their halls and recording their journeys may have played some small motivational role in encouraging the teams to stay their courses. Nonetheless, I found myself framing those struggles in the context of my past attempts at breaking through the growth ceiling, as well as the current journey I am on.
Immediately after the film, I tried to tune in to some of the conversation that took place between the educators who came to watch. By and large, the ideas in the film were praised and appreciated, but I know it will come as no surprise to say that there was also an undercurrent of reluctance. You couldn't miss the occasional "that's a good idea, buuuuut..." in the various conversations taking place around the room.
I'm not going to shock anyone by suggesting that meaningful change in education can be glacial in its pace and that part of the reason for the slow pace is the reluctance of individuals within the system to adopt new behaviors and new mindsets. Having now participated in public education for over three decades, however, I feel that I can hesitatingly say that the nature of the revolution taking place today is, in fact, different than other changes we have seen in the past.
I think what makes things particularly difficult today is that the changes that are needed are quite foreign to many teachers, and they are changes that are required in more than a single classroom in order to have their best effect. These two features contribute to an "inertial well" of practice that tends to drag us back to what works and what is familiar when attempts at change don't produce the results we're looking for. I completely get it because up until a few years ago, I was as much of a "yeah but-er" as anyone. Unable to overcome the early challenges of a new practice, I would often revert back to what I knew.
But my tune has since changed. What's made it change has been the experience with working more closely with other educators. What's clear to me is that meaningful, lasting change requires an alteration in culture, and cultures are made by more than one person. To do what needs to be done, we need allies in the revolution. Strength in numbers is a thing, and in education it is certainly no different.
Once we've accepted that, the question then quickly becomes one of "how?" I can't pretend to have all those answers, but I do have some thoughts on the question of "how to start?" And that might really be the more important question right now.
I'm going to assume that if you're reading this, you're one of the change-minded folks. Perhaps you've already made the switch in your classroom and are putting learning first and students at the center of your practice. But if we're going to get them to truly realize their potential, it will be better if you have some allies beating the same drum and that you're not doing it alone. How do you get that going, then, as a rank-and-file teacher on the same "power stratum" as your colleagues?
Here I present 4 ways to get the shift started where you teach:
1. Set Aside Your [insert barrier here] for Being a Change Evangelist
Whether it's from modesty, fear, lack of confidence, not wanting to be a pest, or whatever, too many of us with good ideas and strong principles just keep them to ourselves. There are a host of reasons for this, but whatever they are, we need more people to get over it and spread the word. Some just need to get out there and do it. Others might need some guidance. Great by Choice by Jim Collins or perhaps Mindful Leadership by Maria Gonzalez might be some good places to start.
It's important to realize that you don't need to have all the answers. You just need to get the conversation started. Invite a colleague out for coffee, and ask them what they'd do differently if they didn't have [insert systemic challenge here] holding them back. Ask a few like-minded colleagues if they want to discuss a book or article with you. Send an ally a TED Talk like this beauty by Will Richardson, and ask them what they think.
Gather friends and allies. You don't have to preach to the masses, and you don't need to ruffle any feathers that are disinclined to being ruffled. Find those who are looking to be found. They're in every building, and they may be more numerous than you suspect. Remember that we all started out wanting to make a difference and to be great, and don't be ashamed of wanting something better for you and your students.
2. Encourage Others to Get Connected
Tweet. Then talk about things you saw on Twitter that were great. Tell your colleagues about a great blog you read. Forward it. Maybe even blog yourself, and ask a trusted colleague to give you some feedback. When you encounter someone who claims they don't [insert relevant platform for making connections here], decide if that's a person who's open to new ideas. If not, smile, shrug, and walk away. If so, ask them why. Suggest they consider it. Tell them how that thing has been helping you.
The bottom line is that you shouldn't be the only source of "How To" and "Why Should We." There's plenty out there, but not everyone is looking for it. If you want some fellow revolutionaries along for the march, maybe show them where the muskets are stashed.
3. Start a Creation Lab or a Design Team
Jennifer Hogan on her blog, The Compelled Educator, describes this practice as a way to carve out time to let teachers learn tech. Whether it's new tech or any other instructional practice, simply inviting people to hang out and try new things can be really powerful. In my last post I suggested checking out some resources at Stanford's Institute of Design to help frame a design session. There are certainly others. The Buck Institute for Education, for instance, has a plethora of PBL tools to help educators navigate the wide expanse of design ocean that is Project Based Learning.
Rather than trying to digest these tools and resources by yourself, see who else in your building or district might be willing to tackle them with you. You don't have to be in the same department, grade, or even school. Share your challenges, empathize with theirs, and work on designing solutions to them together. If they happen to be shared challenges, that's fine, but it isn't a prerequisite. And you just might find that fresh eyes on the problem will see it more clearly or from the angle the brings on the solution you couldn't find by yourself.
This doesn't have to be a huge time commitment. Whether it's a short focussed session every other week or something more robust in the monthly or semi-monthly range, a lot of great ideas and great plans can materialize from a relatively short time investment.
4. Advocate for Yourself
Being a team player is important. We've all had to suck up a tough teaching assignment, an inconvenient supervision, or half a dozen other pieces of time-draining minutia that are necessary realities in the profession. Some folks make a fight of things like this. Others don't. Among those who don't, some complain anyway. This isn't what I'm talking about here.
I'm referring to figuring out what you need in order to move towards making a bigger difference for kids in your building. Is it a particular approach to Professional Learning? Is it a prep that aligns with another teacher who is having an important impact on your practice? Is it the chance to create a "school within a school" where you can prototype some next-level strategies?
Ask for these things. Find some other folks who want those things too, and ask them to ask for them as well. The "squeaky wheel gets the grease" idiom comes to mind here. I prefer a turn on that phrase that I think is a little more positive and a little less about being a complainer: "Give the fast cars the most gas." I can't give proper credit for the quote because I can't recall where I heard it, but it was certainly in reference to the notion that those who do more deserve more, and they shouldn't be afraid to ask for more.
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The lynchpin holding down all these strategies is that they work best in groups. Whether a team of two or twenty-two, you're more likely to be an agent of systemic change if your ideas represent more of the system than just one teacher. As it was in the movie our staff viewed, once you get moving there will be hiccups and hurdles. Having more people invested in the success of the project ensures that the hurdles are more likely to be overcome.
Margaret Mead said to "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." I'm inclined to agree.
The other distinct advantage of having more cooks in the kitchen is that more people can cook... literally! I much prefer a meeting when there is food. Shared responsibility and vision is as important in snack generation as it is in a work project!
What would you like to see happen in your building? What change would you make if you had the power to make it exactly as you wanted it? What ways are you finding like-minded teammates in your journey, and what are you working on together? Please share in the comments.
Next post: how to move past the early steps and get more stakeholders on board.
Vive la revolution!
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