The fear of failure may be amplified when good already exists.

While watching “The Backwards Brain Bicycle”, the phrase “It’s like riding a bike” took on new meaning.  The video made me think about my journey as an educator.

Relearning something that we are used to doing and doing well is hard. There is a tension between the established learning environment in our schools and creating a new learning standard that integrates the curriculum and allows students to use the material to construct new knowledge. In the past, the road ahead has always been relatively clear, as far as goals in classrooms. Tests to pass, answers to be able to give and yet now the bar and the end game is a moving target in the real world. Our students must take STAAR, AP and IB exams along with the ACT and SAT.  These tests take place without the use of technology or the access to reference content. Measures are not currently in place to assess student performance constructing new knowledge or a learner's ability to collaborate, create and problem solve.

We must find ways to make sure that our students are graduating ready to thrive in a world where these unmeasured skills are essential. Shifting methods and systems in learning brings a lot of uncertainty, particularly where “good” already exists. As educators, we naturally fear failure because we know our work matters, and it matters every day. It’s not just the personal sense of failure that scares us; it’s the impact on our students that can cause us not to want to try new methods. Innovation is risky because it involves giving up things we are good at and taking on work that we may not be good at yet. Change increases the chance of failure. Working in an environment that supports teachers and administrators when things don’t go as hoped is critical.  We must not be afraid to give up the way things have been done in the past for what is right for students today.

The bike video has me thinking about where I am as an educator learning to “ride a bike” differently. I believe that I can make it a few feet further than I could last year but there is still a lot of falling going on.  One of my son's who is a senior in college wrote the following message to me in a note at Christmas and it meant so much.
​
    "Thank you for showing me what it means to be truly passionate about something. I am in awe of your passion for education. I see how much time and effort you put into doing your job, and I can only hope to one day find something that I am remotely close to being as passionate about."  

I do love my job! Here’s to 2017 and moving forward with those that are ready. Creating the future while managing the past takes vision, commitment, continuous learning and most importantly great people. Our school culture is changing, and it's the educators that are opting into new learning that are making that happen.  

Now I need to decide on my #oneword for 2017.  What's yours going to be? ​