I was recently reading the book the "4 Disciplines of Execution". It really made me think. This quote below Is quite important in an organization undergoing change. Practices are situational, subjective, and always evolving. Principles are timeless and self-evident, and they apply everywhere. As I go about working in my class, working on curriculum, and generally going about my day, I have to remind myself there's a difference between practice and principle. It's easy to get hung up on the practices. They are right there in front of us. But technology changes. Economies change. Even the needs of students from one class to the next will change. This is all just practice. It's part of the tools used to get to the larger meaning and to the things that we should be valuing.
Principles on the other hand are timeless. This is where the true learning comes in. How we get to the principle, how we maintain that principle, and how we pass those principles on to the next generation are the details that we shouldn't get hung up on. What we really need to be fighting for. What we really need to champion are lasting, quality principles that every child, every citizen, and every one of us should be embodying. If we keep our focus on the principles, the details will take care of themselves. If we hold tight to our principles it will all work out in the end and we will all win.
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Teachers and schools are always talking about how they want to prepare their students to be leaders. They want students to be able to make the world a better place. These are noble goals. But, there’s a problem. Most schools value compliance. Bells move us from room to room. Grades are given for behaving appropriately. Classroom management is all about students being compliant and giving the teacher what they want. Most students figure out quickly that school is about jumping through the right hoops at the right time. All of this is perfectly reasonable.
I think Shaw is correct, though. Reasonable people are not going to push us forward to make progress. We need students to learn to be unreasonable. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not advocating chaos and anarchy. Look at the quote again. “The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.” Students still have to work with the world to make an impact. As educators, we must quit demanding compliance in all things in the classroom. We need to teach students how be unreasonable. We need to teach them how to support their position. Then students will be prepared to create the change that will make the world a better place. |
About me & this blogThis blog is for things related to my class, PL, coaching, or just teaching in general. You can follow me on Twitter @myakSTEM Archives
June 2021
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