#CelebrateMonday
December 4, 2017
We are officially in December and I know many are beginning the countdown to the end of the semester.
This time of year - in almost all aspects of life - is just CRAZY! It's so important for us as leaders to help maintain the focus and to lift everyone around us by keeping smiles on our faces and by bringing our awesomely positive attitudes every day!
And that is NOT at all easy, folks. Yesterday, I just about let things spin out of control. As I was picking up a few groceries for this ymmy dinner I had planned, suddenly the back gate of my van wouldn't close (yep - had to drive home with it open!). When I arrived home and began cooking, I spilled, sprayed, and knocked over just about everything that was humanly possible. And I will tell you, I ALMOST allowed the day to control me, but I took a step back, took a deep breath, and took control (and boy that was NOT easy).
We can do this! We can run the day and not allow the day to run us - every day this week! And sometimes that means that we need to lean on each other - so let's do that!
But what exactly does it mean to be innovative as an educator?
Does it mean that every single day our students should be "making" or 3D printing, or inventing or designing?
Here are some thoughts about innovating from a teacher for whom I hold much respect. I truly appreciate her perspective, and it really made me think more critically about innovating in the classroom.
Pernille Ripp does such a great job of just telling it like it is in regard to education and pedagogy. While so many other educators are telling their colleagues that they "just" need to innovate, Pernille is reflective and knows that she is already doing so many things in her classroom that are innovative - for her and for her students!
Rather, we need to open our minds and think differently about how we approach the students we are teaching and the skills and content we want them to learn! Simply by changing our own way of thinking, we can open the door to innovation in our classrooms and schools!
To help give even more perspective to this idea of innovating not relying on the tool, here's a blogpost by another educator for whom I hold much respect, Tom Murray. I love that he titled it, "No. Your 3D Printer Does Not Make You Innovative."
Let's celebrate all of the amazing ways we see our colleagues innovating every day!
And I promise you - that will definitely help make this the BEST Monday of the week!
Cheers!