Blog Prompts - How are you embracing change to spur innovation in your own context?
Are we are a compliant school? Are teachers and students compliant? I say mostly, yes.
When challenged, students seem to want to take the easy way out and complete a checklist of tasks rather than reaching deep to think. Or it might be a risk to try something different. One culprit is time. We do not give students time to think because we don't give ourselves time to think. We get hundreds of emails every day and we are in a constant race to finish tasks and complete curriculum. We have little or no time during the school day to reflect, reflect on teaching and reflect on learning. It's become easier to email or have someone give an answer rather than take the time to look it up. How did it get to this?
The way I am thinking about change is participating in a small group that is pondering how mindfulness can help students and teachers in their daily routines and practice. Being mindful means being engaged with learning and fully present in the classroom. It means that the learner is not distracted. It means managing stress and thinking about ways to cope when stress is imminent. It means that learning is joyful. It also means that students are in control of their learning and willing to take some risks to create new and interesting opportunities for themselves. I'm not sure it will be amazing, but it could have a huge impact on school culture.
Some of the things I'm thinking and reading about:
- Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety: A Workbook for Overcoming Anxiety at Home, at School, and Everywhere Else
- The New Your Times Learning Blog has been revamped. In it, they have a section called Teenagers in the Times. I am thinking how I might be able to use this section with students.
- The Library Media Specialist sent out this article Can Teenage Defiance be Manipulated for Good? This is really interesting to think about.
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