Reflection...

It has been instilled in me since I was little that I take time to reflect on learning, experiences, teaching lessons, coaching cycles, etc. so naturally, I am in a reflective state at the moment.

I had a meeting and some feedback regarding my innovation proposal that left me really thinking-in an uncomfortable yet good way. Working in education, I was always shocked at the "red tape" that prevented really good ideas from being done. What I didn't realize is how good I had become at "coloring inside the lines". I wasn't expecting the feedback of my idea not being broad enough. I had already limited my original idea, in anticipation of pushback. This course is called "disruptive innovation". How can I innovate if I'm limiting my own creative capacities?

Then I really was thinking about what my ideal dream would be for my district, where we are daily given the opportunity to touch so many lives in our community. My dream is based on my children-they all participate in a wide spectrum of educational programs. You name it, one of my kids is in it-from Special Education to 504 to accelerated instruction at a higher GPA scale, to a gifted and talented program, to a combination of the all of the above.

What do I wish for them? They all have similar yet vastly different educational needs. They all have experienced sitting too long in areas where they already excel or being rushed through a new idea without enough time to fully grasp it based on curricular time constraints. They all have experienced joy in true learning and frustration of "what is the point of _____?". I know they are not unique in their experiences-my point is that ALL learners in any type of educational programming experience the feeling of being held back, not being given enough time, or wondering if what they are spending the majority of their day doing is important. My wish is that they could have a more personalized authentic learning experience at school. With a project based blended learning environment utilizing digital tools to access, process, and synthesize learning, they could. ALL students could.

So, this one meeting and this first feedback really got me thinking: where did my edge go? I don't remember learning to "color inside the lines"-that is not how my mind works. I really realized how our own children really illustrate diverse needs learners have. Now, I have just a few days to revise my initial thoughts and figure out at least a starting point to ask for project based blended learning classroom environments to support authentic learning happen for EVERY student...