Since I enjoy the promise of new ideas, I seek them out. Twitter, Google+, blogs and other venues provide me with a steady supply of new tools, ideas and strategies to use in order to teach children well.
Trying these new ideas can be a lonely proposition as many are not as in love with new ideas and adventures as I am, and they don't find the hobby of seeking new ideas to be as compelling. Hence if you're a lover of new ideas, you may find that you're charting untried territories on your own.
Sometimes as I'm trying out a new idea, I get frustrated. I wonder why don't others quickly jump in? I forget that everyone is on their own page of discovery, implementation and effort when it comes to new ideas. I'm impatient. Then, inevitably about two years down the line, the idea that I first encountered is an idea used by the masses--everyone's doing it, and many are doing it with greater detail, impact and skill than I hence offering me a new learning curve with regard to finesse.
So the lesson in all of this is to have confidence in your new ideas, and if you're an idea seeker and implementer, have patience. Good ideas do catch on, and in the not too distant future those ideas will be embraced. Seek out other idea seekers in your organization and at edcamps, conferences and online chats and share. Introduce, promote, strengthen and share the ideas with skill and understanding. Open yourself up to the many ways your colleagues will enrich the ideas with their knowledge and experience. And finally, believe in those new ideas as those ideas are the source of promise and possibility as we teach children well in this exciting time of education and learning.
