To match change with honest conversations and good process means that we can direct that change in ways that are life-enriching and organization-enhancing rather than results that are confusing and directed towards disarray.
As I think about this today, I am thinking about the honest conversations that will empower the community where I live and work, honest conversations related to these questions:
- Where does the opportunity gap exist, and how can we bridge that gap?
- How do we develop and elevate our curriculum programs to ensure that those programs are inclusive, representative of timely research/knowledge, and related to positive development for all children?
- How do we streamline systems to make more time for the most important work of teaching and caring for children, and less time for cumbersome paperwork and details?
- What investments will elevate our teaching/learning community in meaningful ways related to structures, materials, resources, staffing, and environment?
- What practices have to be retired in order to better what we can do with and for students, families, and colleagues--what practices and routines no longer hold merit or contribute to positive impact?
It would be interesting to spend time with colleagues simply coming up with questions we could ask, discuss, and research in order to better our individual and collective teaching and learning? I wonder what areas of school life others are questioning and seeking betterment in?
Honest conversations about the questions that matter do contribute to positive system growth and change, and the processes we use including right time, place, and structure matter in this regard.
