Innovator’s Mindset Credo

On Being a Teacher…
When I’m asked why I became an English teacher, my answer has always been that I love a good story.

That answer is still true, but about 10 years ago, I realized that I wasn’t much of a teacher.  You see, for the first 13 years or so of my career, the focus of my teaching was on the story, on the part of experience that was important to me, not on what gave it value to my students. It took me a long time to realize that I wasn’t passing on my love of stories, because I wasn’t teaching my students how to love a story.

The second half of my career is dedicated to teaching students how to love a story. I know this may sound limited in scope, but I believe in it. Writing, even non-fiction, is telling a good story. Actively reading is working out what makes a story work. Loving stories means understanding them.

That realization leads me to my first, and really only, non-negotiable.

My focus will always be on my students’ needs.

On Innovation…
As I’ve noted before, my career as an educator has coincided with an explosion of wonderful new technology tools that we can use to attack old problems in new ways.  It’s also aligned with a whole raft of new problems (I’m looking at you, data) that weren’t even dreamed of when I started on this journey.  Much of the innovation that I do in my classroom arises from new abilities delivered via technology, but innovation needn’t be technological.

 George Couros describes innovation, “as a way of thinking that creates something new and better.”

With this definition of innovation in mind, I will be…

• Brave: I will try new ideas, always striving to meet the needs of my students.  If a new technology provides new tools to help, then I will learn it and use it. If something I’m doing is not working, I will find something better.
• Supportive: I will teach with the belief that, given the right tools, time, and a growth mindset, every student can grow.
• Collaborative: I will share my successes and failures with my students and colleagues in hopes of improving my practice.
• Positive: I will not succumb to negativity or professional inertia when my plans are derailed by initiatives, schedules or unforeseen issues.
• Confident: I will laugh at myself when a spectacular new lesson idea fails spectacularly.  I will accept that purposeful change is hard but I won’t give up on the idea that it is good.
• Tenacious: I will critically examine my practice, especially in failure, to regroup and figure out what went wrong so I can fix it the next time (or, if I’m lucky, by second bell).
• Inquisitive: I will recognize that I have much to learn and that seeing me grow will help my students grow.