Change as an Educator

• Original post at ibdanmagie
• Posted at 12:09 pm on Fri, Dec 9, 2011

• ibdanmagie
• Posted at 12:09 pm on Fri, Dec 9, 2011

"Everything flows, nothing stands still."

~Plato paraphrasing Heraclitus

@angemolony took up my suggestion for posting ideas about how we have changed as educators.  I've been thinking a lot about this...
I've come to realize that my beliefs about education were set long ago...when I was in 4th Grade, I remember getting in trouble during Math class when I asked one of my friends if I was on the right track.  I didn't want him to "give me the answer", I wanted to check my understanding with my peers!
I remember the teacher telling me to do my own work...I can still picture clearly how I felt (anger and frustration) and what I thought..."What job exists where you can't ask each other for help when you need it...".  I have known for a long time that learning is a collaborative experience!
This is just one example, I have also always known that good learning comes from taking risks and failing at the initial attempt but learning something else instead!  My belief list could go on, but let me come back to the topic of "Change as an Educator".
I've come to realize that my core beliefs about education have been mostly the same since I decided to become a teacher.  What has really allowed/prompted/demanded me to change through my career has been the organizational structures of the school/environment in which I am in.  I now teach with collaborative grouping strategies, mastery assessment procedures, and as many audio/video resources that are possible.  I do this not because I've changed my way of thinking about education, but because of the expectations of the school/environment in which I teach.
As an educational leader, this has great implications for me.  If I am helping teachers become better teachers, the priority will not be on changing their minds; it will be changing the expectations and procedures of the learning environment to help them do what they have always known is "best practice" for teaching and learning.
Now, reading a good book, taking a course, having a good discussion, or engaging with peoples' blogs my help me articulate my ideas and re-remember what I believe (as well as energize me!)...but rarely do they "change me".
This is my story, yours might be completely different...How have you changed as an educator?

"The only thing that stays the same is change."

~Melissa Etheridge