Part I: Setting the Stage

As I sat in my car watching the rain pour down at my oldest daughters lacrosse practice, I finished reading Part I of Bringing Innovation to School. I hadn't planned to read the entire time. I figured I would read a little and then go for a run for part of my 1.5 hr. slot of time I had. However, once I started reading I found myself highlighting, circling, writing in the tabs, and posing questions. I guess you could say I was close reading. Why was I so engaged? It could of had something to do with the fact that I didn't really want to run or it could of had something to do with the fact that I am passionate about trying to create innovators and critical thinkers. As Boss, says "Helping students (me, in this case) discover their passions is a critical step in the process of encouraging innovative thinking" (46). This is definitely my passion, that is why I was so engaged and why I think this book is going to help me reach my goal of becoming a good innovator.  

I would certainly love to be able to say that I am an innovator. I think I poses many of the qualities Boss refers to in chapter 2, but I certainly have many areas of weakness that I need to improve on.   So when Sarah asked us to, "Consider your own strengths and weaknesses as an innovator", I would have to say that I truly think I poses all of the qualities on some level. However, I need to focus on improving in each of those qualities.

One of my strongest qualities is networking. I am willing to share anything. I participate in blogs, add to wikis, attend webinars and PD, and tweet. I also currate and collect ideas that I share with teachers, committees and administrators.  In thinking about how I could improve on this though, I feel I should do more blogging like this with members of the LG team. In fact with the roll out of weLearn this is the perfect time to start sharing with others our successes and failures. Our conversations could be powerful and helpful for everyone as we embark on this together.

As far as risk taking is concerned. I think we all have a little risk-taker in us. We are willing to take on the weLearn initiative and try new instructional approaches in order to create the best opportunities for student learning. As I continue to improve on the risk-taker in me I hope to be able to embrace my failures and not let them hold me back.

Being action-oriented is a huge part of my job. Since I do not have students come to me on a regular fixed schedule, I reach out to classroom teachers and meet regularly with Ginny and Megan to find and create learning opportunities for our students. I am always looking for those opportunities and continue to search for the right outlets for doing so. This will always be a challenge of mine and something that I will always be able to improve on.

When it comes to looking ahead, I definitely try to stay up to date with what is coming ahead. I try to embrace new technologies and approaches. I think all of us do. Staying ahead is always the hardest part. Teaching approaches, ideas and technology are continually changing and trying to predict what "wave" to jump on can be hard. I am trying to remind myself to always go back to my vision and when new approaches, ideas and technologies come along it seems to make it easier to know what "wave" to jump on when I think about whether it is going to take me closer to that vision.

The thing that is the hardest for me is overcoming obstacles. I am not worried about the "messy" part, as that is part of inquiry. I am not afraid of "yeah, but...thinking". It's how do I make this happen in a set time frame that I have with the students. It's hard to allow for that "yeah, but... thinking" when I have standards that I am trying to meet within a small window. That is where I need to improve. I need to be more creative and dynamic.  I have become better at this over the past few years, but I feel that I need to do more thinking outside of the box when it comes to this.

Well, some of you may be wondering what activity I was trying to procrastinate in order to find the time to type my reflection. That would be sleep. If I am going to be an innovator in the morning, I suppose I better sign off. I look forward to hearing about all of your innovative qualities.