I am currently in my last class for my Special Endorsement in Computer Education certificate. One of our assignments included watching this video from Sir Ken Robinson, "Bring on the Learning Revolution!". It is a sequel of sorts to his infamous "Do Schools Kill Creativity" TED talk.
As I was watching this video, I counted no less than 10 moments where I found myself pausing to jot down my thinking and saying aloud, “Yes!”. At each one my mind started wandering about the ramifications of the statement and my reflections on the idea. In fact a couple are already the basis for future blog posts.
Yet it wasn’t until his very last statement that I found myself shaken to my very core.
Yet it wasn’t until his very last statement that I found myself shaken to my very core.
“And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly.”
This struck me both as an educator and as a parent. And I'm not going to lie. I sobbed. I am firmly of the belief that having children is not a prerequisite to being an amazing educator, but things definitely tend to hit you a little differently. Not only did this statement help me reflect on my actions in the classroom, but it also helped me reflect on my actions as a parent. Who am I raising my children to be? (But that's a whole separate story.)
It is so easy to become wrapped up in the politics and the policies and the disagreements over tools or initiatives. Yet at the end of the day, we have to remember the gravity of our positions as educators. We are privileged to witness the hopes and dreams of every child that walks through our doors. Our position holds the power to either uplift or smash those dreams with a single statement, especially in our most fragile students.
It is so easy to become wrapped up in the politics and the policies and the disagreements over tools or initiatives. Yet at the end of the day, we have to remember the gravity of our positions as educators. We are privileged to witness the hopes and dreams of every child that walks through our doors. Our position holds the power to either uplift or smash those dreams with a single statement, especially in our most fragile students.
What frustrates me more than anything is this talk was given eight years ago. It was given eight years ago and every point he makes is still something we need to hear. We still need an education revolution. Our society, especially the state of North Carolina, has not only prevented any sort of growth in education but is actively contributing to its demise. Funding has dropped to perilously low levels. Politics have allowed people of privilege to flee the public schools in droves. The list goes on and on.
We work in a flawed system. And that is disheartening. But at the same time, as Mr. Robinson says, it is who I am. “This is me.” I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I have to take heart in the idea that the tiny contributions I make to a gigantic system make some sort of difference. How do we do more though? How do we work from our place at the bottom of the pyramid to make systemic change? Is it even my job to worry about systemic change?
Perhaps my job isn’t to worry about systemic change. Maybe I need to focus on the one person at a time that I can help. The one teacher who I can support in transitioning to a student centered classroom. Or one teacher who wants to introduce digital learning with her students. And then the next. And the next. Maybe we are the virus to that one teacher. When we infect them, they infect two people on their team and those two people each infect two people and so on.
It’s very possible that to ignite a school revolution we have to work from both ends. The right leadership must present and uphold a vision while those of us on the ground make small but incalculable impacts. All while getting buy in from community stakeholders. It sounds like a lot, but maybe it’s time that teachers are allowed to spread our dreams at the feet of society.
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