When my children were little, each night before they went to sleep (except for that year I was in Afghanistan – that’s a topic for another blog) they would ask me, “Daddy, tell us a story, please?” It wasn’t so much of an ask as it was a demand because they knew, at a very early age, that I would faithfully execute my duties as a dad no matter what. Some nights, it was easy to create a tale that somehow involved an impossible character in an impossible situation that he or she had to confront. Other nights, my creative juices just didn’t flow. On those nights where my imagination was flat, my paternalistic instincts would lead me to say, “hmmm…I’ve got a better idea, why don’t you tell ME a story?” I’d typically encounter a little resistance whenever I decided to switch from storyteller to story consumer (I’d make sure that I always listened actively, even after a tough day at work). However, the two of my kids would never disappoint and hopefully, I managed to engage a part of their brains that enabled them to be as comfortable creating content as consuming content.
SO…here is the context in which I am writing this weekly blog post: It’s 5:00 a.m. on a Friday morning; I’m sitting in the business center of a hotel in Pasadena, California; and I don’t really have a tale to tell (well…I do, but I would much rather tell that to anyone who was willing to listen over a cup of coffee). What I would like to propose is this: Why don’t you tell me a story? After all, this tactic worked with my pre-school aged kids, it should work with the community at-large, right? I’ll give you some guidelines:
- Tell me about a time when you owned your own learning. In other words, a story about a time when you created your own content or answered your own question without having to rely upon someone to “feed” you information. For example, some people can have some very powerful learning experiences on Internet sites like Khan Academy, YouTube, and Twitter without ever having stepped foot in a classroom. According to George Couros, “Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.”
- Post your story on Twitter. Hopefully, you’re all following me on Twitter by now – if not, now’s a great time to start.* My Twitter handle is @SOCSD_Supt and the hashtag for this conversation is #SOCSD2017 (Which reminds me, your story has to be 120 characters or less). Brevity is the soul of wit.
- Be inspired. If you need some inspiration as to what to write on this topic, the following chart should provide some food for thought. It is a side-by-side comparison of what characterizes actual learning versus traditional schooling activities that may (or may not) yield student intellectual growth. This chart is reprinted from a book entitled, The Innovator’s Mindset, by George Couros (2015).*
| School | Learning |
| Promotes starting by looking for answers | Promotes starting with questions |
| Is about consuming | Is about creating |
| Is about finding information on something prescribed for you | Is about exploring your passions and interests |
| Teaches compliance | Is about challenging perceived notions |
| Is scheduled at certain times | Can happen anytime, all of the time |
| Often isolates | Is often social |
| Is standardized | Is personal |
| Teaches us to obtain information from certain people | Promotes that everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner |
| Is about giving you information | Is about making your own connections (or owning the learning). |
| Is sequential ABCDE | Is random and non-linear |
| Promotes surface-level thinking | Is about deep exploration |
In my blog post, dated April 5, 2017 I wrote about how students who attend our schools can be the most productive in terms of their ability to learn. I stated that as superintendent, “it is my duty to create a ‘common operating picture’ of what productive learning should (or shouldn’t) look like in our classrooms.” https://blogs.socsd.org/superintendent/2017/04/05/learning-versus-doing-school/
Since this is my duty, I believe that it is my obligation to set an example. Over the course of the day/weekend, I will post on Twitter examples of when I owned my own learning at #SOCSD2017 because learning can happen anytime, anywhere. I’m also looking forward to hearing your stories on Twitter – your stories will help me learn how to make our great schools even greater.
*I spent the morning with George Couros on October 26. Concerning Twitter, he mentioned that “we need to make the positives so loud, that the negatives are impossible to hear.” You can learn more about George Couros at his blog https://georgecouros.ca/blog/ or read his book (which is now on audiobooks) The Innovator’s Mindset (Couros, 2015). I have ordered a copy of this book for our Board of Education in honor of Board of Education Recognition Week. Many of our staff will be using this book as source of discussion in our professional development activities.