A recipe for change

Photo by Lara604 on Flickr

(I don’t cook, so, this should be a real hoot.)

Bringing about organizational change is quite an undertaking. Reference any shelf in the business section of Barnes & Noble and hundreds of books have been written addressing the subject.

What if change didn’t have to be difficult? Maybe we’re making educational reform into one superhero-sized mess without much reason.

I’d like to think it boils down to these simple ingredients.

  • An abundant supply of eager, fantastical students, ready and willing to learn
  • A dedicated teaching staff, willing to model problem-solving, creativity, and innovation in the classroom
  • Forward-thinking administrators, willing to take risks to bring the very best to their schools
  • Supportive parents and community members, willing to trust and invest time in their schools and children’s lives
  • Government officials and politicians, willing to become educated about education
  • A network filled with inspiring, connected educators that support and build on each other’s strengths

Directions:

1. Preheat. Get excited. Cheer for stuff, have a pep rally. Look ahead, see the vision. This is exciting!!!

2. Mix together the above ingredients.

3. Work really hard, each and every day. Don’t make a decision unless it’s based upon what’s best for kids.

4. Throughout steps 1-3, Smile. Repeat. Make someone laugh. Be someone’s friend. Connect with someone new.

5. Wait. Patiently. Assess. Is it working? Are our students learning? If not, what can we do differently? If so, let’s tell someone!!

6. While engaged in Steps 1-5, go learn something new. Take a risk and try something. Be a model for ingenuity and creativity. Make a mistake, and learn from it.

Oversimplified? Sure.

Nice to imagine? You bet.

Collectively, educators are starting to create a living, breathing, actionable presence and making positive impacts to change our schools. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have true autonomy with the decisions we make that impact student learning, but every individual who works with children does have the opportunity to make changes that will indeed make a difference. We can’t forget that.

Start with tomorrow- do something differently (think: better) than you did the day before. In your classroom, in your school, in your interactions with students and parents, in your interactions with your administrators.

And don’t forget, it’s okay to enjoy one right out of the oven. 🙂

This post was composed for Tom Whitby’s REBELS Day. Please visit and read the other contributions!!

9 Replies to “A recipe for change”

  1. L. Hilt,

    Very creative post! Well written and message very clear. We are going through some major changes at my high school – lots of administrative support 🙂 – which really helps. I particularly like # 6 – taking a risk and continuing the learning process. We should never stop growing and developing.

    Keep doing great things!

    PS – is cooking a frozen pizza “cooking?”

    1. If preparing frozen pizza or any variety of frozen meals is considered cooking, then I am Top Chef. 🙂
      Thanks for your comments, I am glad you are able to work and learn in an organization where you feel supported!

  2. Lyn,

    Great post! My favorite part is where you remind us to do something differently. It is so exciting when we try something different and if our goal is to improve our schools then there is no way that we can go wrong.

    1. Agreed, we will all mistakes, but when we view the process as a learning experience, good things will result. Thanks for commenting, Patrick!!

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