{"id":585,"date":"2012-07-13T15:05:03","date_gmt":"2012-07-13T22:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/?p=585"},"modified":"2012-07-13T15:05:03","modified_gmt":"2012-07-13T22:05:03","slug":"when-learning-hurts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/?p=585","title":{"rendered":"When Learning Hurts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Educators are asking each other the following questions: \u201cHow has this year and this learning journey been for you? What has been the most important thing you have done this year? What\u2019s the best thing you\u2019ve done this year?\u201d I struggle to put it in words, to be authentic and to even share the real<\/em> truth. Do I want people to know? And why? I want to write something truly noble and glowing about the wonder of the year and my own profound, wise and deep reflection on the experience. Alas, I am recovering from the onslaught. I am walking, running, lifting weights, and turning pages in books but not really reading them. And I am generally burying myself into my family and time alone. What makes it so difficult is I have no inspiration to give\u2014me, in my position, have struggled in the learning curve.<\/p>\n

I will say right up front that this year was too difficult for me. I found it painful and intense. How\u2019s that for honesty? I had so much to learn at times it was way too overwhelming. I had too many responsibilities to juggle and didn\u2019t feel I could do anything well. My goal has always been to exceed expectations and to make a difference in the work that I do. On top of that my actual personal mission statement, \u201cjoyfully obeying the call\u201d didn\u2019t seem to be anchoring my world. \"\"<\/a>I was losing most of the joy in the intensity of the workload and spent many days struggling to be grateful. I had a difficult time navigating all the relationships and since I wear my heart on my sleeve I would often feel personally hurt over matters that should not have seemed so significant. I have worked hard as a teacher, vice-principal and principal but never as hard as I have this past year to survive being a Director of Instruction.\u00a0 In some respects, it is but an act of grace that I have made it through the year.<\/p>\n

Now we need to place that previous paragraph in its proper context. I do love my job. I love being in a position to encourage innovation, system change and organizational learning. This is<\/em> the best part of my learning journey. I work with a team of fabulous helping teachers that are committed to supporting teachers in their learning and making significant<\/em> change happen.\u00a0These teachers are amazing. I have learned so much from them. They guide me in the work I do. They are the experts. Our work is driven by the need to make a difference with students. We do this by ensuring the work is school-based, teacher driven and teacher-led. I believe that deep changes to our education system will come from the professionals in the field. \u00a0And I do believe we are at a critical junction where both structural and pedagogical changes are needed. My job is to support that work. I am passionate about it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So what is the most important thing I have done this year? Learning. Learning for myself and for others. I love learning and I love inspiring learning in others. I love creating opportunities for teachers, and administrators, to innovate, play, learn, explore and improve their practice. When teachers fall in love with learning, it spreads to their students. I am most excited when schools, administrators and teachers push the boundaries of \u201ctraditional schooling\u201d and begin to explore ways to make learning more engaging for students. This is happening in our district. For me, when I hear from the field, of the work being done, that is deeply gratifying. So this is the paradox of what has also made my learning journey so difficult this past year. It is an antinomy of sorts.\u00a0 I stand stretched and sometimes yanked between it.<\/p>\n

And then what are the best things I have done? I realize these are things I have actually personally not \u201cdone.\u201d They are initiatives that I have helped<\/em> support. Others have done the real work. They deserve the credit. \u00a0Here are a few that come to mind:<\/p>\n

\u2022 I am very excited about the early numeracy aboriginal project. This is a field study and we have not blogged about it yet. I think it is potentially ground breaking and \u201cthe first of its kind\u201d work.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Working strategically with IMS to get wireless across the district & hardware into hands of teachers & students was the game changer for teachers and learners. We hear that everywhere we go.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Engaging the Digital Learner Dinner Series was a significant catalyst for learning across the district. It sparked the beginning of publicly introducing twitter to educators and promoting the use of our hashtag (#sd36learn) as a way to promote best practice. The purposeful use of that hashtag has exploded.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Innovative Learning Designs project has breathed new life into the practice of many educators. More than one educator declared this was the most personally exciting year of the past twenty+ they have spent in the profession.<\/p>\n

\u2022 I could talk about the SS11 e-text project as a turning point\u2014a project that is truly more about shifting pedagogy than e-texts.<\/p>\n

\u2022 And I could say a great deal about Teacher-Librarians as well. I do believe they have a strategic role to play in the future\u2014if they choose.<\/p>\n

These are points of hope for transformation in teaching and education. \u201cWhen will what we know change what we do?\u201d challenges Mike McKay, our district Superintendent. I see these as significant leverage points in that journey to action. So the best things I have done are reflected in the work of others. And what makes them the best is that they truly are moving practice forward.<\/p>\n

As much as my learning this past year was intense, overwhelming, and difficult, it was equally exhilarating. I aspire to be a linchpin in the organization: finding new answers, new connections and new ways of getting things done. I like to dream big and make it happen. There is significant work to be done in education. I do feel like we are at a critical junction. It is my dream to help create the leverage points that will tip the whole district, the whole system, to create learning communities for students that are authentic, personal, real and connected to the wider global community. We are the experts. We can move the system to effectively meet the needs of learners. Many of you reading this post are already doing that. Others are poised to tip. I know that; I have heard your stories. What I ask, moving forward, is: Will you be a linchpin too?<\/p>\n

Thanks to everyone’s support this past year and for your ongoing commitment to your own learning and that of your students. \u00a0May peace, hope, love and joy befriend you on your summer holiday!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Educators are asking each other the following questions: \u201cHow has this year and this learning journey been for you? What has been the most important thing you have done this year? What\u2019s the best thing you\u2019ve done this year?\u201d I struggle to put it in words, to be authentic and to even share the real…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,4,7,8],"tags":[27,28,34,286,46],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=585"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":594,"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions\/594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovativelearningdesigns.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}