Value Something Different

As I have been discussing The Innovation School in the community these past 3 weeks, I have created a new mantra... "Value Something Different". To enable change and create culture and mind shifts, we have to be willing to value something different. In education, should the value be on data, test scores, and rigid curriculum guides? Or can we step back and value our students as capable of driving their learning? Can we value our teachers as experts in creating a learning environment for our children?

At The Innovation School, we work hard to value something different. To us, "Human Resources" is not about resources for humans... instead it's humans AS resources. Our students are resources for our teachers to delve into and learn about. Our teachers are resources with hearts of service, who strive to help students grow day in and day out and who are competent, creative beings capable of leading our students on their learning continuum. Our parents and families are resources that can contribute to our community of learning in a variety of ways. We value humans as resources.

I have been overwhelmed by the support and excitement from educators in our community. Teachers are eager to create curriculum, eager to work in a more flexible environment, and eager to have more time to connect with individual students in a deeper way. This gives me great hope that the paradigm shift needed in education is headed in the right direction.