IF I am feeling comfortable with the principles of a growth mindset then it should be an easy jump to take these ideas further and be set for the Innovator’s Mindset, right?
George Couros: The Innovator’s Mindset
However, I think my years of public schooling is showing as I look to others to show that creative spirit. Of course, I am hugely interested in reading others ideas and trying new things, but I’m not sure that these “new” things are always created by me and (if they are) I’m not sure that my ideas are exactly “better” ideas. I really do want to leave a positive post here, but I have to admit that I am not sure I am very far along on the Innovator’s Mindset.
Good News? All hope is not lost as I am encouraged to know that the “innovator’s minset starts with empathy for our student” (p.41, Couros). Empathy? Mmm…I can rock that!
As a high school drop-out who hated school, I was very hesitant to return to the public school area even after I got my elementary education license. Indeed, after my student teaching all I wanted to do was avoid the institutionalized halls. So I spent years homeschooling my own children and teaching in adult basic ed or educational co-ops. However, now I find myself as an empty-nester with full time employment in a public school. Granted, I ran to the library (as the library media specialist) to avoid the testing burden of most teachers; however, I can still feel its sting through the building.
So “YES” I have empathy for students and now am beginning to understand that this empathy may not be the bad think I once saw it as–after all, it was empathy that kept me out of public schools for long. However, now I see that empathy may be a tool for change and my means of entering the more advanced innovator’s mindset.
I don’t have to die slowly because of the mindless curriculum I am suppose to teach, but rather can, dare I say it, innovate and rejuvenate my assigned curriculum by putting students’ first, placing their learning before schooling, and practicing engagement over conformity. The possibilities are very exciting.