Change is an opportunity

I'm in my 31st year as an educator and I can honestly say that I don't do anything today the same way I did 31 years ago.  I started as an educator before computers were in schools.  Voicemail and email were not means of communication.  The world wide web wasn't even the country wide web.  But these are just a few of the technological changes.

The biggest changes for me have been since I became an administrator.  I have been able to be someone who encourages changes for the benefit of our students.  We have built relationships as a staff with one another and with our students.  Strong relationships serve two purposes- they allow for open and honest conversations and they allow for taking risks.  Any change is risky, so having relationships with others to collaborate with and learn from is vital.  Have we tried something that didn't work.  Absolutely!  But we are educators so we learn from our actions, either what to do or what not to do, and then put that into play in the future.

(from Karama)

I've noticed that change impacts people in different ways.  I have seen people, myself included, be overcome by something that seems so minor.  I have also seen people, myself included, be unaffected by something that is really major.  What is minor to some is major to others and what is major to some is minor to others.  It's something I keep in mind whenever we discuss changing anything in our school.

Above all else, change needs to include open conversations.  People need to be heard.  Listen for understanding, not to provide reasons or excuses.  These conversations will provide the impetus for real change to occur.  And don't get discouraged if the change doesn't happen right away.  It takes time for real change to have an occur and for the impact to be felt.

(from Monday Meditation)

I challenge you to keep the focus on the process and not the end result.  You might have an end result in mind when implementing change, but there can be twists and turns along the way.  I hope that each change we consider in our schools keeps the focus on the students.  If it doesn't have a positive impact on the students, why even consider it?  So, what changes are you considering?