Month: December 2020

Life is about routines. We wake up the same time of the day, we have the same routines at work, we do the same things during our spare time, and so forth. These routines make our lives less complicated and easier to manage, but these routines also inhibit our ability to aspire to new things, to accomplish certain tasks, and to grow as individuals. As more time passes, we look back and wonder “Where has the time gone” and sometimes a sense of frustration and dissatisfaction sets in as some of our goals and aspirations have not been accomplished and might never be met.

The COVID pandemic made our routine-filled lives even more obvious. During the pandemic many people started filling up their spare time by Netlix binging, watching old re-runs, and spending more time with their family (one of the few positives of the pandemic).  But during the pandemic the days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Time seemed to be just passing us by as we waited for the end of the pandemic. For myself the pandemic revealed how fast time was flying by and how many of my goals, dreams, and aspirations had not been met.

With this realization I sought to make some changes that would create opportunities for change, growth and inspiration in my life. The first thing I did was join the Inner Circle. This is an online platform where “people come together to network, collaborate, and stress test their big ideas”. Ozan Varol, creator of the Inner Circle and author of Think Like A Rocket Scientist, defines it as group of people “drawn to those who carve their own path — the misfits, rebels, and troublemakers”. There are approximately 250 people who belong to the Inner Circle and you can contribute as much or as little to the group talks, the weekly monthly online webinar, and various other platform posts, discussions, and learning sessions.

What have I gotten from the Inner Circle?  It’s a place where I feel “encouraged and supported to take big — sometimes terrifying — leaps forward in my life”. How has the Inner Circle impacted myself, my dreams and my aspirations? Some of my long-term goals are writing a book and undertaking a EdD or PhD. The Inner Circle members, who have a wealth of knowledge and life experiences, are supportive and encouraging. They have provided numerous resources, podcasts, etc that are helping me work towards my goals. I have also started to read more scholarly articles and educationally based books. I rejuvenated my blog and have been writing more using a 15 Minute Ninja Writing format. This format was proposed by a member of the Inner Circle to help me establish a daily writing routine. I have also started to learn to play the ukulele. I have been practicing for about an hour a night for about two months now. I am no Jake Shimabkuro but I am getting better and I haven’t quit. If you don’t know who Jake S. is google him – amazing!!!

The changes I have made in my life have allowed me to free myself from my routine-filled existence. I now am more focussed and am working towards a number of different goals every day. Joining the Inner Circle has also allowed me the opportunity to become part of something bigger than myself. The Inner Circle has become “my new group of misfits, rebels, and troublemakers that are working together to “carve their own path” in this crazy world.

 

 

 

Students at my school have to do exit interviews with their Vice-Principals to finish off a course requirement in one of their grad required courses. It’s during this interview that the student explains their future plans, how they plan to get there, and various other things related education, etc. I have been asking my students another question, one not on the course rubric. Before I tell them the question I give them this brief spiel: You have spent the last 13-14 years in school. The K-12 system has taught you the prescribed skills and knowledge dictated by the Ministry of Education. In the end you will attain a dogwood diploma and a transcript of the courses you took from Gr. 10-12. My question is: what is the most important thing you will take away from your K-12 education other than your academics and the diploma you will receive.

This question, which sometimes can be forgotten in the rigmarole of education, is important to ask. We, as educators, sometimes forget that education is more than academic progress and grades. The K-12 system is much more than the acquiremnt of skills and knowledge. Maybe this statement, and belief, would hold true 40-50 years ago but in today’s world it is much, much more.

Its amazing the answers I get from students when I ask them this question. Their answers might be different if they had more time to process the question. But the question needs to be asked. Its an important question that should help drive our educational system, its growth and development, and help shape where education is going and what it will look like in the future. I would say 80-90% of students say learning social skills and learning to work with different people is the number one answer. They all say school has allowed them to better enter the work force and to engage and  interact with other people. It has taught them about friendships and a means to find a social group that fits them where they are in life at that time of their life.

I think at a time when education is changing and we are looking at where / how education will look in the future I think it is imperative that we ask the people in the system, the students, what they are taking away from their time in school. With school becoming an institution that does far more than teach a prescribed curriculum its important sometimes to self-reflect and ask these vital and important questions.