What we need:
- L: Learner. Model what a learner is and does. Be one. Demonstrate how this happens everyday and how PD can be more personal and reflective.
- E: Encourage innovation. It takes a lot of guts to do something different and this should be supported. Many leaders ask for us to change but are not there for support.
- A: Atmosphere. An atmosphere of care should extend to everyone in the school culture. Create a place where everyone feels safe to stretch.
- D: Dare. Dare to encourage a new vision of what learning should look like. Once that is seen, the path is clear.
- E: Expertise. Use the expertise and talents of those around you. Just as we learn from our students, much of what we have to say has value too.
- R: Remove. Barriers, that is. The right people are here already. Learn from them and bring them together. What is the shared vision, how can we move everyone there, and what can we do to make great changes?
I really love your post, especially your inclusion of the importance of being a learner as part of being a leader. The idea of learning is too often kept in too small a box. Learning is not something that is reserved for the classroom or limited to the academic lifespan. It is being open-minded, excited, and engaged. As a learner, a leader will be always looking for new perspectives, methods, ideas...which would hopefully translate into your E-A-D-E-R concepts!
ReplyDelete@Rachel: Thank you for the comment! Being a learner seems to be foreign to most people and creates a better equality for learning and leading in the classroom. I am not sure why people feel they lose power by declaring themselves learners. They have so much more to gain.
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