Education That Inspires Action
As an educator I used to love creating tools. I was the king of checklists, spreadsheets, binders, and keynotes. I was proud of what I’d created. All this material was a symbol, something I could point to and say: “See, I’m an educator. I know things. Here’s the proof!”
The only problem with these tools is that they didn’t work. Sure, they contained lots of information but they mostly collected dust, and they certainly didn’t inspire. The only person who was better off for everything I’d created was my ego.
It was often frustrating that the level of my students didn’t match my expectations, but what I couldn’t see in the moment was that they were simply matching my efforts: passive engagement breeding passive engagement.
So what was I not doing? That’s a long list, but here are four core concepts that will get you 80% of the way there, followed by questions asked from the students perspective.
Creating Emotional Connection. How does what I’m learning have anything to do with values that are important to me?
Engaging Curiosity. Does the way this is presented make me want to learn more on my own — to go above and beyond what is required not because I have to, but because I want to?
Empowering. Do I feel overloaded with information or have I learned one or two things I can put into action today? Does this make me more equipped to do my work?
Conversation. Are the ideas I’m learning reinforced in our culture and revisited in our day to day conversations, or are they simply ideas that live only in the bubble of these lessons?
These things are messy. They’re hard to quantify in the moment. They’re difficult to track on a spreadsheet. You can’t manage them from your office and you can’t manage them alone. They also don’t exist in a vacuum — cultural fit is a huge qualifier here.
What’s worse is if you focus on the above you won’t have this huge stack of checklists, spreadsheets, and binders stuffed with information that no one will ever read as proof of your prowess as an educator.
Hopefully seeing your education inspire action is a good consolation prize.