Remembering My Successes and Helping Others Reach Theirs

     In my last post I wrote that I want to remember my successes in my list of ways to ignore conventional wisdom here. It's a tough list and I felt kinda raw after I wrote it. Sincerely I mean no insult to any person, rather I want to challenge our accepted practices, my accepted practices. As I wrote in my first blog here, this blog is to teach me (even though I use 'you') to be better.
   
     Now to remember my successes. I just watched a TEDx talk that mentioned asking people about the last time their boss commented on their work. The boss gave 30 positive remarks and one 'you could work on' and they remembered the one. It seems I am wired to focus on the negatives, the areas of improvement. I know I've had lots of successes, maybe even little ones every day, but I remember the tough times and the struggles and the feelings of ineptitude. So I choose to remember my successes and the successes of my students.

     I am going a step further. I am going to set up my co-educators for success by giving them the information and tools they need. I can make others be more successful and later help remind them of their own successes. I choose to make my co-educators look good in front of admin, students, parents and anyone else. Of course it's not easy, especially when there may be a long history of friction. But that's all in the past and I'm learning. Just maybe if I make those I work with look good, the culture might change and I want to change the culture.

Thanks for being here.

Chris Scott
805-215-8864
cscottsy@gmail.com
@cscottsy -twitter

How to Ignore Conventional School Wisdom

     In the last post I wrote that conventional school is a desperate-creative-suck that kills schools and classrooms. It's the culture in conventional schools that expect new ideas to fail. I'm writing this to remind myself (as well as you) to not believe conventional school wisdom as it is just excuses. I'm tired of educators making excuses.

Here's a short list to remember how to ignore conventional school:

1. Listen to my PLN (Personal Learning Network) -found mostly on twitter. I'm @cscottsy  or +Chris Scott on Google+
2. Leave meetings and conversations that become negative. All too often the negativity is about other educators or students. No more!
3. Choose to share positives about my classroom and students' work and NOT share negatives. 
4. When another says "good luck with those students" or "you just wait, you'll see" I won't believe them.
5. Share my students work and the work of other students -even if they don't believe me. It doesn't matter since I decided to stop believing them.
6. Keep trying. Continue pushing. Never stop.
7. Just because other teachers can't hack it with students doesn't mean you can't. If other teachers can't lead a project with their students or create a 21st century school culture that has nothing to do with you.
8. Remember my successes.

Sounds simple, yet when we hear the wisdom of conventional school on a regular basis it becomes increasing hard to ignore.



Thanks for reading and your patience,

Chris Scott
805-215-8864
cscottsy@gmail.com
@cscottsy -twitter

Inspiration & Ignoring Conventional School Wisdom

     I find a lot of inspiration from my fellow education foot soldiers. Those who are fighting to change education -one student at a time. When I feel lost and haven't been to a conference or had a PLN chat in a while I turn to business books. I've found lots of business ideas can transfer to the classroom, certainly not everything.

     My first adapted idea: I choose to ignore conventional school wisdom (at least I'm trying to). I work in a fairly conservative & traditionally minded school. It's not as rigid as some schools but tight enough to squeeze creativity out of the classroom. We've been told that it's all about the test scores. In my pursuit to be a better educator I must ignore conventional school thought. Conventional school wisdom sounds like "that'll never work in your classroom" or "with those students" or "they won't be ready for the test" like some terrible attempt to sober me from my creative-dreams. I've heard those comments, maybe you have too. You know how disheartening and unwelcome they are.

     I've heard Mike Lawrence from CUE, inc. say that the Teachers Lounge is where ideas go to die. I agree and take it further, as some teachers feel the need to offer depressing advice all over campus. I choose to stop listening to them, and respectfully ask them to stop. This is real and active -remember I'm writing this to remind myself and hope that it helps you as well.

     Conventional school to me is following the same well-trodden pattern like following the textbook as if it knows my students better than I do and following in my ancestors pedagogy. Well their pedagogy sucks. And I refuse to suck. I cannot allow them to bring me to the tomb where their teaching resides. Stop listening and believing them when they shoot down your ideas. The ideas may fail for them, maybe it has in the past -but you must see it through.

Pessimism and despair kills our school culture. -Adapted from ReWork (you should read it)

Thanks for reading,

Chris Scott
805-215-8864
cscottsy@gmail.com
@cscottsy -twitter

I'm Learning

Hi,

     Thanks for stopping by. I feel it necessary to explain that the posts to follow are a way for me to stay on track. Really I'm writing this to teach myself, but I'm sure if I struggle with teaching others do as well. I want to be innovative and at all cost avoid the trap offered by traditional education. I can feel the evil clutches it has on me and how it creeps in my classroom ever so softly. I can't have it creep in anymore.
     If I don't push myself, I'm afraid that I'll become the old school teacher that sucks. Rambling already.

So here's to a new blog.

Thanks for being here.

Chris Scott
805-215-8864
cscottsy@gmail.com
@cscottsy -twitter