Episode 82 The education revolution is here how to tell if you're on the front lines

The Principal Entrepreneur

7/3/2017 The Principal Entrepreneur: The education revolution is here
The revolution is here. Education as previously envisioned is no longer viable. Public schools are over 200 years old They have been around so long and the thinking so entrenched that there is a belief that no one can do it better. Like The Big Three car companies of Detroit, MI were, public schools are stuck in an industrial age mentality. Schools are still run by the ringing of a bell, just like they signaled a shift change in old car factories. That mentality doesn’t work anymore, change is here.
As students age from early elementary to middle school or junior high age through high school respect is no longer automatically given to teachers and adults in authoritative positions. Why should it? The internet can provide the rote answer to any question faster and with seemingly more authority than a teacher. As traditional dispensers of knowledge we are obsolete.
Teachers, like the factory workers of the past are no longer in high demand, and as the demand lessens so does credibility, respect, and authority. Those of us in education have heard the false maxim, “those who can’t teach”. Is that becoming more real as each day passes? I don’t think so. But to those outside the daily grind it may appear to be the new reality. Why would anyone in their right mind want to teach. I’ve heard more educators than I can count discourage their child from becoming a teacher. Low pay, helicopter parents or their opposite seemingly disengaged parents, disrespectful students, and no status; who in their right mind would want to step into that?
As we chose to pick up the stylus and step into this field we know what we face and bravely stand in front of kids who have picked up society's disdain for our profession because we believe. We believe we can make a difference in the lives of our children. We believe we can show them how to behave appropriately in the very society that disregards us. We believe we are on the front lines of this education revolution.
To advance that line we must get off the pedestal and guide instead of lecture. We must demonstrate how to think and discern the fake from the real, how to balance our reality with that of another. We must provide multiple lenses from which to view an issue. We must show empathy by being open to the other. The world grows smaller as our ability to communicate globally expands. As educators we must let go of control and let the students show us what they want and let that be the entry point into a lesson. If we do these things they will learn how to think and in thinking change their world.
The education revolution is here. Do you still stand, do you still believe? Share your thoughts about the state of education in the comment section below.
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For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the http://www.theprincipalentrepreneur.com/ and/or pre order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, new episodes weekly. To join the podcast as a guest email me at [e-mail]. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group.