As I continue my journey through “The Innovators Mindset," it
becomes increasingly clear that great teachers push education to its limit.
These limits can cause slight unease from time to time with administration
officials. If the students are always first in the educators mind, the educator
cannot do wrong. Couros gives an example of a teacher using Facebook with
students’ parents as a communication tool. Assignments and in-class projects
were uploaded and shared with each students parents. This is not technically
applicable to all classroom settings, however in this case it gave parents a
strong connection to the classroom and teacher. They were able to physically
see their children progress and receive feedback directly from the
teacher.
When an educator goes above and beyond to
stimulate innovation in the classroom, other teachers feel pressured to make
large changes in their own classrooms. This discomfort often entices
administration to halt the growth and improvement of innovative teachers. The
teacher who was using Facebook to communicate with parents was eventually
forced to stop using this tool. Parents expressed many positive opinions on the
use of Facebook as a tool and were unhappy when it was discontinued. Shouldn't
parents have a say? Teachers should not be penalized for being innovative.
Other teachers should want to continue to improve throughout their career.
Couros also makes a very strong point on
how important networking is. He says that networks are imperative to growth and
innovation. I have started to see networking play a role as I prepare for my
senior year at The Pennsylvania State University. I have had many opportunities
to meet educators from around the country and also around the world. There will
be many more opportunities in the upcoming year and even more in the future for
a matter of fact. The agricultural education family is made of great innovators
that are eager to share their ideas and strategies with other educators,
especially new teachers. It is easy for teachers to become complacent in their
programs when they do not see what other agriculture teachers are doing in and
outside the classroom. It is important that we as educators continue to network
and learn from others in the profession. If we do not continue to improve our
programs, the education of our students will suffer. We need to take pride in
our work and produce the best future leaders possible.
“The Innovators Mindset" has reinforced
many key concepts that I have learned over the past year. The examples
provided by Couros has also given me many more ideas that I can take into the
classroom. As I continue through “The Innovators Mindset,” I will continue to
take notes and bank some genius ideas.
