Sharing Shouldn’t Seem Scary
By failing to fully leverage the power of sharing, we stand in our own way of change in education
Nowadays in education, we hear a lot of encouragement to share our ideas. In general, there is quite a bit of support for educators to belong to professional learning communities (PLNs), for schools to create some sort of mechanism that affords teachers the time to collaborate and more recently, for educators to build PLNs through social media. We all know that some of our best learning comes from speaking, exchanging and working through ideas with our colleagues.
Nowadays in education, we hear a lot of encouragement to share our ideas. In general, there is quite a bit of support for educators to belong to professional learning communities (PLNs), for schools to create some sort of mechanism that affords teachers the time to collaborate and more recently, for educators to build PLNs through social media. We all know that some of our best learning comes from speaking, exchanging and working through ideas with our colleagues. Each of us has experienced the benefit of sharing or exchanging ideas, initiatives, lessons and inquiries with our colleagues. Yet, despite each of us knowing how valuable this sharing process can be, I would argue that it is not happening nearly enough in our schools and when it does happen, it isn’t stimulating anywhere near the level of innovation that is possible. And in essence, by failing to fully leverage the power of sharing, we stand in our own way of change in education. Why is it that we hesitate to share? And how do we realize the level of innovation and change that is possible?
…despite each of us knowing how valuable this sharing process can be, I would argue that it is not happening nearly enough in our schools and when it does happen, it isn’t stimulating anywhere near the level of innovation that is possible.
CC photo by theunquietlibrarian
The answers to these questions may be rooted in a more fundamental question. What is the purpose of sharing – to teach or to learn?
Think about the traditional paradigm of education. As the teacher, you are expected to have mastered some important knowledge and information and your goal is to teach and impart this knowledge to your students. What this means is you are supposed to be the expert and that you have a perfected lesson to share with your students. I believe that as teachers, we hold ourselves to this same expectation of being the expert when we share with our colleagues. And this is the reason why many of us respond to the invitation to share with comments such as “I’m not ready to share it with others yet” or “I haven’t quite perfected it yet”. We are guilty of thinking that by sharing we must somehow ‘transfer’ something to those with whom we are sharing. We’re guilty of viewing sharing through a traditional paradigm of education. The obvious danger in approaching sharing from this perspective is that it makes it seem scary. What if others disagree with the idea? What if others cut holes in the idea? The intimidating thoughts run through our minds as though we are distrusting of our colleagues. And in many cases, this is enough to make us shy away from sharing at all.
…we can approach sharing from the perspective of being a learner. When we choose to see sharing as an opportunity to bounce ideas off of others, gather feedback, improve and refine our ideas then our reason for sharing shifts to that of learning. No longer will we feel the pressure or expectation to have perfected an idea prior to sharing it with our colleagues.
Conversely, we can approach sharing from the perspective of being a learner. When we choose to see sharing as an opportunity to bounce ideas off of others, gather feedback, improve and refine our ideas then our reason for sharing shifts to that of learning. No longer will we feel the pressure or expectation to have perfected an idea prior to sharing it with our colleagues. No longer will sharing create feelings of anxiety. Sharing a raw, unrefined idea becomes desirable because it provides the opportunity for further development. When we openly place ourselves in a potentially vulnerable position by revealing our thinking to our colleagues, we communicate to them that we value their input and suggestions. We also communicate to others our trust that their criticisms come from a place of support rather than opposition. We must become comfortable with the fact that any challenges to our ideas provide the opportunity for growth and innovation.
So the challenge for all of us it to move beyond protecting ‘my’ ideas from ‘your’ ideas and create a culture that values ‘our’ collective ideas. It’s through building and continuing to feed this percolating stew of unrefined ideas that we allow for innovation to transpire!
This blog post is part of a series of thoughtful responses to the question: What’s standing in the way of change in education? to help inform CEA’s Calgary Conference on Oct 21-22, (#CEACalgary2013) where education leaders from across Canada will be answering the same question. If you would like to answer this question, please tweet us at: @cea_ace
Meet the Expert(s)
Aaron Akune
Aaron Akune has been involved in public education for 18 years, as a teacher, coach and administrator. Aaron is currently a Vice-Principal in the Delta School District. He has a keen interest in facilitating professional learning opportunities and has helped organize three Edcamp ‘unconferences’ in BC. Aaron’s other interests include educational technology, assessment practices and student engagement. You can read Aaron’s other blog posts at ‘Educating in the 21st Century’ or follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aakune
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