Change
Change has a grip on our attention. Some folks are working on changing Washington. A bunch of us recently gathered at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia to help envision how schools can/should/do change to meet the needs of students.
It feels overwhelming. The cynic in me relates to the video above. Is it possible?
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Zac Chase.
Zac is one of many amazing educators at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. He pinged me via Skype during my post Educon 2.0 hangover to simply say hello. I laid into him about how impossible this "change" stuff is in what I'd consider the "real world". He fired back with this. Admittedly, it's all still pretty heady stuff. The sort of "leave you confused, but at a higher level" stuff that emerges from DIY school reform conferences.
Then I had one of those "aggregator moments". The cynic in me watched the above YouTube video of the political candidates talking about change. The devil on my shoulder celebrated what will be a nice little "lol" moment when I pass it to Twitter. The very next piece in my aggregator was Zac Chase telling a story of making a simple, positive phone call home to parents.
"It's the best way to end a Monday I know."
Zac isn't revolutionary. Neither is the Science Leadership Academy. It's simply the result of small bits of change...a phone call, a conversation, an instant message, a get-together...accelerated by this hyper-networked culture and a willingness to try.
"Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail. There's only make." (Link)
Thanks SLA. Thanks to the rest of you that I met in Philadelphia as well.