Courageous Edventures: Pursuing the Horizon of Innovation

"We must be courageous. We must be bold." To really make a difference in our world, in our lives, in the lives of others (e.g. students), it's about "embracing the possibility of failure, preparing for potential storms and inevitable rocky shores. It means taking a set of fresh eyes to chart a course around the many challenges, the naysayers."

In a world of insecurities, plenty of reasons to be fearful, and lots of criticizing opinions, sometimes we have to be willing to set sail on our own to find better and more beautiful places. Magiera maps out succinctly and transparently just how teachers (or really, professionals) can go from frustration to innovation.

So often people don't like their situations. But we must be people who do not just complain--be solution finders! And balance that with goal of innovation, newness, betterment with sound judgment about what the goal is and should be: "my goal shouldn't simply be to do something new for the sake of it being new or to get better using these new tools. Rather, my focus should be to solve existing problems with new methodologies--and in the process, to reimagine how teaching and learning could look and feel like."

I've been on a journey to really try to innovate in my classroom for about the two years. It's been a process. It's a good thing I watched Zootopia and connected on a pretty spiritual level with the bunny Judy Hopps and her approach to life-- "Try Everything" -- and her mantra, "Ready to make the world a better place?" I started finding ideas I thought were really cool, tech-forward, stretched my kiddos and decided I'd give things a try no matter if the success was guaranteed or not. I've had several projects or ideas that would be considered fails, but my goal was simply to learn something and help someone.

Magiera's book journeys from a "Gripe Jam," a time to throw out (but also problem-solve) frustrations, developing organizational plans, to overcoming common obstacles, and ideas to innovate. Her ideas can be adjusted to fit classrooms of kindergarteners to seniors. She mentions 20% Time (Yes! My fav!), student-led tech teams, problem-based learning (something I want to do more), Makerspaces, digital portfolios, and how to inspire with Rube Goldberg machines (ARE THESE NOT AMAZING?).

As I read through this book, I realized that in order to truly soak this in, to put Jennie's ideas into action, I need to slow down. Don't rush through her read. Some of the chapters are wonderfully practical--take time to stop for a couple of days, process, write down your own experiences and reflections, and then pick the book back up to continue the journey.

At my core I'm a teacher, a opportunity-door-opener. I can't help it, it's just in the fiber of my being. Many of my colleagues are the same. I challenge you, whether you are a professional educator or a restless soul longing for more, to go on a "Courageous Edventure," setting sail into the unknown, willing to reach out for the horizon despite the fears and obstacles. Because don't you know, life is better when we are moving forward, chasing awesome, and pursuing purpose.