My notes from the end of class wrap-up session read as follows:

– structure of inquiry

– informing relationships with students

– different structures

– encountering static – be aware of how environment influences what you’re capable of doing

Bingo!  What stood out most for me was the incredible truth contained in the final note.  Simply put, your environment will affect what you are capable of doing.  Because even the most motivated, passionate, forward thinking individual is going to find themselves stuck if they are surrounded by naysayers.  A school is a community, and you cannot alter a community without the support of its members.  So the question becomes how can you get people on board, and if not – at first – motivate them to change their own practice, at least make it so they are no longer standing in your way?  The fact of the matter is, there are far too many teachers still working in schools who are very much stuck in their ways.  They have an incredible wealth of experience, but they have been teaching the same courses with the same lesson plans and materials for far too long.  They are too comfortable.  They are stuck.  And, unfortunately, they cannot help but effect the school around them by making change difficult.

Any lifelong learner knows that when you stop challenging yourself, you stop growing as an individual and as a professional.  You become static, and with this comes complacency and a fear of change.  “Well, I’ve  been doing things this way for years, and I can’t see any problem with it.”  If we allow this fear to effect us, we too will be stagnant.  But, fear can be a good thing, a signal that we’re trying something new and worth the potential risk.  If we push past our fears about trying new things and our concerns about making mistakes along the way, we open ourselves up to a world of possibility.

My mother always said that the only person I could control was myself.  It would annoy the life out of me because I wanted other people to get on board, and it was so frustrating to watch people disagree.  But, eventually, I realized that the best way to motivate others to get on board was to lead by example.  If I knew something was going to work, I had to demonstrate that myself, so others could see it and believe it.  Similarly, we cannot control the reactions or actions of our colleagues, but we can lead by example.  And, hopefully, motivate others to follow our lead.