Climate Change

How can we create or build on conditions currently in Public Education to support innovation? 

As a World Geography Teacher, my students have to learn the difference between weather and climate.  Weather is what is going on right now.  Climate is what has historically gone on during a continuous span of time.  For a classroom to change its climate, there has to be a history of changes over a continuous span of time.  It's not going to happen overnight.

As a Public Education Teacher, it's challenging to turn a classroom climate from "one of conformity to one of innovation."  Also, as a Public School Teacher; I have to do this within "the system" I work in. Many things are geared towards standardization in Public Education; State Tests, District Tests, even Campus Tests and all the instruction that is geared towards the majority of the students passing them; especially the state standardized tests.  Here in Texas, we have the STAAR; a mere handful of tests where (incredibly) a campus is considered "failing" or "passing" based on the percentage of students who pass it.  The pressure is on to be a "conformist" instead of being innovated! Many times when we are told to collaborate together as educators, what they really mean is they want us to conform together so we are all teaching the same thing at the same time. 

"Empowerment by Boundaries" 

There is a fine line between empowerment and letting students do whatever they want.  That line is boundaries.  Every human being; adults, teenagers and young children need to know where they stand and what freedoms they have in order to be innovated.  On a roadway, we drive based upon boundaries called "traffic laws."  In America, we have "freedom of the open road."  We can go where we want when we want as long as we stay within the boundaries of the traffic laws.  If we go outside those boundaries, we can become a danger to our self and/or others. 

In the Public Education classroom, boundaries are set by the standards.  In Texas, those standards are called the TEKS (in many States, Common Core is the standard).  In my own content that I teach (World Geography) and in my own opinion; the TEKS are kind of vague.  To some Educators, this might seem frustrating.  As previously mentioned; many Educators have been conditioned to standardize and don't like things to be "vague."  Me; I see an opportunity for empowerment within boundaries.  

I have slowly established a PLN of fellow Public Educators (some in Texas, some in other states) who I collaborate with in order to be innovative within State Teaching Standards.  For example, using concepts of "cross-curriculum" in order to justify doing "Genius Hour," is something I learned from a Public Educator in another State. The point I'm trying to make is; if a Public Educator wants to they CAN find a way to empower their students within the State Standards.  My suggestion is; reach out to other Educators in order to get ways/ideas to do this (I'm always telling my students; in this life, our success does rely on others to help us).  Then "tweak" those ways/ideas to fit their unique student population in order to create a "climate" of innovation.