We've talked about it in trainings, I'm going to be taking part in a Twitter chat in just a little bit all about it and it is the centerpiece of a district Leadership Academy I am fortunate to be a part of.
But why is is such a big deal? Why should we as educators take risks? In my district, at my school, where I've heard fellow teachers say- truthfully- "We've got a really good thing going here"- why take a risk?
I shared this quote with my classes yesterday, and I believe it answers my query very well:
Life is progress. Education is apart of life. Thus, Education is progress.
I have never feared taking a risk. I run to the edge of the Grand Canyon, I take my young children hiking up 14,000 foot mountains, I still do flips on a trampoline at 35, I started a church in a bar when I was 28 with no financial support, I ask my classes controversial questions about current events and sit back and watch them work out their opinions.
Many educators do fear risk. They look at the track beneath their feet and think, "This is taking me where I want to go." And they are right- but they do not hear the train of students who learn differently, new technologies that shape the classroom environment, and fellow educators desiring to lay the throttle down and get to that destination faster.
My district and my campus have more than their share of risk-takers. But what if you are at a school that thinks risks are just too...risky? How can you affect change and bring them along, too?
Here is my problem: For me, risk is only worth taking if it is costly. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I get a rush from the danger of failure looming ahead and fighting with the throttle to stay on the track.
So, I often find myself wanting to take bigger risks than those around me. I do not ever want to force someone to take a risk they are not willing to take, so I must work to convince and offer security to take the risk I believe is worth it. Here is what I try to convince my fellow risk-takers of:
The risk is necessary.
Maybe it is expected of us to "go big or go home." Maybe there is a population of students that need us to dangle on the precipice of greatness and failure. Maybe there is a wound in the culture around our school that appears to be "just a flesh wound" but without the risk it can become gangrenous.
I do not take- or attempt to persuade others to take- risks for the sake of risk. I take risks in my personal life because I need to test myself physically and mentally. I take risks professionally because I see and hear that train barreling down the tracks and gaining on me.
The risk is worth it.
The change a risk can bring must be worth the danger of its failure. If the cost is greater than the benefit, it is vanity and pride that drive the risk. And even if it succeeds, it fails because the change is not profound.
The risk is indicative of leadership.
If we are in a position of leadership, we are in a position that requires risk. Great leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, Jesus, and Davy Crockett took risks.
Crockett, when looking at the situation in Texas during fight for independence from Mexico, asked for help from his fellow U.S. Congressmen. He wanted to aide the Texans because he believed it was for their benefit and the benefit of the U.S. Their silence infuriated him, and he took a tremendous risk with the words, "You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas."
Crockett died there, but his leadership, along with the rest of the San Antonio martyrs inspired the phrase, "Remember the Alamo!" Oh, and victory.
We must lead, we must take the risk that others fear to take, because by our taking it, the fearful may be given courage.
The train is coming.
Here's the thing: we all know things are progressing in this world very quickly. New tech appears by the seasons, and sometimes the month. Students have new learning styles. New teachers arrive every year, hungry to try new things, but afraid to fail. They need mentors, examples, symbols, of what teachers who take calculated risks look like. They are on the right track, let us be the train with them, so none of us get run over for just sitting there.
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