Are You Doing Enough?

One essential element of Gowan Group is to inspire us all to seek out information, push the proverbial envelope, challenge ourselves to perform our best. Our days tend to blur. We often find ourselves distracted with the day's events. I usually have no fewer than ten projects going on at all times -- I always have something to do and the list never seems to go away. Oddly enough, this is when I am most efficient. The inspiration of accomplishment is what drives me to complete the next project. Am I doing enough? It seems as if I have enough on my plate! But when I ask the question in context of this video, I am most definitely not doing enough to help prepare our students of today for the future of tomorrow. In fact, as fast as we work to prepare, technology is faster.

The video below is the fourth rendition of the original. It explains the massive movement technology has made in the last 10 years. Did you know?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8&w=480&h=295]

What Motivates Us To Do Our Best?

Dan Pink, author of Drive, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, offers us all much to think about regarding autonomy, mastery and purpose as the key motivators to innovation. By design, the independent school model thrives on all three. The nature of independent schools compels us to develop our own curriculum and we offer teachers the autonomy in the classroom to teach the way in which we as schools feel is most effective. Of course, mastery of our program and curriculum is essential. And mission driven schools have a "built-in" purpose, which drives all decisions. The mission of a school is the wellspring of vision and energy for the school. It captures the values and aspirations of the founders, the board of trustees, and the school's leadership and faculty. It helps guide decisions; it helps set standards for assessing the school's curriculum. This just doesn't seem to be enough. We all agree that Dan Pink's theory on motivation is in alignment with the nature of independent schools. But then why does sustaining the motivation for both faculty and students prove to be so difficult? So often we get bogged down with the details of everyday life, we tend to forget what we value most about independent schools. Fortunately for us, Pink reminds us. What if we paid better attention to how we motivate others? What if we spent valuable time discussing the true meaning of autonomy, mastery and purpose? But how? A faculty committee? Focus groups? Hearty discussions at faculty meetings led by our all-star faculty members? We could host Fed-Ex Days, support examples of successful motivating strategies, and offer faculty and students incentives along the way - to name a few. I offer the video below and encourage you to share your ideas with us and your colleagues. This is such as important topic for our schools; developing innovative ideas that keep us motivated should be a priority for us. Let's keep the conversation moving ...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&w=480&h=295]

The New Age of Rigor

Schools often speak of a "rigorous" program, but mostly we fall short of defining our meaning of the word  and how it manifests itself in our schools. We neglect to ask the question, "how does our definition of rigor further our mission?" All educators can take a more precise look at what we teach in our schools, and more importantly, how we teach it. Tony Wagner, a 21st Century educator, touts the necessary skills students will need to be successful in the 21st Century. In this particular article, Rigor Redefined, he analyzes it rather nicely. Here is a quick excerpt introducing his "seven survival skills."

"Today's students need to master seven survival skills to thrive in the new world of work. And these skills are the same ones that will enable students to become productive citizens who contribute to solving some of the most pressing issues we face in the 21st century."

Read on. Enjoy.