Following on from my "One Word" post/resolution to be more open, here is one of my current stumbles I have been thinking about over the Winter break.

​I've recently had a parent say to me "when I was in school, and I am sure when you were in school..." and proceed to tell me the way I learned when I was in school. Not only was this parent making assumptions about my past, but they were also making assumptions that these practices are still relevant for their child.

I just saw this post on Twitter posted by @daveschmittou which made me think about it even more.

"Are you preparing students for their futures or for your past?"

​To be fair, even as innovative, forward thinking educators we don't really know the answer to this question. Or at least don't definitely know the "how" of it. All we can do is try new strategies and hope our students are on the right path. However, I also think that a good follow up question is how to get parents fully on board and understanding this way of thinking? Most of the parents in my class are fully on board with the changes I am making and the ways I am pushing their children to be more responsible and independent. It is the 1-2 parents who are having trouble seeing eye to eye with how my strategies are supporting their child's future. I sit, I listen, I brainstorm... I can only do what I know how to do, and keep trying.

How are you, as an innovative educator, ensuring that your parents are on board with the changes you/your school are making? How do they get over their hurdles of "when I was in school..." or "I learned like this..." etc? How do you help them see if they really are preparing their children for their futures?

2016 brought me a lot of challenges, which led to a lot of change in 2017. But, because I was brave and "dove in" to my gut feelings about a lot of things, 2018 is about to bring a lot of changes again! Even though I have just moved to Switzerland, I have decided to move on again in July. I am joining a team which I look up to and model a lot of my current practices off of. I am so excited to learn from and collaborate with this forward thinking group of colleagues. And, happily, back to the sun!

As a lot of other teachers on Twitter and blogs this month, I have chosen one word for 2018. A broader guidance through the year, as opposed to the standard resolutions to try to stick to. My one word for this year is open.

Open-minded (first one that comes to mind as a PYP teacher, of course)
Open doors for my students, coworkers, and others
Open with my sharing
Open to new experiences
Open to change
Open to routine
Open heart
​
It is not that I feel like I am doing a bad job at being open. I just want it to serve as a reminder to myself to always continue to be open. And hopefully to pass this onto my students and those around me while doing it.