There’s no need to be ashamed or to hide it; I am a lifelong learner. 
From the time I could read, learning has intrigued and empowered me in ways I could never explain. Such is the case this week as our MISD leadership team grapples with these five critical questions during our two-day conference with the Schlechty Center:
- How do we get others to “buy-in” as we continue our journey to transform into the leading learning organization in the nation?
- What are some tools and resources we can employ to get to know our “who” (our learners and classroom leaders) to determine if they are engaged and why?
- How do we provide and receive meaningful feedback and encouragement to and from our colleagues on this journey?
- What work inspires autonomy, mastery, creativity, and a sense of purpose?
- How do we bring JOY to the learning everyday?
These are not easy questions to ask nor easy questions to ponder for answers! We know there is a strong link between engaged students, teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, and community members, and increased levels of overall performance and achievement for all. In their book, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer discuss it this way: “Intrinsic motivation is the love of the work itself—doing the work because it is interesting, enjoyable, satisfying, engaging, or personally challenging. Intrinsic motivation—deep engagement in the work—can drive people to surprising displays of effort.” This is true of children in classrooms and adults in real jobs everyday! Ask yourself the five questions above about your own work; what are your thoughts? How do we build intrinsic motivation and deep engagement in young learners so they successfully reach their fullest potential?
As always, I welcome your thoughts and perspectives as we continue to tackle these questions…
Note: In the meantime, thanks for providing some extrinsic motivation (in the form of $) to pump up our POWER of Miller success this week! 🙂
Van Am Gram 