What's My Why?

Working a district that is now on its 3rd superintendent in 5 years, we have gone through a lot of change initiatives. Most, well in my opinion, all of them have either failed or been forced down our throats whether we understood their purpose or not. Most of these initiatives were brilliant ideas from the minds of wonderful educators. Why did they fail? Or why weren't they 100% successful? The majority of educators felt like these changes were just one more thing they had to do. One more thing to take them away from their true focus...teaching children.

Each time we were told a change was taken place, there was never a reason that we could grasp ahold of. There was rarely a connection that we could make to our individual classroom. We were often told that this is the newest best practice and we are going to do it. I can remember hearing teacher after teacher saying "My kids are successful. They are learning. Why do I need to change?" They would take part in the training, say what they needed to say, and then go bak to their classroom and do the same things they had been doing for years.

​Kotter's statements in both of his videos really hit home. When making a change, ALL of the stakeholders must understand the urgency. Everyone must know why is this change so important and how it individually effects and relates to them; a connection to their heart. We have a tendency in my district to slowly role out a change. I think the thought process is that small changes are easier for everyone to digest. In my opinion, it just takes away the urgency. If this new initiative is so important and so life changing, how can we possibly implement just a little at a time?

As I continue working toward implementing a new learning environment in my music classroom, I have to remember the sense of urgency and speaking to the heart of all stakeholders. I will be fighting to change an entire culture and its view of the arts and music. Making connections to what is important to them, innovation and technology, will help get them on board with my plan. But, I have to be ready to go full steam ahead when I begin my plan. The sense of urgency will diminish quickly if I slowly roll out my plan or if I spend too much time talking about the plan instead of acting on it.

Resources:

Kotter, J. (2011, March 23). John Kotter - The Heart of change. [Retrieved] January 21, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NKti9MyAAw&feature=youtu.be

Kotter, J. (2013, August 15). Leading Change: Establish a sense of urgency. Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI&feature=youtu.be

Sinek, S. (2013, September 29). Start With Why - Simon Sinek TED talk. Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sioZd3AxmnE&feature=youtu.be