Reinventing yourself = survival...

My first official working day at school was today...I witnessed ups and downs, heard screams of joy, and whirlpools of pessimism and
discontent. As I thought more about the "happy" people, and the not so
happy people, I decided to concentrate on why the "happy" people were
happy. I soon realized there seemed to be a couple underlying factors
that lead to their happiness / enthusiasm toward the new school year.

I have to preface this by saying we are introducing an entirely new
online gradebook / website for our school and district. Needless to
say, there are several staff members who are less than happy with the
idea of a new grade program being introduced two days before school
starts. Part of me does not blame them...

As educators grow and develop, they are given ample opportunities to
reinvent themselves. This new online gradebook / website is the perfect
opportunity for our staff members to be innovative, while giving them
the chance to reinvent the way they conduct classroom communication, as
well as building and establishing relationships with parents. I
understand that educators tend to be creatures of habit, but just as our
students change from year to year, day to day, and minute to minute, we
must have the ability to reinvent ourselves to address the ever
changing needs of our student population.

The "happy" people today were:

1- embracing change for the betterment of education and
supporting any initiative aimed at improving the educational process for
students, parents and educators.

2 - invigorated by the idea and opportunity to reinvent certain
components of their class, while accepting the fact that all new
initiatives take time and patience.

Over the course of a career in education, we will all experience
numerous changes and new programs. These changes will be both good and
bad, but it is imperative that we continually reinvent and innovate the
way we approach education.

-The educator that sees opportunity as a path to growth will be the educator to survive longest.

-The educator that reinvents him/herself in the pursuit of improving
education will have the greatest positive impact on his/her students.

-The educator using innovation as a tool to do his/her job more effectively...will be the happiest.

Let us use change and reform as a way to innovate, reinvent, adapt,
grow, and develop...most importantly, envision a world where you are in
control...it's all up to you!