I admit to this much – I like thinking about process, and I have evidence – stacks of diagrams, outlines, flowcharts and whiteboard scratchings mapping a broad range of abstract notions about learning and organizations, – middle of the night outlines index finger tapped into Evernote or whichever app is handy — in multiple generations of complex Excel spreadsheets compiling assumption options into long range summaries, — a cloud based project management tool I am working on to help schools cross over from cool idea to “assuming we want to make that real – what should we do besides talk about it and congratulate ourselves for being so innovative?”
Today, I don’t see classrooms very often, a year ago I visited every one, everyday in the school we were helping get underway and checked in daily with some or all of the board, the leaders, the business office, the community supporters. (See the previous post about my computer’s smiley…). When it is not driving me up the wall, I love this dynamic. When the adults are making me nuts, I rationalize back – I have been at this a lot of decades, in a lot of situations, maneuvered through, over, under, around multiple barriers and other sticky, sometimes stinky situations. It all comes back to a single notion that has multiple identities – all related to the minds of children, adolescents and near adults. Sometimes it takes the shape of tending abundantly growing mind gardens, other times it’s a rushing stream as in Csikszentmihalyi’s flow, sometimes a replay of a student performance that has been stored enough to play back a sequence and the attached response, always its about the work of getting there – “what does it take to generate and support that level of mental engagement?”
So I work on these process maps, trying to find ways of getting there. Do we need a GPS? Do we need a guru? Do we need a special opportunity or invitation? Or maybe just an inspiring cup of coffee…
