“Leaders are people who have influence over and can make an impact on the world” (pg 19).

“Innovation is a way of thinking that creates something new and better” (pg 19).

There is not substitute for a teacher who designs authentic, participatory, and relevant learning experiences for her unique population of students. The role of the teacher is to inspire learning and develop skills and mindsets of learners. A teacher, as designer and facilitator, should continually evolve with resources, experiences, and the support of a community. It is becoming increasingly clear that we don’t necessarily need to transform the role of teachers, rather crate a culture that inspires and empowers teacher to innovate in their pursuit of providing optimal learning experiences for their students” (pg 20).

“Accepting failure as a final outcome, especially when it comes to our kids, is not something we should ever embrace” (pg 37).

It is important to continually ask, “How does this student learn best?” and “What are some ways students can demonstrate their knowledge?” Instead of continually writing down their knowledge, could they create a video, share a podcast, create a visual, or do something else? (pg 39).

“Risk is necessary to ensure that we are meeting the needs of each unique student” (pg 51).

“Yes, it is important, if not crucial, to listen and respond to our students’ input, but it is equally important to help them become resilient and face adversity . . . how you recover from failure and move forward is important to how you learn and how you live” (pg 57).

“What we model is what we get” - Jimmy Cases

“Educators are not scared of change, but they don’t always feel supported to take the risks in the first place . . . if an administrator takes a risk that no one can see, does anyone learn from it?” (pg 59).

“Innovation is not about changing everything; sometime you only need to change one thing” (pg 59).

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do” (pg. 73).

“If I were a teacher in this school, what would I expect from my principal?” (pg 88).

“Innovation often comes from conflict and disagreement, not in an adversarial way but in a way that promotes divergent thinking” (pg 90).

“What are some ways that you get in the “middle” of learning to understand the needs of those you serve?” (pg 91).

“Engagement is a good thing, but I’ve since learned that we must also empower students and equip them with the skills to learn. It is imperative that we teach learners how to be self-directed and guide their own learning, rather than rely on others to simply engage them” (pg 96).

“If you had to choose between compliant, engaged, or empowered, which word would you want to define your students?” (pg 97).

“In an age when innovation is increasingly a group endeavor, it [Google] also cares about a lot of soft skills - leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability, and loving to learn and re-learn. This will be true no matter where you go to work” (pg 104).

“If we want innovative students, we need to be innovative leaders and educators. If we want to create a culture of innovation, we must first focus on furthering our own learning and growth” (pg 110).

“We do not learn from experience; we learn from reflecting on experience” - John Dewey

“Having so many ideas and facts at their fingertips is helpful for students - as long as they understand how to discern truth from fiction and know why it’s important to consider the source of information” (pg 113).

“People who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general” - Tom Rath, “Strengths Finder 2.0”

“Great leaders practice balancing trust and autonomy while providing strong mentorship” (pg 127).

“Giving people the chance to try something new or pursue something they love is not something we should only value for our students but also for our staff . . . when we show a genuine interest in those whom we serve and go out of our way to help them become successful in areas about which they are passionate, they are more likely to go above and beyond what is expected” (pg 133).

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak” - Hans Hofmann

“Every single person’s plate size is different” (pg 161).

“To truly integrate new learning, it is critical to carve out time for exploration, collaboration, and reflection to allow educators to apply what they are learning” (pg 182).

“There are many reasons why we don’t model the learning process as adults, but one of the biggest ones is ego” (pg 183).

“Before we can decide if our schools our successful, we have to first define what success means, realizing our impact is measured long after a child leaves school” (pg 214)

TED Talks:

• Daniel Pink

• Barry Schwarts

• Susan Cain

• Seth Godin, “Stop Stealing Dreams”

• Barry Schwartz, “Paradox of Choice”

• Derek Sivers, “Obvious to You. Amazing to Others”

Book:

• Invent to Learn, by Gary Stager

A great read and one I wish I could have spent more time on, both for myself and with the staff. Sadly, I read it during the COVID-19 Pandemic and a good chunk of his ideas were too much for us to bear at the moment.

Grade: A

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