Celebrating Discomfort As a Community

In my October 24 Edutopia article on Discomfort, Growth and Innovation, I argued the importance of celebrating all levels of risk-taking within an educational community. School leaders and coaches who deftly, kindly, and firmly encourage their faculty and staff to embrace risks and growth can have an enormous impact on the futures of their communities.

But as with any healthy relationship, that kind of support and respect requires commitment from all parties. Positive, innovative change requires a team effort--school leaders and coaches can only bear so much of that weight. As faculty and staff, it is incumbent on us to make a daily effort to be active participants in positive change. 

So what does that look like?

• Engaging enthusiastically in professional development opportunities.
• Challenging ourselves to evaluate and improve each lesson, each activity, and each unit.
• Actively partnering with other faculty and staff to develop new learning opportunities for students.
• Celebrating our colleagues' risks and ideas with others.
• Focusing on positive thoughts and actions every day (even when we are tired and overwhelmed!)
• Recognizing ourselves as fellow stewards of our education ecosystems, as described by Michelle Cordy.

Celebrating discomfort is a community effort that can have significant rewards for all involved.