Innovator's Mindset - Part 2: Laying the Groundwork

I am in a book study about the book The Innovator's Mindset. Our second assignment was to choose something from the second part of the book and write about it, get involved with it, react to it, etc. No less than 10 times in this section did I think to myself "There is the quote I am going to write my blog about." But then I read on and had the same reaction 2 pages later. The ideas brought forth in this section are not only thought provoking, but also action provoking. After letting the ideas meld in my mind for a day or two, I have decided upon which portion to focus.

Pages 82-84 talk about Disrupting Your Routine. It includes a blog post in which an educator discusses being a student in the school for two days. The author did everything the students did, took the notes, listened to the lessons, did the school work. The author had the following three take aways...

1. Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting. 
2. High School students are sitting passively and listening during approximately ninety percent of their classes. 
3. You feel a little bit like a nuisance all day long. 

I found myself reflecting on what our students do all day. I am in the classroom teaching my own students far less now then I have been in previous years, but that means I spend much more time walking around the hallways traveling between places. I think Merton has phenomenal teachers, but I do find that I see a lot of students sitting in their desks. I found myself wondering how our students are actually spending their time. I think it is difficult for teachers to always put together the bigger picture of their students' days when their main focus is on the curricular goals they have for their content area. I found myself wondering what the results of my day(s) as a student would be. 

So I have decided to take action. Instead of wondering what a day in the life of a Merton student would be like, I am going to live a day, or two, in the shoes of our middle schoolers. I am not going in to evaluate the teachers, but instead to be able to come back with an overall look at what a day in our student's shoes would be like. I want to be able to come back with technology integration ideas, engagement ideas, and feedback that will help start conversations.

The book poses the question "Would you want to be a student in your classroom?" I want to experience life as a student in each of our classrooms, so that I can go back and help create environments that will make me want to live as a student in our classrooms each and every day.