Dealing with Change
Yesterday I attended the Prairie South School Division’s teacher convention. Maurice O’Callaghan was the keynote speaker that addressed us in the morning. It was interesting to listen to his presentation as he talked about how to deal with changes in a positive way. This was a very timely topic as educators in this area are currently being bombarded with change. We are experiencing government initiatives such as school division amalgamation, the continuous improvement framework, the implementation of School Community Councils, and assessment for learning initiatives that include the provincial math and reading assessments.
I connected with him on a few ideas that I felt were very important. His message was to remain positive throughout the course of change. One of his stories focussed on the idea of control. He reminded us not to worry about the things that are out of our control. Spending time worrying about things like this waste time and have a negative impact on our lives. He also reminded us not to worry about the things that are in our control. For if we can control these things there should be nothing to worry about! I felt that this was an important reminder for educators in our school division. We must focus our energy on the things we have in our control. Specifically, our classrooms and the students with whom we work.
A second idea I tool away from Maurice’s presentation was the idea that “everyday contains diamonds and stones”. He reminded us in a friendly, fun way that it is more worth our while to search for the diamonds each day than to worry about all of the stones in the way. What a wonderful, simple way of trying to carry a positive outlook on life.
I would encourage you to visit and add to my wiki on the positives of school division amalgamation at http://smichaluk.wikispaces.com/. I had started this wiki before this conference as a way of trying to remain positive during this period of change. So this entry and my wiki are totally not “jumping on a band wagon”. Please share, please be positive!
Steve
